6.22.2005
My father, a wise and grave man, gave me serious and excellent counsel against what he forsaw was my design.
He called me one morning into his chamber, where he was confined by the gout, and expostulated very warmly with me upon this subject: he asked me what reasons, more than a mere wandering inclination, I had for leaving my father's homeland and my native country, where i might be well introduced and had a prospect of rasing my fortune by application and industry, with a life of ease and pleasure. He rold me it was for men of desperate fortunes on one hand, or of aspiring syoerior fortunes on the other, who went abrod upon adventures, to ride by enterprise, and make themselves famous in undertaking of a nature out of the common road; that these thingswere all either too dar above me, or too far below me; that mine was the middle state or what might be called the upper sation of low life, which he had found by long experiences was the best state in the world, the most suited to human happiness, not exposed to the miseries and hardships, the labour and sufferings of the mechanic part of mankind, and not embarrassed with the pride, luxury, ambition, and envy of the upper part of mankind. told told me, i might judge of the happiness of this state, by this one thing, namely, that this was the state of life which all the other people envied; that kinds have frequently lamented the miserable consequences of being born to great things, and wish they had been placed in the middle of the two extremes, between the mean and the great; that the wise man gave his testimony to this, s the just standard of true felicity, when he prayed to have neither poverty nor riches.
he bade me observe it, and i should always find, that the calamities of life were shared above the upper and lower part of mankind, but that the middle station had the fewest disasters, and was not exposed to so many vicissitudes as the higher of lower part of mankind; nay, they were not subjected to so many distempers and uneasinesses either of body or mind, as those were who, by vicious living, luxury, and extravagencies on one hand, or by hard labour, want of necessaries, and mean or insufficient diet on the other hand, bring distempers upon themselves by the natural consequences of their way of living; that the middle station of life was calculated for all kind of virtues and all kind of enjoyments; that peace and plenty were the handmaids of a middle fortune; that temperance, moderation, quietness, health, society, all agreeable diversions, and all desirable pleasures, were the blessings attending the middle station of life, that this way men went silently and smoothly through the world, and comfortably out of it, not embarrassed with the labours of the hands or of the head, not sold to the life of slavery for daily bread, or harassed with the perplexed circumstances, which rob the soul of peace, abd the body of rest ; not enraged with the passion of envy, or the secret burning lust ambition for great things; but in easy circumstances sliding gently through the world, and sensibly tasting the sweets of living without the bitter, feeling that they are happy, and learning by everyday's experiences to know it more easily.
-Robinson Crusoe. by Daniel Defoe.
thats part of the book i'm reading for summer reading. its the o9nly one of the five i have to read that i actually own. yesss. might as well get started on it a.s.a.p.
i just posted that part in here (WHICH TOOK FOREVER TO TYPE BY THE WAY) because i thought it was pretty neet. sympathise for those les fortunate than you. the ones above and below you.
ok, well, it is time for me to go shopping for birthday presents. lovley.
wheres my mom? she was supposed to pick me up a while ago! oh well
with lots and lots of reading ahead, gahh,
<3 <3 <3 rachayy
he bade me observe it, and i should always find, that the calamities of life were shared above the upper and lower part of mankind, but that the middle station had the fewest disasters, and was not exposed to so many vicissitudes as the higher of lower part of mankind; nay, they were not subjected to so many distempers and uneasinesses either of body or mind, as those were who, by vicious living, luxury, and extravagencies on one hand, or by hard labour, want of necessaries, and mean or insufficient diet on the other hand, bring distempers upon themselves by the natural consequences of their way of living; that the middle station of life was calculated for all kind of virtues and all kind of enjoyments; that peace and plenty were the handmaids of a middle fortune; that temperance, moderation, quietness, health, society, all agreeable diversions, and all desirable pleasures, were the blessings attending the middle station of life, that this way men went silently and smoothly through the world, and comfortably out of it, not embarrassed with the labours of the hands or of the head, not sold to the life of slavery for daily bread, or harassed with the perplexed circumstances, which rob the soul of peace, abd the body of rest ; not enraged with the passion of envy, or the secret burning lust ambition for great things; but in easy circumstances sliding gently through the world, and sensibly tasting the sweets of living without the bitter, feeling that they are happy, and learning by everyday's experiences to know it more easily.
-Robinson Crusoe. by Daniel Defoe.
thats part of the book i'm reading for summer reading. its the o9nly one of the five i have to read that i actually own. yesss. might as well get started on it a.s.a.p.
i just posted that part in here (WHICH TOOK FOREVER TO TYPE BY THE WAY) because i thought it was pretty neet. sympathise for those les fortunate than you. the ones above and below you.
ok, well, it is time for me to go shopping for birthday presents. lovley.
wheres my mom? she was supposed to pick me up a while ago! oh well
with lots and lots of reading ahead, gahh,
<3 <3 <3 rachayy
// posted by RACH @ 1:46 PM 
