LESSON 137

A DEFINITE AIM IN READING

确定阅读目标

Noah Porter, 1811-1892, was born at Farmington, Conn., and graduated at Yale in 1831. He remained in New Haven as a school-teacher, a tutor in college, and a student in the theological department until 1836, when he entered the ministry. In 1846 he was recalled to the college as Clark Professor of Moral Philosophy and Metaphysics; and in 1858 he also assumed the duties of the professorship of Systematic Theology, for a period of seven years. Upon the retirement of President Woolsey in 1871, he was elected to fill the office, which he held until 1886, being the eleventh president of the college.

President Porter’s greatest literary work is entitled, “The Human Intellect: With an Introduction upon Psychology and the Human Soul.” It is remarkable for the clear thought and sound judgment it displays, as well as for its broad scholarship; and it has been pronounced “the most complete and exhaustive exhibition of the cognitive faculties of the human soul to be found in our language.” His other important works are: “The Sciences of Nature versus the Science of Man,” which is a review of the doctrines of Herbert Spencer; “American Colleges and the American Public;” and the book from which the following selection is taken, namely, “Books and Reading.” Besides these he wrote numerous essays, contributions to periodicals, etc. During his professorship he was called upon to act as chief editor in the important work of revising “Webster’s Dictionary.” The edition of 1864 was the result of his careful oversight, and the subsequent revisions were also under his superintendence.

In reading, we do well to propose to ourselves definite ends and purposes. The more distinctly we are aware of our own wants and desires in reading, the more definite and permanent will be our acquisitions. Hence it is a good rule to ask ourselves frequently, “Why am I reading this book, essay, or poem? or why am I reading it at the present time rather than any other?” It may often be a satisfying answer, that it is convenient; that the book happens to be at hand; or that we read to pass away the time. Such reasons are often very good, but they ought not always to satisfy us. Yet the very habit of proposing these questions, however they may be answered, will involve the calling of ourselves to account for our reading, and the consideration of it in the light of wisdom and duty.

The distinct consciousness of some object at present before us, imparts a manifoldly greater interest to the contents of any volume. It imparts to the reader an appropriate power, a force of affinity, by which he insensibly and unconsciously attracts to himself all that has a near or even a remote relation to the end for which he reads. Anyone is conscious of this who reads a story with the purpose of repeating it to an absent friend; or an essay or a report with the design of using its facts or arguments in a debate; or a poem with the design of reviving its imagery, and reciting its finest passages. Indeed, one never learns to read effectively until he learns to read in such a spirit—not always, indeed, for a definite end, yet always with a mind attent to appropriate and retain and turn to the uses of culture, if not to a more direct application.

The private history of every self-educated man, from Franklin onwards, attests that they all were uniformly not only earnest but select in their reading, and that they selected their books with distinct reference to the purposes for which they used them. Indeed, the reason why self-trained men so often surpass men who are trained by others in the effectiveness and success of their reading, is that they know for what they read and study, and have definite aims and wishes in all their dealings with books. The omnivorous and indiscriminate reader, who is at the same time a listless and passive reader, however ardent is his curiosity, can never be a reader of the most effective sort.

Another good rule is suggested by the foregoing. Always have some solid reading in hand; i. e., some work or author which we carry forward from one day to another, or one hour of leisure to the next, with persistence, till we have finished whatever we have undertaken. There are many great and successful readers who do not observe this rule, but it is a good rule notwithstanding.

The writer once called upon one of the most extensive and persevering of modern travelers, at an early hour of the day, to attend him upon a walk to a distant village. It was after breakfast, and though he had but few minutes at command, he was sitting with book in hand—a book of solid history he was perusing day after day. He remarked: “This has been my habit for years in all my wanderings. It is the one habit which gives solidity to my intellectual activities and imparts tone to my life. It is only in this way that I can overcome and counteract the tendency to the dissipation of my powers and the distraction of my attention, as strange persons and strange scenes present themselves from day to day.”

To the rule already given—read with a definite aim—we could add the rule—make your aims to be definite by continuously holding them rigidly to a single book at all times, except when relaxation requires you to cease to work, and to live for amusement and play. Always have at least one iron in the fire, and kindle the fire at least once every day.

It is implied in the preceding that we should read upon definite subjects, and with a certain method and proportion in the choice of our books. If we have a single object to accomplish in our reading for the present, that object will of necessity direct the choice of what we read, and we shall arrange our reading with reference to this single end. This will be a nucleus around which our reading will for the moment naturally gather and arrange itself.

