The Life and Most Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner (1801)

Well, you may be sure, this knowledge, which the imperfect knowledge of my man had led me to, was very comfortable to me, and made me so curious as to ask him how I might depart from this island, & get amongst those white men? He told me, Yes, yes, I might go in two canoes. In two canoes, thought I, what does my man mean? surely he means one for himself, and another for me; and if not, how must two canoes hold me without being joined, or one part of my body being put in one, and another in another? And indeed it was a long time before I understood his meaning; which was, that it must be a large boat, as big as two canoes, able to bear with the waves, and not so liable to be overwhelmed as a small one must be.

I believe there is not a state of life but what may be happy, if people would but endeavour for their part to make it so. He is not the happiest man that has the most riches; but he that is content with what he hath. Before I had my servant, I thought myself miserable till I had him; and now that I had enjoyed the happy benefits of him, I still complained, and begged a deliverance from a place of retirement, ease, and plenty, where Providence had sufficiently blessed me. In a word, from this time I entertained some hopes, that one time or other I might find an opportunity to make my escape from this island, and that this poor savage might be a great furtherance thereto.

All the time since my man became so intelligent as to understand and speak to me, I spared no pain nor diligence to instruct him, according to my poor share of knowledge in the principles of religion, and the adoration that he ought to pay to the TRUE GOD. One time, as I very well remember, I asked him who made him? At first the innocent creature did not understand what I meant, but rather thought I asked him who was his father? upon which I took another way to make him sensible, by demanding from him an answer to this question. "Friday," I said, "who is it that made the sea, this ground whereon we walk, and all the hills and woods which we behold?" And here, indeed, I did not miss my intention; for he told me it was Old Benamuckee (the God whom I supposed these savages adored) who lived a great way beyond all. But as to his attributes, poor Friday was an utter stranger. He could describe nothing of this great person; and all that he could say was, that he was very old, much older than the sea and land, the moon, or the stars. "Friday," said I again, "if this great and old person has made all things in the world, how comes it to pass, that all things, as you in particular, do not adore and worship him? upon this looking very grave, with a perfect sweet look of innocence, he replied: Master all things say O to him," by which it may reasonably be supposed he meant adoration. "And where," said I, "do the people of your country go when they die?" He answered to Benamuckee. "What, and those people that are eaten up, do they go there?" Benamuckee, said he, love 'em dearly; me pray to Benamuckee in the canoe, and Benamuckee would love me when dey eat me all up.

Such discourses as these had I with my man, and such made me sensible, that the true God is worshipped, tho' under imperfect similitudes; and that the false adoration which the Heathens give to their imaginary Deity, is as great an argument of the divine essence, as the most learned Atheists (falsely so called) can bring against it; for God will be glorified in his works, let their denominations be what it will; and I cannot be of that opinion which some conceive, that God should decree men to be damned for want of a right notion of faith, in a place where the wisdom of the Almighty has not permitted it to be preached; and therefore cannot but conclude, that since obedience is the best sacrifice, these poor creatures are acting by that light and knowledge which they are possessed of, may undoubtedly obtain a happy salvation, though not that enjoyment with Christ, as his saints, confessors, and martyrs must enjoy.

But laying these determinations aside, more fit for divines than me to discuss, I began to instruct my servant in the saving knowledge of the true Deity, in which the direction of God's Holy Spirit assisted me. I lifted up my hands to Heaven, and pointing thereto, told him "that the great Maker of Heaven and Earth lived there; that as his infinite power fashioned this world out of a confused chaos, and made it in that beautiful frame which we behold; so he governs and preserves it by his unbounded knowledge, sovereign greatness and peculiar providence; that he was omnipotent, could do every thing for us, give every thing to us, and take every thing away from us; that he was a rewarder and punisher of good, and evil actions; that there was nothing but what he knew, no thoughts so secret, but what he could bring to light;" and thus, by degrees, I opened his eyes, and described to him "the manner of the creation of the world, the situation of paradise, the transgression of our first parents, the wickedness of God's peculiar people, and the universal sins and abominations of the whole earth." When these things were implanted in his mind, I told him "that as God's justice was equal to his mercy, he resolved to destroy this world, till his Son Jesus Christ interposed in our behalf; and to procure our redemption, obtained leave of his heavenly Father to come down from Heaven into the world, Where he took human nature upon him, instructed us in our way to eternal life, and died as a sacrifice for our sins; that he was now ascended into Heaven, mediating for our pardon, delivering our petitions, and obtaining all those good benefits which we ask in his name, by humble and hearty prayers, all which were heard at the throne of Heaven." As frequently I used to inculcate things into his mind. Friday one day told me, that if our great God could hear us beyond the sun, he must surely be a greater God than their Benamuckee, who lived but a little way off, yet could not hear them till they ascended the great mountains, where he dwelt to speak to him. 'What' said I, 'Friday, did you go thither to speak to him too?' He answered, No, they never went that were young men, none but old men, called their Oowakakee, meaning the Indian priests, who went to say O, (so he called saying their prayers) and they returned back, and told them what Benamuckee said. From hence, I could not but observe how happy we Christians are, who have God's immediate revelation for our certain guide; and that our faith is neither misled, nor our reason imposed upon, by any set of men, such as these Indian impostures.

