《瓦尔登湖·第一章·经济篇·Economy》第36节
So I went on for some days cutting and hewing timber, and also studs and rafters, all with my narrow axe, not having many communicable or scholar-like thoughts, singing to myself,— Men say they know many things; / But lo! they have taken wings,— / The arts and sciences, / And a thousand appliances; / The wind that blows / Is all that any body knows. I hewed the main timbers six inches square, most of the studs on two sides only, and the rafters and floor timbers on one side, leaving the rest of the bark on, so that they were just as straight and much stronger than sawed ones. Each stick was carefully mortised or tenoned by its stump, for I had borrowed other tools by this time. My days in the woods were not very long ones; yet I usually carried my dinner of bread and butter, and read the newspaper in which it was wrapped, at noon, sitting amid the green pine boughs which I had cut off, and to my bread was imparted some of their fragrance, for my hands were covered with a thick coat of pitch. Before I had done I was more the friend than the foe of the pine tree, though I had cut down some of them, having become better acquainted with it. Sometimes a rambler in the wood was attracted by the sound of my axe, and we chatted pleasantly over the chips which I had made.
注释摘要
梭罗在这一段里记录了他砍削木料、搭建屋架的劳动过程。他特意说明自己用的是窄刃斧，干的不是有学问的、可以拿来与人交流的思想工作，嘴里哼着的是一支自我调侃的小调：人们自以为知道许多东西，艺术、科学和千般器具，可是这些东西都飞走了，到头来，任何人都真正知道的不过是吹着的风而已。这段歌词是梭罗自己编的，调子轻快，意思却不轻浮——它在说，人在体力劳动中，那些书本上的…