爱华网“书中自有黄金屋。”纸墨喷香，分享前人人生经历，汲取古人思想精华。北外的钱青教授借培根的名篇《谈读书》，为我们剖析读书的益处。培根的四句名言，王佐良老先生的精辟译文，让我们为文字沉醉，因文字深省。
Finally,literature is important because it contains thedistillation of the life experience and mature views of the peoplewho came before us.Distillationof the life experience and mature views,就是生活经历跟陈述观点的接近, 过去的人。Because of this, we shouldtreasure it. Take Of Studies, the essay by Francis Bacon,《谈读书》，培根写的，as an example. The language may beold-fashioned, but what does it matter?The ideasstill provide us with fruitful thought, and fill us with admirationfor the sharp perception, 观察力，敏锐的观察力, wise judgment, andprecise expression, 精炼的, of the writer, even though the essaywas written over four hundred years ago.（培根的《谈读书》虽为古书，却依然发人深省，令人拍案叫绝。）Listen to what he says:"Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, andwriting an exact man." （读书使人充实，讨论使人机智，笔记使人准确。）This is veryprecise, very concise很精炼的。"Full" here means "fully rounded",in the sense of reading broadens one's vision, helps one tounderstand the world of human nature better. Conference, a readyman. Conference 400 years ago just meant conversation. Talking withpeople a lot helps a person to be observant and respond quickly.While frequent writing, "writing makes an exact man", helps one toexpress his ideas more accurately. That's the meaning.
Howtrue this is! And how accurately and how briefly Bacon expressesthe idea!
Hegoes on to sum up various uses of studies. "Studies servefor delight, for ornament and for ability. Their chief use fordelight is in privateness and retiring; for ornament, is indiscourse; and for ability, is in the judgment and disposition ofbusiness." （读书足以怡情，足以博彩，足以长才。其怡情也，最见于独处幽居之时；其傅彩也，最见于高谈阔论之中；其长才也，最见于处世判事之际。）Many of uslike to spend our spare time reading something for enjoyment. WhatBacon sees as private reading, reading for your own pleasure.Bacon's "delight" simply means "pleasure".In addition,some people may read something in order to impress others withtheir conversational ability or knowledge."Discourse"here refersto "conversation", since this reading is simply to make othersbelieve you have good conversational abilities or are veryknowledgeable, Bacon calls it "reading for ornament", that is 点缀,装饰. It's like wearing a necklace to make yourself more lovely.You read to make yourself seem more clever and win the admirationof others. Bacon points out that "studies also serve forability".Here,ability does not refer to conversational abilities, as he makes itclearer in the sentence, he means ability to judge correctly anddeal with one's work correctly.In our reading, this is moreimportant than picking up fragments of knowledge. We read in orderto form the right values, our independent opinion and to be able tojudge things correctly.
Bacon doesn't end there, hewarns us, "Read not to contradict andconfute, nor to believe and take for granted, nor to find talk anddiscourse, but to weigh and consider." （读书时不可存心诘难作者，不可尽信书上所言，亦不可只为寻章摘句，而应推敲细思。）In short,read not to criticize blindly, nor to acceptblindly,不是为了盲目地为了批判别人，或者是为了全部都接受, nor tofind material for conversation, 也不是为了找话题，but to considercarefully and to pass judgment. 自己好做判断。
Reading in fact, is a way oftraining ourselves to look at life in the right way, and to learn,to make sensible and suitable decisions in life.
Inthe same essay, Bacon also points out "Crafty men contemnstudies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them, for theyteach not their own use; but that is a wisdom without them andabove them, won by observation."（狡黠者鄙读书，无知者羡读书，唯明智之士用读书，然书并不以用处告人，用书之智不在书上，而在书外，全凭观察得之。）"Crafty men"does not mean狡猾的，the language you see has different meanings inthose days, men with some kind of skill or craft,有技术的人，crafty men, men with skill or craft look down uponstudies, because they use their hands.Simple men,simple-minded men worship studies, because they don't have them,and wise men make use of them. We should do neither.Like wisepeople we should make use of studies, not simply to gain surfaceknowledge, but to gain wisdom through careful observation andexperience. This surpasses actual knowledge.
For example, youmay gain some factual knowledge, reading Bacon's essay, "OfStudies" and be able to repeat the aims of study, and how oneshould study and perhaps even be able to use his essay to show offyour knowledge and amuse friends, but none of this is as importantas learning to view things in depth the way Bacon does possessinghis powers of observation, and thus becoming more capable of maturethought and judgment.附：培根简介Francis Bacon (1561-1626):英国著名哲学家、散文家、法律学者。他出身名门，父亲是伊丽莎白女王的掌玺大臣（LordKeeper of the Seal），母亲是女王朝中第一重臣伯利勋爵（LordBurleigh）的妹妹。12岁时，培根前往剑桥求学，16岁毕业后，开始学习法律，17岁时，便跟随使团出使法国。可惜好景不长，由于父亲的突然死亡，并未给培根留下足够的遗产，舅父伯利勋爵又不肯施以援手，培根只得自谋生路，艰难修习完成法律课程后，在伦敦成为了一名律师，26岁入选国会。此后，培根竭尽所能希望能引起女王的关注，却收效甚微，直到46岁时，新国王詹姆士一世的继位才给了培根出人头地的机会，他被任命为大法官（LordHighChancellor）。1621年，培根因受贿罪和包庇罪被政敌控告（事实上，培根并未涉及到严重的经济问题，不过他在执法时过分纵容王廷，使法律公正性大受质疑），于当年被免职。1626年，去世。培根一生写过不少哲学著作和散文，备受学者推崇。他的散文颇有法国文学家蒙田的文风，这次钱青教授介绍的四句名言就出自培根的散文《论读书》（OfStudies）。
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