一句英文看天下：閱讀英文小說、電影、歌曲（二版）

07

“Ask yourself: What would you sacrifice for what you believe?”

問問你自己：為你所相信的一切，你願意犧牲什麼？

Thor: The Dark World《雷神索爾 2：黑暗世界》

sacrifice 犧牲

例：We are all ready to sacrifice our holidays for this science project.（我們都準備要犧牲假期，來完成這個科學計畫。）

believe 相信

例：Many people believe that education is the only way to change.（許多人相信，教育是改變的唯一方法。）

這句話出自電影《雷神索爾2:黑暗世界》（Thor: The Dark World，2013）。影片中的黑暗精靈 Malekith 為了將世界化成黑暗，願意做出所有的犧牲。這部電影延續雷神索爾第一集的善惡之爭：黑暗與光明的爭鬥。代表黑暗勢力的 Malekith 在上次的爭鬥中輸了，然而，邪惡永遠不死，光明再度面臨挑戰。這種西方文化的正邪之爭，從聖經上的上帝與撒旦而來，經常成為好萊塢電影的老梗主題。光明世界代表次序與人類的生存，而黑暗則是邪惡暴力，代表滅絕與死亡。

然而正與邪、光明與黑暗，就是這麼簡單可以劃分嗎？在這一集裡，男主角索爾（Thor）放棄個人恩怨，與野心勃勃的弟弟洛基（Loki）合作，對抗有史以來最大的毀滅力量 Malekith。有趣的是，Makekith 真是惡靈嗎？電影一開始就點出，其實黑暗的力量，早就存在於宇宙誕生之前。Makekith 黑暗勢力，只不過是恢復過去的混沌世紀。此外，索爾竟然也喚起邪惡弟弟的善念，來聯手對付更大的邪惡。這種善惡混淆的複雜觀念，也出現在片中的撒旦角色 Malekith 身上。

該片最有名的一句台詞，也隱含本片主題，竟然出自 Malekith 口中，當他必須贏回黑暗世界，他必須付出所有代價：“Ask yourself: What would you sacrifice for what you believe?”（問問你自己：為你所相信的一切，你願意犧牲什麼？）。英雄來自犧牲，Malekith 似乎也是某種程度的英雄？這個問題似乎也針對男主角索爾：“你願意付出一切，來拯救九大天界（nine realms）的和平嗎？”

這真是人生的大難題！我們也該問問自己：「為自己的理想，我願意犧牲什麼？」有些人自認雄心壯志，想要在五年內賺到第一桶金，可是你願意犧牲什麼呢？時間、健康、家庭、愛情？你可能要日夜工作，投入絕大的心力！有人追求財富或權力，必須犧牲自己所愛或隱私，你願意嗎？有人為了照顧生病父母，犧牲自己享受或甚至很多機會，你願意嗎？

任何有理想或艱難的責任，都隱含著某種犧牲與放棄。西方人說：“To gain something, you have to lose something.”（想要獲得某些東西，你得失去某些東西。）人生有很多決定與收穫，都隱含另一面的犧牲與失去（sacrifice and loss）。問題是你願意做出什麼犧牲，來達成你的理想? 記住：“Greatness requires sacrifice.”（偉大是需要犧牲的！）

01

“A little learning is a dangerous thing / Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.”

只懂皮毛是件危險的事；要深透暢飲，否則就別嘗那知識的聖泉。

“An Essay on Criticism” 〈論批評〉

Alexander Pope’s 波普

dangerous 危險的

例：It is quite dangerous to ride a bike on the side¬walk.（在人行道騎車相當危險。）

taste 品嘗

例：May I taste a little bit of the ice cream?（我可以嘗一點冰淇淋嗎？）

Pierian spring 知識與智慧的甘泉

原指希臘神話中，掌靈感、創意的繆思女神（muses）居住地 Pieria 的聖泉，位於希臘眾神所住的奧林匹斯山中，這裡指的是「知識與智慧的甘泉」。

此句出自英國十八世紀最偉大詩人亞歷山大‧波普（Alexander Pope，1688-1744）的一首論批評的詩（An Essay on Criticism）。這首長詩討論文學批評的標準與態度，建立十八世紀最重要的美學觀與社會觀。作者強調當代最重要的思維基礎在理性思維（rational thinking），認為所有的批評必須建立在知識的基礎上，並通盤理解整個知識脈絡，才能得到完整的論述能力。如果一知半解或只懂皮毛（a little learning）將會非常危險的，一定要drink deep，否則別說自己懂！

