观其友而知其人，同样，观察一个人读些什么书就可知他的为人，只因书与人一样，也能做人之友。无论是书还是人，我们都应该择其最佳者为友。

英语背诵名篇:　Companionship of Books 书为友

A man may usually be known by the books he reads, as well as by the company he keeps; for there is a companionship of books as well as of men; and one should always live in the best company, whether it be of books or of men.

A good book may be among the best of friends. It is the same today that 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 adversity or distress. It always receives us with the same kindness; amusing and instructing us in youth, and comforting and consoling us in age.

Men often discover their affinity to each other by the mutual love they have for a book—just as two persons sometimes discover a friend by the admiration which both entertain for a third. There is an old proverb, "Love me, love my dog." But there is more wisdom in this: "Love me, love my book." The book is a truer and higher bond of union. Men can think, feel, and sympathise with each other through their favourite author. They live in him together, and he in them.

Books, said Hazlitt, "wind into the heart; the poet's verse slides in the current of our blood. We read them when young, we remember them when old. We feel that it has happened to ourselves. They are to be had very cheap and good. We breathe but the air of books."

A good book is often the best urn of a life, enshrining the best thoughts of which that life was capable; for the world of a man's life is, for the most part, but the world of his thoughts. Thus the best books are treasuries of good words and golden thoughts, which, remembered and cherished, become our abiding companions and comforters. "They are never alone," said Sir Philip Sidney, "that are accompanied by noble thoughts." The good and true thought may in time of temptation be as an angel of mercy purifying and guarding the soul. It also enshrines the germs of action, for good words almost invariably inspire to good works.

Excerpt From Character

By Samuel Smiles

［参考译文］

书为友

塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯

观其友而知其人，同样，观察一个人读些什么书就可知他的为人，只因书与人一样，也能做人之友。无论是书还是人，我们都应该择其最佳者为友。

一本好书可以成为人的挚友，古往今来，恒久不变。所有朋友中，书本最为耐心而又令人愉悦。我们身处逆境灰心沮丧时，书本并不背弃我们。它对我们始终如一，友爱接纳。我们年轻时，书本给我们以欢娱和陶冶；我们年迈时，又予我们以慰藉和鼓励。

人们常常因同爱一本书而精神共鸣，正如两个人有时因共同仰慕另外一人而彼此成为朋友。古谚云“爱屋及乌”，而“爱其人，也爱其珍爱之书”这句话里却含有更多的哲理。书是更忠诚更高尚的情感纽带。人们可以通过共同喜爱的作者而相知相契，息息相通。他们的思想与作者的思想水乳交融，密不可分。

黑兹利特曾说：“书香轻拂沁心灵，诗行轻滑渗血液。青春时所读之书，垂暮时依然会回想，仿佛就在身边发生。书籍价廉物美，我们就在书香中呼吸。”

一本好书往往就是作者的人生结晶，里面蕴藏着他穷其一生的求索成果。因为人一生的世界大多就是其思想的世界，故而最优秀的书籍也就是至理名言和辉煌思想的宝藏。这些思想若能铭记在心，就成为我们永久的朋友和永恒的慰藉。菲利普·锡德尼爵士说得好：“与高尚思想为伴的人永不寂寞。”在我们受诱惑时，美好纯真的思想如同仁慈的天使，净化呵护着我们的灵魂，并蕴含着我们行动的萌芽，因为金玉良言总能激励我们美好的行为。

［注释］

-company [ˈkʌmpənɪ] n. 陪伴 to accompany or associate with

-adversity [ədˈvɜːsɪtɪ] n. 不幸，逆境 a state of hardship or affliction; misfortune

-distress [dɪˈstres] n. 悲痛，穷困 anxiety or mental suffering

-console [kənˈsəʊl] v. 安慰 to allay the sorrow

-affinity [əˈfɪnətɪ] n. 吸引力，亲和力 a natural attraction or feeling of kinship

-bond [bɒnd] n. 结合，黏结 link

-sympathise [ˈsɪmpəθaɪz] v. 同情，共鸣，同感 to express compassion

-urn [ɜːn] n. 壶。这一句的意思是：好书常如最精美的宝器，珍藏着人一生思想的精华

-enshrine [ɪnˈʃraɪn] v. 铭记 to enclose in

-abiding [əˈbaɪdɪŋ] adj. 持久的 lasting for a long time; enduring

Sir Philip Sidney ：菲利普·锡德尼爵士（1554—1586），英国诗人

-mercy [ˈmɜːsɪ] n. 仁慈，宽恕 compassionate treatment; clemency

-purify [ˈpjʊərɪfaɪ] v. 净化 to rid of impurities; cleanse

-inspire [ɪnˈspaɪə(r)] v. 鼓舞，感动，激发 to stimulate to action; motivate

［作者简介］

塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯（Samuel Smiles, 1812—1904），英国19世纪伟大的道德学家和作家。他写过许多脍炙人口的人生随笔作品，如《自己拯救自己》、《品格的力量》、《人生的职责》、《金钱与人生》等等，在全球畅销一百多年而不衰，改变了亿万人民的命运，他被誉为“西方的成功学之父”、“卡耐基的精神导师”。

塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯（Samuel Smiles，1812年-1904年）是英国的作家、改革家，被誉为成功学鼻祖。他于1812年12月23日出生于苏格兰爱丁堡附近的哈丁顿，并在一生中担任过医生、商人、摄影师、随笔作家、历史学家、记者、编辑、社会改革家、铁路大臣、公众道德家和演说家等多重职务。

斯迈尔斯的丰富人生阅历为他提供了独特的视角去观察人性的优点与缺点，以及人生的成败得失，这些观察结果深深地影响了他的创作。他一生写过20多部著作，其中最受人喜爱的是有关人生成功与幸福、有关良知、信仰、道德、自由与责任等领域的随笔作品，如《自己拯救自己》、《与书为友》、《品格的力量》、《金钱与人生》和《人生的职责》等。

他的作品深受读者喜爱，其中的人生观念和成功理念对许多人产生了深远的影响。他的名言"要了解一个人，看他有什么；要评估一个人，看他付出了什么"也反映出他重视个人付出和努力的价值观。总的来说，塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯是一位多才多艺且富有影响力的作家和社会改革家。