Book and Life
书和生活
Books are to mankind what memory is to the individual [,indi'vidju?l, -d??l].
书籍之于全人类,犹如记忆力之于个人
They contain the history of our race, the discoveries we have made,
它们包含了我们种族的历史、重大发现
the accumulated knowledge and experience of ages;
世世代代积累的知识与经验
they picture for us the miracles ['mir?kl] and beauties of nature, help us in our difficulties,
他们为我们描绘了奇迹和自然美,帮助我们在我们的困难
comfort us in sorrow['s?r?u, 's?:-] and in suffering, change hours of weariness ['wi?rinis] into moments of delight,
安慰我们痛苦和忧伤,改变小时厌倦烦恼时所喜爱的
store [st?:] our minds with ideas, fill them with good and happy thoughts,
储存知识武装我们的头脑,填满美好而快乐的思想
and lift us out of and above ourselves.
和帮助我们超越自我
Many of those who have had, as we say, all that this world can give,
许多人已拥有,正如我们所说的,这世间所能给予的一切
have yet told us they owed much of their purest happiness to books.
还没有告诉我们他们欠它们的许多最纯粹的快乐却来自于书本
Macaulay had wealth and fame, rank and power,
麦考利享有财富、名声、地位和权利
and yet he tells us in his biography [bai'?ɡr?fi]that he owed the happiest hours of his life to books.
然而,他在自己的传记中告诉大家,他欠的一生中最幸福的时刻是从书本中获得的
He says, “If any one would make me the greatest king that ever lived,
他说:“如果有人让我成为史上最伟大的帝王,住过的地方
with palaces and gardens and fine dinners, and wines and coaches, and beautiful clothes,
拥有宫殿、花园、美味佳肴,美酒马车、漂亮的衣服
and hundreds of servants, on condition that I should not read books,
以及几百奴仆,条件是我不能读书
I would not be a king;
我不会成为一个国王
I would rather be a poor man in a garret ['ɡ?r?t] with plenty of books than a king who didn’t love reading.”
我宁愿做一个穷人在充满书籍的小阁楼里的一个作王的人并不爱读书
Precious and priceless are the blessings ['blesi?]which the books scatter ['sk?t?] around our daily paths.
珍贵和无价的祝福书籍沿着我们日常的路径
We walk, in imagination, with the noblest ['n?ublist] spirits,
我们走路的时候,在想象中,怀着最崇高的精神
through the most solemn['s?l?m] and charming regions.
通过最庄严的和迷人的地区
Without stirring['st?:ri?] from our firesides we may roam to the most remote regions of the earth,
无须离开家门,我们便可遨游世界上最遥远的地方
or soar into realms when Spenser's shapes of unearthly beauty flock to meet us,
可以飞到斯宾塞笔下的梦境般的王国形状时,超凡脱俗的美蜂拥而至,迎接我们的到来
where Milton's angels peal in our ears the choral hymns of Paradise['p?r?dais].
塞弥尔顿的天使在哪里在我们的耳边合唱的天国赞美诗如雷贯耳吗
Science, art, literature, philosophy,
科学、艺术、文学及哲学
—all that man has thought, all that man has done,
那个人-所有的思想、所有的人所行的
—the experience that has been bought with the sufferings of a hundred generations,
买——经验的苦难的一代又一代人
—all are garnered up for us in the world of books.
-蕴藏在书籍的世界里了。
