But while we are confined to books， though the most select and classic， and read only particular written languages， which are themselves but dialects and provincial， we are in danger of forgetting the language which all things and events speak without metaphor， which alone is copious and standard.  Much is published，but little printed.  The rays which stream through the shutter will be no longer remembered when the shutter is wholly removed.  No method nor discipline can supersede the necessity of being forever on the alert.  What is a course of history or philosophy， or poetry，no matter how well selected， or the best society， or the most admirable routine of life， compared with the discipline of looking always at what is to be seen？  Will you be a reader， a student merely， or a seer？  Read your fate， see what is before you， and walk on into futurity.

　　I did not read books the first summer； I hoed beans.  Nay， I often did better than this.  There were times when I could not afford to sacrifice the bloom of the present moment to any work，whether of the head or hands.  I love a broad margin to my life. Sometimes， in a summer morning， having taken my accustomed bath， I sat in my sunny doorway from sunrise till noon， rapt in a revery，amidst the pines and hickories and sumachs， in undisturbed solitude and stillness， while the birds sing around or flitted noiseless through the house， until by the sun falling in at my west window， or the noise of some traveller's wagon on the distant highway， I was reminded of the lapse of time.  I grew in those seasons like corn in the night， and they were far better than any work of the hands would have been.  They were not time subtracted from my life， but so much over and above my usual allowance.  I realized what the Orientals mean by contemplation and the forsaking of works.  For the most part， I minded not how the hours went.  The day advanced as if to light some work of mine； it was morning， and lo， now it is evening，and nothing memorable is accomplished.  Instead of singing like the birds， I silently smiled at my incessant good fortune.  As the sparrow had its trill， sitting on the hickory before my door， so had I my chuckle or suppressed warble which he might hear out of my nest.  My days were not days of the week， bearing the stamp of any heathen deity， nor were they minced into hours and fretted by the ticking of a clock； for I lived like the Puri Indians， of whom it is said that "for yesterday， today， and tomorrow they have only one word， and they express the variety of meaning by pointing backward for yesterday forward for tomorrow， and overhead for the passing day."  This was sheer idleness to my fellow-townsmen， no doubt； but if the birds and flowers had tried me by their standard， I should not have been found wanting.  A man must find his occasions in himself， it is true.  The natural day is very calm， and will hardly reprove his indolence.

　　I had this advantage， at least， in my mode of life， over those who were obliged to look abroad for amusement， to society and the theatre， that my life itself was become my amusement and never ceased to be novel.  It was a drama of many scenes and without an end.  If we were always， indeed， getting our living， and regulating our lives according to the last and best mode we had learned， we should never be troubled with ennui.  Follow your genius closely enough， and it will not fail to show you a fresh prospect every hour.  Housework was a pleasant pastime.  When my floor was dirty， I rose early， and， setting all my furniture out of doors on the grass，bed and bedstead making but one budget， dashed water on the floor，and sprinkled white sand from the pond on it， and then with a broom scrubbed it clean and white； and by the time the villagers had broken their fast the morning sun had dried my house sufficiently to allow me to move in again， and my meditations were almost uninterupted.  It was pleasant to see my whole household effects out on the grass， making a little pile like a gypsy's pack， and my three-legged table， from which I did not remove the books and pen and ink， standing amid the pines and hickories.  They seemed glad to get out themselves， and as if unwilling to be brought in.  I was sometimes tempted to stretch an awning over them and take my seat there.  It was worth the while to see the sun shine on these things，and hear the free wind blow on them； so much more interesting most familiar objects look out of doors than in the house.  A bird sits on the next bough， life-everlasting grows under the table， and blackberry vines run round its legs； pine cones， chestnut burs， and strawberry leaves are strewn about.  It looked as if this was the way these forms came to be transferred to our furniture， to tables，chairs， and bedsteads ―― because they once stood in their midst.