詩人也認為知識的累積非常重要。年輕時知識淺薄，喜好批評，但隨著心智擴展，漸漸看到新的知識領域。他說：But more advanced, behold with strange surprise / New distant scenes of endless science see.（但是，往前，懷著不可思議的驚奇，看到遠方、新奇且無限的科學領域。）

驕傲（pride）常常是我們最大的敵人，往往自以為擁有聰明才智（wit），而無法看到真相，詩人也勸我們 ：Trust not yourself: but your defects to know, / Make use of every friend—and every foe.（別相信自己，但要知道自己的缺點，好好利用每個朋友──以及每個敵人）。

台灣社會充滿批評的人。任何事件一發生，不管是牽涉到醫療、法律、食品、金融或國際政治，馬上會出現一些所謂的名嘴專家，引用網路資訊，提出見解或批評。但是批評往往並非建立在知識的基礎上。即使對於話題有些涉獵或收集了資訊，通常也是一知半解，且誇大其辭，散布了錯誤訊息，引起社會恐慌。

在資訊爆炸與快速傳播的時代，很多人都沒有時間好好去研究一個問題或多讀一點書，往往只看網路或維基百科，就自以為是。知識是需要累積的（drink deep）。只懂皮毛、一知半解真是非常危險的事！

應該常常用這句話來警惕自己，對於任何知識的追求都必須深入且透徹。

07

“Ask yourself: What would you sacrifice for what you believe?”

問問你自己：為你所相信的一切，你願意犧牲什麼？

Thor: The Dark World《雷神索爾 2：黑暗世界》

sacrifice 犧牲

例：We are all ready to sacrifice our holidays for this science project.（我們都準備要犧牲假期，來完成這個科學計畫。）

believe 相信

例：Many people believe that education is the only way to change.（許多人相信，教育是改變的唯一方法。）

這句話出自電影《雷神索爾2:黑暗世界》（Thor: The Dark World，2013）。影片中的黑暗精...

閱讀一首詩，看一場電影或是聽一首歌，有時在剎那間，就是那麼簡單的一句話觸動了我們心靈。《一句英文看天下》就是在這種感動中產生的。

不管是東方哲學家，如孔孟，或是西方智者，如蘇格拉底或柏拉圖，留給我們的智慧，大都存在一些精采話語，有時就是短短的一句話。

這一句話啟發了某個學者、某個思想家、某個領導人物、某個企業大老，給他們靈感、給他們智慧，開創不同的時代，也啟動人類的文明。讓我們觀天下、治天下，就從這一句話開始！

幾年前的中午，跟當時聯合報的羅國俊總編輯（現在的聯合晚報社長）聚餐，他提到一句話的力量。經過一、兩年的沈澱與思索，在當時教育版的孫榮華組長協助下，醞釀了聯合報教育版「一句話看天下」的專欄，感謝當時羅總編輯與孫組長的提點。

這個專欄持續了將近兩年，每週日晚上交稿，幾乎毀掉這兩年週末的悠閒。從「想到那一句話」到「動筆寫下自己的感想」，內心總是衝突不斷：應該要回應時事？批判社會？創造新思維？提供多元看法？純美學或文學解析？亦或是語言分析與學習？總是到了星期日晚上交稿的時間逼近，才沈澱下來，接近午夜時分，才敲完電腦鍵盤。

這兩年重讀了不少作品、看了不少電影、聽了不少歌。一點一滴地幫助自己建構對外在環境的一些觀點與看法。感謝這些藝術家、文學家與哲學家，給我這兩年的心靈洗禮。

要將這些短篇集結成冊，有如跟「這兩年」說再見！心中壓力頓時解開，但是內心也充滿不捨。狄更斯曾說，任何小說都是他的「小孩」，一個個小孩出生、長大、離家，都是不捨的過程。現在的我，就看著這個「小孩」即將長大（應該是女兒，爸爸都比較疼女兒），有些喜悅，也有些感傷。

