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eofpovertyandlabor。obligedtorisebeforedaybreak；byturnsshop…boy；clerk；andlaborer；hewasmadetobearalonealltheworkofatradeofwhichhismasterreapedalltheprofits。intruth；thislatterhadapeculiartalentformakingthemostofthelaborofotherpeople。
thoughunfithimselffortheexecutionofanykindofwork；nooneknewbetterhowtosellit。hiswordswereanet；inwhichpeoplefoundthemselvestakenbeforetheywereaware。andsincehewasdevotedtohimselfalone；andlookedontheproducerashisenemy；andthebuyerasprey；heusedthembothwiththatobstinateperseverancewhichavariceteaches。
myfatherwasaslavealltheweek；andcouldcallhimselfhisownonlyonsunday。themasternaturalist；whousedtospendthedayatthehouseofanoldfemalerelative；thengavehimhislibertyonconditionthathedinedout；andathisownexpense。butmyfatherusedsecretlytotakewithhimacrustofbread；whichhehidinhisbotanizing…box；and；leavingparisassoonasitwasday；hewouldwanderfarintothevalleyofmontmorency；thewoodofmeudon；oramongthewindingsofthemarne。
excitedbythefreshair；thepenetratingperfumeofthegrowingvegetation；orthefragranceofthehoneysuckles；hewouldwalkonuntilhungerorfatiguemadeitselffelt。thenhewouldsitunderahedge；orbythesideofastream；andwouldmakearusticfeast；byturnsonwatercresses；woodstrawberries；andblackberriespickedfromthehedges；hewouldgatherafewplants；readafewpagesofflorian；theningreatestvogue；ofgessner；whowasjusttranslated；orofjeanjacques；ofwhomhepossessedthreeoldvolumes。thedaywasthuspassedalternatelyinactivityandrest；inpursuitandmeditation；untilthedecliningsunwarnedhimtotakeagaintheroadtoparis；wherehewouldarrive；hisfeettornanddusty；buthismindinvigoratedforawholeweek。
oneday；ashewasgoingtowardthewoodofviroflay；hemet；closetoit；astrangerwhowasoccupiedinbotanizingandinsortingtheplantshehadjustgathered。hewasanelderlymanwithanhonestface；buthiseyes；whichwereratherdeep…setunderhiseyebrows；hadasomewhatuneasyandtimidexpression。hewasdressedinabrownclothcoat；agraywaistcoat；blackbreeches；andworstedstockings；andheldanivory…headedcaneunderhisarm。hisappearancewasthatofasmallretiredtradesmanwhowaslivingonhismeans；andratherbelowthegoldenmeanofhorace。
myfather；whohadgreatrespectforage；civillyraisedhishattohimashepassed。indoingso；aplantheheldfellfromhishand；thestrangerstoopedtotakeitup；andrecognizedit。
〃itisadeutariaheptaphyllos；〃saidhe；〃ihavenotyetseenanyoftheminthesewoods；didyoufinditnearhere；sir？〃
myfatherrepliedthatitwastobefoundinabundanceonthetopofthehill；towardsevres；aswellasthegreatlaserpitium。
〃that；too！〃repeatedtheoldmanmorebriskly。〃ah！ishallgoandlookforthem；ihavegatheredthemformerlyonthehillsideofrobaila。〃
myfatherproposedtotakehim。thestrangeracceptedhisproposalwiththanks；andhastenedtocollecttogethertheplantshehadgathered；butallofasuddenheappearedseizedwithascruple。heobservedtohispanionthattheroadhewasgoingwashalfwayupthehill；andledinthedirectionofthecastleofthedamesroyalesatbellevue；thatbygoingtothetophewouldconsequentlyturnoutofhisroad；andthatitwasnotrightheshouldtakethistroubleforastranger。
myfatherinsisteduponitwithhishabitualgood…nature；but；themoreeagernessheshowed；themoreobstinatelytheoldmanrefused；itevenseemedtomyfatherthathisgoodintentionatlastexcitedhissuspicion。hethereforecontentedhimselfwithpointingouttheroadtothestranger；whomhesaluted；andhesoonlostsightofhim。