But to clear up this palpable cheat to my man Friday, I told him, "that the pretence of their ancient men going up to the mountain to say O to their God Benamuckee was an imposture, and that their bringing back an answer was all a sham, if not worse; for that, if there was any such thing spoken to them, surely it must proceed from an infernal spirit." And here I thought it necessary to enter into a long discourse with him, which I did after this manner.

"Friday," said I, "you must know, that before the world was made, there was an Almighty power existing, by whose power all things were made, and whose Majesty shall have no end. To be glorified and adored by beings of a heavenly nature, he created angels and archangels, that is glorified spirits resembling himself, to encompass his throne, eternally singing forth his praise in the most heavenly sounds and divine harmony. And, among this heavenly choir, Lucifer bore a great sway, as being then one of the peculiar favourites of these celestial abodes; but he, contrary to that duty he owed his heavenly Sovereign, with unbounded ingratitude to his Divine Creator, not only envied him that adoration which was his due, but thought to usurp that throne, which he had neither power to keep, nor title to pretend to. He raised a dissention and civil war in Heaven, and had a number of angels to take his part. Unbounded folly! stupendous pride! to hope for victory, and aspire above his powerful Creator! The Deity, not fearful of such an enemy, yet justly provoked at this rebellion, commissioned his archangel Michael to lead forth the heavenly host, and give him battle; the advantage of which was quickly perceived, by Satan's being overthrown, and the prince of the air, for so was the devil called, with all his fallen angels, driven headlong into a dismal place, which is called Hell."

The recital of this truth made my man give the greatest attention, and he expressed a great satisfaction by his gestures, that God had sent the devil into a deep hole. And then I desired him to give great heed to what I had further to say.

"No sooner," proceeded I, "was God freed from, and the Heaven clear of this arch-traitor, but the Father speaks to the Son and Holy Spirit, who belonged to his essence, and were equal to him in power and glory, Come let us make man, said he in our own image, after our own likeness, Gen. i. 26. to have dominion over the creatures of the world which we have created. And these he intended should glorify him in Heaven, according to their obedience in this state of probation on earth, which was, as it were, to be the school to train them up for these heavenly mansions. Now, Satan seeing himself foiled; yet that God had taken the power from him as prince of the air, which power Heaven designed he should retain, whereby his creatures might be tried; in revenge for the disgrace he had received, he tempts Adam's wife, Eve, to taste of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which God had forbidden. He appears to her in the shape of a serpent, then a most beautiful creature, and tells her that it was no better than an imposition, which God had put upon her and her husband not to eat of that fair fruit which he had created; that the taste thereof would make them immortal like God himself; and consequently as great and powerful as he. Upon which she not only eat thereof herself, but made her husband eat also, which brought them both under the heavenly displeasure."

Here Friday expressed a great concern: Ah, poor mans! cried he, naughty wonians! naughty devil! make God not love de mans, made mans like devil himself.

'Friday,' said I, 'God still loved mankind, and though the devil tempted human nature so far, he would not suffer him to have an absolute power over them. I have told you before of his tender love to his people, till they, like Lucifer, disobeyed his commands and rebelled against him; and even then, how Jesus Christ, his only Son, came to save sinners. But still every man that lives in the world is under temptation and trial. The devil has yet a power, as prince of the air, to suggest evil cogitations in our minds, and prompt us on to wicked actions, that he might glory in our destruction. Whatever evil thoughts we have, proceed from him; so that God in this our distress, expects we should apply ourselves to him by fervent prayer for speedy redress. He is not like Benamuckee, to let none come near him but Oowakakee, but suffers the people as well as priests to offer themselves at his feet, thereby to be delivered from the power and temptation of the devil.

But though at first my man Friday expressed some concern at the wickedness of Lucifer, I found it not so easy to imprint the right notions of him in his mind, as it was about the divine essence of God; for there nature assisted me in all my arguments, to show him plainly the necessity of a great first cause, and over-ruling, governing power, of a secret directing Providence, and of the equity and reasonableness of paying adoration to our Creator: whereas there appeared nothing of all this in the notion of an evil spirit, of his first beginning, his nature, and, above all, of his inclination to evil actions, and his power to tempt us to the like. And indeed this unlearned Indian, by the mere force of nature, puzzled me with one particular question, more than ever I could have expected.

