Robinson Crusoe

Author: Daniel Defoe (English) / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: In 1632, I was born into a respectable family in York. We were not locals. My father was from Bremen, Germany, and after moving to England, he first did business in Hull and accumulated a considerable fortune. Later, he retired from business and settled in York, where he married my mother. My mother's maiden name was Robinson, and her family was a very well-respected Seaford family. As a result, I was named Robinson Crusoe. However, due to the British pronunciation deviation, people often called us "Cruso," and even we referred to and wrote it that way, so my friends called me Cruso. I had two older brothers. My eldest brother was a major in the British infantry regiment stationed in Flanders, and the original commander of the regiment was the famous Colonel Lockhart. My eldest brother died in battle near Dunkirk against the Spanish. As for my second brother, I still know nothing about his whereabouts, just as my parents later did not know where I was. I was the youngest, had not learned any trade, and from a young age, my mind was filled with dreams of traveling the world. My father was getting old, and he gave me a good education, in addition to family education, he also sent me to a rural compulsory school, intending for me to study law. But I was determined to go to sea and had no interest in anything else. I was stubborn and completely disregarded my father's wishes, openly defied his orders, and ignored my mother's and friends' pleas and advice. This personality seemed to directly lead to my unfortunate life in the future. My father was a wise man, cautious in his dealings. He saw through my intentions and seriously gave me some sound advice. One morning, he called me into his room (he suffered from gout and could only stay in the room) and earnestly persuaded me. He asked me, apart from wanting to go out and explore, what other reasons I had to leave my parents and leave my homeland. Here, I could be introduced by relatives and friends, use my efforts and diligence to make a fortune, and live a comfortable and happy life. He told me that only those who were desperate due to poverty or ambitious and wealthy would go on overseas adventures, trying to achieve extraordinary achievements to gain fame. For me, both of these situations were either too high or too low, my social status was between the two, or could be called the upper echelon of common life. Based on his many years of experience, he believed this was the best class in the world, the most suitable for a happy life. They did not have to endure the hardships and difficulties of life like manual laborers, nor were they troubled by luxury, ambition, and jealousy like the upper class. He told me that one thing could illustrate the happiness this way of life could bring, that is, other classes of people all envied this life: kings often lamented the unfortunate consequences of their noble birth and longed to live in the middle class between the extremes of high and low; wise people proved that this status was the standard of their true happiness, and they always asked God in their prayers not to let them be too poor or too rich. He told me that as long as one paid close attention, they could see that the upper and lower classes often suffered misfortunes in life, while the middle class suffered the least hardships. They did not experience the ups and downs and changes in life like the upper and lower classes. He believed that only the middle class's life possessed various virtues and pleasures; only the middle class people would often accompany peace and wealth; only the middle class's life enjoyed self-restraint, moderation, and peace of mind, as well as health, socializing, and various enjoyable pastimes and desirable pleasures. Only in this state of life could people pass their lives leisurely and comfortably, neither exhausting themselves to earn their daily bread nor being troubled by the complexities of the world and losing peace of mind; only in this state of life could people not suffer the torment of jealousy and ambition, walk lightly through the world, savor the sweetness of life, feel their happiness, and more deeply experience this joy in their daily lives. P1-2