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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Companionship of Books
与书结伴
Samuel Smiles(塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯)
A man may usually be known by the books he reads as well as by the company he keeps; for there is a companionship of books as well as of men; and one should always live in the best company , whether it be of books or of men.
A good book may be among the best of friends. It is the same today as it always was, and it will never change. It is the most patient and cheerful of companions. It does not turn its back upon us in times of adversity or distress2. It always receives us with the same kindness; amusing and instructing us in youth, and comforting and consoling us in age.
Men often discover their affinity3 to each other by the love they have each for a book — just as two persons sometimes discover a friend by the admiration4 which both have for a third. There is an old proverb, “Love me, love my dog.” But there is more wisdom in this: “Love me, ove my book.” The book is a truer and higher bond of union. Men can think, feel, and sympathize with each other through their favorite author. They live in him together, and he in them.
“Books,” said Hazlitt, “wind into the heart; the poet's verse slides in the current of our blood. We read them when young, we remember them when old. We feel that it has happened to ourselves. They are to be had very cheap and good. We breathe but the air of books.”
A good book is often the best urn1 of a life enshrining the best that life could think out; for the world of a man's life is, for the most part, but the world of his thoughts. Thus the best books are treasuries5 of good words, the golden thoughts, which, remembered and cherished, become our constant companions and comforters. “They are never alone,” said Sir Philip Sidney, “that are accompanied by noble thoughts.”
The good and true thought may in times of temptation be as an angel of mercy purifying and guarding the soul. It also enshrines the germs of action, for good words almost always inspire to good works.
Books possess an essence of immortality6 . They are by far the most lasting7 products of human effort. Temples and statues decay, but books survive. Time is of no account with great thoughts, which are fresh today as when they first passed through their author's minds, ages ago. What was then said and thought still speaks to us vividly8 as ever from the printed page. The only effect of time has been to sift9 out the bad products; for nothing in literature can long survive but what is really good.
Books introduce us into the best society; they bring us into the presence of the greatest minds that have ever lived. We hear what they said and did; we see them as if they were really alive; we sympathize with them, enjoy with them, grieve with them; their experience becomes ours, and we feel as if we were in a measure actors with them in the scenes which they describe.
The great and good do not die even in this world. Embalmed10 in books, their spirits walk abroad. The book is a living voice. It is an intellect to which one still listens. Hence we ever remain under the influence of the great men of old. The imperial intellects of the world are as much alive now as they were ages ago.
要了解一个人，可观其所读之书，看其所交之友。因为正如人一样，书也有同伴关系。人该生活在最好的伙伴中间，无论是书还是人。
一本好书位在最好的朋友之列。昨天如此，今天如此，以后也永不改变。好书是最耐心、最令人愉快的伴侣。在我们命运不济、穷困潦倒时，它不会背叛我们而去，对我们总是一往情深。在我们年轻时，好书陶冶我们的性情，增长我们的知识；到我们年老时，它又给我们安慰和勉励。
人们常常由于对同一本书的喜爱，发现相互间的亲和感——正如两个人有时候由于钦佩同一个人而成为朋友那样。有一则古老的谚语：“爱屋及乌”。但是下面的话含有更大的智慧：“爱我及书。”书是更真实更高级的黏合剂。通过共同喜爱的作者，人们思考、感受、意气相投。人们畅游在作者描述的世界里，作者的思想情感在人们身上得以传播，产生影响。
黑兹利特说：“书蜿蜒潜入人们的心房；诗人的诗篇悄然融入我们的血液。我们年轻时读书吟诗，年迈时回味不忘。我们觉得书中的人和事自己真的亲身经历过。书价廉物美，随手可得。我们呼吸的只有书的气息。”
一本好书通常是一个珍藏着人生所能发现之精华的最佳器皿。因为一个人一生的世界，绝大部分就是他思想的世界。因此，最好的书是优美文字和闪光思想的宝库，铭记心中，倍加珍爱，就成为我们长相厮守的伴侣和慰藉。菲利普·锡德尼爵士说：“有高尚思想做伴的人从不孤单。”
面对诱惑时，美好纯真的思想会充当仁慈的天使，净化并守护我们的心灵。它还能孕育新的行动，因为好的语言总能激励好的作品诞生。
书籍具有不朽的本质。它们绝对是人类劳动所能创造的最有生命力的产品。庙宇雕塑会朽烂坍塌，但书籍会长存于世。伟大的思想穿越时空，今天依然清新芳醇，就像很久很久以前刚刚划过作者的脑海一样。当年的所言所思，依然在印刷的书页上向我们娓娓道来。时间的唯一作用就是过滤掉拙劣的作品，因为只有真正优秀的文学作品才能历久不衰。
书籍把我们带进最好的社交氛围中，让我们与有史以来最伟大的思想家相见。我们聆听他们的教诲，感受他们的经历，看见他们好像真的就活在我们中间。我们同他们一起感受，一起欢乐，一起哀伤；他们的经历我们感同身受，我们好似他们所描述场景的亲历者，与他们同在。
在这个世界上，伟大、美好的灵魂是不朽的。他们的精神保存在书中，传播四方。书是一种鲜活的声音，是人们仍然要聆听的智者。因此，古代的伟人永远熏陶着我们的气质品性，世界巨匠并没有远行，依然展现着鲜活的生命力。
收听单词发音 |
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urn
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| n.（有座脚的）瓮；坟墓；骨灰瓮 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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affinity
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| n.亲和力，密切关系 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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treasuries
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| n.（政府的）财政部( treasury的名词复数 )；国库，金库 | |
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immortality
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| n.不死，不朽 | |
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lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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sift
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| v.筛撒，纷落，详察 | |
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embalmed
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| adj.用防腐药物保存（尸体）的v.保存（尸体）不腐( embalm的过去式和过去分词 )；使不被遗忘；使充满香气 | |
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