Read book from years past | Albert Einstein

阿爾伯特·愛(ài)因斯坦：讀讀過(guò)去的書(shū)

Keeping up with current events and the latest buzz-worthy book from the bestseller list is no small feat， but Albert Einstein thought it was vital to leave some room for older works， too. Otherwise， youd be “completely dependent on the prejudices and fashions of your times，” he wrote in a journal article.

“Somebody who reads only newspapers and at best books of contemporary authors looks to me like an extremely near-sighted person who scorns eyeglasses，” he wrote in the article.

緊跟時(shí)事、看盡暢銷榜上的火爆新書(shū)并非易事，但是阿爾伯特·愛(ài)因斯坦認(rèn)為，留一些時(shí)間看看老書(shū)也很重要。否則，你就會(huì)“完全被自己時(shí)代的偏見(jiàn)和潮流所左右”，愛(ài)因斯坦在一篇期刊文章中寫(xiě)道。

他在文章中還寫(xiě)道：“有的人只讀報(bào)紙和當(dāng)代作家的最佳作品，在我看來(lái)，這就像重度近視的人不屑于戴眼鏡。”

Dont jump too quickly from book to book | Lucius Annaeus Seneca

呂齊烏斯·安涅·塞涅卡：不要在短時(shí)間內(nèi)讀太多太雜的書(shū)

Seneca， a first-century Roman Stoic philosopher and trusted advisor of Emperor Nero， believed that reading too wide a variety in too short a time would keep the teachings from leaving a lasting impression on you. “You must linger among a limited number of master thinkers， and digest their works， if you would derive ideas which shall win firm hold in your mind，” he wrote in a letter to Roman writer Lucilius.

公元一世紀(jì)的古羅馬斯多葛派哲學(xué)家、尼祿大帝信賴的顧問(wèn)塞涅卡認(rèn)為，在短時(shí)間內(nèi)讀書(shū)太雜會(huì)讓自己無(wú)法長(zhǎng)久銘記從書(shū)中獲得的教益。他在給羅馬作家盧齊利烏斯的信中寫(xiě)道：“你必須花時(shí)間品讀少數(shù)幾位偉大思想家的作品，這樣才能讓教益常駐心間。”

Shop at secondhand bookstores | Virginia Woolf

弗吉尼亞·伍爾芙：在二手書(shū)店買書(shū)

In her essay “Street Haunting”， Virginia Woolf described the merits of shopping in secondhand bookstores， where the works “have come together in vast flocks of variegated feather， and have a charm which the domesticated volumes of the library lack.”

According to Woolf， browsing through used books gives you the chance to stumble upon something that wouldnt have risen to the attention of librarians and booksellers， who are often much more selective in crating their collections than secondhand bookstore owners.

弗吉尼亞·伍爾芙在她的散文《街頭漫步》中描述了在二手書(shū)店買書(shū)的好處，在那里各種書(shū)籍“像斑駁的羽毛一樣堆在一起，這種魅力正是圖書(shū)館里中規(guī)中矩的藏書(shū)所欠缺的”。

伍爾芙認(rèn)為，翻看二手書(shū)讓你有機(jī)會(huì)邂逅那些圖書(shū)管理員和書(shū)商沒(méi)有注意到的書(shū)，他們?cè)谶x擇書(shū)目時(shí)通常都比二手書(shū)店老板挑剔得多。

You can skip outdated scientific works， but not old literature | Edward Bulwer-Lytton

愛(ài)德華·鮑沃爾-利頓：科學(xué)著作讀新的，文學(xué)著作讀老的

“In science， read， by preference， the newest works; in literature， the oldest，” Edward wrote in his essay collection， Caxtoniana. “The classic literature is always modern. New books revive and redecorate old ideas; old books suggest and invigorate new ideas.”

愛(ài)德華在散文集《卡克斯頓匯編》中寫(xiě)道：“讀科學(xué)著作，當(dāng)然是新作更好，但是讀文學(xué)，就要讀最老的。經(jīng)典文學(xué)作品永遠(yuǎn)不過(guò)時(shí)。新書(shū)是新瓶裝陳酒，老書(shū)則能激發(fā)新思路。”

Check out authors reading lists for book recommendations | Mortimer J. Adler

莫提默·J.艾德勒：參考作家的讀書(shū)清單

In his guide How to Read a Book， American philosopher Mortimer J. Adler talked about the importance of choosing books that other authors consider worth reading. “The great authors were great readers，” he explained， “and one way to understand them is to read the books they read.”

美國(guó)哲學(xué)家莫提默·J.艾德勒在他的指南書(shū)《如何閱讀一本書(shū)》中談?wù)摰?，選擇作家認(rèn)為有價(jià)值的書(shū)籍來(lái)讀的重要性。他解釋道：“偉大的作家都是博覽群書(shū)者，要想理解他們，一個(gè)方法就是讀他們讀過(guò)的書(shū)。”

Word Study

prejudice /'pred?ud?s/ n. 偏見(jiàn);成見(jiàn)

linger /'l??ɡ?（r）/ v. 花很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間（做某事）

She lingered for a few minutes to talk to her father.

derive /d?'ra?v/ v. 獲得;得到

He derived great pleasure from painting.

variegated /'ve?ri?ɡe?t?d/ adj. 斑駁的

stumble up 偶遇

invigorate /?n'v?ɡ?re?t/ v. 刺激;激勵(lì)

They are looking into ways of invigorating the department.