LETTER III.

Difficulties experienced by the shipwrecked company, and how these were remedied.

My Friends:

In the following letter I shall tell you of some trouble that these shipwrecked persons met, in following out their new plan of life.

After they had spent several months in doing up the work which past neglect had made needful, and after the harvest was gathered in, the good minister found many evils coming upon them, for want of enough work to keep them all busy. Idleness is the parent of a thousand evils and vices¹, and therefore something he saw must be devised, in order to keep all hands employed.

The company came together to talk over this matter. At this meeting it was stated that their clothing and furniture were going to destruction even with careful use, and that as more must be provided soon, this might afford [37]employment to idle hands. It was then urged by some of the company that they should take what wool they could get from their sheep, and what flax they could raise, and make a kind of coarse and strong cloth called linsey woolsey, and then all might dress alike, and thus there would be no more trouble about some having better clothes than others. But it soon was shown that this would not remedy the difficulty about employment. For such coarse and strong clothing would last so long, that all those who now had employment in making and mending and refitting and in doing fine sewing, would be thrown out of employ.

At length it was agreed that an embassy should be sent to the king, to request him to let the company trade with at least one store on their borders, where they might exchange the products of their lands for clothing and furniture. This request was granted, on this condition, that each individual might bring all he raised himself, and get whatever he wanted, but that no one should take any thing that he did not pay for with the fruits of his own labour.

After this arrangement was made, a great [38]change took place in the palace. Those who were diligent², active and bright, discovered various ways of raising large crops, or of making ingenious articles, which they exchanged at the store for such furniture and clothing as they liked. But those who were dull, or lazy, or vicious, did not succeed in raising the means to buy new things, and were obliged to put up with old or very cheap ones. Sometimes those who lived in the finest rooms would agree to give up those rooms to those who were most successful, in order to share in some of their profits. And thus it came about that many who had the plainest rooms, and clothing, and furniture, by their industry and enterprise, finally came to possess the finest rooms and handsomest clothing and furniture. And so on the other hand, some of those who at first by lot had gained the best of every thing, were driven by their ignorance or indolence, to take the poorest of every thing.

These changes at first produced great discontent. But the good minister took unwearied pains to convince the discontented ones, that though some evils came from having some [39]persons gain so much superior advantages, yet on the whole, it was far better than to have them hold property in common, and all fare alike. For, as he showed them, a great part of mankind are disposed to be careless and indolent, and would never exert themselves, unless some great advantage was to be gained by care and industry. For this reason, it is a great advantage to every body to have persons around them, who own beautiful, or convenient things that can be gained by themselves only by intelligence and industry. For thus every one will be stimulated³ to improve his mind, and employ his time diligently⁴.

On the contrary, if every body dressed and ate and fared just alike, whether they were industrious⁵ or not, the stimulus⁶ to exertion⁷ would be taken away, and many would become lazy, ignorant and vicious. These teachings of the minister were effectual in most cases, so as to preserve harmony and peace.

But another difficulty arose, that caused still more trouble. The company was so large, that they could not all sit together in one parlour, nor all eat together at one table; and very [40]often the question came up, as to who should associate together. The minister taught them that this was a point where every man had a right to consult his own taste and feelings. No person had a right to go and visit another person’s room when he was not wanted, and every one might decide for himself what company he would have visit him, and who he would not have as a friend or companion. By following this rule, it came about that persons whose tastes, pursuits, and characters were most alike, became most interested in each other, and thus they found it pleasantest to eat together and to sit in the same parlour. Thus those who, either by lot, or by their intelligence and industry, gained the finest clothes and furniture, and had similar employments and habits, formed one circle by themselves. In like manner those who worked together in the fields became best acquainted, and they formed another circle. And thus, too, those who worked in the kitchen became best acquainted and associated together.

But the good minister found many hard feelings coming up from this state of things. For [41]those who had the most talents, and the finest clothing and furniture, began to take airs of superiority, and to treat the others with discourtesy and disrespect, while those who had less advantages grew envious⁸, jealous and discontented. It was a very difficult matter to rectify⁹ the wrong state of feeling on both sides. Though the minister taught those who had the most advantages, that they should set an example, to all the rest, of gentleness, humility¹⁰ and courtesy, he could not prevent some of them from appearing haughty¹¹ and proud, nor induce them to treat all persons with respect and courtesy, whatever were their employment or appearance.

And it was just as difficult to make those who were less fortunate, feel kindly¹² towards those who were better off than themselves. They all insisted that none should visit them in their rooms, or eat with their circle, unless their company was wanted, but when other people used the same privilege and excluded them they felt grieved and offended. They were so unreasonable¹³ as to insist that nobody should treat them as they were determined¹⁴ to treat [42]others. And though the minister laboured more to make them feel and act reasonably about this than for any thing else, he often sighed over his poor success.

1 vices   

缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳

参考例句：

• In spite of his vices, he was loved by all. 尽管他有缺点，还是受到大家的爱戴。
• He vituperated from the pulpit the vices of the court. 他在教堂的讲坛上责骂宫廷的罪恶。

2 diligent   

adj.勤勉的，勤奋的

参考例句：

• He is the more diligent of the two boys.他是这两个男孩中较用功的一个。
• She is diligent and keeps herself busy all the time.她真勤快，一会儿也不闲着。

3 stimulated   

a.刺激的

参考例句：

• The exhibition has stimulated interest in her work. 展览增进了人们对她作品的兴趣。
• The award has stimulated her into working still harder. 奖金促使她更加努力地工作。

4 diligently   

ad.industriously;carefully

参考例句：

• He applied himself diligently to learning French. 他孜孜不倦地学法语。
• He had studied diligently at college. 他在大学里勤奋学习。

5 industrious   

adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的

参考例句：

• If the tiller is industrious,the farmland is productive.人勤地不懒。
• She was an industrious and willing worker.她是个勤劳肯干的员工。

6 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

7 exertion   

n.尽力，努力

参考例句：

• We were sweating profusely from the exertion of moving the furniture.我们搬动家具大费气力，累得大汗淋漓。
• She was hot and breathless from the exertion of cycling uphill.由于用力骑车爬坡，她浑身发热。

8 envious   

adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的

参考例句：

• I don't think I'm envious of your success.我想我并不嫉妒你的成功。
• She is envious of Jane's good looks and covetous of her car.她既忌妒简的美貌又垂涎她的汽车。

9 rectify   

v.订正，矫正，改正

参考例句：

• The matter will rectify itself in a few days.那件事过几天就会变好。
• You can rectify this fault if you insert a slash.插人一条斜线便可以纠正此错误。

10 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

11 haughty   

adj.傲慢的，高傲的

参考例句：

• He gave me a haughty look and walked away.他向我摆出傲慢的表情后走开。
• They were displeased with her haughty airs.他们讨厌她高傲的派头。

12 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

13 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

14 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。