The only true equalizers in the world are books; the only treasure-house open to all comers is a library.世间唯有书籍真正平等待人；唯有图书馆是来者不拒的宝库。
——Dr. Langford 兰福德博士
Books are a guide in youth and an entertainment for age. They support us under solitude, and keep us from being a burden to ourselves.书籍是少年人的向导，老者的消遣。它在孤独时给我们支持，让我们轻松自在。
——Jeremy Collier 杰里米•科利尔
Perhaps no other thing has such power to lift the poor out of his poverty, the wretched out of his misery, to make the burden-bearer forget his burden, the sick his suffering, the sorrower his grief, the downtrodden his degradation, as books. They are friends to the lonely, companions to the deserted, joy to the joyless, hope to the hopeless, good cheer to the disheartened, a helper to the helpless. They bring light into darkness, and sunshine into shadow.
也许世间没有任何东西比书籍的力量更强大，它能让穷人摆脱贫困，让苦难者摆脱不幸，使负重的人忘记重负，使病人忘记痛苦，使伤心人忘记忧愁，使受压迫者忘掉屈辱。书籍是孤独者的朋友，给被遗弃的人做伴，给不快活的人带来欢乐，让绝望的人看到希望，给沮丧的人鼓舞，给无助的人帮助。它们用光明照亮暗处，将阳光射入阴影。
We may be poor, socially ostracized, shut out from all personal association with the great and the good, and yet be in the best society in the world, in books. We may live in palaces, converse with princes, be familiar with royalty, and associate with the greatest and noblest of all time.
我们可能卑微，遭社会摈弃，没有机会结交伟人。但是我们可以在书中找到世上最好的社交圈。我们可以住在宫殿里，同王公交谈，与王室成员相熟，始终与最伟大、最高尚的人往来。
The trend of many a life for good or ill, for success or failure, has been determined by a single book. The books which we read early in life are those which influence us most.
许多人的人生幸与不幸，成功或失败，都是一本书决定的。少年时读过的书对我们的影响非常深远。
We form many of our opinions from our favourite books. The author whom we prefer is our most potent teacher, we look at the world through his eyes. If we habitually read books that are elevating in tone, pure in style, sound in reasoning, and keen in insight, our minds develop the same characteristics. If, on the contrary, we read weak or vicious books, our minds contract the faults and vices of the books. We cannot escape the influence of what we read any more than we can escape the influence of the air that we breathe.
我们的许多观点都来自自己喜爱的书中。我们喜欢的作者往往是对我们影响最深的老师，我们通过他的眼睛看世界。如果我们习惯阅读一些振奋人心、文风纯正、逻辑分明、洞察敏锐的书，这些品质也会在我们的思想中生根发芽。相反，如果我们阅读消极、不健康的书，则会沾染书中的缺点和恶习。我们无法逃避书本的影响，如同无法避免空气对我们的影响一样。
The best books are those which stir us up most and make us the most determined to do something and be something ourselves. The best books are those which lift us to a higher plane where we breathe a purer atmosphere. As we should associate with people who can inspire us to nobler deeds, so we should only read those books which have an uplifting power, and which stir us to make the most of ourselves and our opportunities.
最好的书是那些最能激励我们、让我们坚定地做事做人的书。它们让我们上升到更高的境界，让我们呼吸更清新的空气。正如应结交良友催己奋进，我们也应该只读那些鼓舞人心，帮助我们实现自身价值、更好地把握机会的书。
Emerson had three rules for reading: never read a book that is not a year old; never read any but famous books; never read a book you do not like.
关于读书，爱默生有三条原则：不读出版不到一年的书；只读名著；只读自己喜欢的书。
Libraries are no longer a luxury, but a necessity. A home without books and periodicals and newspapers is like a house without windows. Children learn to read by being in the midst of books; they unconsciously absorb knowledge by handling them. No family can now afford to be without good reading. Furnish your house with books rather than unnecessary furniture, or even pictures if you cannot afford all. Wear threadbare clothes and patched shoes if necessary, but do not pinch or economize on books. If you cannot give your children an academic education, you can place within their reach a few good books which will lift them above their surroundings into respectability and honour.
藏书不再是一种奢侈，而是一种必需。一个家没有书报、杂志，就像一个房子没有窗户。孩子会在满是书的环境中学会阅读，从中不知不觉地吸取知识。现在任何一个家庭都不能没有好的读物。如果你没有足够的经济实力，就用书来装饰你的家，而不必用一些不必要的家具和图画；就算穿破旧的衣服鞋袜，也不要吝啬钱买书；如果无力供孩子上学，你可以给他们一些好书，那会让他们摆脱环境的束缚，成为受人尊敬的人。
"No entertainment is so cheap as reading," says Mary Wortley Montagu, "nor any pleasure so lasting." Good books elevate the character, purify the taste, take the attractiveness out of low pleasure, and lift us upon a higher plane of thinking and living. It is not easy to be mean directly after reading a noble and inspiring book. The conversation of a man who reads for improvement or pleasure will be flavored by his reading; but it will not be about his reading.
玛丽•沃特利•蒙塔古说：“没有比读书更便宜的娱乐，也没有比读书之乐更持久的愉悦。”好书可以陶冶情操、净化心灵，抵制低级趣味的诱惑，使我们的生活品位和思想境界达到更高水平。刚刚读过一本品味高尚、激励人心的书，我们无法做出低劣的事。为进步或乐趣而读书的人，谈吐会更加风趣，却不会照搬书本。
Whatever you read, read with enthusiasm, with energy, read with the whole mind, if you would increase your mental stature, learn to absorb the mental and the moral life of a book, and assimilate it into your life. He is the best reader who consumes the most knowledge and converts it into character. Mechanical readers remember words, the husks of things, but digest nothing. They cram their brains but starve their minds. If you are getting the most out of a book, you will feel a capacity for doing things which you never felt before.
不论你读什么书，如果你想提升精神境界，领会书中的精神和生活的道理，并把它们融入你的生活，就要饱含激情、精力充沛、全心全意地去读。能将最多的知识消化并将之融入自身的人是最会读书的人。死读书的人只会背诵字词和一些皮毛，没有丝毫领悟。他们脑袋里塞满了东西，却毫无思想。如果你从某一本书中受益颇深，就会感受到一种前所未有的力量。
文 | 双语悦读编辑组
图 | 优美图
摘自掌阅书城《1℃的爱情》
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