For these reasons I recommend
particularly the life of a shepherd. But, speaking generally, if one devotes
himself to the life of philosophy and tills the land at the same time, I should
not compare any other way of life to his nor prefer any other means
of livelihood.
For is it not "living more
in accord with Nature" to draw one's sustenance directly from the earth,
which is the nurse and mother of us all, rather than from some other source?
Is it not more like the life of a
man to live in the country than to sit idly in the city, like the Sophists? Who
will say that it is not healthier to live out of doors than to shun the open
air and the heat of the sun?
I have always had an affection for sheep and goats,
but especially for sheep, and that hopeless Romantic in me still imagines that
if I had lived a different life, then it might have involved watching over a
flock of Herdwicks on the slopes of the Pennines. This would, of course, have
also come with writing poems about longing.
My dream is only half in jest, because there is actually
something deadly serious behind the desire to be closer to Nature. Yes, it
speaks to the passions, and yet it is also completely in agreement with the
calling of reason. I have found that the best things in life will fulfill not
just one aspect of me, but everything about me in proper order.
What could be better than going straight to the source,
instead of mucking about with all sorts of substitutes and diversions? A painting
of a tree can be quite beautiful, but it is as nothing compared to sitting
under a tree. Let me by all means read about love, and it will still tell me
very little about the glory of actually being in love.
The drones crawling about inside the office blocks
in their business suits will bicker about who gets the room with the biggest
window, forgetting the whole time that they could be out in the sun and the fresh
air, if only they had chosen a natural over an artificial life.
Nature already provides everything we need for the benefit
of the body, and yet Nature does far more than that by further offering everything
we need for the benefit of the soul. Her order reveals the design of Providence,
and so points us directly to knowing the truth. Her harmony reveals the balance
and complementarity in all things, and so points us directly to loving what is good.
Sophists of any time or place will try to convince us
that life requires all sorts of manufactured trinkets to make it worthwhile,
and they are quite ready to sell them to us. So we are told that the trappings
of money, property, and status are the measure of happiness.
Don’t let them take you for a ride, because
everything they are offering is a pale imitation of life’s blessings. The life
well lived requires virtue above all else, and Nature has already given us the
power to know and to love, while she then shows us how to use that power by the
example of all her works.
Written in 11/1999
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