Bondestudentar
(Farmer Boys at University)
by
Arne Garborg
Translated from the original nynorsk by
Rosalinda N. Olsen
Chapter 1
As you can see, Ole, like those who wake early and in the evening is filled with sorrow, work and dark thoughts. Then you are burdened with worry about the day’s simple fare--although God provides both clothes and food. When this reached the point of woe, a song was born inside Ole Johannes Sørbraut one cold Monday in April.
Prayer was held in his house everyday, as Ole Johannes was in his way a godly man. He did not have full religious conviction and, although he had tried now and then, he had not succeeded. He thought that he would reach it when he grew older and had more time. Even so, he thought it best to hold himself to God’s word as best as he could; and he held prayer every morning which the whole household must attend.
The first song was a psalm, then Ole Johannes read a prayer in the psalm book and, now and then, a piece from the Skattkista (Treasury of Religious Readings), for Ole Johannes was a good reader. Finally, he prayed the Our Father and asked for the Lord’s blessing. The psalm by King was not always suitable to the piece in the Skattkista, but just the same, it was God’s word and it had always been good to listen to God’s word.
Today, however, it happened that the psalm and the text suited well together. Both spoke of how we should not worry about food and clothing, for Our Lord would provide such. Had not God fed the sparrows on the roof and clothed the lilies on the field, although neither of these sowed or spun, and were we not more important than these? Also, the text from the Skattkista reminded us of the widow in Sarepta and the untamed fowls in the wilderness, instead of weakening our trust in Our Lord in striving for and worrying about these earthly things, as if it is us who could get the grass to grow and cultivate the corn.
Young Daniel, who was now a boy of 13 years, liked both the psalm and the piece of reading, and only wished that they could live accordingly. But after th prayer was read and Ole Johannes brought with him both Lias the eldest son, Reinert the servant boy, and Daniel out in the cold and wet day to do the first chores of the spring harvest, Daniel could not help thinking that this was a strange way to live according to God’s word.
It continued to be windy with some sleet, and it was a nasty day for work. Daniel thought of his warm bed and of the living room at home which his mother must have mopped and made warm, so that it was nice to be in there. Had not these adults thought of what clearly stood in the book! Young Daniel wondered and got angry. He decided that he will ask his father about this. Did people think it was fun to go and slave this way? Or was it not true what was in the book? Oh, he could come up with many questions about this, he thought. But as he was about to, he felt shy as usually happend when he thought of saying or asking about such things. As Daniel hugged himself in the freezing cold and was in a bad mood, Ole Johannes stopped plowing beside him, and there was no other person within hearing distance. Then the boy steeled his heart, turned his back on his father, hugged himself shivering and said, “it is tough to be out today”. – “Oh, yes,” agreed Ole Johannes, “but if we would have food for the next year, so must we be out here today.” – “Yes, but ... why does it say so in the book that you read today”? stuttered Daniel, thumping the handle of his shovel on his wooden shoes; it was strange to come up with such a question. Ole Johansse was astonished, almost afraid. How could the boy come up with something like this? Finally he said, as he whipped up the horses to set them going again, “So.. hypp! It says in the book, my father, that..... so, will you go! ... that they who would not work shall not eat, didn’t you know that? Hypp, so! – The horses twisted and turned in their harness, strained and tensed their muscles until they were finally underway, weak and miserable as they went staggering in the early winter. And Ole Johanssen wobbled after the plow and thought to himself, “Certainly, there is a head on that boy, he is almost too good to be a farmer.”
