Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed 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.Some books also may be read by deputy, and extracts made of them by others; but that would be only in the less important arguments, and the meaner sort of books; else distilled books are, like common distilled waters,flashy things .
Reading maketh a full man ; conference a ready man; 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 present 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 mathematics subtile; natural philosophy deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend.Abeunt studia in mores .
Nay there is no stond or impediment in the wit , but may be wrought out by fit studies: like as diseases of the body may have appropriate exercises .Bowling is good for the stone and reins; shooting for the lungs and breast ; gentle walking for the stomach; riding for the head; and the like .So if a man s wit be wandering,let him study the mathematics; for in 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 sectores.If he be not apt to beat over matters,and to call up one thing to prove and illustrate another, let him study the lawyers cases .So every defect of the mind may have a special receipt .
Ⅰ.About the author
Lord Francis Bacon(1561 1626) , the father of experimental philosophy,whose father had been Lord Keeper, and himself,was a great many years Lord Chancellor underKing James Ⅰ.Nevertheless, amidst the intrigues of a Court , and the affairs of his exalted employment (Because of bribery and extortion he was sentenced by the House of Lords to pay a fine of about four hundred thousand French lives, to lose his peerage and his dignity of Chancellor .) ,which alone were enough to engross his whole time, he yet found so much leisure for study as to make himself a great philosopher, a good historian, and an elegant writer; and a still more surprising circumstance is that he lived in an age in which the art of writing justly and elegantly was little known, much less true philosophy.Lord Bacon, as is the fate of man, was more esteemed after his death than in his lifetime.His enemies were in the British Court, and his admirers were foreigners .
Ⅱ.Words and Expressions
ornament n.something or someone that adds beauty, charm,etc.增添美感、 魅力等的人、 行为、 品质等。
privateness n.独处。
retiring n.retirement 幽居。
discourse n.length and serious treatment of a subject in speech or writing 通常指长篇大论的论说或者演讲。
counsel n.advice; suggestions 劝告, 建议。
plot n.plan.
marshall v.to arrange (sb./ sth .) in proper order; gather 安排, 整理,集合。
sloth n.laziness.
affectation n.unnatural behaviour, manner of speaking, etc .
intended to impress others 为了 给人留有印象而做出的不自然的样子; 做作。
humour n.[古] 脾气。
proyn v .= prune 修剪枝叶。
contradict v.to say that something is wrong and untruthful 反驳。 confute v.to prove ( a person or an argument ) to be completely wrong 驳斥。
curiously ad.carefully.
mean a.midway between two extremes; average 一般的。
distill v.蒸馏; 提炼。
flashy a.unpleasantly big, bright , decorated, etc ., and perhaps not of good quality 华而不实的。
maketh v.= makes.
conference n.talking together 交谈，
confer v.to talk together .
compare opinions 交谈。
cunning n.cleverness in deceiving 欺诈之本领。
doth v.= doessubtile.
a.subtlerhetoric n.修辞。
contend v.to arguenay ，ad.and more than that; and indeed 不止于此, 而且的确。
stond n.standimpediment n.障碍。
in the wit in the mindwring out removethe stone and reins n.[古] 腰肾。
like as = asthe schoolmen 欧洲中古经院哲学家。