　　但當我們局限在書本里，雖然那是最精選的，古典的作品，而且只限于讀一種特殊的語文，它們本身只是口語和方言，那時我們就有危險，要忘記掉另一種語文了，那是一切事物不用譬喻地直說出來的文字，唯有它最豐富，也最標準。出版物很多，把這印出來的很少。從百葉窗縫隙中流進來的光線，在百葉窗完全打開以后，便不再被記得了。

　　沒有一種方法，也沒有一種訓練可以代替永遠保持警覺的必要性。能夠看見的，要常常去看；這樣一個規(guī)律，怎能是一門歷史或哲學，或不管選得多么精的詩歌所比得上的？

　　又怎能是最好的社會，或最可羨慕的生活規(guī)律所比得上的呢？你愿意僅僅做一個讀者，一個學生呢，還是愿意做一個預(yù)見者？讀一讀你自己的命運，看一看就在你的面前的是什么，再向未來走過去吧。

　　第一年夏天，我沒有讀書；我種豆。不，我比干這個還好。有時候，我不能把眼前的美好的時間犧牲在任何工作中，無論是腦的或手的工作。我愛給我的生命留有更多余地。有時候，在一個夏天的早晨里，照常洗過澡之后，我坐在陽光下的門前，從日出坐到正午，坐在松樹，山核桃樹和黃櫨樹中間，在沒有打擾的寂寞與寧靜之中，凝神沉思，那時鳥雀在四周唱歌，或默不作聲地疾飛而過我的屋子，直到太陽照上我的西窗，或者遠處公路上傳來一些旅行者的車輛的轔轔聲，提醒我時間的流逝。我在這樣的季節(jié)中生長，好像玉米生長在夜間一樣，這比任何手上的勞動好得不知多少了。這樣做不是從我的生命中減去了時間，而是在我通常的時間里增添了許多，還超產(chǎn)了許多。我明白了東方人的所謂沉思以及拋開工作的意思了。大體上，虛度歲月，我不在乎。自晝在前進，仿佛只是為了照亮我的某種工作；可是剛才還是黎明，你瞧，現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)是晚上，我并沒有完成什么值得紀念的工作。我也沒有像鳴禽一般地歌唱，我只靜靜地微笑，笑我自己幸福無涯。正像那麻雀，蹲在我門前的山核桃樹上，啁啾地叫著，我也竊竊笑著，或抑制了我的啁啾之聲，怕它也許從我的巢中聽到了。我的一天并不是一個個星期中的一天，它沒有用任何異教的神祗來命名，也沒有被切碎為小時的細末子，也沒有因滴答的鐘聲而不安；因為我喜歡像印度的普里人，據(jù)說對于他們，“代表昨天，今天和明天的是同一個字，而在表示不同的意義時，他們一面說這個字一面做手勢，手指后面的算昨天，手指前面的算明天，手指頭頂?shù)谋闶墙裉臁！痹谖业氖忻裢麄冄壑校@純粹是懶惰；可是，如果用飛鳥和繁花的標準來審判我的話，我想我是毫無缺點的。人必須從其自身中間找原由，這話極對。自然的日子很寧靜，它也不責備他懶惰。

　　我的生活方式至少有這個好處，勝過那些不得不跑到外面去找娛樂、進社交界或上戲院的人，因為我的生活本身便是娛樂，而且它永遠新奇。這是一個多幕劇，而且沒有最后的一幕。如果我們常常能夠參照我們學習到的最新最好的方式來過我們的生活和管理我們的生活，我們就絕對不會為無聊所困。只要緊緊跟住你的創(chuàng)造力，它就可以每一小時指示你一個新的前景。家務(wù)事是愉快的消遣。當我的地板臟了，我就很早起身，把我的一切家具搬到門外的草地上，床和床架堆成一堆，就在地板上灑上水，再灑上湖里的白沙，然后用一柄掃帚，把地板刮擦得干凈雪白：等到老鄉(xiāng)們用完他們的早點，太陽已經(jīng)把我的屋子曬得夠干燥，我又可以搬回去；而這中間我的沉思幾乎沒有中斷過。這是很愉快的，看到我家里全部的家具都放在草地上，堆成一個小堆，像一個古普賽人的行李，我的三腳桌子也擺在松樹和山核桃樹下，上面的書本筆墨我都沒有拿開。它們好像很愿意上外邊來，也好像很不愿意給搬回屋里去。有時我就躍躍欲試地要在它們上面張一個帳篷，我就在那里就位。太陽曬著它們是值得一看的景致，風吹著它們是值得一聽的聲音，熟稔的東西在戶外看到比在室內(nèi)有趣得多。小鳥坐在相隔一枝的椏枝上，長生草在桌子下面生長，黑莓的藤攀住了桌子腳；松實，栗子和草莓葉子到處落滿。它們的形態(tài)似乎是這樣轉(zhuǎn)變成為家具，成為桌子，椅子，床架的，――因為這些家具原先曾經(jīng)站在它們之間。

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