But Daniel stood there small and disheartened and wondered why it should be that the adults should always be right. –
The spring harvest was finally finished and now there would be school for 3-4 weeks between then and the time for cutting the hay. Ole Johannes did not like this school period in the middle of the weeks before summer, for then they needed the little boys at home. He could not help suggesting that it was best that Daniel stayed home from school this year. But then Daniel became upset. School was the best he had known. There he had respite from work, there he played in his Sunday clothes together with his schoolmates; and he did well in the classroom, so that he liked to be there too. He must go to school! So he went grumbling to his mother and pleaded for himself and Mari, as usual, risked everything for her son. What she wants she gets; she knew from what side to tackle the old man. “You see that the boy has a good head,” she said, “and he has a love for books; who knows what he can become in case he acquires learning?” – “Oh, he must stay in the class and position that Our Lord has placed him,” answered Ole Johannes brusquely. “Yes, yes, but we have seen too much of that kind,” answered Mari. “Just look at the son of Jo Klepp who became a priest! – Yes, we shall not aim so high, you know, but then no one really knows.” – “You speak as if you know,” countered Ole Johannes. “But if the boy absolutely wants to go to school, then I know he will go.” Mari was happy and happier still was Daniel.
It was good to be in school. People were clean and it was cozy when school was held in the farm. The school master was kind; he did not beat anyone except those who committed serious mischief, which Daniel never did; and neither did Judith. It must be great to be a schoolmaster; to stay stay iindoors all day, dry and warm, dressed finely in Sunday clothes, and regarded highly and well esteemed by everyone. Also, he received good food and thus was school no more than play, compared to walking and wandering on the farm soil. Daniel often thought: he who can, could be schoolmaster
One day at school, he heard a full lecture about work that made a big impression on him. They had explained about original sin and it seemed then that work was the result of sin. Had it not been for sin, we would have been free of work. In a way, Adam and Eve had worked well in Paradise also; it was written that they were in the garden of Eden to cultivate and preserve it. But before original sin, the war was more like play or fun, for nature was then so benevolent to humans that the work went by itself and gave the richest fruits for almost nothing. After original sin, nature had become so contrary and onerous that she merely refused to go along with humanity; now work was a heavy burden, a sweating slavery, but still the soil gave so little of itself that one could only just survive. This Daniel thought he understood. Work is a punishment. It was as if people were on forced labor. That scoundrel Adam, who for only one apple had brought this slavery on us and he who had a garden full of apples and cherries that he could eat as much as he wished!
But, the teacher continued, must not one say that God was strict when he punished us in this way? Was it not cruel of God to lay such a hard burden on us? Daniel knew that one must not say God did anything cruel; he heartily answered “no” although in reality he was wondering how the teacher would explain it. However, it seemed that the teacher knew how he should make it. No, said the teacher, it was not cruel of God. On the contrary! After original sin, we needed to work in arduous labor, otherwise the sin gets too much power over us. It was an old saying that idleness is the devil’s workshop; or was that not true? Yes, yes, that was true. Had we not this slavery on us, the devel would fill us up with evil thoughts and tempt us so intensely towards everything that was evil that it would not be possible for us to live on earth. The teacher explained at last that even if work was a punishment, it was still a blessing. Daniel felt himself so small under the weight of all this wisdom; it was not for little people to want to think about anything.
He was most afraid of himself who had so little love for work, for it must be so easy for evil to take him into its power. But before he was aware of it, he got comfort from this worry. On the contrary, it was not only work with the hands that was labor, said the teacher. “What do you think of the priest? Does he not work? Daniel answered yes, as he knew he should. And his answer was correct. The priest, the taxman, the writer, the governor--they actually work just as much as we do and sometimes more. “And what do you think is the hardest: manual work or metal work?” Several missed this, but Daniel knew what answer the teacher wanted to hear, and he answered loud and confidently--it is hardest to work with the head. The teacher accepted Daniel’s answer, and even mocked the others who could not answer so thoughtlessly. They should attempt to work with the head, like the priest, thus would they feel how it is. He who should sit up all day and night and read deep into the books and study foreign languages and yes, read the Bible itself in the original text. They could sweat it out, he said; this work is demanding and takes so much more toll on the health.
Daniel was astonished. But he was happy too for now he knew that he could become both schoolmaster and priest for that matter; the devil wiould not get more power with him for that. On the contrary, he [the devil] would know that!
Now he understood about work. It was toil--with the hands--that was imposed as punishment, but the big man’s work, that was high and fine and, in addition, gave honor and brought good days. And later, when he heard in church that psalm verse that “God gives both clothes and food as they lay sweetly sleeping”, he thus understood at once at it was the priests and the high ones in society that God held as his “own” and gave food and clothes while they lay sleeping; oh, that one could get into that company. Yes, if one could only be a schoolmaster!
