美丽心灵晨读英语美文15: Companionship of Books(Excerpts) 以书为伴(节选)
15 Companionship of Books(Excerpts)
15 以书为伴(节选)
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 men; and one should always live in the best company, whether it be of books or men.
通常看一个人读些什么书就可知道他的为人，就像看他同什么人交往就可知道他的为人一样，因为有人以人为伴，也有人以书为伴。无论是书友还是朋友，我们都应该以最好的为伴。
A good book may be among the best 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 tum its back upon us in times of adversity or distress. It always receives us with the same kindness; amusing and instructing us in youth, and comforting and consoling us in age.
好书就像是你最好的朋友。它始终不渝，过去如此，现在如此，将来也永远不变。它是最有耐心，最令人愉悦的伴侣。在我们穷困潦倒，临危遭难时，它也不会抛弃我们，对我们总是一如既往地亲切。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，它又给我们以慰籍和勉励。
Men often discover their affinity to each other by the mutual love they have for a book just as two persons sometimes discover a friend by the admiration which both entertain for a third. There is an old proverb, "Love me, love my dog." But there is more wisdom in this: "Love me, love my book." The book is 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.
人们常常因为喜欢同一本书而结为知己，就像有时两个人因为敬慕同一个人而成为朋友一样。有句谚语说道爱屋及屋"。其实"爱我及书"这句话蕴涵更多的哲理。书是更为真诚而高尚的情谊纽带。人们可以通过共同喜爱的作家沟通思想，交流感情，彼此息息相通，并与自己喜欢的作家思想相通，情感相融。
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 part, but the world of his thoughts. Thus the best books are treasuries of good words, the golden thoughts, which, remembered and cherished, become our constant companions and comforts.
好书如最精美的宝器，珍藏着人生的思想的精华，因为人生的境界主要就在于其思想的统界。因此，最好的书是金玉良言和崇高思想的宝库，这些良言和思想若铭记于心并多加珍视，就会成为我们忠实的伴侣和慰藉。
Books possess the essence 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 the 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.
书籍具有不朽的本质，是为人类努力创造的最为持久的成果。寺庙会倒塌，神像会朽烂，而书却经久长存。对于伟大的思想来说，时间是无关紧妥的。多年前初次闪现于作者脑海的伟大思想今日依然清新如故。时间唯一的作用是淘汰不好的作品，因为只有真正的佳作才能经世长存。
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.
书籍介绍我们与最优秀的人为伍，使我们置身于历代伟人巨匠之间，如闻其声，如观其行，如见其人，同他们情感交融，悲喜与共，感同身受。我们觉得自己仿佛在作者所描绘的舞台上和他们一起粉墨登场。
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.
即使在人世间，伟大杰出的人物也永生不朽。他们的精神被载入书册，传于四海。书是人生至今仍在黔听的智慧之声，永远充满着活力。
注释：
companionship n. 友谊;陪伴
例句：Don’t ask your friends for advice; ask for companionship and encouragement.
不要向你的朋友咨询建议;而是寻求友谊和鼓励。
mutual adj. 共同的;相互的，彼此的
例句：They were divided by mutual suspicion and jealousies.
他们因为相互猜疑嫉妒而不和。
possess vt. 拥有，具备
例句：Some animals possess the characteristic of man.
有些动物具有人类的特征。
