"But," says one, "you do not mean that the students should go to work with their hands instead of their heads?" I do not mean that exactly, but I mean something which he might think a good deal like that; I mean that they should not play life, or study it merely, while the community supports them at this expensive game, but earnestly live it from beginning to end. How could youths better learn to live than by at once trying the experiment of living? Methinks this would exercise their minds as much as mathematics. If I wished a boy to know something about the arts and sciences, for instance, I would not pursue the common course, which is merely to send him into the neighborhood of some professor, where anything is professed and practised but the art of life; -- to survey the world through a telescope or a microscope, and never with his natural eye; to study chemistry, and not learn how his bread is made, or mechanics, and not learn how it is earned; to discover new satellites to Neptune, and not detect the motes in his eyes, or to what vagabond he is a satellite himself; or to be devoured by the monsters that swarm all around him, while contemplating the monsters in a drop of vinegar. Which would have advanced the most at the end of a month, -- the boy who had made his own jackknife from the ore which he had dug and smelted, reading as much as would be necessary for this, -- or the boy who had attended the lectures on metallurgy at the Institute in the meanwhile, and had received a Rodgers penknife from his father? Which would be most likely to cut his fingers? . . . . To my astonishment I was informed on leaving college that I had studied navigation! -- why, if I had taken one turn down the harbor I should have known more about it. Even the poor student studies and is taught only political economy, while that economy of living which is synonymous with philosophy is not even sincerely professed in our colleges. The consequence is, that while he is reading Adam Smith, Ricardo, and Say, he runs his father in debt irretrievably.

    （徐迟译）“可是，”有人说，“你总不是主张学生不该用脑，而是应该用手去学习吧？”我不完全是这样的主张，我主张的东西他应该多想一想；我主张他们不应该以生活为游戏，或仅仅以生活作研究，还要人类社会花高代价供养他们，他们应该自始至终，热忱地生活。除非青年人立刻进行生活的实践，他们怎能有更好方法来学习生活呢？我想这样做才可以像数学一样训练他们的心智。举例以明之。如果我希望一个孩子懂得一些科学文化，我就不愿意走老路子，那不过是把他送到附近的教授那儿去，那里什么都教，什么都练习，只是不教生活的艺术也不练习生活的艺术；——只是从望远镜或显微镜中考察世界，却从不教授他用肉眼来观看；研究了化学，却不去学习他的面包如何做成，或者什么工艺，也不学如何挣来这一切的，虽然发现了海王星的卫星，却没有发现自己眼睛里的微尘，更没有发现自己成了哪一个流浪汉的卫星；他在一滴醋里观察怪物，却要被他四周那些怪物吞噬。一个孩子要是自己开挖出铁矿石来，自己熔炼它们，把他所需要知道的都从书本上找出来，然后他做成了一把他自己的折刀——另一个孩子则一方面在冶金学院里听讲冶炼的技术课，一方面收到他父亲给他的一把洛杰斯牌子的折刀，——试想过一个月之后，哪一个孩子进步得更快？又是哪一个孩子会给折刀割破了手的呢？??真叫我吃惊，我离开大学的时候，说是我已经学过航海学了！——其实，只要我到港口去打一个转身，我就会学到更多这方面的知识。甚至贫困的学生也学了，并且只被教授以政治经济学，而生活的经济学，那是哲学的同义语，甚至没有在我们的学院中认真地教授过。

结果弄成了这个局面，因儿子在研究亚当·斯密，李嘉图和萨伊，父亲却陷入了无法摆脱的债务中。

1、I mean something which he might think a good deal like that。徐译“我主张的东西他应该多想一想”，戴译“我的主张他该好好想想”。英语中的主谓宾是“I mean something”，汉译中似乎是“他应该想想我的主张”。因此，是“我主张”而不是“我的主张”。另外，“he might think”，不是“他应该”。还有“like that”，两译本都没有译出来。

2、How could youths better learn to live than by at once trying the experiment of living?这一句大意是说“青年人学习生活，什么方法好呢，最好的就是立即尝试生活之实验。”或者说“青年人怎么会有比……更好地学习生活的方法呢？”

3、Methinks this would exercise their minds as much as mathematics.徐译“我想这样做才可以像数学一样训练他们的心智。”戴译“我想，这种生活的经历能像数学一样磨砺他们的心智。”英语中的“this”当是指上一句中的“trying the experiment of living”，戴译中把“this”落实了，只是稍偏了些，徐译中用“这样做”来译狡猾了些，让人说不出什么来。但是，徐译中多出了一个“才”字，结果不如戴译更接近原文了。

有没有“才”字是不一样的。比如“生活可以锻炼心智”和“生活才可以锻炼心智”。译者应该避免增加这类字词，否则可能会改变原作者的侧重点。

另外，Methinks既然是ole use，就可以考虑选用“窃以为”或“窃谓”，带古语味。现代语境里出现一个古语，这种不协调所产生的怪异，正合了Methinks的幽默。

4、pursue the common course。译为“走老路子”“照老一套办”若不挑剔的话也过得去了，但严格地讲“common”和“老”是不同的。一个是“人们普遍这么做”，一个是“过去一直这么做”。

