I heard that a distinguished wise man and reformer asked him if he did not want the world to be changed； but he answered with a chuckle of surprise in his Canadian accent， not knowing that the question had ever been entertained before， "No， I like it well enough."  It would have suggested many things to a philosopher to have dealings with him.  To a stranger he appeared to know nothing of things in general； yet I sometimes saw in him a man whom I had not seen before， and I did not know whether he was as wise as Shakespeare or as simply ignorant as a child， whether to suspect him of a fine poetic consciousness or of stupidity.  A townsman told me that when he met him sauntering through the village in his small close-fitting cap， and whistling to himself， he reminded him of a prince in disguise.

　　His only books were an almanac and an arithmetic， in which last he was considerably expert.  The former was a sort of cyclopaedia to him， which he supposed to contain an abstract of human knowledge， as indeed it does to a considerable extent.  I loved to sound him on the various reforms of the day， and he never failed to look at them in the most simple and practical light.  He had never heard of such things before.  Could he do without factories？ I asked.  He had worn the home-made Vermont gray， he said， and that was good.  Could he dispense with tea and coffee？  Did this country afford any beverage beside water？  He had soaked hemlock leaves in water and drank it， and thought that was better than water in warm weather. When I asked him if he could do without money， he showed the convenience of money in such a way as to suggest and coincide with the most philosophical accounts of the origin of this institution，and the very derivation of the word pecunia.  If an ox were his property， and he wished to get needles and thread at the store， he thought it would be inconvenient and impossible soon to go on mortgaging some portion of the creature each time to that amount. He could defend many institutions better than any philosopher，because， in describing them as they concerned him， he gave the true reason for their prevalence， and speculation had not suggested to him any other.  At another time， hearing Plato's definition of a man―― a biped without feathers ―― and that one exhibited a cock plucked and called it Plato's man， he thought it an important difference that the knees bent the wrong way.  He would sometimes exclaim， "How I love to talk！  By George， I could talk all day！"  I asked him once， when I had not seen him for many months， if he had got a new idea this summer.  "Good Lord" ―― said he， "a man that has to work as I do， if he does not forget the ideas he has had， he will do well.  May be the man you hoe with is inclined to race； then， by gorry， your mind must be there； you think of weeds."  He would sometimes ask me first on such occasions， if I had made any improvement.  One winter day I asked him if he was always satisfied with himself， wishing to suggest a substitute within him for the priest without， and some higher motive for living.  "Satisfied！" said he； "some men are satisfied with one thing， and some with another.  One man， perhaps， if he has got enough， will be satisfied to sit all day with his back to the fire and his belly to the table，by George！"  Yet I never， by any manoeuvring， could get him to take the spiritual view of things； the highest that he appeared to conceive of was a simple expediency， such as you might expect an animal to appreciate； and this， practically， is true of most men. If I suggested any improvement in his mode of life， he merely answered， without expressing any regret， that it was too late.  Yet he thoroughly believed in honesty and the like virtues.

　　There was a certain positive originality， however slight， to be detected in him， and I occasionally observed that he was thinking for himself and expressing his own opinion， a phenomenon so rare that I would any day walk ten miles to observe it， and it amounted to the re-origination of many of the institutions of society. Though he hesitated， and perhaps failed to express himself distinctly， he always had a presentable thought behind.  Yet his thinking was so primitive and immersed in his animal life， that，though more promising than a merely learned man's， it rarely ripened to anything which can be reported.  He suggested that there might be men of genius in the lowest grades of life， however permanently humble and illiterate， who take their own view always， or do not pretend to see at all； who are as bottomless even as Walden Pond was thought to be， though they may be dark and muddy.

