Translation Comparison

A person reads many thousands of books, most of them are forgotten in a week. In a man's life he sees and hears many thousands of paintings, pieces of music, sculptures, and landscapes, and there are ten, twenty, or thirty that accompany him for a long time, like a friend or a beloved. There are very few thoughts in a person's life that they will never part with. The many thousands of books are daily food, which by providing pleasure for a certain period of time has fulfilled its task. The ten, twenty, or thirty images, or pieces of music or poems that accompany a person for a long time are intimate life partners.