“这是最好的时代，也是最坏的时代”出自英国作家查尔斯·狄更斯的小说《双城记》（*A Tale of Two Cities*），具体出处为该书开篇段落。以下是相关细节的整理：

原文段落

狄更斯在《双城记》第一章的开头写道：

> "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."

创作背景

该句出自法国大革命前后的社会背景，反映了当时英国社会在启蒙思想与激进变革中的矛盾与冲突。狄更斯通过这一矛盾性表述，展现了历史发展的辩证性。

历史与现实的呼应

这句话常被引用于描述具有重大变革特征的时代，例如20世纪的社会动荡、科技发展或当前全球化进程中的机遇与挑战。其核心思想是强调历史发展的非线性特征，即进步与困境往往并存。

综上，该句不仅是狄更斯的经典名言，也是文学史上的重要思辨，持续启发着对时代与人性关系的思考。