英語(yǔ)原文：
A man may usually be known by the books he reads as well as 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 love they each have for a book.
The book is a truer and higher bond of union.
Men can think, feel，and sympathize with him each other through their favorite author.
They live in 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 part, but the world of his thoughts.
Thus the best books are treasuries of good words，the golden thoughts, which，remembered and cherished, become our constant companions and comforters.
Books possess an essence of immortality.
They are by far the most lasting products of human effort.
Temples and statues decay，but books survive.
Time is of no account with great thoughts, which are as fresh today as when they first passed through their authors' minds ages ago.
What was then said and thought still speaks to us as vividly as ever from the printed page.
Books introduce us into the best society; they bring us into the presence of the greatest minds that have ever lived.
We hear what they said and did; we see them as if they were really alive; we sympathize with them, enjoy with them，grieve with them;
their experience becomes ours, and we feel as if we were in a measure actors with them in the scenes which they describe.
譯文：以書為伴
通常可由一個(gè)人所閱讀的書以及所結(jié)交的朋友而知其為人;因?yàn)闀勺靼榫秃腿丝勺靼橐粯?
而且人們應(yīng)該永遠(yuǎn)與最好的為伴，不管是書或是人。一本好書可能就是最好的朋友之一。
這本書往昔如此，今日亦復(fù)如此，而且永不改變。所有同伴中，它是最有耐心而且最令人愉悅的一位。
我們不論身處逆境或困境，它都不會(huì)背棄我們。
它永遠(yuǎn)總是那么仁慈地接納我們，我們年輕時(shí)，它給我們快樂(lè)與教導(dǎo)，而我們年華老去時(shí)，則給我們安撫與慰藉。
人們常發(fā)現(xiàn)他們對(duì)彼此的喜愛(ài)乃是由于他們對(duì)某本書的共同愛(ài)好所使然。
書更能真實(shí)而又強(qiáng)有力地凝聚感情。
人們可以透過(guò)他們共同喜愛(ài)的作者彼此作心靈、感情的交流。
他們活在作者的世界里，而作者亦活在他們的心中。
好書往往是人生的寶庫(kù)，里頭蘊(yùn)含著人生的思想精華，
因?yàn)榇篌w而言，一個(gè)人的生活世界不過(guò)就是他的思想世界。
因此最好的書就是藏有金玉良言一一亦即偉大思想的寶庫(kù)，我們?nèi)裟芾斡洸⒄湎н@些金玉良言，它們就會(huì)一輩子跟著我們、安慰我們。
書具有不朽的特性。
它們是為人類努力創(chuàng)造的最為持久的成果。
廟宇和雕像會(huì)腐朽，而書依然長(zhǎng)存。
與偉大的思想相較，時(shí)間則顯得微不足道，這些偉大的思想至今仍然鮮明，鮮明得就像多年前它們才從作者的腦海里浮現(xiàn)出來(lái)一樣。
當(dāng)時(shí)的言詞及思想至今仍透過(guò)書本生動(dòng)地與我們溝通。書引導(dǎo)我們與最優(yōu)秀的人為伍;它們帶領(lǐng)我們到古今最偉大的思想家的面前。
我們可以聽(tīng)見(jiàn)他們的所言所行: 我們可以見(jiàn)到他們，仿佛他們?nèi)曰钤谑郎?我們與他們情感交流，與他們共喜共悲;他們的經(jīng)驗(yàn)變成我們自己的經(jīng)驗(yàn)，而我們覺(jué)得自己仿佛了有些像演員，與他們共同在他們所描述的場(chǎng)景中一塊演出。