何為偉大的作品?其偉大之處在哪里?既然是偉大的作品，為何人們又望而卻步、不想去讀呢?本文作者就這幾個問題進行了深入探討。
Great Books Sharpen Our Minds
Great books are those that contain the best materials on which the human mind can work in order to gain insight, understanding, and wisdom. Each of them, in its own way, raises the recurrent basic questions which men must face. Because these questions are never completely solved, these books are the sources and monuments of a continuing intellectual tradition.
Garl Van Doren once referred to great books as “the books that never have to be written again.” They are the rare, perfect achievements of sustained excellence. Their beauty and clarity show that they are masterpieces of the fine as well as of the liberal arts. Such books are justifiably called great whether they are books of science, poetry, theology, mathematics, or politics.
The richness of great books shows itself in the many levels of meaning they contain. They lend themselves to a variety of interpretations. This does not mean they are ambiguous or that their integrity is compromised. The different interpretations complement one another and allow the reader to discover the unity of the work from a variety of perspectives. We need not read other books more than once to get all that they have to say. But we can always go deeper into great books. As sources of enlightenment they are inexhaustible.
The interest in many good books that are written is limited to a definite period of history. They do not exhibit the universal appeal that results from dealing with the fundamental questions which confront men in all times and places and in a way that men in all times and places can understand. Great books, on the contrary, transcend the provincial limits of their origin①. They remain as world literature. The ones we are sure are great are the ones men everywhere turn to again and again through the centuries.
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行文點評
文章一開始先解釋什么是“偉大的作品”。緊接著在第二段中引用名人對“偉大的作品”的解釋，增強文章的說服力。第三段介紹偉大作品的內容豐富、涵義深刻的特點。最后一段將好書與偉大作品進行比較，得出偉大作品的另一個特點：偉大的作品沒有歷史的局限性。
好文妙譯
偉大的作品使人頭腦敏銳
偉大的作品是那些包含有最佳素材的書籍，人們可以學習這些素材以期獲得洞察力、理解力和智慧。每部偉大的作品都以自己的方式提出一些生活中不斷出現而且人們又必須面對的基本問題。因為這些問題從來沒有被徹底解決，所以這些書成了一種持續不斷的知識傳統的源泉和豐碑。
卡爾·多倫曾把偉大的作品稱為“永遠不需要再寫的書”。它們都是保持著卓越水平的罕見的完美之作。它們的顯著與清晰表明它們不僅是文學作品，也是杰出名著。這樣的書，不論它描述地是科學、詩詞、神學、數學，還是政治方面，都無可非議地被稱作是偉大的作品。
偉大作品的豐富內涵可以在其多個不同意義層次上顯示出來。它們可以有多種不同的解釋。這并不意味著它們表意曖昧或在完整性上有所折衷。不同的解釋彼此互補，而且讓讀者從不同的角度發現作品的統一性。其他的書我們只要讀一遍就能了解它們要說的全部。但讀偉大的作品時，我們總是可以深入探究。作為思想與知識啟迪的源泉，它們會永不枯竭。
有許多好書，它們的重要性只限于某一特定的歷史時期。它們沒有展示出那種經久不衰的吸引力，而這種吸引力來源于用各個時代各個地區的所有人都能理解的方式來討論各時代各地區的人都要面對的根本問題。相反，偉大的作品超越了它們的時空來源的狹隘局限。它們作為世界性的文學作品保存下來。那些我們確信是偉大作品的正是那些世界各地的人們幾百年來一遍又一遍地讀著的書。
詞匯斟酌
recurrent a.再發生的, 周期性發生的, 循環的
monument n.紀念碑，紀念物，紀念館
justifiably ad.合理地，無可非議地
ambiguous a.引起歧義的，模棱兩可的，含糊不清的
integrity n. 完整，完全，完善
compromise vi.妥協,折中
complement vt.補充，與…相配
inexhaustible a.無窮無盡的
transcend vt.超出，超越(經驗、理性、信念等)的范圍
provincial a.偏狹的
佳句臨摹
①【注釋】on the contrary 與此相反，正相反
【臨摹】It doesn’t seem ugly to me；on the contrary, I think it’s rather beautiful. 我覺得它并不丑，恰恰相反，它挺美。
思如泉涌
A good book is the best of friends, the same today and forever. 一本好書，相伴一生。
A fool attempting to be witty is an object of profoundest pity. 蠢人裝聰明，實在最可憐。
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