瓦爾登湖：經(jīng)濟(jì)篇12

　　On the whole， I think that it cannot be maintained that dressing has in this or any country risen to the dignity of an art.  At present men make shift to wear what they can get.  Like shipwrecked sailors， they put on what they can find on the beach， and at a little distance， whether of space or time， laugh at each other's masquerade.  Every generation laughs at the old fashions， but follows religiously the new.  We are amused at beholding the costume of Henry VIII， or Queen Elizabeth， as much as if it was that of the King and Queen of the Cannibal Islands.  All costume off a man is pitiful or grotesque.  It is only the serious eye peering from and the sincere life passed within it which restrain laughter and consecrate the costume of any people.  Let Harlequin be taken with a fit of the colic and his trappings will have to serve that mood too. When the soldier is hit by a cannonball， rags are as becoming as purple.

　　The childish and savage taste of men and women for new patterns keeps how many shaking and squinting through kaleidoscopes that they may discover the particular figure which this generation requires today.  The manufacturers have learned that this taste is merely whimsical.  Of two patterns which differ only by a few threads more or less of a particular color， the one will be sold readily， the other lie on the shelf， though it frequently happens that after the lapse of a season the latter becomes the most fashionable. Comparatively， tattooing is not the hideous custom which it is called.  It is not barbarous merely because the printing is skin-deep and unalterable. I cannot believe that our factory system is the best mode by which men may get clothing.  The condition of the operatives is becoming every day more like that of the English； and it cannot be wondered at， since， as far as I have heard or observed， the principal object is， not that mankind may be well and honestly clad，but， unquestionably， that corporations may be enriched.  In the long run men hit only what they aim at.  Therefore， though they should fail immediately， they had better aim at something high.

　　As for a Shelter， I will not deny that this is now a necessary of life， though there are instances of men having done without it for long periods in colder countries than this.  Samuel Laing says that "the Laplander in his skin dress， and in a skin bag which he puts over his head and shoulders， will sleep night after night on the snow …… in a degree of cold which would extinguish the life of one exposed to it in any woollen clothing."  He had seen them asleep thus.  Yet he adds， "They are not hardier than other people."  But，probably， man did not live long on the earth without discovering the convenience which there is in a house， the domestic comforts， which phrase may have originally signified the satisfactions of the house more than of the family； though these must be extremely partial and occasional in those climates where the house is associated in our thoughts with winter or the rainy season chiefly， and two thirds of the year， except for a parasol， is unnecessary.  In our climate， in the summer， it was formerly almost solely a covering at night.  In the Indian gazettes a wigwam was the symbol of a day's march， and a row of them cut or painted on the bark of a tree signified that so many times they had camped.  Man was not made so large limbed and robust but that he must seek to narrow his world and wall in a space such as fitted him.  He was at first bare and out of doors； but though this was pleasant enough in serene and warm weather， by daylight， the rainy season and the winter， to say nothing of the torrid sun， would perhaps have nipped his race in the bud if he had not made haste to clothe himself with the shelter of a house.  Adam and Eve， according to the fable， wore the bower before other clothes.  Man wanted a home， a place of warmth， or comfort， first of warmth， then the warmth of the affections.

　　整個(gè)說(shuō)來(lái)，這國(guó)或別國(guó)的服裝已達(dá)到了一種藝術(shù)的尊貴地位的這類話是不能成立的。目前的人，還是有什么，穿什么。像破碎的舟上的水手漂到岸上，找得到什么就穿什么，他們還站得隔開(kāi)一點(diǎn)，越過(guò)空間的或時(shí)間的距離，而嘲笑著彼此的服裝呢。每一代人都嘲笑老式樣，而虔誠(chéng)地追求新式樣。我們看到亨利八世或伊麗莎白女王的裝束，就要好笑，仿佛他們是食人島上的島王和島后一樣。衣服沒(méi)有了人，就可憐和古怪起來(lái)。抑制住嘩笑，并且使任何人的衣服莊嚴(yán)起來(lái)的，乃是穿衣人的嚴(yán)肅地顯現(xiàn)的兩眼和穿衣人在衣服之中過(guò)的真誠(chéng)的生活。穿著斑斕衣衫的丑角如果突然發(fā)疝痛了，他的衣服也就表現(xiàn)了這痛楚的情緒。當(dāng)士兵中了炮彈，爛軍裝也宛如高貴的紫袍。