The family line at Sørbraut was not old; they did not remember farther than Ole Johannes’ paternal grandfather, who was reputed to be a strange person. He had been in the King’s service; and he had tried to make a kind of machine that could work by itself. In this he did not succeed, but he put together a lot of strange things. Daniel was named after his son who was called Dagfinn, who was a treasure hunter. He dug up all the mounds at the farm but all he found were old iron scraps. He did not care at all about the farm. Then came Ole Johannes. He was a schoolmaster during his younger days and was known as a capable man, but he was the silent type who did not do anything great but many things in a small way. As a worker, he was steadfast as a slave, and it is said that he had worked himself so hard that he was almost free of debts on the farm. He had three sons. The eldest was Elias--”Lias”-- as he was usually called; he was a heavy sod but a work-slave like his father. The second was Jeremias, who had sailed the seas and is not relevant to this story. After Jeremias came a daughter, Naomi, who had so much sanctity that she died of it. Then came Judith, and then Daniel. He was like old Dagfinn, for he had a head on his shoulders; as people said, “he was the cleverest in the whole house.” It was not only that he could read and write and do sums, “he was burningly good at finding an answer and reasoning”; “it was almost like he could have been the son of the priest.” But he did not have a love for work, “he would have been better at being a treasure hunter after his namesake.”
But bigger dreams were growing within Daniel.
The brightest and finest to be found was this big splendid--almost towering--dream of a shimmering power that built itself up in the land from being a sheriff and schoolmaster, through being priest, taxman, judge, governor, higher and higher, more and more glittering right to the King, who stod highest at the top and was dressed in pure gold. Those who belonged to this towering group were big and mighty, fine and clever, but they who did not belong there, they were like the Israelites born in Egypt who went about doing work for the Pharaoh. Just to get to see the King’s servants in their brilliance was, for Daniel, a big holiday. To stand like the people, mouth agape at their wonderful clothes, standing straight and tall, with shiny boots, with snowy white collars at the throat and wrists, with shining glasses on their stern faces, and with gol chains and gold rings both here and there, thought Daniel was something heavenly and wonderful that he could never have enough of it. And so humbly people stood when these great beings showed themselves, that even the finest farmers turned small and bent when they addressed one of these clerks! They were the men who had power, and so fine in their speech! It was solemn speech, the clean word of God, compared to the heavy dialect of farmers, so learned and wise they were. When they talked to somebody, one must be clever enough to understand and quick to agree. They like that, these big men, when people understood them quickly and said “yes” at once, for then they did not have to repeat anything. And when one has a different opinion, then must one not be so stubborn as to put that opinion forward loud enough for them to hear it. No, with the King’s servants it is best to act nicely because they did not carry a sword for no reason, as it is written in the catechism. That was one of the first things one has to learn, that one must never contradict a big guy. And that is how to be among such big people. Daniel had been with his father at the priest’s farm a couple of times, so he knew that. It was so clean and fine that one must know that they washed the floor everyday. The wooden chairs and table were so clean that they shone, and there were flowers at the window, beautiful as in paradise, and curtains so light and white like the evening clouds in the sky; and on the walls were pictures so different from that of the Virgin Mary and Czar Nicolas they had at home that there was no comparison. There was a shiny knocker at the door; a glass cabinet with red, blue, and gilt-edged books; a big wonderful mirror which, when they tap their nails on it, made a sound so beautiful they could almost cry; a white marble bust up on the shelf, and so many fine things that they didn’t know the name. Over it all, there was a complete aura that was clean, mild and heavenly with a delicate scent that he could not explain, as well as a faint and softly carressing warmth that was not oppressive that did not make one feel sleepy.. oh, oh, it was indescribable.
All this grew inside Daniel like a heaven on earth that he barely dared to dream he can ever reach, but still he continued the dreamthought that if there was a way, then he had to escape the slavery, the wooden shoes, the thick woolen clothes, and the low dark farmhousecould become an adult. The older he got, the more he . Oh, that he could become an adult!