manyhourspassedby；andhethoughtnomoreofthemeeting。hehadreachedthecopsesofchaville；where；stretchedonthegroundinamossyglade；hereadoncemorethelastvolumeofemile。thedelightofreadingithadsopletelyabsorbedhimthathehadceasedtoseeorhearanythingaroundhim。withhischeeksflushedandhiseyesmoist；herepeatedaloudapassagewhichhadparticularlyaffectedhim。
anexclamationutteredclosebyhimawokehimfromhisecstasy；heraisedhishead；andperceivedthetradesman…lookingpersonhehadmetbeforeonthecrossroadatviroflay。
hewasloadedwithplants；thecollectionofwhichseemedtohaveputhimintohighgood…humor。
〃athousandthanks；sir；〃saidhetomyfather。〃ihavefoundallthatyoutoldmeof；andiamindebtedtoyouforacharmingwalk。〃
myfatherrespectfullyrose；andmadeacivilreply。thestrangerhadgrownquitefamiliar；andevenaskedifhisyoung〃brotherbotanist〃didnotthinkofreturningtoparis。myfatherrepliedintheaffirmative；andopenedhistinboxtoputhisbookbackinit。
thestrangeraskedhimwithasmileifhemightwithoutimpertinenceaskthenameofit。myfatheransweredthatitwasrousseausemile。
thestrangerimmediatelybecamegrave。
theywalkedforsometimesidebyside；myfatherexpressing；withthewarmthofaheartstillthrobbingwithemotion；allthatthisworkhadmadehimfeel；hispanionremainingcoldandsilent。theformerextolledthegloryofthegreatgenevesewriter；whosegeniushadmadehimacitizenoftheworld；heexpatiatedonthisprivilegeofgreatthinkers；whoreigninspiteoftimeandspace；andgathertogetherapeopleofwillingsubjectsoutofallnations；butthestrangersuddenlyinterruptedhim：
〃andhowdoyouknow；〃saidhe；mildly；〃whetherjeanjacqueswouldnotexchangethereputationwhichyouseemtoenvyforthelifeofoneofthewood…cutterswhosechimneyssmokewesee？whathasfamebroughthimexceptpersecution？theunknownfriendswhomhisbooksmayhavemadeforhimcontentthemselveswithblessinghimintheirhearts；whilethedeclaredenemiesthattheyhavedrawnuponhimpursuehimwithviolenceandcalumny！hispridehasbeenflatteredbysuccess：howmanytimeshasitbeenwoundedbysatire？andbeassuredthathumanprideislikethesybaritewhowaspreventedfromsleepingbyacreaseinaroseleaf。theactivityofavigorousmind；bywhichtheworldprofits；almostalwaysturnsagainsthimwhopossessesit。heexpectsmorefromitashegrowsolder；theidealhepursuescontinuallydisgustshimwiththeactual；heislikeamanwho；withatoo…refinedsight；discernsspotsandblemishesinthemostbeautifulface。iwillnotspeakofstrongertemptationsandofdeeperdownfalls。genius；youhavesaid；isakingdom；butwhatvirtuousmanisnotafraidofbeingaking？hewhofeelsonlyhisgreatpowers；is鈥斺�攚iththeweaknessesandpassionsofournature鈥斺�攑reparingforgreatfailures。believeme；sir；theunhappymanwhowrotethisbookisnoobjectofadmirationorofenvy；but；ifyouhaveafeelingheart；pityhim！〃
myfather；astonishedattheexcitementwithwhichhispanionpronouncedtheselastwords；didnotknowwhattoanswer。
justthentheyreachedthepavedroadwhichledfrommeudoncastletothatofversailles；acarriagewaspassing。
theladieswhowereinitperceivedtheoldman；utteredanexclamationofsurprise；andleaningoutofthewindowrepeated：
〃thereisjeanjacques鈥斺�攖hereisrousseau！〃
thenthecarriagedisappearedinthedistance。
myfatherremainedmotionless；confounded；andamazed；hiseyeswideopen；andhishandsclasped。
rousseau；whohadshudderedonhearinghisnamespoken；turnedtowardhim：
〃yousee；〃saidhe；withthebittermisanthropywhichhislatermisfortuneshadproducedinhim；〃jeanjacquescannotevenhidehimself：
