"Isak han forstod å arbeide, å drive sin håndtering. Nu var han blit en rik mand med en stor gård, men de mange kontanter som slumpen hadde ført indpå ham gjorde han dårlig bruk av: han gjæmte dem. Marken frelste ham. Hadde Isak levet nede i bygden vilde kanske den store verden ha indvirket litt endog på ham, der var så meget gildt, så fine forhold, han vilde ha kjøpt unødvendigheter og gåt med rød helgeskjorte til hverdag. Her i marken var han værnet mot alle overdrivelser, han levet i klar luft, han vasket sig søndag morgen og lauget sig når han var oppe ved fjældvandet." (Markens Grøde, Knut Hamsun)
(Isak understood how to work, to manage his affairs. He had now become a rich man with a large farm, but he managed poorly all the money that success had brought him: he hid it. The countryside saved him. If Isak had lived down in town the big world would probably have worked on him more, there was so much to consider, such fine conditions, he would have bought unecessary things and worn a red weekend shirt on weekdays. Here in the countryside he was protected from all exagerations, he lived in clear air, he bathed Sunday morning and when he was up by the mountain lake."
I am a city boy. I've been surrounded by civilization all my life. My perspective is probably affected by this but I find it incredibly interesting how our surroundings can influence us and get us to do things we normally would not do or even think about. This is not necessarily a negative thing for we enjoy many things from civilization. I think it is probably important though to be aware of motivations for actions so that we can constantly be aware of those things that have the most importance.
1 comment:
Sound and interesting thoughts. What if, however, we have always lived among civilization and are accustumed to things, like say, a daily shower or bath ( to which Isak clearly was not)? Could we really define these things as things we "normally" wouldn't do? When you've lived in a society and done something your entire life, isn't that what becomes "normal"? This of course is a boring thought when applied to things as mundane as bathing, but if used in relation to much larger issues--it becomes a very relevant discussion, yes?
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