培根的《論讀書》OfStudies(原文和譯文)

1、Of StudiesSTUDIES serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their chief use for delight, is in privateness and retiring; for ornament, is in discourse; and for ability, is in the judgment, and disposition of business. For expert men canexecute, and perhaps judge of particulars, one by one; b

2、ut the general counsels, and the plots and marshalling of affa irs,come best, from those that are learned. To spend too muc h timein studies is sloth; to use them too much for ornament, is affectation; to make judgment wholly by their rules, is the humor of a scholar. They perfect nature, and are pe

3、rfected by experience: for natural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning, by study; and studies themselves, do gi veforth directions too much at large, except they be bounded inby experience. Crafty men contemn studies, simple men ad mire them, and wise men use them; for they teach no

4、t their own use;but that is a wisdom without them, and above them, won byobservation. Read not to contradict and confute; nor to beli eveand take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider. Some books are to be tasted, others t o beswallowed, and some few to be chewed and

5、 digested; that i s,some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read,but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and wit hdiligence and attention. Some books also may be read by d eputy,and extracts made of them bothers; but that would be only inthe less important arguments, and the

6、 meaner sort of book s,else distilled books are like common distilled waters, flashythings.Reading make a full man; conference a ready man; and writ ingan 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 present wit: and if he

7、read little, he had need have much cunning, to seem to know, that he doth not. Historie smake men wise; poets witty; the mathematics subtitle; nat uralphilosophy deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to co ntend.Abeunt studia in mores . Nay, there is no stand or impedim ent inthe wit, but may b

8、e wrought out by fit studies; like as disea sesof the body, may have appropriate exercises. Bowling is go od forthe stone and reins; shooting for the lungs and *; gentle walking for the stomach; riding for the head; and the like.Soif a man's wit be wandering, let him study the mathematics; forin

9、 demonstrations, if his wit be called away never so little, he must begin again. If his wit be not apt to distinguish or find differences, let him study the Schoolmen; for they are Cymini sectors . If he be not apt to beat over matters, and t ocall up one thing to prove and illustrate another, let h

10、im st udythe lawyers' cases. So every defect of the mind, may have aspecial receipt.論讀書王佐良 譯讀書足以怡情，足以傅彩，足以長才。其怡情也，最見于獨(dú)處幽居之時；其傅彩也，最見于高談闊論之中；其長才也，最見于處世判事之際。練達(dá)之士雖能分別處理細(xì)事或一一判別枝節(jié)，然縱觀統(tǒng)籌，全局策劃，則舍好學(xué)深思者莫屬。讀書費(fèi)時過多易惰，文采藻飾太盛則矯，全憑條文斷事乃學(xué)究故態(tài)。讀書補(bǔ)天然之不足， 經(jīng)驗(yàn)又補(bǔ)讀書之不足： 蓋天生才干猶如自然花草，讀書然后知如何修剪移接，而書中所示，如不以經(jīng)驗(yàn)范之，則又大而無當(dāng)。有一技之長

11、者鄙讀書，無知者羨讀書，唯明智之士用讀書，然書并不以用處告人，用書之智不在書中，而在書外，全憑觀察得之。讀書時不可存心詰難作者，不可盡信書上所言，亦不可只為尋章摘句，而應(yīng)推敲細(xì)思。 書有可淺嘗者， 有可吞食者， 少數(shù)則須咀嚼消化。 換言之，有只需讀其部分者，有只須大體涉獵者，少數(shù)則須全讀，讀時須全神貫注，孜孜不倦。書亦可請人代讀，取其所作摘要，但只限題材較次或價(jià)值不高者，否則書經(jīng)提煉猶如水經(jīng)蒸餾，淡而無味。讀書使人充實(shí)，討論使人機(jī)智，筆記使人準(zhǔn)確。因此不常做筆記者須記憶力特強(qiáng)，不常討論者須天生聰穎，不常讀書者須欺世有術(shù)，始能無知而顯有知。讀史使人明智，讀詩使人靈秀，數(shù)學(xué)使人周密，科學(xué)使人深刻，倫理學(xué)使人莊重，邏輯修辭之學(xué)使人善辯；凡有所學(xué)，皆成性格。人之