常春藤名家散文精选 第6期:以书为伴

Unit6 Companionship of Books

第六课 以书为伴

A man may usually be known by the books he readsas well as the company he keeps;

通常可由一个人所阅读的书以及所结交的朋友而知其为人;

for there is a companionship of books as well as ofmen;

因为书可作伴就和人可作伴一样;

and one should always live in the best company,whether it be of books or of men.

而且人们应该永远与最好的为伴，不管是书或是人。

A good book may be among the best of friends.

一本好书可能就是最好的朋友之一。

It is the same today that it always was, and it will never change.

这本书往昔如此，今日亦复如此，而且永不改变。

It is the most patient and cheerful of companions.

所有同伴中，它是最有耐心而且最令人愉悦的一位。

It does not turn its back upon us in times of adversity or distress.

我们不论身处逆境或困境，它都不会背弃我们。

It always receives us with the same kindness, amusing and instructing us in youth，andcomforting and consoling us in age.

它永远总是那么仁慈地接纳我们，我们年轻时，它给我们快乐与教导，而我们年华老去时，则给我们安抚与慰藉。

Men often discover their affinity to each other by the love they each have for a book.

人们常发现他们对彼此的喜爱乃是由于他们对某本书的共同爱好所使然。

The book is a truer and higher bond of union.

书更能真实而又强有力地凝聚感情。

Men can think, feel，and sympathize with him each other through their favorite author.

人们可以透过他们共同喜爱的作者彼此作心灵、感情的交流。

They live in together, and he, in them.

他们活在作者的世界里，而作者亦活在他们的心中。

A good book is often the best urn of a life enshrining the best that life could think out，

好书往往是人生的宝库，里头蕴含着人生的思想精华，

for the world of a man's life is, for the most part, but the world of his thoughts.

因为大体而言，一个人的生活世界不过就是他的思想世界。

Thus the best books are treasuries of good words，the golden thoughts, which，rememberedand cherished, become our constant companions and comforters.

因此最好的书就是藏有金玉良言一一亦即伟大思想的宝库，我们若能牢记并珍惜这些金玉良言，它们就会一辈子跟着我们、安慰我们。

Books possess an essence of immortality.

书具有不朽的特性。

They are by far the most lasting products of human effort.

它们是为人类努力创造的最为持久的成果。

Temples and statues decay，but books survive.

庙宇和雕像会腐朽，而书依然长存。

Time is of no account with great thoughts, which are as fresh today as when they first passedthrough their authors' minds ages ago.

与伟大的思想相较，时间则显得微不足道，这些伟大的思想至今仍然鲜明，鲜明得就像多年前它们才从作者的脑海里浮现出来一样。

What was then said and thought still speaks to us as vividly as ever from the printed page.

当时的言词及思想至今仍透过书本生动地与我们沟通。

Books introduce us into the best society; they bring us into the presence of the greatest mindsthat have ever lived.

书引导我们与最优秀的人为伍;它们带领我们到古今最伟大的思想家的面前。

We hear what they said and did; we see them as if they were really alive; we sympathize withthem, enjoy with them，grieve with them;

我们可以听见他们的所言所行: 我们可以见到他们，仿佛他们仍活在世上;我们与他们情感交流，与他们共喜共悲;

their experience becomes ours, and we feel as if we were in a measure actors with them in thescenes which they describe.

他们的经验变成我们自己的经验，而我们觉得自己仿佛了有些像演员，与他们共同在他们所描述的场景中一块演出。