And now I began to apply myself to make such necessary things as I found I most wanted, particularly a chairand a table;
這時我開始專心制作最需要的物品,尤其是椅子和桌子;
for without these I was not able to enjoy the few comforts I had in the world.
因為沒有桌椅,我就沒法享受世上為數(shù)已不多的樂事。
I could not write or eat, or do several things with so much pleasure without a table.
沒有桌椅,寫作、吃飯也毫無樂趣可言了。
So I went to work. I had never handled a tool in my life;
我開始工作起來,我以前從未使用過工具;
and yet in time by labor, application, and contrivance,
可是當(dāng)我后來花費(fèi)了很大力氣,專心工作,想出不少好點子的時候,
I found that I wanted nothing but I could have made it, especially if I had had tools;
我發(fā)現(xiàn)不論需要什么,我都能做出來,要是有工具就更好了。
however, I made abundance of things, even without tools, and some with no more tools than an adz and a hatchet,
即使沒有工具,我還是做了不少東西,有時只使用錛子和斧頭,
which perhaps were never made that way before, and that with infinite labor.
可能以前還沒人這樣做出這些東西,或者花這么大的力氣。
For example, if I wanted a board, I had no other way but to cut down a tree, set it before me,
比如,如果我想要一塊木板,就必須先砍倒一棵樹,
and hew it flat on either side with my ax till I had brought it to be as thin as a plank, and then dub it smooth with my adz.
然后用斧子把兩面銷平,直到樹木像木板一樣薄,再用錛子刮光滑。