　　男女都愛(ài)好新式樣，這種稚氣的、蠻夷的趣味使多少人轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)眼珠和瞇起眼皮看著萬(wàn)花筒，好讓他們來(lái)發(fā)現(xiàn)今天這一代需要什么樣的式樣。制造商人早知道他們的趣味只是反復(fù)無(wú)常的。兩種式樣，其不同只有幾條絲線，而顏色多少還是相似的，一件衣服立刻賣掉了，另一件卻躺在貨架上，常常在過(guò)了一個(gè)季節(jié)之后，后者又成了最時(shí)髦的式樣。

　　在身上刺花，比較起來(lái)真還不算是人們所說(shuō)的可怕的習(xí)氣呢。這并不僅僅因?yàn)榇袒ㄊ巧钊肫つw，不能改變就變得野蠻的。

　　我不相信我們的工廠制度是使人們得到衣服穿的最好的辦法。技工們的情形是一天一天地更像英國(guó)工廠里的樣子了，這是不足為奇的，因?yàn)閾?jù)我聽(tīng)到或觀察到的，原來(lái)那主要的目標(biāo)，并不是為了使人類可以穿得更好更老實(shí)，而無(wú)疑的，只是為了公司要賺錢。

　　往長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)處看去，人類總能達(dá)到他們的目標(biāo)的，因此盡管事情一時(shí)之間是要失敗的，目標(biāo)還是不妨定得崇高些。

　　至于住所，我并不否認(rèn)這現(xiàn)在是一種生活必需品了，雖然有很多例子可以說(shuō)明，很久以來(lái)比這里更為寒冷的國(guó)土上都有人能夠沒(méi)有住所照樣生活下去，塞牟爾。萊恩說(shuō)，“北歐的拉普蘭人穿了皮衣，頭上肩上套著皮囊，可以一夜又一夜的睡在雪地上――那寒冷的程度可以使穿羊毛衣服的人凍死的。”他親眼看到他們這樣地睡著。接著他說(shuō)，“可是他們并不比旁人更結(jié)實(shí)。”大概是人類生活在地球上不多久以后，就發(fā)現(xiàn)了房屋的便利，以及家庭生活的安逸，這句話的原意，表示對(duì)于房屋感到滿足，超過(guò)家庭的融樂(lè)：然而有的地帶，一說(shuō)到房屋就聯(lián)想到冬天和雨季，一年里有三分之二時(shí)間不用房屋，只要一柄遮陽(yáng)傘，在這些地方，這樣的說(shuō)法就極其片面，而且只是偶爾適用罷了。我們這一帶的氣候，以前夏天晚上只要有個(gè)遮蓋就行了。在印第安人的記錄中，一座尖屋是一整天行程的標(biāo)志，在樹(shù)皮上刻著或畫(huà)著的一排尖屋代表他們已經(jīng)露營(yíng)了多少次。人類沒(méi)有壯大的肢體，身材并不魁梧，所以他得設(shè)法縮小他的世界，用墻垣來(lái)圈起一個(gè)適宜于他的空間。最初他是裸體的，在戶外的；雖然在溫和寧?kù)o的氣候中，在白晝還非常愉快，可是另外有雨季和冬天，且不說(shuō)那炎炎赤日，要不是人類趕快用房屋來(lái)蔭蔽他自己，人種或許早在抽芽的時(shí)候就被摧殘了。按照傳說(shuō)，亞當(dāng)和夏娃在穿衣服之前，以枝葉蔽體。人類需要一個(gè)家庭，一個(gè)溫暖的地方，或舒服的地方，但是肉體的溫暖在先，然后才是感情的溫暖啊。了。按照傳說(shuō)，亞當(dāng)和夏娃在穿衣服之前，以枝葉蔽體。人類需要一個(gè)家庭，一個(gè)溫暖的地方，或舒服的地方，但是肉體的溫暖在先，然后才是感情的溫暖啊。

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