Any important book should immediately be read twice.

　　每一本重要的书籍都必须被一气呵成连续读上两遍。

　　partly because one grasps the matter in its entirety1 only the second time, and only really understands the beginning when one knows the end; and partly because one’s temper and mood inevitably change, so that one gets a different impression the second time, and sees the matter in another light.

　　原因之一在于一个人在阅读第二遍时，会更好地理解书中内容的整体关联，而只有知道了书的结尾才会明白书的开头；原因之二在于一个人的心境和情绪在第二次阅读时不可避免地与第一次有所不同，这样一来，第二次阅读获得的印象也会不同，能够从另一角度看待书中内容。

　　Works are the quintessence of a mind, and are therefore always of far greater value than conversation, even conversation with the greatest of minds. A man’s works far surpass his conversation. Even the writings of an ordinary man may be worth reading, both instructive and entertaining, for the simple reason that they are the quintessence — that is to say, the result and fruit of his whole thought and study; while his conversation is no more than the fruit of his whims.

　　著作是一个人的思想精华，尽管一个人具有伟大的思想，但阅读这个人的著作总会比与这个人交谈获得更多，因此，一个人的著作中所具有的价值的确远远超过这个人的谈话。甚至一个普通人所写出的文字也会有一定的启发意义，能够给人以消遣并值得一读，因为这些文字也是这个普通人的思想精华 —— 也就是说，是他所有思考和研究的结果，而他的谈话内容也许只是一时的突发奇想。

　　Accordingly, it is possible to read books written by people whose conversation would give us no satisfaction; and it follows that the mind can by degrees attain high culture only by finding entertainment almost entirely in books rather than men.

　　因此，与某些人的谈话无法给予我们乐趣，但这些人写出的作品却不妨一读。所以，高度的思想修养逐渐使我们完全只从书本，而不是从某个人那里寻找消遣和娱乐。

[《经典英语美文阅读-论阅读和书籍》英文翻译]相关文章：

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