登陆注册
5260100000027

第27章 CHAPTER VII.(7)

A man's employment, whatever it may be that he feels a need for in his own person, is also divided into four categories: (1) the muscular employment of power, labor of the hands, feet, shoulders, back,--hard labor, from which you sweat; (2) the employment of the fingers and wrists, the employment of artisan skill; (3) the employment of the mind and imagination; (4) the employment of intercourse with others.

The benefits which man enjoys are also divided into four categories.

Every man enjoys, in the first place, the product of hard labor,-- grain, cattle, buildings, wells, ponds, and so forth; in the second place, the results of artisan toil,--clothes, boots, utensils, and so forth; in the third place, the products of mental activity,-- science, art; and, in the forth place, established intercourse between people.

And it struck me, that the best thing of all would be to arrange the occupations of the day in such a manner as to exercise all four of man's capacities, and myself produce all these four sorts of benefits which men make use of, so that one portion of the day, the first, should be dedicated to hard labor; the second, to intellectual labor; the third, to artisan labor; and the forth, to intercourse with people. It struck me, that only then would that false division of labor, which exists in our society, be abrogated, and that just division of labor established, which does not destroy man's happiness.

I, for example, have busied myself all my life with intellectual labor. I said to myself, that I had so divided labor, that writing, that is to say, intellectual labor, is my special employment, and the other matters which were necessary to me I had left free (or relegated, rather) to others. But this, which would appear to have been the most advantageous arrangement for intellectual toil, was precisely the most disadvantageous to mental labor, not to mention its injustice.

All my life long, I have regulated my whole life, food, sleep, diversion, in view of these hours of special labor, and I have done nothing except this work. The result of this has been, in the first place, that I have contracted my sphere of observations and knowledge, and have frequently had no means for the study even of problems which often presented themselves in describing the life of the people (for the life of the common people is the every-day problem of intellectual activity). I was conscious of my ignorance, and was obliged to obtain instruction, to ask about things which are known by every man not engaged in special labor. In the second place, the result was, that I had been in the habit of sitting down to write when I had no inward impulse to write, and when no one demanded from me writing, as writing, that is to say, my thoughts, but when my name was merely wanted for journalistic speculation. I tried to squeeze out of myself what I could. Sometimes I could extract nothing; sometimes it was very wretched stuff, and I was dissatisfied and grieved. But now that I have learned the indispensability of physical labor, both hard and artisan labor, the result is entirely different. My time has been occupied, however modestly, at least usefully and cheerfully, and in a manner instructive to me. And therefore I have torn myself from that indubitably useful and cheerful occupation for my special duties only when I felt an inward impulse, and when I saw a demand made upon me directly for my literary work.

And these demands called into play only good nature, and therefore the usefulness and the joy of my special labor. Thus it turned out, that employment in those physical labors which are indispensable to me, as they are to every man, not only did not interfere with my special activity, but was an indispensable condition of the usefulness, worth, and cheerfulness of that activity.

The bird is so constructed, that it is indispensable that it should fly, walk, peek, combine; and when it does all this, it is satisfied and happy,--then it is a bird. Just so man, when he walks, turns, raises, drags, works with his fingers, with his eyes, with his ears, with his tongue, with his brain,--only then is he satisfied, only then is he a man.

A man who acknowledges his appointment to labor will naturally strive towards that rotation of labor which is peculiar to him, for the satisfaction of his inward requirements; and he can alter this labor in no other way than when he feels within himself an irresistible summons to some exclusive form of labor, and when the demands of other men for that labor are expressed.

The character of labor is such, that the satisfaction of all a man's requirements demands that same succession of the sorts of work which renders work not a burden but a joy. Only a false creed, [Greek text which cannot be reproduced], to the effect that labor is a curse, could have led men to rid themselves of certain kinds of work; i.e., to the appropriation of the work of others, demanding the forced occupation with special labor of other people, which they call division of labor.