If several subjects seem to us equally important and interesting, we should dispose of them in order, and give to each for the time our chief and perhaps our exclusive attention. That this is wise is so obvious as not to require illustration. “One thing at a time,” is an accepted condition for all efficient activity, whether it is employed upon things or thoughts, upon men or books. If five or ten separate topics have equal claim upon our interest and attention, we shall do to each the amplest justice, if we make each in its turn the central subject of our reading. There is little danger of weariness or monotony from the workings of such a rule.

Most single topics admit or require a considerable variety of books, each different from the other, and each supplementing the other. Hence it is one of the best of practices in prosecuting a course of reading, to read every author who can cast any light upon the subject which we have in hand. For example, if we are reading the history of the Great Rebellion in England, we should read, if we can, not a single author only, as Clarendon, but a half dozen or a half score, each of whom writes from his own point of view, supplies what another omits, or corrects what he under- or overstates.

But, besides the formal histories of the period, there are the various novels, the scenes and characters of which are placed in those times, such as Scott’s Woodstock; there are also diaries, such as those by Evelyn, Pepys, and Burton; and there are memoirs, such as those of Col. Hutchinson; while the last two have been imitated in scores of fictions. There are poems, such as those of Andrew Marvell, Milton, and Dryden. There are also shoals of political tracts and pamphlets, of handbills and caricatures.

We name these various descriptions of works and classes of reading, not because we suppose all of them are accessible to those readers who live at a distance from large public libraries, or because we would advise everyone who may have access to such libraries, to read all these books and classes of books as a matter of course, but because we would illustrate how great is the variety of books and reading matter that are grouped around a single topic, and are embraced within a single period.

Every person must judge for himself how long a time he can bestow upon any single subject, or how many and various are the books in respect to it which it is wise to read; but of this everyone may be assured, that it is far easier, far more agreeable, and far more economical of time and energy, to concentrate the attention upon a single subject at a time than to extend it to half a score, and that six books read in succession or together upon a single topic, are far more interesting and profitable than twice as many which treat of topics remotely related. A lady well known to the writer, of the least possible scholarly pretensions or literary notoriety, spent fifteen months of leisure, snatched by fragments from onerous family cares and brilliant social engagements, in reading the history of Greece as written by a great variety of authors and as illustrated by many accessories of literature and art.

Nor should it be argued that such rules as these, or the habits which they enjoin, are suitable for scholars only, or for people who have much leisure for reading. It should rather be urged that those who can read the fewest books and who have at command the scantiest time, should aim to read with the greatest concentration and method; should occupy all of their divided energy with single centers of interest, and husband the few hours which they can command, in reading whatever converges to a definite, because to a single, impression.

【中文阅读】

就阅读而言，我们最好有意限定我们的目的和目标。我们越是清晰地意识到自己在阅读上所缺乏和希望得到的，我们获得的知识就越明确和持久。基于此，我们经常扪心自问“为什么要读这本书、这篇散文和这首诗？或者我为什么要现在而不是别的时间来读呢？”这是一个好习惯吗？也许通常会得到一个满意的答案，这样很方便，那本书碰巧手头上有，或者我们读书是为了打发时间。诸如此类的理由通常都很好，但并非总能令我们满意，在阅读前先考虑这些问题，而且或许会找到答案，这个特别的习惯需要我们质问自己为什么阅读，还要考虑到智慧和本分。

对摆在我们面前的某些目标保持清醒的意识，将多种多样的兴趣投入到卷帙浩繁的书中。书本传授给读者的是适当的感染力，一种亲和力，通过这种亲和力他不知不觉无意识地为所有与他阅读的目的有较近甚至相对较远关系的东西所吸引。任何人都会意识到自己读一篇故事时，实际上是在向一位不在身边的朋友复述这则故事；抑或读一篇散文或报道时，抱着在辩论时引用其中阐述的事实或论据的目的；读一首诗也是如此，目的是再现这首诗的意境，进而默诵最优美的段落。的确，一个从未学会卓有成效阅读的人，直到掌握阅读的精髓——不是始终如此，而是处于一个明确的目的，始终有意地致力于占有、容纳和转向对文化的运用，如果不是更直接的运用的话。

富兰克林之前的人，从每个自学成才的人的个人成长史来看，证实了他们不但一律满腔热忱，而且在阅读上精心选择，他们挑选的书籍都基于明确的使用目的。实际上，为什么那些受过自我训练的人，通常超过接受过他人有关阅读效率和成功经验熏陶的人，其中原因是他们清楚地知道自己学习和阅读是为了什么目的，有明确的目标以及从书中了解什么的愿望。什么书都看不加甄别的读者，同时也是倦怠和被动的读者，然而能满足他们好奇心的热情，从来都不是最讲效率的读者必须具备的素质。

