I am wont to think that men are not so much the keepers of herds as herds are the keepers of men， the former are so much the freer. Men and oxen exchange work； but if we consider necessary work only，the oxen will be seen to have greatly the advantage， their farm is so much the larger.  Man does some of his part of the exchange work in his six weeks of haying， and it is no boy's play.  Certainly no nation that lived simply in all respects， that is， no nation of philosophers， would commit so great a blunder as to use the labor of animals.  True， there never was and is not likely soon to be a nation of philosophers， nor am I certain it is desirable that there should be.  However， I should never have broken a horse or bull and taken him to board for any work he might do for me， for fear I should become a horseman or a herdsman merely； and if society seems to be the gainer by so doing， are we certain that what is one man's gain is not another's loss， and that the stable-boy has equal cause with his master to be satisfied？  Granted that some public works would not have been constructed without this aid， and let man share the glory of such with the ox and horse； does it follow that he could not have accomplished works yet more worthy of himself in that case？  When men begin to do， not merely unnecessary or artistic， but luxurious and idle work， with their assistance， it is inevitable that a few do all the exchange work with the oxen， or， in other words， become the slaves of the strongest.  Man thus not only works for the animal within him， but， for a symbol of this， he works for the animal without him.  Though we have many substantial houses of brick or stone， the prosperity of the farmer is still measured by the degree to which the barn overshadows the house.  This town is said to have the largest houses for oxen， cows， and horses hereabouts， and it is not behindhand in its public buildings； but there are very few halls for free worship or free speech in this county.  It should not be by their architecture， but why not even by their power of abstract thought， that nations should seek to commemorate themselves？  How much more admirable the Bhagvat-Geeta than all the ruins of the East！  Towers and temples are the luxury of princes.  A simple and independent mind does not toil at the bidding of any prince.  Genius is not a retainer to any emperor， nor is its material silver， or gold， or marble， except to a trifling extent.  To what end， pray， is so much stone hammered？  In Arcadia，when I was there， I did not see any hammering stone.  Nations are possessed with an insane ambition to perpetuate the memory of themselves by the amount of hammered stone they leave.  What if equal pains were taken to smooth and polish their manners？  One piece of good sense would be more memorable than a monument as high as the moon.  I love better to see stones in place.  The grandeur of Thebes was a vulgar grandeur.  More sensible is a rod of stone wall that bounds an honest man's field than a hundred-gated Thebes that has wandered farther from the true end of life.  The religion and civilization which are barbaric and heathenish build splendid temples； but what you might call Christianity does not.  Most of the stone a nation hammers goes toward its tomb only.  It buries itself alive.  As for the Pyramids， there is nothing to wonder at in them so much as the fact that so many men could be found degraded enough to spend their lives constructing a tomb for some ambitious booby，whom it would have been wiser and manlier to have drowned in the Nile， and then given his body to the dogs.  I might possibly invent some excuse for them and him， but I have no time for it.  As for the religion and love of art of the builders， it is much the same all the world over， whether the building be an Egyptian temple or the United States Bank.  It costs more than it comes to.  The mainspring is vanity， assisted by the love of garlic and bread and butter.  Mr. Balcom， a promising young architect， designs it on the back of his Vitruvius， with hard pencil and ruler， and the job is let out to Dobson & Sons， stonecutters.  When the thirty centuries begin to look down on it， mankind begin to look up at it.  As for your high towers and monuments， there was a crazy fellow once in this town who undertook to dig through to China， and he got so far that， as he said， he heard the Chinese pots and kettles rattle； but I think that I shall not go out of my way to admire the hole which he made.  Many are concerned about the monuments of the West and the East ―― to know who built them.  For my part， I should like to know who in those days did not build them ―― who were above such trifling.  But to proceed with my statistics.

　　By surveying， carpentry， and day-labor of various other kinds in the village in the meanwhile， for I have as many trades as fingers，I had earned $13.34.  The expense of food for eight months， namely，from July 4th to March 1st， the time when these estimates were made，though I lived there more than two years ―― not counting potatoes， a little green corn， and some peas， which I had raised， nor considering the value of what was on hand at the last date ―― was

　　Rice …… $ 1.73 1/2 Molasses ……  1.73     Cheapest form of the saccharine. Rye meal ……  1.04 3/4 Indian meal ……  0.99 3/4  Cheaper than rye. Pork ……  0.22 All experiments which failed：Flour ……  0.88  Costs more than Indian meal，both money and trouble. Sugar ……  0.80 Lard ……  0.65 Apples ……  0.25 Dried apple ……  0.22 Sweet potatoes ……  0.10 One pumpkin ……  0.06 One watermelon ……  0.02 Salt ……  0.03