　　我聽到過一個著名的聰明人兼改革家問他，他愿不愿這世界改變：他驚詫地失笑了，這問題從來沒有想過，用他的加拿大口音回答，“不必，我很喜歡它呢，”一個哲學家跟他談話，可以得到很多東西。在陌生人看來，他對一般問題是一點都不懂的；但是我有時候在他身上看到了一個我從未見過的人，我不知道他究竟是聰明得像莎士比亞呢，還是天真未鑿，像一個小孩；不知道他富于詩意呢，還是笨伯一名。一個市民告訴過我，他遇到他，戴了那緊扣的小帽，悠悠閑閑地穿過村子，自顧自吹著口哨，他使他想起了微服出行的王子。

　　他只有一本歷書和一本算術書，他很精于算術。前者在他則好比一本百科全書，他認為那是人類思想的精華所在，事實上在很大限度內也確實是如此。我喜歡探問他一些現(xiàn)代革新的問題，他沒有一次不是很簡單，很實際地作出回答的。他從沒有聽到過這種問題。沒有工廠他行不行呢？我問。他說他穿的是家庭手工織的佛蒙特灰布，說這很好嘛。他可以不喝茶或咖啡嗎？在這個國土上，除水之外，還供應什么飲料呢？他說他曾經(jīng)把鐵杉葉浸在水里，熱天喝來比水好。我問他沒有錢行不行呢？他就證明，有了錢是這樣的方便，說得仿佛是有關貨幣起源的哲學探討一樣，正好表明了pecunia 這個字的字源。如果一條牛是他的財產(chǎn)，他現(xiàn)在要到鋪子里去買一點針線了，要他一部分一部分地把他的牛抵押掉真是不方便啊。他可以替不少制度作辯護，勝過哲學家多多，因為他說的理由都是和他直接關聯(lián)著的，他說出了它們流行的真正理由，他并不胡想出任何其他理由。有一次，聽到柏拉圖所下的人的定義，――沒有羽毛的兩足動物，――有人拿起一只拔掉了羽毛的雄雞來，稱之為柏拉圖的人，他卻說明，膝蓋的彎向不同，這是很重要的一個區(qū)別。有時候，他也叫嚷，“我多么喜歡閑談啊！真的，我能夠說一整天！”

　　有一次，幾個月不見他，我問他夏天里可有了什么新見地。“老天爺，”他說，“一個像我這樣有工作做的人，如果他有了意見不忘記，那就好了。也許跟你一起耘地的人打算跟你比賽；好啊，心思就得花在這上頭了：你想到的只是雜草。”在這種場合，有時他先問我有沒有改進。有一個冬日，我問他是否常常自滿，希望在他的內心找一樣東西代替外在的牧師，有更高的生活目的。“自滿！”他說，“有的人滿足這一些，另外的人滿足另一些。也許有人，如果什么都有了，便整天背烤著火，肚子向著飯桌，真的！”

　　然則，我費盡了心機，還不能找出他對于事物的精神方面的觀點來；他想出的最高原則在乎“絕對的方便”，像動物所喜歡的那樣；這一點，實際上，大多數(shù)人都如此。如果我向他建議，在生活方式上有所改進，他僅僅回答說，來不及了，可并沒有一點遺憾。

　　然而他徹底地奉行著忠實與其他這一類美德。

　　從他這人身上可以察覺到，他有相當?shù)模还苋绾蔚厣伲e極的獨創(chuàng)性；有時我還發(fā)現(xiàn)他在自己尋思如何表達他自己的意見，這是稀有的現(xiàn)象，我愿在隨便哪一天跑十英里路，去觀察這種景象，這等于溫習一次社會制度的起源。雖然他遲疑，也許還不能明白地表現(xiàn)他自己，他卻常常藏有一些非常正確的好意見。然而他的思想是這樣原始，和他的肉體的生命契合無間，比起僅僅有學問的人的思想來，雖然已經(jīng)高明，卻還沒有成熟到值得報道的程度。他說過，在最低賤的人中，縱然終身在最下層，且又目不識丁，卻可能出一些天才，一向都有自己的見解，從不假裝他什么都知道；他們深如瓦爾登湖一般，有人說它是無底的，雖然它也許是黑暗而泥濘的。

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