Companionship of BooksA man may usually be known by the books he reads as well as by the c
ompany he keeps; for there is a companionship of books as well as of men; and one should a
lways 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 time
s of adversity or distress. It always receives us with the same kindness; amusing and inst
ructing us in youth, and comforting and consoling us in age.Men often discover their affin
ity to each other by the mutual love they have for a book just as two persons sometimes di
scover a friend by the admiration which both entertain for a third. There is an old prover
b, '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 ot
her through their favorite author. They live in him together, and he in them.A good book i
s often the best urn of a life enshrining the best that life could think out; for the worl
d of a man’s life is, for the most part, but the world of his thoughts. Thus the best book
s are treasuries of good words, the golden thoughts, which, remembered and cherished, beco
me our constant companions and comforters.Books possess an essence of immortality. They ar
e by far the most lasting products of human effort. Temples and statues decay, but books s
urvive. Time is of no account with great thoughts, which are as fresh today as when they f
irst passed through their author’s minds, ages ago. What was then said and thought still s
peaks to us as vividly as ever from the printed 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 reall
y good.Books introduce us into the best society; they bring us into the presence of the gr
eatest minds that have ever lived. We hear what they said and did; we see the as if they w
ere really alive; we sympathize with them, enjoy with them, grieve with them; their experi
ence becomes ours, and we feel as if we were in a measure actors with them in the scenes w
hich they describe.The great and good do not die, even in this world. Embalmed in books, t
heir spirits walk abroad. The book is a living voice. It is an intellect to which on still
listens.u
译文: 以书为伴（节选）通常看一个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.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
我们以慰藉和勉励.人们常常因为喜欢同一本书而结为知已,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.好书常如最精美的宝器,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,就会成为我们忠实的伴侣和永恒的慰藉.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.时间惟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
和他们一起粉墨登场.即使在人世间,伟大杰出的人物也永生不来.他们的精神被载入书册,传于四海
.书是人生至今仍在聆听的智慧之声,永远充满着活力.