He bade me observe it, and I should always find that the calamities of life were shared among the upper and lower part of mankind, but that the middle station had the fewest disasters, and was not exposed to so many vicissitudes as the higher or lower part of mankind; nay, they were not subjected to so many distempers and uneasinesses, either of body or mind, as those were who, by vicious living, luxury, and extravagances on the one hand, or by hard labour, want of necessaries, and mean or insufficient diet on the other hand, bring distemper upon themselves by the natural consequences of their way of living; that the middle station of life was calculated for all kind of virtue and all kind of enjoyments; that peace and plenty were the handmaids of a middle fortune; that temperance, moderation, quietness, health, society, all agreeable diversions, and all desirable pleasures, were the blessings attending the middle station of life; that this way men went silently and smoothly through the world, and comfortably out of it, not embarrassed with the labours of the hands or of the head, not sold to a life of slavery for daily bread, nor harassed with perplexed circumstances, which rob the soul of peace and the body of rest, nor enraged with the passion of envy, or the secret burning lust of ambition for great things; but, in easy circumstances, sliding gently through the world, and sensibly tasting the sweets of living, without the bitter; feeling that they are happy, and learning by every day’s experience to know it more sensibly.
From “Robinson Crusoe” by Daniel Defoe
I am sorry, guys, I have not been posting lately. All my books are in storage. I am moving. I managed to dig out a copy of Robinson Crusoe and came up with this inspiring snippet. It expresses with great elegance and insight the benefits of the middle class. Now that we are bombarded with the rich and famous’ glamour every day, it is reassuring to read these sentences that have remained in force for three hundred years: “In easy circumstances, sliding gently through the world, and sensibly tasting the sweets of living, without the bitter; feeling that they are happy, and learning by every day’s experience …” In our contemporary world, money has become the goal. Yet I have quite a few happy friends who enjoy their lives and value leisure time as much as financial rewards. Some affluence saves you a lot of headaches. I cannot, however, tell you what an excess of green bucks does because I have never amassed a fortune. I will buy a lottery ticket and let you know if I get unlucky and win.