5、to what vagabond he is a satellite himself。徐译“更没有发现自己成了哪一个流浪汉的卫星”原文中没有“更”字的递进，没有“成了”的动态（而是is），也没有“哪一个”（而是what）。原文中有种对比，即远处的发现了，而近处的却没有觉察到。甚至卫星在围绕着海王星转，人自己在围绕着流浪转。戴译“更没发现自己也是一颗流浪的卫星”，“流浪”像是形容词修饰“卫星”。

6、reading as much as would be necessary for this。这里的“this”应该是指挖矿冶炼等。尽可能多地阅读挖矿冶炼等必要的知识。徐译“把他所需要知道的都从书本上找出来”没有译出“for this”来。戴译“将书本上的相关知识活学活用”增加了“活学活用”。

7、I was informed on leaving college。这里“be informed”省去的动作执行者是谁呢？可能毕业时学校通知他的。说学生已经学过航海课了，可连港口都没去过。

8、Even the poor student studies and is taught only political economy。就连穷学生也只学（学校只教）政治经济学，而不学生活经济学。

这里的economy (of living) 应该就是这一章节的题目。

However, "Economy" can also be seen as an ironic or even sarcastic title, because the last thing that Thoreau is interested in is money. In fact, throughout Walden but especially in "Economy," Thoreau draws a parallel between others' preoccupation with money and his own enjoyment of non-monetary wealth, thus Thoreau's mathemathical-sounding and apparently paradoxical statement, "A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to leave alone." Once we understand Thoreau, we recognize that "rich" refers to having the opportunity for spiritual and intellectual gains and "afford" refers to self-actualization rather than to cash in the bank. Repeatedly in "Economy," Thoreau uses materialistic terms to refer to non-materialist values, making fun of the capitalists in the process. Thus he presents his moving to Walden as purely a capitalist and economic venture because Walden is a good port, and he provides tables of his earnings and expenses to boot.

Finally, "Economy" can also be seen as simply a truthful title, as Thoreau uses this opportunity to discuss the issue of how we spend our time and energies. It's quite obvious that his townspeople are not economical as they "sew a thousand stitches today to save nine tomorrow," spending many hours of hard work to accomplish very little, thus showing a false sense of economy.

9、The consequence is, that while he is reading Adam Smith, Ricardo, and Say, he runs his father in debt irretrievably. 徐译“父亲却陷入了无法摆脱的债务中”没有译出“he runs his father in debt”这种使动来。“irretrievably”应该修饰动词“run”而不是修饰名词“债务”。

10、Ken Kifer评说：Thoreau, in criticizing the college, attacks the whole capitalist system, pointing out that the division of labor by which we do things is quite often the most expensive rather than the cheapest method. Rather than seeing socialism as an answer, as even some of his fellow transcendentalists did, Thoreau sees self-sufficiency as a solution. The students could build their own quarters at a lower cost and to greater profit. In fact, in the capitalist system the students lose thrice: first, they have the extra expense, second, they experience idle leisure, and third, they don't gain practical experience.

Thoreau then launches into an attack on the theoretical type of learning that students engage in (this emphasis on theory, to the exclusion of anything practical, is still more likely to be the rule rather than the exception today). Students are very likely unable to apply their theoretical learning to practical issues, such as applying economic theory to their personal economics.

    （戴欢译）“但是，”有人说，“你该不是主张学生动手学习，而不是动脑学习吧？”这实在是个误解，我的本意不完全是这样，我的主张他该好好想想；我的本意即是学生们不应游戏人生，或是纯粹地研究人生，人们花费了昂贵的代价供他们求学，他们应当热忱地生活，并以一贯之。年轻人若不立即投身于生活实践中去，又怎能更好地去研究人生呢？我想，这种生活的经历能像数学一样磨砺他们的心智。比如说，如果我希望一个孩子懂得一点艺术和科学，就不会照老一套办。老一套就是将他送到教授堆里，那里教的五花八门，练习也广，但惟独不教授生活的艺术——只是通过望远镜和显微镜来观察世界，而不教授他用肉眼直面世界；学习了化学，却不懂面包是如何做成的；或者学会了机械学，却不会具体去操作；新发现了海王星的卫星，却没有发现自己眼中的微小尘埃，更没发现自己也是一颗流浪的卫星；在一滴醋中观察着怪物，却浑然不觉已被怪物缠身，而且就要被吞噬。

假如一个孩子自己去开采出铁矿石，又亲自去炼铁，同时将书本上的相关知识活学活用，最后自制出一把折刀——而另一个孩子在冶金学院技术课，同时又收到了他父亲送他的一把罗杰斯牌的折刀——一个月下来，想想哪一个孩子会进步更大呢？他俩中谁会被折刀划破手指呢？

我真是大吃一惊，我离开大学时，居然有人称我已学过航海课程了——其实，我只要到港口去走马观花一趟，我定会学到不少这方面的知识。即便是“贫穷”的学生，也要去听讲“政治”经济学，而生活的经济学，即是与哲学同义的一门课程，甚至没在我们的学院中正正经经地教授过。结果便是：儿子正在钻研亚当.斯密、李嘉图和萨伊的经济学说，却因此导致父亲负债累累。