But what need I have been concerned at the tediousness of any thing I had to do, seeing I had time enough to do it in? Nor had I any other employment if that had been over, at least that I could foresee, except the ranging the island to seek for food, which I did more or less every day.
I now began to consider seriously my condition, and the circumstance I was reduced to, and I drew up the state of my affairs in writing, not so much to leave them to any that were to come after me, for I was like to have but few heirs, as to deliver my thoughts from daily poring upon them, and afflicting my mind; and as my reason began now to master my despondency, I began to comfort myself as well as I could, and to set the good against the evil, that I might have something to distinguish my case from worse; and I stated it very impartially, like debtor and creditor, the comforts I enjoyed against the miseries I suffered, thus:
| Evil. | Good. |
|---|---|
| I am cast upon a horrible | But I am alive, and |
| desolate island, void | not drowned, as all my |
| of all hope of recovery. | ship's company was. |
| I am singled out and | But I am singled out |
| separated, as it were, | too from all the ship's |
| from all the world to be | crew to be spared from |
| miserable. | death; and He that |
| miraculously saved me from | |
| death, can deliver me | |
| from this condition. | |
| I am divided from | But I am not starved |
| mankind, a solitaire, one | and perishing on a barren |
| banished from human society. | place, affording no sustenance. |
| I have not clothes to | But I am in a hot climate, |
| cover me. | where if I had |
| clothes I could hardly wear | |
| them. | |
| I am without any defence | But I am cast on an |
| or means to resist | island, where I see no |
| any violence of man or | wild beasts to hurt me, |
| beast. | as I saw on the coast of |
| Africa: and what if I | |
| had been shipwrecked | |
| there? | |
| I have no soul to speak | But God wonderfully |
| to, or relieve me. | sent the ship in near |
| enough to the shore, that | |
| I have gotten out so many | |
| necessary things as will | |
| either supply my wants, | |
| or enable me to supply | |
| myself even as long as I | |
| live. |
Upon the whole, here was an undoubted testimony, that there was scarce any condition in the world so miserable, but there was something negative or something positive to be thankful for in it; and let this stand as a direction from the experience of the most miserable of all conditions in this world, that we may always find in it something to comfort ourselves from, and to set, in the description of good and evil, on the credit side of the account.
Having now brought my mind a little to relish my condition, and given over looking out to sea, to see if I could spy a ship; I say, giving over these things, I began to apply myself to accommodate my way of living, and to make things as easy to me as I could.
I have already described my habitation, which was a tent under the side of a rock, surrounded with a strong pale of posts and cables; but I might now rather call it a wall, for I raised a kind of wall up against it of turfs, about two foot thick on the outside; and after some time, I think it was a year and half, I raised rafters from it, leaning to the rock, and thatched or covered it with boughs of trees, and such things as I could get to keep out the rain, which I found at some times of the year very violent.
I have already observed how I brought all my goods into this pale, and into the cave which I had made behind me: but I must observe too that at first this was a confused heap of goods, which as they lay in no order, so they took up all my place: I had no room to turn myself; so I set myself to enlarge my cave, and work farther into the earth; for it was a loose sandy rock, which yielded easily to the labour I bestowed on it: and so when I found I was pretty safe as to beasts of prey, I worked sideways to the right hand into the rock; and then, turning to the right again, worked quite out, and made me a door to come out, on the outside of my pale or fortification.
This gave me not only egress and regress, as it were a back-way to my tent and to my storehouse, but gave me room to stow my goods.
And now I began to apply myself to make such necessary things as I found I most wanted, particularly a chair and a table; for without these I was not able to enjoy the few comforts I had in the world; I could not write or eat, or do several things with so much pleasure without a table.
So I went to work; and here I must needs observe, that as reason is the substance and original of the mathematics, so by stating and squaring every thing by reason, and by making the most rational judgment of things, every man