heisanobjectofcuriositytosome；ofmalignitytoothers；andtoallheisapublicthing；atwhichtheypointthefinger。itwouldsignifylessifhehadonlytosubmittotheimpertinenceoftheidle；but；assoonasamanhashadthemisfortunetomakehimselfaname；hebeespublicproperty。everyonerakesintohislife；relateshismosttrivialactions；andinsultshisfeelings；hebeeslikethosewalls；whicheverypasser…bymaydefacewithsomeabusivewriting。perhapsyouwillsaythatihavemyselfencouragedthiscuriositybypublishingmyconfessions。buttheworldforcedmetoit。theylookedintomyhousethroughtheblinds；andtheyslanderedme；ihaveopenedthedoorsandwindows；sothattheyshouldatleastknowmesuchasiam。adieu；sir。
wheneveryouwishtoknowtheworthoffame；rememberthatyouhaveseenrousseau。〃
nineoclock鈥斺�攁h！nowiunderstandmyfathersstory！itcontainstheanswertooneofthequestionsiaskedmyselfaweekago。yes；inowfeelthatfameandpoweraregiftsthataredearlybought；andthat；whentheydazzlethesoul；bothareoftenest；asmadamedestaelsays；butundeuileclatantdebonheur！
tisbettertobelowlyborn；andrangewithhumbleliversincontent；thantobeperkdupinaglisteringgrief；andwearagoldensorrow。
＇henryviii。；actii。；scene3。＇
CHAPTER VIII
misanthropyandrepentance
august3d；nineoclockp。m。
therearedayswheneverythingappearsgloomytous；theworld；likethesky；iscoveredbyadarkfog。nothingseemsinitsplace；weseeonlymisery；improvidence；andcruelty；theworldseemswithoutgod；andgivenuptoalltheevilsofchance。
yesterdayiwasinthisunhappyhumor。afteralongwalkinthefaubourgs；ireturnedhome；sadanddispirited。
everythingihadseenseemedtoaccusethecivilizationofwhichwearesoproud！ihadwanderedintoalittleby…street；withwhichiwasnotacquainted；andifoundmyselfsuddenlyinthemiddleofthosedreadfulabodeswherethepoorareborn；tolanguishanddie。ilookedatthosedecayingwalls；whichtimehascoveredwithafoulleprosy；thosewindows；fromwhichdirtyragshangouttodry；thosefetidgutters；whichcoilalongthefrontsofthehouseslikevenomousreptiles！
ifeltoppressedwithgrief；andhastenedon。
alittlefartheroniwasstoppedbythehearseofahospital；adeadman；naileddowninhisdealcoffin；wasgoingtohislastabode；withoutfuneralpomporceremony；andwithoutfollowers。therewasnothereeventhatlastfriendoftheoutcast鈥斺�攖hedog；whichapainterhasintroducedasthesoleattendantatthepaupersburial！hewhomtheywerepreparingtomittotheearthwasgoingtothetomb；ashehadlived；alone；doubtlessnoonewouldbeawareofhisend。inthisbattleofsociety；whatsignifiesasoldiertheless？
butwhat；then；isthishumansociety；ifoneofitsmemberscanthusdisappearlikealeafcarriedawaybythewind？
thehospitalwasnearabarrack；attheentranceofwhicholdmen；women；andchildrenwerequarrellingfortheremainsofthecoarsebreadwhichthesoldiershadgiventhemincharity！thus；beingslikeourselvesdailywaitindestitutiononourpassiontillwegivethemleavetolive！wholetroopsofoutcasts；inadditiontothetrialsimposedonallgodschildren；havetoendurethepangsofcold；hunger；andhumiliation。unhappyhumanmonwealth！wheremanisinaworseconditionthanthebeeinitshive；ortheantinitssubterraneancity！
ah！whatthenavailsourreason？whatistheuseofsomanyhighfaculties；ifweareneitherthewisernorthehappierforthem？whichofuswouldnotexchangehislifeoflaborandtroublewiththatofthebirdsoftheair；towhomthewholeworldisalifeofjoy？
howwelliunderstandtheplaintofmao；inthepopulartalesofthefoyerbretonwho；whendyingofhungerandthirst；says；ashelooksatthebullfinchesriflingthefruit…trees：
