第15章 与书为伴 Companionship of Books

塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯/Samuel Smiles

塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯（1812—1904），苏格兰作家，在1832年取得医师资格，不久便放弃行医，改行新闻工作，1838—1842年任《里兹时报》编辑，1842—1866年从事铁路行政工作。其作品中最杰出的是《自己拯救自己》，《品格的力量》，《金钱与人生》以及《人生的职责》，作品中蕴含维多利亚时代的价值观，与其工作信条相互结合。

A man may usually be known by the books he reads as well as by the c ompany he keeps;for there is a companionship of books as well as of men;and one should always lived in the best company,whether it be of book s or of men.

A good book may be among the best of friends.It is the same today t hat 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 ad versity or distress.It always receives us with the same kindness,amusi ng and instructing us in youth,and comforting and consoling us in age.

Men often discover their affinity to each other by the love they hav e each for a book.The book is a truer and higher bond of union.Men can think,feel,and sympathize with each other through their favorite autho r.They live in him together and he,in them.

A good book is often the best urn of a life enshrining the best that life could think out;for the world of a man's life is,for the most pa rt,but the world of his thoughts.Thus the best books are treasuries o f good words,the golden thoughts,which,remembered and cherished,beco me our constant companions and comforters.

Books possess an essence of immortality.They are by far the most l asting products of human effort.Temples and statues decay,but books s urvive.Time is of no account with great thoughts,which are as fresh to day as when they first passed through their author's minds,ages ago.W hat was then said and thought still speaks to us as vividly as ever from the printed page.The only effect of time has been to sift out the bad p roducts;for nothing in literature can long survive but what is really g ood.

Books introduce us into the best society,they bring us into the pre sence of the greatest minds that have ever live.We hear what they said and did;we see them as if they were really alive;we sympathize with th em,enjoy with them,grieve with them;their experience becomes ours,an d we feel as if we were in a measure actors with them in the scenes whic h they describe.

读其书，如同读其人；同样，观其朋友，也如同观其人。书如同人，都可成为伴侣；无论以书为友还是以人为伴，每个人都应有自己的知己。

一本好书可以成为我们最好的朋友。昨天如此，今天亦如此，这一点亘古不变。书是我们最有耐心和最使人愉悦的朋友。无论身处逆境，还是遭遇苦难，它都不会背弃我们。它总是怀着善意接纳我们，年轻时，它给予我们快乐并指引我们；年老时，它给予我们心灵的慰藉并鼓励我们。

因为对一本书的热爱，我们发现彼此之间的亲密无间。书是更为真实和高雅的联系纽带。人们通过自己最喜爱的作者，交流思想，产生心灵的共鸣。他们与作者同在，作者也与他们同在。

一本好书通常是记载生命的最好的瓮，它蕴藏着生命中思想的瑰宝，因为思想占据了生活的大部分。因此，最好的书是词汇之佳句，思想之瑰宝，最值得去怀念，去珍藏，是我们永远的伴侣和慰藉者。

书是永恒不朽的。它是迄今为止人类不懈奋斗的珍宝。庙宇和雕像可以被毁，而书却永存。无论何时，那些伟大的思想，都永远鲜活，如同首次浮上作者的心头。当时的言谈思想，透过书页仍然与我们交谈，而这一切就如同在我们的眼前。劣质的东西将被淘汰，这是时间的唯一功能，因为只有真正优秀的东西，才能在文学中永存。

书指引我们迈入最优秀的领域，它把我们带到历史上所有伟大人物面前。我们倾听他们的言语与举止，看到他们，如同看见一个鲜活的生命。我们与它产生共鸣，与它同享快乐，与它同享悲伤。我们经历它所曾经遭遇的，我们如同演员在它描绘的舞台上演戏。