I had, it seems, one day, been talking to him of the omnipotent power of God, and his infinite abhorrence of sin, insomuch that the Scriptures styled him a consuming fire to all the workers of iniquity; and that it was in his power, whenever he pleased, to destroy all the world in a moment, the greater part of which are continually offending him.

When, with a serious attention, he had listened a great while to what I said, after I had been telling him how the devil was God's enemy in the hearts of men, and used all his malice and skill to defeat the good designs of Providence, and destroy the kingdom of Christ in the world, and so forth: Very well, Master, said Friday, you say God is so strong, so great, is he not much strong, much mightier than the naughty devil? "To be sure, Friday," said I, "God is more wise and stronger than the serpent: he is above the devil, which makes us pray to him, that he would tread down Satan under his feet, enable us to resist the violent temptations; and quench his fiery darts." Why then, answered Friday quickly, if God, as you say, has much strong, much might as the devil, why God no kill devil, make no more tempt, no more do wicked.

You may be certain, I was strangely surprised at this question of my man's: and, though an old man, I was but a young doctor, and consequently very ill qualified for a causuist, or a resolver of intricate doubts in religion, and as it required some time for me to study for an answer, I pretended not to hear him, nor to ask him what he said; but, to so earnest was he for an answer, as not to forget his question which he repeated in the very same broken words as above. When I had recovered myself a little, "Friday," said I, "God will at last punish him severely, being reserved for judgment, and is to be cast into the bottomless pit, to remain in fire everlasting." But all this did not satisfy Friday, for, returning upon me, he repeated my words "RESERVE AT LAST, me no understand; but, why not kill devil now, not kill devil, great, great while ago?" "Friday" said I "you may as well ask me why God does not kill you and me, when, by our wicked actions, we so much offend his divine Majesty? He gives us time to repent of our sins, that thereby we may obtain pardon." At these words obtain pardon, Friday mused a great while; and, at last, looking me stedfastly in the face, Well, well, said he, that's very well; so you, I, devil, all wicked mans, all preserve, repent, God pardon all.

Indeed, here I was ran down to the last extremity, when it became very evident to me; how mere natural notions will guide reasonable creatures to the knowledge of a Deity, and to the homage due to the Supreme Being of God; but, however, nothing but divine revelation can form the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and of a redemption purchased for us, of the mediator of the new covenant, and of an intercessor at the footstool of God's throne; and, therefore, the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; that is, the word and Spirit of God, promised for the guide and the sanctifier of his people, are the most necessary instructors of the souls of men, in the saving knowledge of the Almighty, and the means to attain eternal happiness.

And now I found it necessary to put an end to this discourse between my man and me; for which purpose I rose up hastily, and made as if I had some occasion to go out, sending Friday for something that was a good way off, I then fell on my knees, and beseeched God that he would inspire me so far as to guide this poor savage in the knowledge of Christ, to answer his questions more clearly, that his conscience might be convinced, his eyes opened, and his soul saved. When he returned again, I entered into a very long discourse with him, upon the subject of the world's redemption by the Saviour of it, and the doctrine of repentance preached from heaven, together with an holy faith of our blessed Redeemer Jesus Christ; and then I proceeded to explain to him, according to my weak capacity, the reason why our Saviour took not on him the nature of angels, but rather the seed of Abraham; and how the fallen angels had no benefit by that redemption; and, lastly, that he came only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and the like. God knows I had more sincerity than knowledge in all the ways I took for the poor Indian's instruction; and, I must acknowledge what I believe, every body that acts upon the same principle will find, that in laying heavenly truths open before him, I informed and instructed myself in many things that either I did not know, or had not perfectly considered before: so that, however, this poor creature might be improved by my instructions, certain it is, that I myself had great reason to be thankful to Providence for sending him to me. His company allayed my grief, and made my habitation comfortable; and when I reflected that the solitary life to which I had been so long confined, had made me to look further towards Heaven, by making me the instrument under Providence, to save the life, and for ought I know, the soul of this poor savage, by bringing him to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, it caused a secret joy to spread through every part of my soul; and I frequently rejoiced, that ever I was brought to this place, which I once thought the most miserable part of the world.

In this thankful frame of mind did I afterwards continue, while I abode on the island, and for three years did my man and I live in the greatest enjoyment of happiness. Indeed, I believe the savage was as good a Christian as I; and I hope we were equally penitent; and such penitents as were comforted and restored by God's Holy Spirit; for now we had the word of the Lord to instruct us in the right way, as much as if we had been on the English shore.

