Common sense lost since 1769
October 14, 2007Thanks for visiting! If you like what you're reading, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed.
In most cases customs and traditions that date back to the late 18th century would today be considered somewhat inappropriate, old-fashioned or simply dangerous (think medicine…). Every now and then, however, you can stumble across insights and knowledge that applied then as well as it does now; and in even rarer occasions you simply wish people would still be aware of these insights instead of becoming wrapped up in consumerism.
What I am talking about is Diderot’s essay “Regrets for my Old Dressing Gown, or A warning to those who have more taste than fortune“, initially published in 1769. In a nutshell, he talks about how suddenly finding himself rich and adjusting his lifestyle accordingly just makes him more miserable than poverty might ever have.
It all starts with a new dressing gown. Suddenly that new piece of clothing doesn’t seem to fit very well into an apartment that clearly identifies him as “the writer, the man who works“. Hence he starts replacing his simple yet functional pieces of furniture with luxurious goods such as a leather chair, art and a “precious bureau“. Yet he doesn’t stop at simply replacing old and worn out items, he also adds further pieces of furniture to an extent that no empty space remains in his apartment - he adds clutter to his life. Clutter that has no real use and adds no benefits.
Not long after he realises that the new-found wealth caused him more trouble than good. Even though he claims that he is still the same person (due to the recentness of his wealth - not his strong personality), he finds that people don’t visit him for his advice anymore but step by to admire his art instead.
More importantly he finds that his sudden desire for convenience is now also endangering his family: “Evil instinct of the convenient! Delicate and ruinous tact, sublime taste that changes, moves, builds and overturns; that empties the coffers of the fathers; that leaves daughters without a dowry, the sons without an education; that makes so many beautiful things and great evils.”
My favourite quote of the essay shows what an honest and respectable man Diderot considered himself before he found his new wealth. He was happily associated with the poor but had a disgust for anyone who tried to hide or deny that poverty:
“I can bear the sight of a peasant woman without disgust. That piece of simple cloth that covers her head, the hair that sparsely falls across her cheeks, those tattered rags that half cover her, that poor short petticoat that doesn’t cover half her legs, her naked feet covered with muck cannot wound me. It is the image of a state I respect; its the ensemble of the of the lack of grace of a necessary and unfortunate condition for which I have pity. But my stomach turns and, despite the perfumed atmosphere that follows her, I distance myself, I turn my gaze away from that courtisan whose coiffure a points d’angleterre, torn sleeves, filthy silk stockings and worn shoes show me the poverty of the day combined with the opulence of the previous evening.“
Essays like this should be a starting point to think about the importance that people place on money, wealth and status - especially nowadays where even having $ 1,000,000 isn’t actually considered “rich” anymore.
The question is what you are willing to sacrifice for the additional convenience and when you’ve come to a conclusion, remember Diderot and his insight
