It is the luxurious and dissipated who set the fashions which the herd so diligently follow.  The traveller who stops at the best houses， so called， soon discovers this， for the publicans presume him to be a Sardanapalus， and if he resigned himself to their tender mercies he would soon be completely emasculated.  I think that in the railroad car we are inclined to spend more on luxury than on safety and convenience， and it threatens without attaining these to become no better than a modern drawing-room， with its divans， and ottomans， and sun-shades， and a hundred other oriental things， which we are taking west with us， invented for the ladies of the harem and the effeminate natives of the Celestial Empire， which Jonathan should be ashamed to know the names of.  I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion.  I would rather ride on earth in an ox cart， with a free circulation， than go to heaven in the fancy car of an excursion train and breathe a malaria all the way.

　　The very simplicity and nakedness of man's life in the primitive ages imply this advantage， at least， that they left him still but a sojourner in nature.  When he was refreshed with food and sleep， he contemplated his journey again.  He dwelt， as it were， in a tent in this world， and was either threading the valleys， or crossing the plains， or climbing the mountain-tops.  But lo！ men have become the tools of their tools.  The man who independently plucked the fruits when he was hungry is become a farmer； and he who stood under a tree for shelter， a housekeeper.  We now no longer camp as for a night，but have settled down on earth and forgotten heaven.  We have adopted Christianity merely as an improved method of agri-culture. We have built for this world a family mansion， and for the next a family tomb.  The best works of art are the expression of man's struggle to free himself from this condition， but the effect of our art is merely to make this low state comfortable and that higher state to be forgotten.  There is actually no place in this village for a work of fine art， if any had come down to us， to stand， for our lives， our houses and streets， furnish no proper pedestal for it.  There is not a nail to hang a picture on， nor a shelf to receive the bust of a hero or a saint.  When I consider how our houses are built and paid for， or not paid for， and their internal economy managed and sustained， I wonder that the floor does not give way under the visitor while he is admiring the gewgaws upon the mantelpiece， and let him through into the cellar， to some solid and honest though earthy foundation.  I cannot but perceive that this so-called rich and refined life is a thing jumped at， and I do not get on in the enjoyment of the fine arts which adorn it， my attention being wholly occupied with the jump； for I remember that the greatest genuine leap， due to human muscles alone， on record， is that of certain wandering Arabs， who are said to have cleared twenty-five feet on level ground.  Without factitious support， man is sure to come to earth again beyond that distance.  The first question which I am tempted to put to the proprietor of such great impropriety is， Who bolsters you？  Are you one of the ninety-seven who fail， or the three who succeed？  Answer me these questions， and then perhaps I may look at your bawbles and find them ornamental. The cart before the horse is neither beautiful nor useful.  Before we can adorn our houses with beautiful objects the walls must be stripped， and our lives must be stripped， and beautiful housekeeping and beautiful living be laid for a foundation： now， a taste for the beautiful is most cultivated out of doors， where there is no house and no housekeeper.

　　Old Johnson， in his "Wonder-Working Providence，" speaking of the first settlers of this town， with whom he was contemporary， tells us that "they burrow themselves in the earth for their first shelter under some hillside， and， casting the soil aloft upon timber， they make a smoky fire against the earth， at the highest side."  They did not "provide them houses，" says he， "till the earth， by the Lord's blessing， brought forth bread to feed them，" and the first year's crop was so light that "they were forced to cut their bread very thin for a long season."  The secretary of the Province of New Netherland， writing in Dutch， in 1650， for the information of those who wished to take up land there， states more particularly that "those in New Netherland， and especially in New England， who have no means to build farmhouses at first according to their wishes， dig a square pit in the ground， cellar fashion， six or seven feet deep， as long and as broad as they think proper， case the earth inside with wood all round the wall， and line the wood with the bark of trees or something else to prevent the caving in of the earth； floor this cellar with plank， and wainscot it overhead for a ceiling， raise a roof of spars clear up， and cover the spars with bark or green sods，so that they can live dry and warm in these houses with their entire families for two， three， and four years， it being understood that partitions are run through those cellars which are adapted to the size of the family.  The wealthy and principal men in New England，in the beginning of the colonies， commenced their first dwelling-houses in this fashion for two reasons： firstly， in order not to waste time in building， and not to want food the next season；secondly， in order not to discourage poor laboring people whom they brought over in numbers from Fatherland.  In the course of three or four years， when the country became adapted to agriculture， they built themselves handsome houses， spending on them several thousands."

　　驕奢淫逸的人創(chuàng)設(shè)了時(shí)髦翻新，讓成群的人勤謹(jǐn)?shù)刈冯S。一個(gè)旅行者，投宿在所謂最漂亮的房間里，他就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)這點(diǎn)，因?yàn)槁玫曛魅藗儺?dāng)他薩達(dá)拿潑勒斯來招待了，要是他接受了他們的盛情，不多久他就會(huì)完全失去男性的精神。我想到鐵路車廂，我們是寧愿花更多的錢于布置的奢侈上，而不在乎行車的安全和便捷的，結(jié)果安全和便捷都談不到，車廂成了一個(gè)摩登客廳，有軟褥的睡椅，土耳其式的厚榻，遮陽的簾予，還有一百種另外的東方的花樣，我們把它們搬到西方來了，那些花樣，原先是為天朝帝國的六宮粉黛，天子的后妃，后宮中的妻妾而發(fā)明的，那是約拿單聽到名稱都要難為情的東西。