〃alas！thosebirdsarehappierthanchristians；theyhavenoneedofinns；orbutchers；orbakers；orgardeners。godsheavenbelongstothem；andearthspreadsacontinualfeastbeforethem！thetinyfliesaretheirgame；ripegrasstheircornfields；andhipsandhawstheirstoreoffruit。theyhavetherightoftakingeverywhere；withoutpayingoraskingleave：thusesitthatthelittlebirdsarehappy；andsingallthelivelongday！〃
butthelifeofmaninanaturalstateislikethatofthebirds；heequallyenjoysnature。〃theearthspreadsacontinualfeastbeforehim。〃
what；then；hashegainedbythatselfishandimperfectassociationwhichformsanation？woulditnotbebetterforeveryonetoturnagaintothefertilebosomofnature；andlivethereuponherbountyinpeaceandliberty？
august20th；fouroclocka。m鈥斺�攖hedawncastsaredglowonmybed…curtains；thebreezebringsinthefragranceofthegardensbelow。hereiamagainleaningonmyelbowsbythewindows；inhalingthefreshnessandgladnessofthisfirstwakeningoftheday。
myeyealwayspassesovertheroofsfilledwithflowers；warbling；andsunlight；withthesamepleasure；butto…dayitstopsattheendofabuttresswhichseparatesourhousefromthenext。
thestormshavestrippedthetopofitsplastercovering；anddustcarriedbythewindhascollectedinthecrevices；and；beingfixedtherebytherain；hasformedasortofaerialterrace；wheresomegreengrasshassprungup。amongitrisesastalkofwheat；whichto…dayissurmountedbyasicklyearthatdroopsitsyellowhead。
thispoorstraycropontheroofs；theharvestofwhichwillfalltotheneighboringsparrows；hascarriedmythoughtstotherichcropswhicharenowfallingbeneaththesickle；ithasrecalledtomethebeautifulwalksitookasachildthroughmynativeprovince；whenthethreshing…floorsatthefarmhousesresoundedfromeverypartwiththesoundofaflail；andwhenthecarts；loadedwithgoldensheaves；cameinbyalltheroads。
istillrememberthesongsofthemaidens；thecheerfulnessoftheoldmen；theopen…heartedmerrimentofthelaborers。therewas；atthattime；somethingintheirlooksbothofprideandfeeling。thelattercamefromthankfulnesstogod；theformerfromthesightoftheharvest；therewardoftheirlabor。theyfeltindistinctlythegrandeurandtheholinessoftheirpartinthegeneralworkoftheworld；theylookedwithprideupontheirmountainsofcorn…sheaves；andtheyseemedtosay；nexttogod；itiswewhofeedtheworld！
whatawonderfulorderthereisinallhumanlabor！
whilethehusbandmanfurrowshisland；andpreparesforeveryonehisdailybread；thetownartizan；faraway；weavesthestuffinwhichheistobeclothed；theminerseeksundergroundtheironforhisplow；thesoldierdefendshimagainsttheinvader；thejudgetakescarethatthelawprotectshisfields；thetax…ptrolleradjustshisprivateinterestswiththoseofthepublic；themerchantoccupieshimselfinexchanginghisproductswiththoseofdistantcountries；themenofscienceandofartaddeverydayafewhorsestothisidealteam；whichdrawsalongthematerialworld；assteamimpelsthegigantictrainsofourironroads！thusallunitetogether；allhelponeanother；thetoilofeachonebenefitshimselfandalltheworld；theworkhasbeenapportionedamongthedifferentmembersofthewholeofsocietybyatacitagreement。if；inthisapportionment；errorsaremitted；ifcertainindividualshavenotbeenemployedaccordingtotheircapacities；thosedefectsofdetaildiminishinthesublimeconceptionofthewhole。
thepoorestmanincludedinthisassociationhashisplace；hiswork；hisreasonforbeingthere；eachissomethinginthewhole。
thereisnothinglikethisformaninthestateofnature。ashedependsonlyuponhimself；itisnecessarythathebesufficientforeverything。
allcreationishisproperty；buthefindsinitasmanyhindrancesashelps。hemusts