同类推荐
  • THE BLUE FAIRY BOOK

    THE BLUE FAIRY BOOK

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 风俗通义

    风俗通义

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 再刊华严略策

    再刊华严略策

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 茅亭客话

    茅亭客话

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 晋阳秋

    晋阳秋

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 末世君邪子筱

    末世君邪子筱

    地球忽然出现了一种怪物!谁也不清楚它的发源地在哪儿了,被这样的恐惧所替代。他们像是传说中的吸血鬼,但是他们没有俊美的躯壳;他们像是传说中的吸血僵尸,但他们没有僵硬的躯体。他们是感染了病毒的人类异化后的生物,拥有人类的躯体却嗜杀任何血肉的怪物!
  • 狂女重生:妖孽王爷我要了

    狂女重生:妖孽王爷我要了

    惨遭未婚夫退婚,依旧面不改色,却对绑架自己的丑男露出小女儿神态!面对他人刁难,一鸣惊人英姿展,反倒被个“轮椅男”耍的团团转?李宛如是谁,和硕公主又是谁,自己的身体,却隐藏着自己都不知道的秘密!这个世界太危险,被扔下井,被绑上山,只是我自有福星照耀,纵有千难万险,也有我牢靠的独木桥。只是独木桥也有靠不住的时候,且看我“临时”公主如何在异国他乡横冲直撞,过五关,斩六将。情节虚构,请勿模仿
  • 美人娇

    美人娇

    秦王萧元奉旨不得娶妻,起初他并不在意,打光棍就打光棍呗,待遇见谢澜音,王爷终于头疼了,想方设法要娶她。谢澜音:非我不嫁,是你皇上爹不许。萧元:你等着,我这就去反了他!
  • 良辰美警

    良辰美警

    见到倒霉的,没见过这么倒霉的,警察抓贼朝天开枪都能不幸正好被击中,吕男男觉得自己人品真是好到家了,作为一个电视台工作人员,她决定把这件事公布于众,可是偏偏开枪小警察的上司陆弘竟然是自己的旧识,还是自己曾经追过并且没有追上的男人,她更曾经为了他被大学开除过,吕男男决定假如陆弘不赔偿给自己一百万的话,她坚决不答应这件事简单了解,她要动用她所有的关系让陆弘从‘人民公仆’彻底变成‘人民’……这是一个警察与媒体人员不得不说的故事。
  • 请叫我大工程师

    请叫我大工程师

    一个强大的外星文明毁灭后,逃出来的传承薪火被工程师张凯获得。他将一步步如何走向顶峰,成为现代的传奇。
  • X和X世界

    X和X世界

    (无cp)在我醒来的时候,平时关系很好的学长的尸体就躺在不远处……我陷入了一桩杀人案中,但更大的漩涡还等着我。这是一场,跨越世界的大阴谋。【烂尾误入】【书友群:190951794,答案是末子】
  • 解放济南(百城百战解放战争系列)

    解放济南(百城百战解放战争系列)

    本书以纪实手法描述了解放战争中,为解放济南,在许世友、聂凤智等将领的领导下,中国人民解放军可歌可泣的英勇事迹,再现了解放战争的悲壮场面……
  • 五灯会元

    五灯会元

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 拟生游戏

    拟生游戏

    到另一个世界游戏人生,在另一个世界争权夺利,我登上帝国之巅,只为与身后的黑暗之手博弈,我爬上灵山之顶,只为再见那蔚蓝之星一眼。【拟生游戏启动中...登出程序已销毁...联邦游戏开发,祝所有玩家游戏愉快!(当前游戏版本:1.0持续更新中...)】
  • 逆天农女:王爷相公有礼了

    逆天农女:王爷相公有礼了

    穿越成农家女,她还要忍受心疾的折磨?NO!养好身体有灵泉,发家致富靠空间!极品亲戚?全面压倒!贪官无赖?送进大牢!嚣张郡主凑表脸,一言不合就甩鞭?你个冒牌货倒是好大的胆子!什么?一大波爱慕者正在袭来?不好意思,弱水三千,她只嫁一人!“谁要是敢惦记……”“怎样?”某人笑得腹黑无比。“哼,那我就离家出走!”其实这是一个农女与蛇的故事,最后……蛇把农女吃掉啦!