　　我常想，不是人在放牛，簡直是牛在牧入，而人放牛是更自由的。人與牛是在交換勞動，如果我們考慮的只是必須勞動的話，那末看來牛要占便宜得多，它們的農場也大得多。人擔任的一部分交換勞動便是割上六個星期的干草，這可不是兒戲呢。自然沒有一個在各方面的生活都很簡單的國土，就是說，沒有一個哲學家的國土，是愿意犯這種重大錯誤來叫畜生勞動的。確實世上從未有過，將來也未見得會有那么個哲學家的國土，就是有了，我也不敢說它一定是美滿的。然而我絕對不愿意去馴一匹馬或一頭牛，束縛了它，叫它替我做任何它能做的工作，只因為我怕自己變成了馬夫或牛倌；如果說這樣做了，社會就得益非淺，那未難道能夠肯定一個人的盈利就不是另一個人的損失，難道能夠肯定馬房里的馬夫跟他的主人是同樣地滿足的嗎？就算有些公共的工作沒有牛馬的幫助是建立不起來的，而且就讓人類來和牛馬一起分享這種光榮；是否能推理說，那樣的話，他就不可能用更加對得起自己的方式來完成這種工作了呢？當人們利用了牛馬幫助，開始做了許多不僅是不需要的和藝術的，而且還是奢侈的和無用的工作，這就不可避免的要有少數人得和牛馬做交換工作，換句話說，這些人便成了最強者的奴隸。所以，人不僅為他內心的獸性而工作，而且，這像是一個象征，他還為他身外的牲畜而勞動。

　　雖然我們已經有了許多磚瓦或石頭砌造的屋子，一個農夫的殷實與否，還得看看他的獸廄在什么程度上蓋過了他的住屋。據說城市里有最大的房屋，供給這兒的耕牛、奶牛和馬匹居住；公共大廈這一方面毫不落后；可是在這個縣里，可供言論自由與信仰自由用的大廳反倒很少呢。國家不應該用高樓大廈來給它們自己樹立起紀念碑，為什么不用抽象的思維力來紀念呢？東方的全部廢墟，也決不比一卷《對話錄》更可贊嘆！高塔與寺院是帝王的糜侈。一個單純而獨立的心智決不會聽從帝王的吩咐去干苦活的。天才決不是任何帝王的侍從，金子銀子和大理石也無法使他們留芳百世，它們最多只能保留極細微的一部分。請告訴我，錘打這么多石頭，要達到什么目的呢？當我在阿卡狄亞的時候，我沒有看到任何人雕琢大理石。許多國家沉迷在瘋狂的野心中，要想靠留下多少雕琢過的石頭來使它們自己永垂不朽。如果他們用同樣的勞力來琢鑿自己的風度，那會怎么樣呢？一件有理性的事情，要比矗立一個高得碰到月球的紀念碑還更加值得留傳。我更喜歡讓石頭放在它們原來的地方。像底比斯那樣的宏偉是庸俗的。一座有一百個城門的底比斯城早就遠離了人生的真正目標，怎能有圍繞著誠實人的田園的一平方桿的石墻那么合理呢。野蠻的、異教徒的宗教和文化倒建造了華麗的寺院；而可以稱之為基督教的，就沒有這樣做。一個國家錘擊下來的石頭大都用在它的墳墓上。它活埋了它自己。說到金字塔，本沒有什么可驚奇的，可驚的是有那么多人，竟能屈辱到如此地步，花了他們一生的精力，替一個魯鈍的野心家造墳墓，其實他要是跳尼羅河淹死，然后把身體喂野狗都還更聰明些，更有氣派些呢。我未始不可以給他們，也給他找一些掩飾之詞，可是我才沒有時間呢。至于那些建筑家所信的宗教和他們對于藝術的愛好，倒是全世界一樣的，不管他們造的是埃及的神廟還是美利堅合眾國銀行。總是代價大于實際。虛榮是源泉，助手是愛大蒜、面包和牛油。一個年輕的有希望的建筑師叫巴爾康先生，他在維特羅微烏斯的后面追隨著用硬鉛筆和直尺設計了一個圖樣，然后交到道勃蘇父子采石公司手上。當三十個世紀開始俯視著它時，人類抬頭向著它凝望。你們的那些高塔和紀念碑呵，城里有過一個瘋子要挖掘一條通到中國去的隧道，掘得這樣深，據說他已經聽到中國茶壺和燒開水的響聲了；可是，我想我決不會越出我的常軌而去贊美他的那個窟窿的。

　　許多人關心著東方和西方的那些紀念碑，――要知道是誰造的。我愿意知道，是誰當時不肯造這些東西，――誰能夠超越乎這許多煩瑣玩意兒之上。可是讓我繼續統計下去吧。

　　我當時在村中又測量又做木工和各種別的日工，我會的行業有我手指之數那么多，我一起掙了十三元三角四分。八個月的伙食費――就是說，從七月四日到三月一日這些結算出下列賬目的日子，雖然在那里我一共過了兩個多年頭，――我不算自己生產的土豆、一點兒玉米和若干豌豆，也不算結賬日留在手上的存貨市價，計開：米……一。七三五元糖漿……一。七三元――最便宜的糖精黑麥……一。０四七五元印第安玉米粉……０。九九七五元――較黑麥價廉豬肉……０。二二元百粉……０。八八。――價錢比印第安玉米粉貴，而且麻煩白糖……０。八０元豬油……o.六五元蘋果……０。二五元都是試驗，但結果統統是蘋果干……０。二二元失敗的。

　　甘薯……０。一０元南瓜一只……０。０六元西瓜一只……０。０二元鹽……０。０二元）

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