With a library you are free, not confined by temporary political climates. It is the most democratic of institutions because no one - but no one at all - can tell you what to read and when and how.
Think wrongly, if you please, but in all cases, think for yourself.
What's terrible is to pretend that second-rate is first-rate. To pretend that you don't need love when you do; or you like your work when you know quite well you're capable of better.
That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you've understood all your life, but in a new way.
We are all of us, in our different ways, seeking to escape the trap of our own minds.
“我们都在以不同的方式，试图逃离自己思想的陷阱。”
The story is not in the words; it's in the struggle.
“故事不在文字中；它在斗争中。”
Pity, or compassion, is an emotion equally natural to all men.
“怜悯或同情，是所有人同样自然的情感。”
That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you've understood all your life, but in a new way.
In the writing process, the more a story cooks, the better.
“在写作过程中，故事酝酿得越久，就越好。”
Whatever you're meant to do, do it now. The conditions are always impossible.
The great secret that all old people share is that you really haven't changed in seventy or eighty years. Your body changes, but you don't change at all. And that, of course, causes great confusion.
With a library you are free, not confined by temporary political climates. It is the most democratic of institutions because no one - but no one at all - can tell you what to read and when and how.
Think wrongly, if you please, but in all cases, think for yourself.
What's terrible is to pretend that second-rate is first-rate. To pretend that you don't need love when you do; or you like your work when you know quite well you're capable of better.
The story is a machine for empathy. In contrast to logic or reason, a story is about emotion which is encoded in the details.
故事是同理心的机器。与逻辑或理性相比，故事是关于情感的，这些情感被编码在细节中。