"Read with strength. Sometimes read with more power than the force of the writing you are reading was produced with. Read with reverence, passion, attention, and unrelenting. The writer may babble, but you read tersely. Listening to every word, one after another, back and forth in the book, seeing the clues that lead you into the thick of it, listening for the secret signs that the writer may have failed to detect as he moved forward in the mass of his work. Never to be read with a puffed-up, casual eye, as one invited to a divine feast, and only to rummage in the food with the tip of his fork. Read elegantly, generously. Read it as if you were reading the last book in the mortuary that the jailer put in your cell. Read for life and death, for that is the greatest, the human gift. Consider that only man reads.
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Author
Márai SándorAll Translations
All Translations
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Read with strength. Sometimes read with more power than the force of the writing you are reading was produced with. Read with reverence, passion, attention, and unrelenting. The writer may babble, but you read tersely. Listening to every word, one after another, back and forth in the book, seeing the clues that lead you into the thick of it, listening for the secret signs that the writer may have failed to detect as he moved forward in the mass of his work. Never to be read with a puffed-up, casual eye, as one invited to a divine feast, and only to rummage in the food with the tip of his fork. Read elegantly, generously. Read it as if you were reading the last book in the mortuary that the jailer put in your cell. Read for life and death, for that is the greatest, the human gift. Consider that only man reads.
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Erővel olvasni. Néha nagyobb erővel olvasni, mint amilyen erővel az írás készült, melyet olvasol. Áhítattal, szenvedéllyel, figyelemmel és kérlelhetetlenül olvasni. Az író fecseghet; de te olvass szűkszavúan. Minden szót, egymás után, előre és hátra hallgatódzva a könyvben, látva a nyomokat, melyek a sűrűbe vezetnek, figyelni a titkos jeladásokra, melyeket a könyv írója talán elmulasztott észlelni, mikor előrehaladt műve rengetegében. Soha nem olvasni fitymálva, mellékesen, mint akit egy isteni lakomára hívtak, s csak a villa hegyével turkál az ételekben. Elegánsan olvasni, nagylelkűen. Úgy olvasni, mintha a siralomházban olvasnád az utolsó könyvet, melyet még beadott celládba a porkoláb. Életre-halálra olvasni, mert ez a legnagyobb, az emberi ajándék. Gondold meg, hogy csak az ember olvas.
"Audio Recordings
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Să citești cu forța. Uneori să citești cu mai multă forță decât este făcută scrierea pe care o citești. Să citești cu respect, pasiune, atenție și neîndoială. Scriitorul poate bolborosi; dar tu citești laconic. Să asculți fiecare cuvânt, unul după altul, înainte și înapoi în carte, să vezi indiciile care te conduc în miezul ei, să asculți semnele secrete pe care scriitorul poate că nu le-a detectat în timp ce înainta în masa operei sale. Să nu fie citită niciodată cu un ochi umflat, dezinvolt, ca unul invitat la un ospăț divin și care doar să scormonească în mâncare cu vârful furculiței. Citește cu eleganță, cu generozitate. Să citești ca și cum ai citi ultima carte în casa mortuară pe care temnicerul ți-a pus-o în celulă. Citește pe viață și pe moarte, pentru că acesta este cel mai măreț, darul omului. Gândește-te că doar omul citește.
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