By the constant application I made to the Scriptures, as I read them to my man Friday, I earnestly endeavoured to make him understand every part of it, as much as lay in my power. He also, on the other hand, by his very serious questions and inquiries, made me a much better proficient in Scripture knowledge, than I should have been by my own private reading and study. I must not omit another thing, proceeding from the experience I had in my retirement: It was that infinite and inexpressible blessing, the knowledge of God through Jesus Christ, which was so plain and easy to be understood, as immediately to direct me to carry on the great work of sincere repentance for my sins, and laying hold of a Saviour for eternal life, to a practical stated reformation, and obedience to all God's institutions, without the assistance of a reverend and orthodox divine; and especially by this same instruction, so to enlighten this savage creature, as to make him so good a Christian, as very few could exceed him. And there was only this great thing wanting, that I had no authority to administer the Holy Sacrament, that heavenly participation of Christ's body and blood; yet, however, we rested ourselves content; that God would accept our desires, and according to our faith, have mercy on us.

But what we wanted one way, was made up in another, and that was universal peace in our little church. We had no disputes and wrangling about the nature and equality of the holy, blessed, and undivided Trinity, no niceties in doctrine, or schemes of church government; no sour or morale dissenters to impose more sublimated notions upon us; no pedant sophisters to confound us with unintelligible mysteries: but, instead of all this, we enjoyed the most certain guide to Heaven; that is, the word of God: besides which, we had the comfortable views of his Spirit leading us to the truth, and making us both willing and obedient to the instruction of his word. As the knowledge and practice of this are the principal means of salvation, I cannot see what it avails any christian church, or man in the world, to amuse himself with speculations and opinions, except it be to display their particular vanity and affectation.

You may well suppose, that, by the frequent discourse we had together, my man and I became most intimately acquainted, and that their was but very little that I could say, but what Friday understood; and, indeed, he spoke very fluently, though it was but broken English. I now took a particular pleasure in relating all my adventures, especially those that occurred since my being cast on this island. I made him understand that wonderful mystery, as he conceived, of gunpowder and bullet, and taught him how to shoot. I also presented to him a knife, which pleased him exceedingly, making him a belt, with a frog hanging thereto, like those in which we wear hangers in England; and, instead of a hanger to put in the frog, I gave him a hatchet, which was not only as good, but even a better weapon upon many occasions. In a word, my man thus accoutred, looked upon himself as great as Don Quixote, when that celebrated champion went to combat the windmill.

I next gave him a very particular description of the territories of Europe, and in a particular manner of Old England, the place of my nativity. I laid, before him the manner of our worshipping God, our behaviour one to another, and how we trade in ships to every part of the universe. I then told him my misfortunes in being shipwrecked, showing him, as near as I could the place where the ship lay, which had been gone long before; but I brought him to the ruins of my boat which before my whole strength could not move, but now was a most rotten, and fallen to pieces. I observed my man Friday to view this boat with uncommon curiosity; which, when he had done, he stood pondering a great while, and said nothing. At last, said I, "Friday, what makes you ponder so much?" He replied, O master, me see like boat come to place at my nation.

It was some time, indeed, before I understood what my man meant; but examining strictly into it, I plainly found, that such another boat resembling mine, had come up on the country where he dwelt: that is to say, by his farther explanation, that the boat was driven there through stress of weather. It then came into my mind that some European ship having been cast away, the poor distressed creatures were forced to have recourse to the boat to save their lives; and being all, as I thought drowned, I never concerned my self to ask any thing concerning, them, but my only inquiry was about the boat, and what description my man could give of it.

Indeed Friday answered my demands very well; making everything very plain to my understanding: but beyond measure was I satisfied, when he told me with great warmth and ardour. O master, we save white mans from drown; upon which I immediately asked him, If there were any white mans, as he called them in the boat? Yes, yes, said he, the boat full, very full of white mans "How many, Friday?" said I. Hereupon he numbered his fingers, and counted seventeen. And when I asked him what became of them all, and whether they lived or not? he replied, Yes master, they all live, they be live among my nation. This information put fresh thoughts into my head, that these must be those very men who before I concluded had been swallowed up in the ocean, after they had left the ship that had struck upon the rocks of my kingdom, and after escaping the fury of the deep, landed upon the wild shore, and committed themselves to the fury of the devouring Indians.

The manner of their cruelties to one another, which consequently, as I thought, must be acted with greater barbarity to strangers, created in me a great anxiety, and made me still more curious to ask Friday concerning them. He told me, he was sure they still lived there, having resided among them above four years, and that the savages gave them victuals to live upon: "But pray, Friday," said I, "whence proceeded all this good nature and generosity? How came it to pass that they did not kill and eat them, to please their devouring appetites, and occasion to splendid an entertainment among them?" No, no, said Friday, they not kilt 'em, they make brothers with 'em; by which I understood there was a truce between them. And then I had a more favourable opinion of the Indians, upon Friday uttering these words, My nation, t'other nation no eat man, but when mans, make war fight: as though he had said, that neither those of his kingdom, nor any other nations that he knew of, ever ate their fellow-creatures, but such as their law of arms allowed to be devoured; that is, those miserable captives, whose misfortune it should be to be made prisoners of war.