感謝聯合報教育組召集人薛荷玉的督促與校稿指正，感謝聯經出版的李芃的細心讀稿，催生這本書。

《一句英文看天下》隱含了自己一生的文學思維，也拼貼出近年來的人生看法。與大家分享細心呵護的小孩，希望大家好好照顧她！

陳超明

閱讀一首詩，看一場電影或是聽一首歌，有時在剎那間，就是那麼簡單的一句話觸動了我們心靈。《一句英文看天下》就是在這種感動中產生的。

不管是東方哲學家，如孔孟，或是西方智者，如蘇格拉底或柏拉圖，留給我們的智慧，大都存在一些精采話語，有時就是短短的一句話。

這一句話啟發了某個學者、某個思想家、某個領導人物、某個企業大老，給他們靈感、給他們智慧，開創不同的時代，也啟動人類的文明。讓我們觀天下、治天下，就從這一句話開始！

幾年前的中午，跟當時聯合報的羅國俊總編輯（現在的聯合晚報社長）聚餐，他提到一句話的力...

前言
“A little learning is a dangerous thing / Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.” “An Essay on Criticism”〈論批評〉, Alexander Pope 亞歷山大‧波普
“After all you put me through / You'd think I despise you / But in the end, I wanna thank you / 'Cause you make me that much stronger.” “Fighter”〈鬥士〉, Christina Aguilera 克莉絲汀‧阿奎萊拉
“All of life is an act of letting go, but what hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye.” Life of Pi 《少年 Pi 的奇幻漂流》（改編自楊・馬泰爾 Yann Martal 的同名小說）
“All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts....” As You Like It《皆大歡喜》, William Shakespeare 威廉‧莎士比亞
“Although they have the teeth to tear, it is by swish of tail and yearning eyes that they most easily get what they want.” Innocence《天真》, Dean Koontz 丁‧昆士
“Ask yourself whether you are happy, and you cease to be so.” “Autobiography”〈自傳〉, John Stuart Mill 約翰‧斯圖爾特‧米爾
“Ask yourself: What would you sacrifice for what you believe?” Thor: The Dark World《雷神索爾 2：黑暗世界》
“Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven.” Paradise Lost〈失樂園〉, John Milton 約翰‧密爾頓
“Boys, you must strive to find your own voice.” Dead Poets Society《春風化雨》
“The choice was put in your hands for a reason.” Noah《諾亞方舟》
“Danger is very real, but fear is a choice.” After Earth《地球過後》
“Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.” The Picture of Dorian Gray《道林‧格雷的畫像》, Oscar Wilde 奧斯卡‧王爾德
“Do you hear the people sing, singing a song of angry men?” Les Miserables《悲慘世界》（改編自 Victor Hugo 雨果的同名小說）
“Doubt of any sort cannot be removed except by Action.” Sartor Resartus〈衣服的哲學〉, Thomas Carlyle 湯瑪斯‧卡萊爾
“Dreamers look up at the sky; doers keep their feet on the ground. In a world of hustle and bustle, you see the most beautiful scene; you are the doer of dreams.” Mercedes Benz 賓士廣告
“Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself.” Walden《湖濱散記》, Henry David Thoreau 亨利‧大衛‧梭羅
“For it was certainly an abominable injustice to drown a man who had worked so hard, so hard.” The Open Boat《海上扁舟》, Stephen Crane 斯蒂芬‧克萊恩
“For the literary architecture, if it is to be rich and expressive, involves not only foresight of the end in the beginning, but also development or growth of design, in the process of execution, with many irregularities, surprises, and afterthoughts.” Appreciations《鑑賞》, Walter Horatio Pater 瓦特．荷瑞修‧裴特
“The future belongs to those who know where they belong.” Divergent《分歧者》
“The greatest poet hardly knows pettiness or triviality.” Leaves of Grass《草葉集》序言, Walt Whitman 華特‧惠特曼
“Happy is England! I could be content / To see no other verdure than its own; / To feel no other breezes than are blown / Through its tall woods with high romances blent; / Yet do I sometimes feel a languishment / For skies Italian,...?” “Happy is England”〈快樂的英格蘭〉, John Keats 約翰‧濟慈
“He watches from his mountain walls, and like a thunderbolt he falls.” “The Eagle”〈老鷹〉, Alfred Tennyson 愛佛德‧丁尼生
“Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts.” Great Expectations《偉大前程》, Charles Dickens 查爾斯．狄更斯
“A human being in perfection ought always to preserve a calm and peaceful mind, and never to allow passion or a transitory desire to disturb his tranquility.” Frankenstein《科學怪人》, Mary Shelley 瑪莉‧雪萊
“I am not pretty. I am not beautiful. I am as radiant as the sun.” The Hunger Games《飢餓遊戲》, Suzanne Collins 蘇珊‧柯林斯
“I believe there's a hero in all of us that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride,...” Spider-Man 2《蜘蛛人 2》
