so that with each return it, and the ensuing silence, gave each other more and more value, like the exchanges of two mirrors laid face to face.” A new sound had reached us from the silence as well. It was the sound of truth—the truth that Agee thought he would fail but which he ultimately delivered in the deeply felt prose of own consciousness. It was the truth in the form of a book—and a “book,” wrote Agee, “only by necessity,” who described his attempt “[m]ore seriously . . . an effort in human actuality.” With Let Us Now Praise Famous Men James Agee and Walker Evans, “two mirrors laid face to face,” perceived the radiance of what they saw until we too, like the porch listeners themselves, were “without warning possessed of a new sense.” Hugh Davis has honored the formidable task of doing as well as he could by James Agee, and we owe him a debt of gratitude. To read, really read, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men requires honesty, moral intelligence, hard work, and dedication—the very attributes that Hugh Davis has brought to bear in his book. Agee wanted his readers to see the truth for themselves, to take the responsibility of seeing as seriously as he had done himself. Hugh Davis only wants the same.

中文翻译：

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两本书的故事：光明之城的黑暗时代

因此，每一次归还，以及随之而来的沉默，都赋予彼此越来越多的价值，就像面对面放置的两面镜子的交换。” 我们也从寂静中传来了新的声音。这是真理的声音——阿吉认为他会失败的真理，但他最终以自己意识的深刻感受散文表达了这一真理。这是一本书形式的真相——而一本“书”，阿吉写道，“只是出于必要”，他“[更]认真地描述了他的尝试。. . 人类现实中的一种努力。” 随着让我们现在赞美名人詹姆斯·艾吉和沃克·埃文斯，“两面镜子面对面放置”，感知他们所看到的光芒，直到我们也像门廊听众一样，“毫无征兆地拥有了一种新的感觉。” 休·戴维斯 (Hugh Davis) 完成了詹姆斯·艾吉 (James Agee) 尽其所能完成的艰巨任务 我们欠他一份感激之情。阅读，真正阅读，让我们现在赞美名人需要诚实、道德智慧、努力工作和奉献精神——休·戴维斯在他的书中赋予了这些特质。艾吉希望他的读者能够亲眼看到真相，像他自己一样认真地承担责任。休戴维斯只想要同样的。