A man may usually be kept 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 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 adversity or distress. It always receives us with the some kindness; amusing and instructing us in youth, and comforting us and consoling us in age. 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 actors with them in the scenes which they describe.
383088197 (06/15/2008)
A man may usually be kept 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 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 adversity or distress. It always receives us with the some kindness; amusing and instructing us in youth, and comforting us and consoling us in age.
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 actors with them in the scenes which they describe.
z'Z (06/15/2008)
这篇散文很出名的，google下吧，有不少译文