書友(Companionship of Books)

書友(Companionship of Books)

書友(Companionship of Books)       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 that 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 trouble or distress. It always receives us with the same kindness, amusing and instructing usin youth, and comforting us in age.     Books possess an extract having the fundamental properties of immortality. They are by far the most lasting products of human effort. Temples and statues decay, but books survive. Time is of no account with great thoughts, which are as fresh today as when they first passed through their author's minds ages ago. The only effect of time has been to sift 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, hurt 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. Embalmed 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 great intellects of the world are as much alive now as they were ages ago.書  友    認識一個人只要知道他讀什么書，交什么朋友即可。因為書和朋友都是好伙伴。任何人總是挑最好的伙伴，不管這個伙伴是書或是人。    一本好書或許是最好的朋友之一。它每天始終如一，永不變心，且它是最有耐心、最令人愉悅的朋友。在我們遇到困難或情緒低落時，它不會背棄我們。  它總是以一貫的溫和態(tài)度對待我們。在我們年輕時它教導我們，給我們帶來歡樂，在我們已近日暮殘年時，它安慰我們，使我們倍受關懷。    書籍之精髓永垂不朽。迄今為止，書是人類努力寫成的最持久耐用的作品。寺廟和雕像會被腐蝕破壞，但書卻永遠存在。偉大的思想不會隨時間的流逝而褪色，很多年前作者頭腦中掠過的思想仍能生動地展現(xiàn)在我們面前，就像當年剛剛印好的一樣。  時間的惟一作用是淘汰劣質書籍，因為文學著作中只有好書籍才能流芳百世。    書籍引導我們進入最高的境界，它將我們帶到歷史上各位偉大人物的面前。我們聽其言，見其行·，仿佛他們仍活于世上。我們對他們的遭遇表示同情，我們與他們悲喜與共，他們的經歷成了我們的財富。我們感覺好像在某種程度上成為他們所描繪的舞臺中的角色。    即使在當今世界，偉人也永不磨滅。他們的事跡記入史冊，他們的精神傳于四方。書是一種充滿生氣的聲音，是人們仍能聽得見的聲音。  因此，我們仍然受著歷代偉人的影響?，F(xiàn)今，世界上的偉人智者像以前一樣充滿生機活力。