人们常说，每个人都靠出卖什么为生。按照这种说法：教师以出卖学问为生；哲学家以出卖智慧为生；神父以出卖精神安慰为生。尽管我们可以用钱来衡量物质产品的价值，但去估计人们为我们提供的服务的真正价值却极为困难。有时为了生活，我们会愿意出卖我们拥有的一切，然而我们可能不愿因为一位外科医生提供给我们优质的服务而给他一大笔钱。社会环境是这样的，技能也要出钱买，这与在商店里花钱买东西是一样的，而每个人都有东西要买。
对于这条定律，流浪汉可能是唯一的例外。乞丐差不多是把自己当作一个活着的人来卖，以便唤起过路人的怜悯。但真正的流浪汉不是乞丐，他们不出卖什么，也不需要别人的东西。在寻求独立这方面，他们没有牺牲人的尊严。一个流浪汉可能会向你要钱，但他决不会要你可怜他。他审慎地选择了他过的这种生活，完全意识到它的后果。他不可能确定下一顿饭从哪来，但那苦恼着别人的重重忧虑却不影响他。他那为数不多的物质财产使他能够悠闲地从一个地方搬到另一个地方。因为睡在露天，他比我们中多数人离自然世界更近。他可以打猎，乞讨，或者偶尔为了生存而偷点儿东西；在真正需要时，他甚至可以做点儿工作；但他决不会牺牲掉他的自由。我们一谈到流浪汉总是很轻蔑，把他们与乞丐归为一类，但我们中有多少人能诚实地说我们对于他们那种简单的生活方式和他们的自由自在一点儿也不羡慕呢？
原文
Nothing to sell and nothing to buy①
It has been said that everyone lives by selling something. In the light of this statement, teachers live by selling knowledge, philosophers by selling wisdom and priests by selling spiritual comfort. Though it may be possible to measure the value of material goods in terms of money, it is extremely difficult to estimate the true value of the services which people perform for us. There are times when we would willingly give everything we possess to save our lives, yet we might grudge paying a surgeon a high fee for offering us precisely this service. The conditions of society are such that skills have to be paid for in the same way that goods are paid for at a shop. Everyone has something to sell.
Tramps seem to be the only exception to this general rule. Beggars almost sell themselves as human beings to arouse the pity of passers-by. But real tramps are not beggars. They have nothing to sell and require nothing from others. In seeking independence, they do not sacrifice their human dignity. A tramp may ask you for money, but he will never ask you to feel sorry for him. He has deliberately chosen to lead the life he leads and is fully aware of the consequences He,may never be sure where the next meal is coming from, but he is free from the thousands of anxieties which afflict other people. His few material possession make it possible for him to move from place to place with ease- By having to sleep in the open, he gets far closer to the world of nature than most of us ever do. He may hunt, beg, or steal occasionally to keep himself alive; he may even in times of real need, do a little work; but he will never sacrifice his freedom We often speak of tramps with contempt and put them in the same class as beggars, but how many of us can honestly say that we have not felt
a little envious of their simple way of life and their freedom from care?
注①：在网上还可找到此文其它版本的译文。
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