“I griev’d when summer days were gone; / No more I’ll grieve; for Winter here / Hath pleasure gardens of his own.” “Grasmere - A Fragment”〈葛拉斯湖畔－片段〉, Dorothy Wordsworth 桃若絲‧華茲華斯
“I have no idea what I am supposed to do; I just know what I can do.” Star Trek: Into the Darkness《闇黑無界：星際爭霸戰》
“I only know how to fix things.” Wool《羊毛記》, Huge Howey 休‧豪依
“I think of everything everyone did for me and I feel like a very lucky guy.” The Silver Linings Playbook《派特的幸福劇本》（改編自 Matthew Quick 馬修・奎克的同名小說）
“I wanted to damage every man in the place, and every woman—and not in their bodies or in their estate, but in their vanity—the place where feeble and foolish people are most vulnerable.” The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg《敗壞海德雷鎮的人》, Mark Twain 馬克‧吐溫
“I was angry with my friend; I told my wrath, my wrath did end.” A Poison Tree〈毒樹〉, William Blake 威廉．布萊克
“I wish from my heart it may do so for many and many a long year to come-- the tradition of genuine warm-hearted courteous Irish hospitality, which our forefathers have handed down to us and which we must hand down to our descendants, is still alive among us.” The Dead《往生者》, James Joyce 詹姆斯‧喬艾斯
“I’ll give you a million things I’ll never own; I’ll give you a world to conquer when you’re grown.” Miss Saigon《西貢小姐》, Claude-Michel Schonberg 克勞德-米謝‧荀伯格、Alain Boublil 亞倫‧鲍理爾
“I’m nothing like the immortal gods who rule the skies, either in build or breeding; I’m just a mortal man.” Oddyssey〈奧德賽〉, Homer 荷馬
“If I cannot carry forests on my back, / Neither can you crack a nut.” “Fable”〈寓言〉, Ralph Waldo Emerson 拉爾夫‧沃爾多‧愛默生
“If you’re constantly looking down at your phone, you’re not looking at the world around you.” Jack Reacher Novel Series「傑克李奇」偵探系列小說, Lee Child 李‧查德
“In a cold night / There will be no fair fight.” Hunger Game 2: Catching Fire《飢餓遊戲 2：星火燎原》主題曲 “We Remain”〈屹立不搖〉
“In all negotiations of difficulty, a man may not look to sow and reap at once, but must prepare business, and so ripen it by degrees.” “Of Negotiating”〈論談判〉, Francis Bacon 法蘭西斯‧培根
“In my religion, we're taught that every living thing, every leaf, every bird, is only alive because it contains the secret word for life.” The Book Thief《偷書賊》（改編自 Markus Zusak 馬克斯‧蘇薩克的同名小說）
“In order to fight monsters, we create monsters of our own.” Pacific Rim《環太平洋》
“In the end, when it's over, all that matters is what you've done.” Alexander《亞歷山大帝》
“An intellectual is a man who says a simple thing in a difficult way; an artist is a man who says a difficult thing in a simple way.” “Notes of a Dirty Old Man”《髒老頭的筆記》, Charles Bukowski 查理‧布考斯基
“It is funny how some distance makes everything seem small.” Frozen《冰雪奇緣》
“It is the education which gives a man a clear conscious view of his own opinions and judgments, a truth in developing them, an eloquence in expressing them, and a force in urging them.” “The Idea of a University”〈大學的理念〉, John Newman 約翰‧紐曼
“It is very difficult for the prosperous to be humble.” Emma 《艾瑪》, Jane Austen 珍．奧斯汀
“It sometimes happens that what you feel is not returned for one reason or another—but that does not make your feeling less valuable and good.” “Steinbeck: A Life in Letters”〈史坦貝克：書信人生〉, John Steinbeck 約翰‧史坦貝克
“But it was not only the earth that shook for us: the air around and above us was alive and signalling too.” 諾貝爾文學獎的得獎感言, Seamus Heaney 西默斯‧希尼
“It’s hard to find someone with shared experience.” Captain America: The Winter Solider《美國隊長 2：酷寒戰士》
“Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs.” Jane Eyre《簡愛》, Charlotte Bronte 夏洛蒂．勃朗特
“Love comes to those who believe it.” “That’s the Way It Is”〈就是這樣的方式〉, Celine Dion 席琳‧狄翁
“Love gives you pleasure. And love brings you pain. And yet, when both are gone, love will still remain.” “Love Never Dies”《歌劇魅影 2：愛無止盡》, Andrew Lloyd Webb 安德烈‧洛依‧韋伯
