与书为友

Companionship of Books

与书为友

Samuel Smiles

塞缪尔.斯迈尔斯

作者简介

塞缪尔.斯迈尔斯（Samuel Smiles，1812—1904），英国19世纪道德学家，社会改革家，散文随笔作家。他一生阅历极其丰富，先后当过医生、商人、摄影师、记者、编辑、铁路大臣等，亦为“成功学”的鼻祖。

斯迈尔斯著有众多脍炙人口的杂文随笔，包括《自助》（Self-Help）、《品格的力量》（Character）、《节俭》（Thrift）、《职责》（Duty）等。他关于成功、幸福、良知、信仰、道德、自由等题材的随笔尤其受到读者欢迎。其作品全球畅销百年不衰，被誉为“个人奋斗的精神标本、高贵情操的精神堡垒”。

本文是中国读者耳熟能详的经典之作，最早见于1871年出版的《品格的力量》第十章“与书为友”，本文为节选。在作者眼中，好书在手，犹如好友相伴，可终身相随，不离不弃。

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 of 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 same kindness; amusing and instructing us in youth, and comforting and consoling us in age.

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 a truer and higher bond of union. Men can think, feel, and sympathise with each other through their favourite author. They live in him together, and he in them.

我们既可与人为伴，也可与书为友。观其书，即可知其人；正如观其友，便可识其人。无论以人为伴或与书为友，我们都应择善而从。

好书犹如至交。无论过去、现在还是将来，它永不改变。它是最耐心、最令人愉快的伴侣。当不幸或痛苦来临，它不离不弃。书始终以善意相待，为青年人带来愉悦与教益，为老年人带来安抚与慰藉。

人们会因共同喜爱一本书而惺惺相惜，正如两人会因共同仰慕一个人而结下友谊。古谚云“爱屋及乌”，但“爱吾及书”更不失为智语。书是更真切、更崇高的纽带。通过共同喜爱的作家，人们能共同思考、交流感受、产生共鸣。读者活在作家的思想中，作家活在读者的脑海里。

“Books,” said Hazlitt, “wind into the heart; the poet’s verse slides into the current of our blood. We read them when young, we remember them when old. We read there of what has happened to others; we feel that it has happened to ourselves. They are to be had everywhere cheap and good. We breathe but the air of books. We owe everything to their authors, on this side barbarism.”

A good book is often the best urn of a life, enshrining the best thoughts of which that life was capable; 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 abiding companions and comforters. “They are never alone,” said Sir Philip Sidney, “that are accompanied by noble thoughts.”

The good and true thought may in time of temptation be as an angel of mercy purifying and guarding the soul. It also enshrines the germs of action, for good words almost invariably inspire to good works.

...

哈兹利特[1]说过：“书籍潜入心灵，诗篇溶入血液。年少时所读之书，年迈时仍未忘怀。在书中读到他人的经历，我们感同身受。书籍价廉物美，我们随处皆可闻到书香。在此蛮荒之地，我们感激作者提供的一切。”

好书常为生命的最佳归宿，珍藏一生的思想精华。人生的境界，主要在于思想的境界。故好书犹如宝藏，既包含优美的语言，也蕴藏深邃的思想；倘若能铭记于心，将成为我们忠实的伴侣和永恒的慰藉。如菲利普•西德尼爵士1所说：“以高尚思想为伴者永不孤独。”

当诱惑袭来，高尚真诚的思想犹如仁慈的天使，净化并护卫灵魂。书籍中还珍藏着行动的萌芽，因为良言往往促成善行。

……

Books possess an essence of immortality. They are by far the most lasting products of human effort. Temples crumble into ruin; pictures 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 their author’s minds ages ago. What was then said and thought still speaks to us as vividly as ever from the printed page. The only effect of time has been to sift and winnow out the bad products; for nothing in literature can long survive but what is really good.

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 are participators in their thoughts; we sympathise 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.

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. Hence we ever remain under the influence of the great men of old. The imperial intellects of the world are as much alive now as they were ages ago.

书籍具有不朽的本质。它们是人类最持久的造物。庙宇会倒塌，绘画与雕塑会朽烂，书籍却经久长存。伟大的思想不受时光的影响。千百年前首次浮现于作者脑海的思想，时至今日依旧鲜活。往昔的话语与思想，至今仍通过书卷向我们娓娓道来。时间唯一的作用是淘汰糟粕，只有真正的佳作才能长存。

书籍引导我们与最优秀的人为伍，走近历代思想巨匠，如闻其声、如观其行、如见其人。我们与他们一同思考，感同身受，悲喜与共。我们分享作者的经历，仿佛置身于他们描绘的舞台，与他们同台演出。

伟人永不消逝，现世同样如此。他们的精神载入书卷，传遍四海。书籍是鲜活的声音，是一位智者，我们如今仍然聆听其教诲。因此，我们始终深受古时伟人的影响。至今，世间伟大的智慧仍生机勃勃，不减当年。

书籍引导我们与最优秀的人为伍，走近历代思想巨匠，如闻其声、如观其行、如见其人。

Samuel Smiles 塞缪尔•斯迈尔斯

[1] 威廉.哈兹利特（William Hazlitt，1778—1830），英语随笔首屈一指的大家，英语文学批评的大家。