Companionship of Books
以书为伴
A man may usually be known by the books he reads aswell as by the company he keeps; for there is a companionship of books as wellas of men; and one should always live in the best company, whether it be ofbooks or of men.
A good book may be among the best of friends. It isthe same today that it always was, and it will never change. It is the mostpatient and cheerful of companions. It does not turn its back upon us in timesof adversity or distress. It always receives us with the same kindness; amusingand instructing us in youth, and comforting and consoling us in age.
Men often discover their affinity to each other by themutual love they have for a book just as two persons sometimes discover afriend by the admiration which both entertain for a third. There is an oldproverb, ‘Love me, love my dog.” But there is more wisdom in this:” Love me,love 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 livein him together, and he in them.
A good book is often the best urn of a life enshriningthe best that life could think out; for the world of a man’s life is, for themost part, but the world of his thoughts. Thus the best books are treasuries ofgood words, the golden thoughts, which, remembered and cherished, become ourconstant companions and comforters.
Books possess an essence of immortality. They are byfar the most lasting products of human effort. Temples and statues decay, butbooks survive. Time is of no account with great thoughts, which are as freshtoday as when they first passed through their author’s minds, ages ago. Whatwas then said and thought still speaks to us as vividly as ever from theprinted page. The only effect of time have been to sift out the bad products;for nothing in literature can long survive e but what is really good.
Books introduce us into the best society; they bringus into the presence of the greatest minds that have ever lived. We hear whatthey said and did; we see the as if they were really alive; we sympathize withthem, enjoy with them, grieve with them; their experience becomes ours, and wefeel as if we were in a measure actors with them in the scenes which theydescribe.
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 towhich on still listens.
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。无论是书还是朋友，我们都应该以最好的为伴。
好书就像是你最要好的朋友。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。在我们穷愁潦倒、临危遭难时，它也不会抛弃我们，对我们总是一如既往的亲切。在我们年轻时，好书陶冶我们的性情，增长我们的见识；到我们年老时，它又给我们以慰藉和勉励。
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。有句古谚说道：“爱屋及乌。”其实“爱我及书”这句话蕴涵着更多的哲理。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、交流情感，彼此息息相通，并与自己喜欢的作家思想相通，情感相融。
好书常如最精美的宝器，珍藏着人生思想的精华，因为人生的境界主要就在于其思想的境界。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，就回成为我们忠诚的伴侣和永恒的慰藉。
书籍具有不朽的本质，是人类努力创造的最为持久的成果。寺庙会倒坍，神像会朽烂，而书却经久长存。对于伟大的思想来说，时间是无关紧要的。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。他们当时的言论和思想刊于书页，现在依然生动如初。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。
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粉墨登场。
即使在人时间，伟大杰出的人物也永生不灭。他们的精神被载入书册，传于四海。书是人们至今仍在聆听的智慧之声，永远充满活力。