120 philosophical essays you must read in your life

Chapter 123

Chapter 7, Section 9 Living in the embrace of nature

[French] Rousseau
I get up early every day so that I can watch the sunrise in my garden.If it is a sunny day, my dearest hope is that no letter or visitor disturb the tranquility of the day.

In the morning, I will use it to deal with various chores.Everything is something I'm happy to do because it's not an urgent matter that must be dealt with immediately.I wolfed down my meals to avoid unwanted visitors and to have an afternoon to myself.

Even on the hottest day, before one o'clock at noon, I set off with my dog ​​Fanchatte in the scorching sun.I stepped up my pace, worried that I would be blocked by uninvited guests as soon as I went out.However, as soon as I rounded a corner and felt myself saved, I breathed a sigh of relief and said to myself, "I can have this afternoon to myself!" In search of a corner of the wilderness, a corner of the wilderness that is inaccessible and free of any traces of slavery and domination, a quiet corner that only I can find, where there will be no disgusting third party running across the nature between me.There I can freely enjoy the magnificent picture that nature unfolds for me.The golden fuelwood, and the purple heather, luxuriantly pleasing to my eye, to my mind, to my delight; the majesty of the trees above me, the delicacy of the shrubs around me, the astonishing variety of flowers and plants at my feet. Dazzling, I don't know whether to watch or admire.So many beautiful things compete for my attention, and hold me back before them, thus feeding my lazy and dreamy habits, so that I often think: "The most splendid Solomon in the world is not compared with any of them." I'd be ashamed of myself too."

I began to imagine this wonderful land.Immediately I installed the inhabitants there at my own will, and I drove far away public opinion, prejudice, and all false sentiments, and moved into this natural paradise those who deserved so.I shall form them into a gracious society which I myself dare not join.I build a golden century according to my liking, and fill this beautiful life with those scenes that I have experienced that have left me with sweet memories and situations that my heart still yearns for.How I longed for the establishment of such a society, so sweet, so pure, so far removed from human happiness.Whenever I fantasize like this, tears come out of my eyes.ah!If, at this moment, thoughts of Paris, of my century, of my humble vanity as a writer disturb my reverie, I shake them off with such disgust that I can devote myself to the intoxication which fills my soul. wonderful feelings.In daydreams, however, I admit that when I am intoxicated by my fantasies, I have sudden urges to cry.Even if all my dreams come true, I will not be satisfied, then I will have new dreams, new expectations, new visions.I felt an inexplicable emptiness in my body and mind, a yearning for some other pleasure that I could not articulate but felt the need for.Yet the longing is also a joy, because I find poignant romance in it—and it's something I'm not willing to part with.

I turned my thoughts, as far as possible, from the low to the high, to all life in nature, to the universal system of things, to the inconceivable God who rules over all.I lost my mind in the great world, stopped thinking, stopped meditating, stopped philosophical reasoning; I felt the weight of the universe on my shoulders with pleasure.So many great ideas appear in my mind, I like to let my imagination run wild in the space; my heart imprisoned in the boundaries of life feels too narrow here, I can't breathe between heaven and earth, I hope to plunge into an infinite world to go.I believe that if I could penetrate all the mysteries of nature, I might not experience this amazing ecstasy, but a less sweet state.This ecstasy in which my soul is intoxicated makes me sometimes exclaim in my agitation: "Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" But other than that, I can't say anything Come.

【Together with you】

In the face of the wonderful and great power of nature, how crowded and cramped the turmoil and chores in the mundane world become, and how narrow and confined the mind feels within the limited boundaries.Behind the bustling world is the absence of nature, freedom and freedom.Being disturbed by things and burdened by oneself is a major survival dilemma for modern people.Only by letting go of the shackles in your heart can you liberate yourself.Integrate into nature, the heart will gallop in the infinite space.The expected relaxation starts from the heart.One day we can peel off the layers of wrapping, let the breath be released to all things in the world, and the fun of life will expand to an infinite world... Please raise your head, straighten your waist, and be full of hope and eagerness in your heart Accept everything that nature has given you.Use your quick-witted mind to be alert to all the changes around you, and bravely face the hopes, dreams and goals that tomorrow's day brings to you.

(End of this chapter)