English from BBC Learning

English. I'm Neil.

And I'm Rob.

Do you enjoy your own

company, Rob? Do you like

being alone? Or do you

prefer spending time

with friends?

Well, recently I haven't

seen my friends much

because of coronavirus - in

fact, I've hardly seen

anyone this past year!

It sounds like Rob has

become a bit of a hermit -

someone who lives alone

and apart from society.

Yes, I've been forced to

spend time alone - but it

wouldn't be my choice.

I'd much rather be

socialising and visiting friends.

If, like Rob, the idea of

being alone does not

appeal to you, it might

be hard to understand

why anyone would

choose to be a hermit.

But some people do - and

in this programme we'll

be hearing some of

the reasons why.

Throughout history and

across all cultures, there

have been people who

choose to leave behind

the life and people the

know to live in isolation

and silence.

People like Christopher

Wright - an American man

who lived in complete isolation

in the forests of Maine for

nearly 30 years! When

hikers discovered his tent

all they found was

an alarm clock. So my

quiz question is this:

why did Christopher Wright,

the hermit of the Maine

woods, need an

alarm clock? Was it:

a) to remind him when

to hide his tent?, b) to

frighten away wild animals?,

or c) to wake him up at

the coldest part of the

night so he didn't

freeze to death?

Well, if he wanted to

be alone so much I

guess he needed to

be invisible, so I'll

say a) to remind

him to hide his tent.

OK, Rob, we'll find out

the answer later.

Christopher Wright

may be an extreme

example of someone

seeking solitude, but

there are many other

motivations for

becoming a hermit.

Some people are

looking for peace and

silence, and for others

it's about being closer

to God, focusing on

what's inside and

finding a sense of joy.

Meng Hu is a former

librarian who now runs

a website all about

hermits. He says that

in ancient times, many

Chinese hermits seeking

solitude were followers of

the philosopher, Confucius.

Here's Meng Hu talking

about Confucius to BBC

World Service programme,

The Why Factor:

His dictum was

something like, 'When

the Emperor is good,

serve. When the

Emperor is evil, recluse'.

And so over a

thousand years at least

there were a lot of

recluses, a lot of

educated men who

simply couldn't

tolerate any more

evil - they simply

dropped out and

they would migrate

to small villages,

to farms.

Meng Hu mentions

Confucius's dictum. A

dictum is a short

statement or saying

which expresses some

wise advice or a

general truth about life.

Confucius's dictum

advised that when

the Emperor was evil,

people should become

recluses - people, like

hermits, who live alone

and avoid contact

with others.

In the interview,

Meng Hu uses 'recluse'

as a verb - to recluse -

but this is very

uncommon. A more

modern way of saying

this is, to drop out -

to reject the normal

ways society works

and live outside

the system.

A bit like the hippies

in the 1960s, you mean?

Right. Although most

hippies weren't looking

for isolation, they did

have something in

common with hermits -

the desire to challenge

society's rules

and conventions.

Someone who

combines the hippie

and the hermit is

Catholic writer, Sara

Maitland. Part of a

long tradition of

Christian hermits, Sara

spent forty days and

nights alone on the Isle

of Skye, seeking God in

the silence of the

remote Scottish island.

For her, the magic of

silence is something to

be embraced and

taught to children.

Here she explains

more to BBC World

Service's, The Why Factor:

Most people first

encounter silence in

bereavement, in

relationship breakdown

and in death and that

seems to be about

the worst place to

start. People say,

'But what should we do?'

Never, ever use 'Go to

your room on your own'

as a punishment. You

use it as a reward -

'Darling, you've been

so good all day, you've

been so helpful,

why don't you go

to your room for half

an hour now and

be on your own?'

A treat! A reward!

Sara says that

most people experience

silence after a

bereavement - the

death of a relative

or close friend.

She also thinks

that parents should

never tell their children,

'Go to your room!' as

a punishment. Instead,

being alone should be

a treat - a reward or

gift of something special

and enjoyable. That way,

children learn that

being alone can

actually be enjoyable.

I'm still wondering

about that American,

Christopher Wright - I

suppose living alone

in the woods was

a treat for him...

I suppose so - but

why did he need

an alarm clock?

Ah yes, your quiz

question, Neil. I

thought maybe it

was to remind him

to hide his tent.

Was I right?

Well incredibly,

Rob, the answer

was c) to wake him

up at the coldest

part of the night

so he didn't

freeze to death!

That's someone

who really wants to

be left alone! A

hermit in other

words, or a recluse -

two ways of

describing people

who live alone

and avoid others.

OK, let's recap the

rest of the vocabulary,

starting with dictum -

a short saying often

giving wise advice or

expressing a general

truth about life.

People who

drop out reject

the normal rules

of society and live

outside the system.

Many people

experience solitude

after a bereavement -

the death of a close

friend or relative.

And finally a

treat is reward

or gift of something

special and enjoyable.

That's all for now,

but whether you're

listening alone or

with others, we

hope you'll join us

again soon, here at

6 Minute English.

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Bye bye!

Bye for now!