奧裏森·馬登/Orison Marden
"In education," says Herbert Spencer,"the process of self-develo pment should be encouraged to the fullest extent.Children should be led to make their own investigations,and to draw their own inferences.They should be told as little as possible,and induced to discover as much as possible.Humanity has progressed solely by self-instruction;and that t o achieve the best results each mind must progress somewhat after the sa me fashion,is continually proved by the marked success of self-made men."
"My books,"said Thomas Hood,"kept me from the ring,the dog-pit,the tavern,and the saloon.The associate of Pope and Addison,the mind accustomed to the noble through silent discourse of Shakespeare and Milt on,will hardly seek or put up with low or evil company or slaves."
"When I get a little money," said Erasmus,"I buy books,and if a ny is left,I buy food and clothes."
"No entertainment is so cheap as reading," says Mary Worley Montag ue,"nor any pleasure so lasting." Good books elevate the character,p urify the taste,take the attractiveness out of low pleasures,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.
Perhaps no other thing has such power to lift the poor out of his po verty,the wretched out of his misery,to make the burden-bearer forget his burden,the sick his sufferings,the sorrower his grief,the downtro dden his degradation,as books.They are friends to the lonely,companio ns 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 da rkness,and sunshine into shadow.
"Twenty-five years ago,when I was a boy," said Rev.J.A.James,"a school-fellow gave me an infamous book,which he lent me for only f ifteen minutes.At the end of that time it was returned to him,but tha t book has haunted me like a specter ever since.I have asked God on my knees to obliterate that book from my mind,but I believe that I shall c arry down with me to the grave the spiritual damage I received during th ose fifteen minutes."
Did Homer and Plato and Socrates and Virgil ever dream that their wo rds would echo through the ages,and aid in shaping men's lives in the nineteenth century?They were mere infants when on earth in comparison w ith the mighty influence and power they now yield.Every life on the Ame rican continent has in some degree been influenced by them.
How important,then,is the selection of books which are to become a part of your being.
Knowledge cannot be stolen from us.It cannot be bought or sold.We may be poor,and the sheriff may come and sell our furniture,or drive a way our cow,or take our pet lamb,and leave us homeless and penniless;but he cannot lay the law's hand upon the jewelry of our minds.
"Good books and the wild woods are two things with which man can ne ver become too familiar," says George W.Cable."The books that inspire imagination,whether in truth or fiction;that elevate the thoughts,are the right kind to read."
Cotton Mather's Essay to do Good read by the boy Franklin influence d the latter's whole life.He advised everybody to read with a pen in hand and to make notes of all they read.
How many poor boys and girls who thought they had"no chance" in li fe have been started upon noble careers by the grand books of Smiles,To dd,Mathews,Munger,Whipple,Geikie,Thayer,and others.
You should bring your mind to the reading of a book,or to the study of any subject,as you take an axe to the grindstone;not for what you g et from the stone,but for the sharpening of the axe.Bacon says,"Some books are to be tasted,others to be swallowed,and some few to be chewe d and digested;that is,some books are to be read only in parts;others to be read,but not curiously;and some few to be read wholly,and with diligence and attention.Reading maketh a full man,conference a ready ma n,and writing an exact man,and therefore,if a man write little,he had need have a great memory;if he confer little,he had need have a presen t wit;and if he read little,he had need have much cunning,to seem to know that he doth not.Histories make men wise;poets witty;the mathema tics subtle;natural philosophy deep;morals grave;logic and rhetoric a ble to contend."