“A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” The Old Man and the Sea《老人與海》, Ernest Hemingway 海明威
“Man’s yesterday may ne'er be like his morrow / Nought may endure but Mutability” “Mutability”〈變〉, Percy Bysshe Shelley 波希‧必希‧雪萊
“Nearly all aircraft accidents are the results of a sequence of events. We call it a cascade.” Airframe《最高危機》, Michael Crichton 麥可‧克萊頓
“O Lady! We receive but what we give.” “Dejection: An Ode”〈沮喪：一首頌歌〉, Samuel Taylor Coleridge 山姆‧泰勒‧科勒律治
“And on that cheek, and o'er that brow, / So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, / The smiles that win, the tints that glow, / But tell of days in goodness spent.” “She Walks in Beauty”〈她在美中行走〉, Lord Byron 羅德‧拜倫
“One Law for the Lion and Ox is Oppression.” “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell”〈天堂與地獄的結合〉, William Blake 威廉・布雷克
“The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing - to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts.” 寫給弟弟 George Keats 的書信, John Keats 約翰．濟慈
“The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.” Mrs. Warren’s Profession《華倫太太的職業》, Bernard Shaw 蕭伯納
“President Lincoln’s struggle to abolish slavery reminds us that enduring progress is forged in a cauldron of both principle and compromise.” Bill Clinton in the Golden Globe Award 2013（柯林頓在 Golden Globe Award 2013 金球獎頒獎典禮的一句話）, Bill Clinton 比爾‧柯林頓
“Pride, where wit fails, steps in to our defense, / And fills up all the mighty void of sense.” “An Essay on Criticism”〈論批評〉, Alexander Pope 亞歷山大‧波普
“The saddest people I've ever met in life are the ones who don't care deeply about anything at all.” Dear John《最後一封情書》, Nicolas Sparks 尼可拉斯‧史派克
“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Twelfth Night《第十二夜》, William Shakespeare 威廉‧莎士比亞
“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” “Of Studies”〈論學習〉, Francis Bacon 法蘭西斯．培根
“Someday' is a dangerous word; it is really just a code for 'never'.” Day and Night《騎士出任務》
“Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,...” “To Autumn”〈秋頌〉, John Keats 約翰‧濟慈
“Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be.” Great Expectations《遠大前程》, Charles Dickens 查爾斯‧狄更斯
“That pleasure which is at once the most pure, the most elevating, and the most intense is derived, I maintain, from the contemplation of the beautiful.” “Poetic Principle”〈詩的原則〉, Edgar Allan Poe 埃德加‧愛倫‧坡
“Travelers we are, in this journey of memory. Aboard together we might be, and get off at different times. Still, memory lingers.” Kingston 微電影廣告
“But there are limits to what even you can do, Captain, or did Erskine tell you otherwise?” Captain America: The First Avenger《美國隊長》
“There are no pacts between lions and men.” Troy 《特洛依：木馬屠城》（改編自 Homer's Iliad 荷馬史詩《伊里亞德》）
“And these vicissitudes tell best in youth; / For when they happen at a riper age, / People are apt to blame the Fates,...” Don Juan《唐璜》, Lord Byron 羅德‧拜倫
“They taught me the meaning of loyalty that you should never forget anyone that you’ve loved.” Hachiko: A Dog’s Tale《忠犬小八》
“A thing was worth buying then, when we felt the money that we paid for it.” “Old China”〈舊瓷器〉, Charles Lamb 查爾斯‧蘭姆
“...this and that man, and this and that body of men, all over the country, are beginning to assert and put in practice an Englishman’s right to do what he likes; his right to march where he likes, meet where he likes, enter where he likes, hoot as he likes, threaten as he likes, smash as he likes. All this, I say, tends to anarchy.” “Culture and Anarchy”〈文化與無政府〉, Matthew Arnold 馬修‧阿諾
“And this gray spirit yearning in desire / To follow knowledge like a sinking star, / Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.” “Ulysses”〈尤里西斯〉, Alfred Tennyson 愛佛德‧丁尼生