　　我寧可坐在一只大南瓜上，由我一個(gè)人占有它，不愿意擠在天鵝絨的墊子上。我寧可坐一輛牛車，自由自在來去，不愿意坐什么花哨的游覽污去天堂，一路上呼吸著污濁的空氣。

　　原始人生活得簡(jiǎn)簡(jiǎn)單單，赤身露體，至少有這樣的好處，他還只是大自然之中的一個(gè)過客。當(dāng)他吃飽睡夠，神清氣爽，便可以再考慮他的行程。可不是，他居住在蒼穹的篷帳下面，不是穿過山谷，使是踱過平原，或是攀登高山。可是，看啊！人類已經(jīng)成為他們的工具的工具了。獨(dú)立自然地，饑餓了就采果實(shí)吃的人已經(jīng)變成一個(gè)農(nóng)夫；而在樹蔭下歇力的人已經(jīng)變成一個(gè)管家。我們不再在夜間露營(yíng)，我們安居在大地上，忘記了天空。我們信奉基督教，不過當(dāng)它是一種改良農(nóng)業(yè)的方法。我們已經(jīng)在塵世造好府邸家宅，隨后就建造家墓墳地。最杰出的藝術(shù)作品都表現(xiàn)著人類怎樣從這種情形中掙扎出來，解放自己，但我們的藝術(shù)效果不過是把我們這屈辱的境遇弄得舒適一點(diǎn)，而那比較高級(jí)的境界卻會(huì)被遺忘了。真的，在這村子里，美術(shù)作品沒有插足之地，就算有些作品是流傳下來了的，因?yàn)槲覀兊纳睿覀兊姆课莼蚪值蓝疾荒転槊佬g(shù)作品提供恰當(dāng)?shù)膲|座。掛一張畫的釘子都沒有，也沒有一個(gè)架子來接受英雄或圣者的胸像。當(dāng)我想起我們的房屋是怎樣建筑的，是怎樣付款或付而未清帳的，它們家庭的內(nèi)部經(jīng)濟(jì)又是怎樣的一回事，我不禁晴暗納罕了，為什么在賓客贊賞壁爐架上那些小玩意兒的時(shí)候，地板不會(huì)一下子坍下去，讓它掉落到地窖中去，一直落到堅(jiān)固的、忠實(shí)的基巖上。我不能不看到，世人是在向著所謂富有而優(yōu)雅的生活跳躍，我一點(diǎn)也不欣賞那些點(diǎn)綴生活的美術(shù)品，我全神貫注在人們的跳躍之上，想起人類肌肉能達(dá)到的最高的跳高紀(jì)錄，還是某一些流浪的阿拉伯人保持的，他們從平地上跳到二十五英尺之高。沒有東西支持的話，跳到了這樣的高度上也還是要跌到地上來的。因此，我要問間那些太不恰當(dāng)?shù)漠a(chǎn)業(yè)所有者，第一個(gè)問題是，誰支持你？你是在九十六個(gè)失敗的人當(dāng)中呢，還是在三個(gè)成功的人當(dāng)中？口答了這些問題之后，也許我會(huì)去看看你的華麗而無價(jià)值的玩物，鑒賞鑒賞它們的裝飾風(fēng)味。

　　車子套在馬前面，既不美觀，也沒有用處。在用美麗的飾物裝飾房屋之前，必須把墻壁剝?nèi)ヒ粚樱€得剝除一層我們的生命，還要有美好的家務(wù)管理，美好的生活作為底子：要知道，美的趣味最好在露天培育，在那里既沒有房屋，也沒有管家。

　　老約翰遜在他的《神奇的造化》中，說起他的那些最初移殖到這個(gè)城市來的同時(shí)代人，他告訴我們說：“他們?cè)谛∩狡律希诰蚋G洞，作為最早的蔭蔽處所，他們把土高高地堆在木材上，在最高的一邊，生了冒濃煙的火，烘烤泥土。”他們并不“給自己造房子”，他說，直到“上帝賜福，土地上生產(chǎn)了足夠的面包喂飽了他們”，然而第一年的收成卻不好，“他們不得不有很長(zhǎng)的一季減少口糧。”一六五０年，新尼特蘭州州秘書長(zhǎng)用荷蘭文寫過一段話，更加詳細(xì)地告訴預(yù)備往那里移居的人說，“在新尼特蘭的人，特別在新英格蘭的人，起初是無法按他們的愿望建造農(nóng)舍的，他們?cè)诘厣贤趥€(gè)方方的地窖似的、六七英尺深的坑，長(zhǎng)短隨便他們自己，然后在墻壁上裝上木板，擋住泥土，用樹皮合縫，以免泥土落下來，當(dāng)然也有用了別種材料的，還用木板鋪了地板，做了天花板，架起了一個(gè)斜桁的屋頂，鋪上樹皮或綠草皮，這樣他們?nèi)铱梢院軠嘏芨稍锏卦诶锩孀∩蟽赡辍⑷辏蛘咚哪辏梢韵胂螅@些地窖中，還隔出了一些小房間，這要看家里的人口數(shù)目了。新英格蘭的闊氣的要人，在開始殖民的時(shí)候，也住在這樣的住所里面，那是有兩個(gè)原因的，第一，兔得筑造房屋，浪費(fèi)了時(shí)間，弄得下一季糧食不夠吃：第二，不希望他們大批地從祖國招來的苦工感覺到灰心。三四年之后當(dāng)田野已適宜于耕種了，他們才給自己造漂亮的房子，花上幾千元的錢。”

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