Books must be read as deliberately and reservedly as they were written.

书籍必须以写作时那般审慎、克制而从容的态度去阅读。

这句话出自梭罗的《瓦尔登湖》第三章’阅读Reading’的第三段：

…To read well, that is, to read true books in a true spirit, is a noble exercise, and one that will task the reader more than any exercise which the customs of the day esteem. It requires a training such as the athletes underwent, the steady intention almost of the whole life to this object. Books must be read as deliberately and reservedly as they were written. It is not enough even to be able to speak the language of that nation by which they are written, for there is a memorable interval between the spoken and the written language, the language heard and the language read. …

然而，善于阅读——也就是说，以真正的精神去阅读真正的书籍——是一种高贵的修炼；而这种修炼，比当今世俗所推崇的任何训练，都更能考验一个人的心志。它要求读者接受一种类似于古代运动员所经历的训练：为了这一目标，几乎要用一生的时间保持坚定不移的专注。书籍必须以写作时那般审慎、克制而从容的态度去阅读。甚至，仅仅能够说出写书民族的语言，也还远远不够；因为在口语与书面语言之间，在耳朵听见的语言与眼睛读到的语言之间，存在着一段值得铭记的距离。在这一章中，梭罗谈的是“真正的阅读”，不在于获取信息或者是打发时间的休闲娱乐，而是一种精神上的自我修炼。

英文中常以名词为意思的核心，而中文往往采用动词，以动作为核心。若用更中式的思维来翻译，或许可以是：“读书应当像写作时那样，审慎和克制。”