The consequences of this problem make themselves felt in bookshops. When you go to a large bookshop and look at the self-help sections, as I sometimes do -- if you analyze self-help book sproduced in the world today, there are basically two kinds. The first kind tells you, "You can do it! You can make it! Anything's possible!" The other kind tells you how to cope with what we politely call "low self-esteem," or impolitely call, "feeling very bad about yourself."

小说是最能捕捉人类复杂性的体裁。

The darker the past, the brighter the future.

——《致郑藻如书》（1890年）

沉默是上帝的语言；其他一切都是一种拙劣的翻译。

一本书对孩子来说应该像一个朋友——令人安心、兴奋且充满惊喜。