But it is with no such purpose that I read these voluminous books; they gratify — or seem to gratify — a mere curiosity; and scarcely have I closed a volume, when the greater part of what I have read in it is forgotten.

但我阅读这些浩如烟海的书籍并没有这样的目的；他们满足——或者似乎满足——纯粹的好奇心；我刚合上一本书，我在其中读到的大部分内容就被遗忘了。