塞繆爾·斯邁爾斯/Samuel Smiles
塞繆爾·斯邁爾斯（1812—1904），蘇格蘭作家，在1832年取得醫師資格，不久便放棄行醫，改行新聞工作，1838—1842年任《裏茲時報》編輯，1842—1866年從事鐵路行政工作。其作品中最傑出的是《自己拯救自己》，《品格的力量》，《金錢與人生》以及《人生的職責》，作品中蘊含維多利亞時代的價值觀，與其工作信條相互結合。
A man may usually be known by the books he reads as well as by the c ompany he keeps;for there is a companionship of books as well as of men;and one should always lived in the best company,whether it be of book s or of men.
A good book may be among the best of friends.It is the same today t hat 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 ad versity or distress.It always receives us with the same kindness,amusi ng and instructing us in youth,and comforting and consoling us in age.
Men often discover their affinity to each other by the love they hav e each for a book.The book is a truer and higher bond of union.Men can think,feel,and sympathize with each other through their favorite autho r.They live in him together and he,in them.
A good book is often the best urn of a life enshrining the best that life could think out;for the world of a man's life is,for the most pa rt,but the world of his thoughts.Thus the best books are treasuries o f good words,the golden thoughts,which,remembered and cherished,beco me our constant companions and comforters.
Books possess an essence of immortality.They are by far the most l asting products of human effort.Temples and statues decay,but books s urvive.Time is of no account with great thoughts,which are as fresh to day as when they first passed through their author's minds,ages ago.W hat was then said and thought still speaks to us as vividly as ever from the printed page.The only effect of time has been to sift out the bad p roducts;for nothing in literature can long survive but what is really g ood.
Books introduce us into the best society,they bring us into the pre sence of the greatest minds that have ever live.We hear what they said and did;we see them as if they were really alive;we sympathize with th em,enjoy with them,grieve with them;their experience becomes ours,an d we feel as if we were in a measure actors with them in the scenes whic h they describe.
讀其書，如同讀其人；同樣，觀其朋友，也如同觀其人。書如同人，都可成為伴侶；無論以書為友還是以人為伴，每個人都應有自己的知己。
一本好書可以成為我們最好的朋友。昨天如此，今天亦如此，這一點亙古不變。書是我們最有耐心和最使人愉悅的朋友。無論身處逆境，還是遭遇苦難，它都不會背棄我們。它總是懷著善意接納我們，年輕時，它給予我們快樂並指引我們；年老時，它給予我們心靈的慰藉並鼓勵我們。
因為對一本書的熱愛，我們發現彼此之間的親密無間。書是更為真實和高雅的聯係紐帶。人們通過自己最喜愛的作者，交流思想，產生心靈的共鳴。他們與作者同在，作者也與他們同在。
一本好書通常是記載生命的最好的甕，它蘊藏著生命中思想的瑰寶，因為思想占據了生活的大部分。因此，最好的書是詞匯之佳句，思想之瑰寶，最值得去懷念，去珍藏，是我們永遠的伴侶和慰藉者。
書是永恒不朽的。它是迄今為止人類不懈奮鬥的珍寶。廟宇和雕像可以被毀，而書卻永存。無論何時，那些偉大的思想，都永遠鮮活，如同首次浮上作者的心頭。當時的言談思想，透過書頁仍然與我們交談，而這一切就如同在我們的眼前。劣質的東西將被淘汰，這是時間的唯一功能，因為隻有真正優秀的東西，才能在文學中永存。
書指引我們邁入最優秀的領域，它把我們帶到曆史上所有偉大人物麵前。我們傾聽他們的言語與舉止，看到他們，如同看見一個鮮活的生命。我們與它產生共鳴，與它同享快樂，與它同享悲傷。我們經曆它所曾經遭遇的，我們如同演員在它描繪的舞台上演戲。