《双城记》的第一句话是：

"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."

补充说明：

背景与意义

这句话通过对比手法，展现了法国大革命前社会的两面性。尽管时代充满矛盾（如贫富差距、信仰危机），但狄更斯认为这种矛盾与当下社会有相似性，因此用“如此相似，以至于最喧嚣的权威也坚持用最高级形容词描述”。

哲学启示

- 对立统一：

如“最好的时代”与“最坏的时代”并存，体现了矛盾双方相互依存的关系。

- 希望与绝望：通过“春天”与“冬天”的循环，暗示历史发展的辩证性。

引用与影响

该句被无数次引用，成为文学史上的经典范例，甚至被美国作家托马斯·杰斐逊在《独立宣言》中借鉴。

若需进一步了解具体段落或背景，可参考书目：。