原文
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
翻译
那是最美好的时代，那是最糟糕的时代；
那是个睿智的年月，那是个蒙昧的年月；
那是信心百倍的时期，那是疑虑重重的时期；
那是阳光普照的季节，那是黑暗笼罩的季节；
那是充满希望的暖春，那是让人绝望的凛冬；
我们面前无所不有，我们面前一无所有；
我们大家都在直奔天堂，我们大家都在直坠地狱。
简而言之，那个时代和当今这个时代是如此相似，因而一些吵嚷不休的权威们也坚持认为，不管它是好是坏，都只能用“ 最……”来评价它。
翻译：选用宋兆霖版本，并在此基础上略有改动。
出处
《双城记（A Tale of Two Cities）》开篇，查尔斯·狄更斯（Charles John Huffam Dickens，1812~1870），维多利亚时代英国最伟大的作家。他一生刻苦勤勉，繁重的劳动和对改革现实的失望，严重损害了他的健康。1870年6月9日狄更斯因脑溢血与世长辞。他的墓碑上写道：“他是贫穷、受苦与被压迫人民的同情者；他的去世令世界失去了一位伟大的英国作家。
墓碑原文：To the Memory of Charles Dickens (England's most popular author) who died at his residence, Higham, near Rochester, Kent, 9 June 1870, aged 58 years. He was a sympathiser with the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England's greatest writers is lost to the world.
解读
任何时代都是如此，既是最好的时代，也是最坏的时代。
我们能看到怎样的罪恶与蒙昧，也就能看得到怎样的善行与智慧，因为，人性既是如此，有善有恶，世界也是如此，有白天有黑夜。
当夜幕降临的时候，我们能够看到群星闪耀；在最阳光普照的日子里，同样也是阴影最为黑暗之时。
所以，面对这个世界，不要失望，也别放弃，黑暗和光明本身就是一枚硬币的两面，天堂和地狱本来就在一起。
总结
不失望，不放弃。
拓展阅读
It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.
我现在已做的，远比我所做过的一切都美好，我将获得的休息，远比我所知道的一切都甜蜜。
《双城记》结尾，查尔斯·狄更斯
