瓦爾登湖：經(jīng)濟篇26

　　Yes， I did eat $8.74， all told； but I should not thus unblushingly publish my guilt， if I did not know that most of my readers were equally guilty with myself， and that their deeds would look no better in print.  The next year I sometimes caught a mess of fish for my dinner， and once I went so far as to slaughter a woodchuck which ravaged my bean-field ―― effect his transmigration， as a Tartar would say ―― and devour him， partly for experiment's sake；but though it afforded me a momentary enjoyment， notwithstanding a musky flavor， I saw that the longest use would not make that a good practice， however it might seem to have your woodchucks ready dressed by the village butcher. Clothing and some incidental expenses within the same dates，though little can be inferred from this item， amounted to

　　$ 8.40-3/4

　　Oil and some household utensils ……  2.00

　　So that all the pecuniary outgoes， excepting for washing and mending， which for the most part were done out of the house， and their bills have not yet been received ―― and these are all and more than all the ways by which money necessarily goes out in this part of the world ―― were

　　House …… $ 28.12+ Farm one year …… 14.72+ Food eight months ……  8.74 Clothing， etc.， eight months ……  8.40-3/4 Oil， etc.， eight months ……  2.00

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　　In all …… $ 61.99-3/4

　　I address myself now to those of my readers who have a living to get.  And to meet this I have for farm produce sold

　　$ 23.44 Earned by day-labor ……  13.34

                                            -------

　　In all …… $ 36.78，

　　which subtracted from the sum of the outgoes leaves a balance of $25.21 3/4 on the one side ―― this being very nearly the means with which I started， and the measure of expenses to be incurred ―― and on the other， beside the leisure and independence and health thus secured， a comfortable house for me as long as I choose to occupy it.

　　These statistics， however accidental and therefore uninstructive they may appear， as they have a certain completeness， have a certain value also.  Nothing was given me of which I have not rendered some account.  It appears from the above estimate， that my food alone cost me in money about twenty-seven cents a week.  It was， for nearly two years after this， rye and Indian meal without yeast，potatoes， rice， a very little salt pork， molasses， and salt； and my drink， water.  It was fit that I should live on rice， mainly， who love so well the philosophy of India.  To meet the objections of some inveterate cavillers， I may as well state， that if I dined out occasionally， as I always had done， and I trust shall have opportunities to do again， it was frequently to the detriment of my domestic arrangements.  But the dining out， being， as I have stated，a constant element， does not in the least affect a comparative statement like this.

　　I learned from my two years' experience that it would cost incredibly little trouble to obtain one's necessary food， even in this latitude； that a man may use as simple a diet as the animals，and yet retain health and strength.  I have made a satisfactory dinner， satisfactory on several accounts， simply off a dish of purslane （Portulaca oleracea） which I gathered in my cornfield，boiled and salted.  I give the Latin on account of the savoriness of the trivial name.  And pray what more can a reasonable man desire，in peaceful times， in ordinary noons， than a sufficient number of ears of green sweet corn boiled， with the addition of salt？  Even the little variety which I used was a yielding to the demands of appetite， and not of health.  Yet men have come to such a pass that they frequently starve， not for want of necessaries， but for want of luxuries； and I know a good woman who thinks that her son lost his life because he took to drinking water only.

　　是的，我的確總共吃掉了八元七角四分；可是，如果我不知道我的讀者之中，大多數(shù)人是跟我有同樣罪過的，他們的清單恐怕公開印出來，還不如我的好呢，那我是不會這樣不害臊地公開我的罪過的。第二年，有時我捕魚吃，有一次我還殺了一條蹂躪我的蠶豆田的土撥鼠，――它頗像韃靼人所說的在執(zhí)行它的靈魂轉(zhuǎn)世――我吃了它，一半也是試驗性質(zhì)；雖然有股近乎麝香的香味，它還是暫時給了我一番享受，不過我知道長期享受這口福是沒有好處的，即使你請村中名廚給你烹調(diào)土撥鼠也不行。

　　同一時間之內(nèi)，衣服及其他零用，項目雖然不多，卻也有：八。四０七五元油及其他家庭用具……二。００元除開洗衣和補衣，那倒多半是拿到外面去的，但賬單還沒有開來，――這一些是世界上這個部分必需花的全部的錢，或者超出了必需花的范圍――所有全部的支出是：房子……二八。一二五元農(nóng)場的一年開支……一四。七二五元八個月的食物……八。七四元八個月的衣服等……八。四０七五元八個月的油等……二。００元共計……六一。九九七五元現(xiàn)在我是向那些要謀生的讀者說話的。為了支付這一筆開銷，我賣出了農(nóng)場的產(chǎn)品，計二三。四四元日工掙到的……一三。三四元共計……三六。七八元從開銷上減去此數(shù)，差額二十五元二角一分又四分之三，――恰恰是我開始時所有的資金，原先就預備負擔支出的，這是一方面，――而另一方面呢，除了我這樣得到的閑暇、獨立和康健，我還有一座安樂的房屋，我愛住多久，就住多久。

　　這些統(tǒng)計資料，雖然很瑣碎，似乎沒有什么用處，但因相當完備，也就有了某種價值。再沒有什么我沒有記上賬簿的了。從上面列的表看來，僅僅是食物一項，每星期要花掉我兩角七分。食物，在后來的將近兩年之內(nèi)，總是黑麥和不發(fā)酵的印第安玉米粉，土豆，米，少量的腌肉，糖漿和鹽；而我的飲料，則是水。對我這樣愛好印度哲學的人，用米作為主要的食糧是合適的。為了對付一些習慣于吹毛求疵的人的反對，我還不如說一說，如果我有時跑到外面去吃飯，我以前是這樣做的，相信將來還是有機會要到外面去吃飯的，那我這樣做是會損害我家里的經(jīng)濟安排的。我已經(jīng)說了，到外面吃飯是經(jīng)常的事，對于這樣的比較的說法，是一點不發(fā)生影響的。

　　我從兩年的經(jīng)驗中知道，甚至在這個緯度上，要得到一個人所必需的食糧也極少麻煩，少到不可信的地步；而且一個人可以像動物一樣的吃簡單的食物，仍然保持康健和膂力。我曾經(jīng)從玉米田里采了一些馬齒莧（學名Portulaca oleracea）煮熟加鹽，吃了一餐，這一餐飯在好些方面使我心滿意足。我把它的拉丁文的學名寫下是因為它的俗名不很好。請說說看，在和平的年代，在日常的中午時分，除了吃一些甜的嫩玉米，加上鹽煮，一個講究理性的人還能希望什么更多的食物呢？就是我稍稍變換花樣，也只是為了換換口味，并不是為了健康的緣故。然而人們常常挨餓，不是因為缺少必需品，而是因為缺少了奢侈品；我還認識一個良善的女人，她以為她的兒子送了命是因為他只喝清水。

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