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Article ON RETIREMENT. ← Page 2 of 3 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Retirement.
is done . This is the reason also , why I have so much dreaded to " accept of favours ; for every act of kindness demands an acknowledgement ; and I feel that my heart is ungrateful only because gratittj . de is become a duty . The kind of happiness , in short , which pleases me best , does not consist so much in doing what I wish , as in avoiding that which is repugnant to my inclination ; active life affords no temptations to me ; I would a hundred times rather do
nothing at ali , than that which I dislike ; and I have frequently thought that I should not have lived very unhappily even in the bastile , provided I was free from every constraint , other than that of merely residing within it ' s walls . The pleasures and advantages of a tranquil leisure , were never felt with higher delight than by Rosseau ; these enjoyments are
equally within the reach of every individual . "When my torments , " says this amiable philosopher , " oblige me to recount the long and sorrowful progress of the night , and the violence of my fever prevents me from enjoying one moments sleep , I frequently foro-0 t my present condition , in reflecting on the various events of my lifeand recollectionrepentanceregretand ity divide those
, , , , p attentions in which I bury for a few moments all my sufferings . In what situation do you conceive , Sir , I most frequently , and most chearfully recall to my mind these meditations ? not the pleasures of my youth , they were too few , too much blended with bitterness , and are now too far distant from my thoughts ; but the pleasures of
my retirement , my solitary walks ; the transient , the delicious days which I have passed entirely with myself , with my good old housekeeper , my faithful well-beloved dog , my old cat , the birds of the fields , and the beasts of the-forest , surrounded by all the charms of nature , and filled with their divine and incomprehensible Author . Repairing before ' twas light to my garden , to see and contemplate the rising sunwhen I discover the symptoms of a fine day
, , my A ' rst prayer was that neither messenger nor visitor mi ght arrive to disturb the charm . After having devoted the morning to various cares , which , as I could put them off ' till another time , I always attended to with pleasure , I hastened to my dinner that I mi ght avoid unpleasant visitors , and thereby procure a longer afternoon . Before one o ' clockeven in the hottest day of summerwhile the
, , sun shone in meridian splendor , I walked forth with my faithful dog , hurrying along , fearful least some one mi ghtseize hold of me before I was secure in my escape ; but when I had turned a certain corner , and felt myself free from danger , with what palpitation of heart , with what livelyjoy I drew my breath , and exclaimed , 'Now I am master of my time for the remainder of the day ! ' I then
walked with tranquil steps in search of some wild sequestred spot in the forest , some desert place where no object , touched by the hands of man , announced servitude and domination , some asylum into which 1 might fancy , I alone had first entered , and where no impertinent intruder might interpose between nature and myself . " Here is a character , which at the first view seems irreconcilable to
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Retirement.
is done . This is the reason also , why I have so much dreaded to " accept of favours ; for every act of kindness demands an acknowledgement ; and I feel that my heart is ungrateful only because gratittj . de is become a duty . The kind of happiness , in short , which pleases me best , does not consist so much in doing what I wish , as in avoiding that which is repugnant to my inclination ; active life affords no temptations to me ; I would a hundred times rather do
nothing at ali , than that which I dislike ; and I have frequently thought that I should not have lived very unhappily even in the bastile , provided I was free from every constraint , other than that of merely residing within it ' s walls . The pleasures and advantages of a tranquil leisure , were never felt with higher delight than by Rosseau ; these enjoyments are
equally within the reach of every individual . "When my torments , " says this amiable philosopher , " oblige me to recount the long and sorrowful progress of the night , and the violence of my fever prevents me from enjoying one moments sleep , I frequently foro-0 t my present condition , in reflecting on the various events of my lifeand recollectionrepentanceregretand ity divide those
, , , , p attentions in which I bury for a few moments all my sufferings . In what situation do you conceive , Sir , I most frequently , and most chearfully recall to my mind these meditations ? not the pleasures of my youth , they were too few , too much blended with bitterness , and are now too far distant from my thoughts ; but the pleasures of
my retirement , my solitary walks ; the transient , the delicious days which I have passed entirely with myself , with my good old housekeeper , my faithful well-beloved dog , my old cat , the birds of the fields , and the beasts of the-forest , surrounded by all the charms of nature , and filled with their divine and incomprehensible Author . Repairing before ' twas light to my garden , to see and contemplate the rising sunwhen I discover the symptoms of a fine day
, , my A ' rst prayer was that neither messenger nor visitor mi ght arrive to disturb the charm . After having devoted the morning to various cares , which , as I could put them off ' till another time , I always attended to with pleasure , I hastened to my dinner that I mi ght avoid unpleasant visitors , and thereby procure a longer afternoon . Before one o ' clockeven in the hottest day of summerwhile the
, , sun shone in meridian splendor , I walked forth with my faithful dog , hurrying along , fearful least some one mi ghtseize hold of me before I was secure in my escape ; but when I had turned a certain corner , and felt myself free from danger , with what palpitation of heart , with what livelyjoy I drew my breath , and exclaimed , 'Now I am master of my time for the remainder of the day ! ' I then
walked with tranquil steps in search of some wild sequestred spot in the forest , some desert place where no object , touched by the hands of man , announced servitude and domination , some asylum into which 1 might fancy , I alone had first entered , and where no impertinent intruder might interpose between nature and myself . " Here is a character , which at the first view seems irreconcilable to