“This is my quest, to follow that star / No matter how hopeless, no matter how far / To be willing to give when there's no more to give / To be willing to die so that honor and justice may live.” “The Impossible Dream”〈不可能的夢〉（Man of La Mancha《夢幻騎士》主題曲，改編自《唐吉訶德》小說）
“this world would be a whole lot better if we just made an effort to be less horrible to one another . . . ; if we took just five minutes to recognize each other’s beauty instead of attacking each other for our differences.” Ellen Page 愛倫．佩基
“To me the meanest flower that blows can give thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.” “Ode: Intimations of Immortality”〈詩頌：靈魂不朽之提示〉, William Wordsworth 威廉‧華茲華斯
“Universal History, the history of what man has accomplished in this world, is at bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked here.” On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History《英雄與英雄崇拜》, Thomas Carlyle 湯馬斯・卡萊爾
“Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.” Foundation《基地》, Isaac Asimov 以撒‧艾西莫夫
“We are all patchworks, and so shapeless and diverse in composition that each bit, each moment plays its own game.” Essais《隨筆集》, Michel De Montaigne 米歇爾‧德‧蒙泰涅
“We are responsible for these people.” Argo 《亞果出任務》
“We create our own demons.” Iron Man 3《鋼鐵人 3》
“We don't realize what a privilege it is to grow old with someone.” P.S. I Love You《P.S. 我愛你》（改編自 Cecelia Ahern 西西莉亞‧艾亨的同名小說）
“We're up on a roll and it’s taking a toll / But it's too late to stop now.” “The Price We Pay”〈我們付出的代價〉, 搖滾樂團 Heaven’s Basement「地下天堂」
“What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult to each other?” Middlemarch《米德鎮》, George Eliot 喬治‧愛略特
“What if a child dreamed of becoming something other than what society had intended?” Man of Steel《超人：鋼鐵英雄》
“Whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do well.” David Copperfield《塊肉餘生錄》, Charles Dickens 查爾斯‧狄更斯
“When I see your face, there’s not a thing that I would change ‘cause you’re amazing, just the way you are.” “Just the Way You Are”〈就是你原本的樣子〉, Bruno Mars 布魯諾‧馬爾斯
“Why should a foolish marriage vow, / which long ago was made, / Oblige us to each other now, When passion is decayed?” Marriage a la Mod 《婚姻時尚》, John Dryden 約翰‧德萊頓
“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?” Macbeth《馬克白》, William Shakespeare 威廉‧莎士比亞
“The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep.” “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”〈雪夜中林外駐足〉Robert Frost 羅伯特‧佛洛斯特
“The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away.” Lord of the Flies《蒼蠅王》, William Golding 威廉‧高汀
“Yes! Thank God; human feeling is like the mighty rivers that bless the earth: it does not wait for beauty—it flows with resistless force and brings beauty with it.” Adam Bede《亞當‧比德》, George Eliot 喬治‧愛略特
“And yet in our world everybody thinks of changing the humanity, and nobody thinks of changing himself.” “Three Methods of Reform” in Pamphlets《小冊子》, Leo Tolstoy 烈夫‧托爾思泰
“You can wipe out an entire generation, you can burn their homes to the ground, and somehow they’ll still find their way back.” Monuments Men《大尋寶家》
“You choose losers because that's what you think you deserve and that's why you'll never have a better life.” Blue Jasmine《藍色茉莉》
“You have the grand gift of silence, Watson; it makes you quite invaluable as a companion.” Sherlock Holmes《福爾摩斯》

前言
“A little learning is a dangerous thing / Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.” “An Essay on Criticism”〈論批評〉, Alexander Pope 亞歷山大‧波普
“After all you put me through / You'd think I despise you / But in the end, I wanna thank you / 'Cause you make me that much stronger.” “Fighter”〈鬥士〉, Christina Aguilera 克莉絲汀‧阿奎萊拉
“All of life is an act of letting go, but what hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye.” Life of Pi 《少年 Pi 的奇幻漂流》（改...