另一个行之有效的法则在前面已经暗示过。手上始终有某些可资阅读的东西，换言之，有的著作或者作者的书籍我们要每天勤习之，哪怕有一个小时闲暇都要拿来捧读，持之以恒直到完成我们规定的指标。有很多著名和成功的读书人并不奉该法则为圭臬，但仍然不失为一条行之有效的法则。

笔者曾拜访过一位走遍大江南北不管遇到什么样的艰难险阻都坚持不懈的当代旅行家，当时天很早，与他一起徒步去一个很远的村庄。吃罢早餐后，尽管没有几分钟时间就要动身，可他还是坐在那儿捧着一本书——一本他找寻了很多天才如获至宝的历史专著。他说：“在我整个旅行生涯中，这是我多年养成的习惯。这是一个能让我的智力活动更加充实的习惯，为我的生活定下了基调。当日复一日地出现陌生人和陌生的场景时，只有通过这种方式我才能克服和抵消对我的精神力量无益的浪费和消遣，以及能分散注意力的事情。”

对于这条已经设定的法则——抱着明确的目的来阅读，我们可以为该法则增添一些实质——通过不断使你的目标

如果我们认为几个主题同样重要和有趣，就应该将其按顺序排列，将我们主要的时间和单独的注意力分配给每一主题。显然，不需要例证的就不要浪费时间，这是明智的。“一次只关注一件事情，”对所有高效率活动而言都是一种可以接受的先决条件，不论对事情还是想法，对人还是书籍，这一法则都适用。倘若五个或十个话题同样诉诸于我们的兴趣和注意力，我们应该对每个题目都非常公平，按顺序使每个题目成为我们阅读的中心主题。按照这一法则阅读，就不会冒厌倦或乏味的危险。

绝大多数单一主题允许或者需要相当繁杂的书籍，每一类书籍都与另一类不同，每一类都是其他类别的补充。因此，最好的方法就是制定一个阅读课程，读每一位能对我们正准备的主题有启发的作家的作品。譬如，如果我们正读的是有关英格兰“大暴动”的历史，可以的话就应该不单只读一个作家的专著，如克拉伦登，而是读六七位作家的作品，他们每个人阐述这段历史都基于自己的观点，对其他人的疏漏补阙拾遗，或者纠正偏颇。

不过，除了正史以外，还有为数不少的以大暴动为背景的小说，其中的场景和人物都是基于那段历史所设置的，诸如司各特的《伍德斯托克》。当然也有日记可资借鉴，诸如艾芙琳、佩皮斯和伯顿等人的日记。诸如科尔•哈钦森的与那段历史有关的回忆录，伯顿的日记和哈钦森的回忆录都有大量虚构的东西。安德鲁•马尔维尔、弥尔顿和德莱登的某些诗歌也是以那段历史为背景。此外，还有很多政论性短文和小册子，以及传单和漫画均与大暴动有关。

我们提到这些著作中有各色各样的描述，指出详细的阅读分类，并非因为我们认为所有这些都适合于那些住得离大型公共图书馆较远的读者，或者因为我们告诫每位方便利用图书馆的读者，要将阅读这些书籍和分类图书作为一个课程来对待，而是因为我们表明的是这些书籍何其繁杂，在一个阶段要围绕一个主题进行分类阅读。

每个人都必须自己做出判断，即他能为任何单一主题抽出多少阅读时间，或者读多少不同的书才是明智的做法。不过对此每个人都或许认为，在一定时间内将注意力投入到一个主题，要远比投入到许多主题更容易抽出时间和精力，也更合理和划算，就单一主题连续或一起阅读六本书，要远比就许多关联性不大的主题阅读许多书籍更有趣，也更可取。与笔者相识的一位女士，略有学者的自负或文名，用了十五个月的闲暇，不受家庭琐事之累和，戒绝社交约会，潜心阅读了各个时代的人所写的希腊历史，旁及许多希腊文学和艺术书籍。

毋庸置疑，这些有关阅读的法则或习惯不仅仅适合学者，或者那些有许多闲暇的人。而那些读书很少和甚少闲暇的人更应该专注和注意方法。将他们分散的经历和兴趣的单一中心点，与能驾驭的很少时间结合起来，汇聚到确定的阅读对象上。