“在受教育期間，”英國哲學家赫伯特·斯賓塞說，“要最大限度地鼓勵自我發展的過程，指引孩子們自己去探索研究，並得出他們自己的結論。盡可能減少對他們的灌輸，而要引導他們自己去發現。隻需通過自我教育，人性便能不斷進步；要想達到最佳效果，每個人的思想必須經曆同樣的方式。那些自力更生者所取得的突出成就，就不斷證明了這一事實。”
英國詩人托馬斯·胡德說：“書籍讓我遠離花天酒地、烏煙瘴氣的場所。閱讀蒲柏和艾迪森的書，我的思想經過莎士比亞和彌爾頓沉默演講的洗禮，更加高尚，從而讓我不再追尋或忍受粗俗、邪惡的行為。”
“如果我有一點錢，”荷蘭哲學家伊拉斯謨說道，“我會去買書。如果還有多餘的錢，我才會買食品和衣物。”
英國女作家蒙塔古夫人說：“沒有哪種娛樂像讀書一樣廉價，也沒有一種樂趣能如此長久。”好書能提升人的個性，淨化人的品位，使人擺脫低級趣味，帶我們進入更高層次的思想和生活。但這並非簡單地讀一本高尚的、鼓舞人心的書就能實現。
如果一個人帶著進步與快樂的追求讀一本書的話，那他的談吐就會變得富有內涵。
也許沒有其他東西能像書籍一樣擁有如此的力量：它能讓窮苦的人擺脫貧困，令可憐的人脫離不幸，使肩負重擔的人忘記他的負荷，為病人減輕痛苦，讓悲哀的人忘記憂愁，讓被壓迫的人忘記苦難。書籍是孤獨者的摯友、隱者的同伴、憂愁者的快樂、絕望者的希望、氣餒者的勇氣、無助者的幫手，它為黑暗帶來光明，使陰影灑滿陽光。
“25年前，我還是一個小男孩。”詹姆士教士大人說道，“同學借給我一本並不出名的書，而且隻借給我15分鍾。最後我把書還給他時，那本書依然以一種前所未有的魔力深深地吸引著我。我曾跪著懇求上帝把那本書的記憶從我腦中刪除，但我相信，這本書在15分鍾內帶給我的震撼，將會伴我一生，直到生命的終結。”
荷馬、柏拉圖、蘇格拉底和維吉爾是否曾夢想過他們的作品能超越時代，並幫助19世紀的人們重塑他們的生活？他們剛出生時，也不過是嬰兒，可如今他們卻產生了如此巨大的影響力。美洲大陸上的每個人都在不同程度上受到了他們的影響。
因而，讓書籍成為你生活的一部分，是多麽的重要！
誰也不能把知識從我們這裏偷走，它不能賣也不能買。我們可能很窮，州長或許會過來賣掉我們的家具，趕走我們的牛，或牽走我們的羊羔，讓我們無家可歸、窮困潦倒，但他無法用法律之手奪走我們的思想財富。
“好書和原始森林這兩者永遠無法被人類徹底了解，”喬治·凱布爾說，“一本書，不管它是真實的還是虛構的，隻要能激發人的想象，使人的思想得以升華，那它就是一本好書。”
科頓·馬瑟牧師的《行善隨筆》，富蘭克林小時候就讀過，這本書影響了他的一生。他向每個人建議：讀書時，應拿一支筆，養成寫讀書筆記的習慣。
曾認為生活中“沒有機會”的許多窮苦的人，都是在讀了斯邁爾斯、托德、馬修斯、芒格、惠普爾、蓋基、塞耶的巨著以後，開始了他們高尚的職業之旅。
你應該讓自己的思想沉浸在書的海洋裏，或者研究任何一種學科，就像在磨石上磨斧頭一樣；不是為了從石頭上得到任何東西，而是為了使斧頭更加鋒利。培根說：“一些書看看就行，另外一些可以通讀，隻有少數的幾本要細細品味，慢慢消化。換言之，一些書隻需選讀其中一部分，另一些要全篇閱讀，但不必句句斟酌，隻有少數的幾本書不但要通讀整本，還要專心研讀、勤於思考。讀書使人充實，談話使人才思敏捷，寫作則使人思維縝密。所以，如果一個人不喜歡動筆，那他就得有好的記憶；如果他不常與人交談，那他就得充滿智慧；如果讀書不多，那他就得非常狡猾，借以掩蓋他的無知。曆史使人英明慎重，詩歌使人機智詼諧，數學使人精確嚴謹，自然哲學使人淵博深沉，道德使人莊重嚴肅，而邏輯學則使人口齒伶俐。”
1.They should be____as little as possible,and induced to disc over____much as possible.Humanity has progressed solely by self-in struction;and____to achieve the best results each mind must progre ss somewhat____the same fashion,is continually proved by the marked____of self-made men.
2.How many____boys and girls who thought they had "no____"in life have been started upon noble careers by the grand____o f Smiles,Todd,Mathews,Munger,Whipple,Geikie,Thayer,and____.
1.沒有哪種娛樂像讀書一樣廉價，也沒有一種樂趣能如此長久。
2.書籍是孤獨者的摯友、隱者的同伴、憂愁者的快樂、絕望者的希望、氣餒者的勇氣、無助者的幫手，它為黑暗帶來光明，使陰影灑滿陽光。
3.讀書使人充實，談話使人才思敏捷，寫作則使人思維縝密。