Companionship of BooksA 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 trouble or distress. It always receives us with the same kindness, amusing and instructing usin youth, and comforting us in age. Books possess an extract having the fundamental properties of immortality. They are by far the most lasting products of human effort. Temples 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'sminds ages ago. The only effect of time has been to sift 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 sympathize with them, enjoy with them, hurt 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 great intellects of the world are as much alive now as they were ages ago.
书 友 认识一个人只要知道他读什么书，交什么朋友即可。因为书和朋友都是好伙伴。任何人总是挑最好的伙伴，不管这个伙伴是书或是人。 一本好书或许是最好的朋友之一。它每天始终如一，永不变心，且它是最有耐心、最令人愉悦的朋友。在我们遇到困难或情绪低落时，它不会背弃我们。 它总是以一贯的温和态度对待我们。在我们年轻时它教导我们，给我们带来欢乐，在我们已近日暮残年时，它安慰我们，使我们倍受关怀。 书籍之精髓永垂不朽。迄今为止，书是人类努力写成的最持久耐用的作品。寺庙和雕像会被腐蚀破坏，但书却永远存在。伟大的思想不会随时间的流逝而褪色，很多年前作者头脑中掠过的思想仍能生动地展现在我们面前，就像当年刚刚印好的一样。 时间的惟一作用是淘汰劣质书籍，因为文学著作中只有好书籍才能流芳百世。 书籍引导我们进入最高的境界，它将我们带到历史上各位伟大人物的面前。我们听其言，见其行·，仿佛他们仍活于世上。我们对他们的遭遇表示同情，我们与他们悲喜与共，他们的经历成了我们的财富。我们感觉好像在某种程度上成为他们所描绘的舞台中的角色。 即使在当今世界，伟人也永不磨灭。他们的事迹记入史册，他们的精神传于四方。书是一种充满生气的声音，是人们仍能听得见的声音。 因此，我们仍然受着历代伟人的影响。现今，世界上的伟人智者像以前一样充满生机活力。
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