I now began to consider seriously my condition, and the circumstance I was reduced to, and I drew up the state of my affairs in writing, not so much to leave them to any that were to come after me, for I was like to have but few heirs, as to deliver my thoughts from daily poring upon them, and afflicting my mind; and as my reason began now to master my despondency, I began to comfort myself as well as I could, and to set the good against the evil, that I might have something to distinguish my case from worse; and I stated it very impartially, like debtor and creditor, the comforts I enjoyed against the miseries I suffered, thus: 

Evil. Good.

I am cast upon a horrible    But I am alive, and
desolate island, void        not drowned, as all my
of all hope of recovery.     ship’s company was.

I am singled out and But I am singled out
separated, as it were, too from all the ship’s
from all the world to be crew to be spared from
miserable. death; and He that
miraculously saved me from
death, can deliver me
from this condition.

I am divided from But I am not starved
mankind, a solitaire, one and perishing on a barren
banished from human society. place, affording no sustenance.

I have not clothes to But I am in a hot climate,
cover me. where if I had
clothes I could hardly wear
them.

I am without any defence But I am cast on an
or means to resist island, where I see no
any violence of man or wild beasts to hurt me,
beast. as I saw on the coast of
Africa:  and what if I
had been shipwrecked
there?

I have no soul to speak But God wonderfully
to, or relieve me. sent the ship in near
enough to the shore, that
I have gotten out so many
necessary things as will
either supply my wants,
or enable me to supply
myself even as long as I
live.

Upon the whole, here was an undoubted testimony, that there was scarce any condition in the world so miserable, but there was something negative or something positive to be thankful for in it; and let this stand as a direction from the experience of the most miserable of all conditions in this world, that we may always find in it something to comfort ourselves from, and to set, in the description of good and evil, on the credit side of the account.

Having now brought my mind a little to relish my condition, and given over looking out to sea, to see if I could spy a ship; I say, giving over these things, I began to apply myself to accommodate my way of living, and to make things as easy to me as I could.

I have already described my habitation, which was a tent under the side of a rock, surrounded with a strong pale of posts and cables; but I might now rather call it a wall, for I raised a kind of wall up against it of turfs, about two foot thick on the outside; and after some time, I think it was a year and half, I raised rafters from it, leaning to the rock, and thatched or covered it with boughs of trees, and such things as I could get to keep out the rain, which I found at some times of the year very violent.