生命太短暂，不能空手过
As You Begin This New Stage of Your Lives,
Follow Your Passion
朱棣文
By Steven Chu
尊敬的福斯特校长，哈佛集团的各位成员，监管理事会的各位理事，各位老师，各位家长，各位朋友，以及最重要的各位毕业生同学，感谢你们，让我有机会同你们一起分享这个美妙的日子。
Madam President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, faculty, family, friends, and, most importantly, today’s graduates, thank you for letting me share this wonderful day with you.
我不太肯定自己能不能够得上哈佛大学毕业典礼演讲人的高标准。去年荣登这个讲台的，是英国亿万富翁小说家J.K.罗琳女士，她最早是学古典文学的。前年站在这里的是比尔·盖茨先生，他是一个超级富翁、一个慈善家和电脑呆子。今年很遗憾，演讲人是我。虽然我不是很有钱，但是至少我是一个书呆子。
I am not sure I can live up to the high standards of Harvard Commencement speakers. Last year, J.K. Rowling, the billionaire novelist, who started as a classics student, graced this podium. The year before, Bill Gates, the mega-billionaire philanthropist and computer nerd stood here. Today, sadly, you have me. I am not wealthy, but at least I am a nerd.
我很感激哈佛大学授予我荣誉学位，这项荣誉对我来说，也许比你们想到的还要重要。要知道，在学术上，我是我们家的异类。我哥哥在麻省理工学院拿了医学博士学位，在哈佛大学拿了哲学博士学位；我弟弟在哈佛大学拿了一个法律学位。我本人得到诺贝尔奖的时候，我想我的妈妈会高兴。但并非如此。消息公布的那天早上，我给她打电话，她听了只说：“不错，不过你下次什么时候来看我啊？”如今我在兄弟当中，最后一个拿到了哈佛学位，也许这一次她会感到满意了吧。
I am grateful to receive an honorary degree from Harvard, an honor that means more to me than you might care to imagine. You see, I was the academic black sheep of my family. My older brother has an M.D./Ph.D. from MIT and Harvard while my younger brother has a law degree from Harvard. When I was awarded a Nobel Prize, I thought my mother would be pleased. Not so. When I called her on the morning of the announcement, she replied, “That’s nice, but when are you going to visit me next.” Now, as the last brother with a degree from Harvard, maybe, at last, she will be satisfied.
在哈佛大学毕业典礼上发表演说，还有一个难处，那就是你们中有些人可能有意见，不喜欢我重复前人演讲中说过的话。我请求你们谅解我，因为两个理由。
Another difficulty with giving a Harvard commencement address is that some of you may disapprove of the fact that I have borrowed material from previous speeches. I ask that you forgive me for two reasons.
首先，为了产生影响力，很重要的方法就是重复传递同样的信息。在科学中，第一个发现者是重要的，但是在得到公认前，最后一个做出这个发现的人也许更重要。
First, in order to have impact, it is important to deliver the same message more than once. In science, it is important to be the first person to make a discovery, but it is even more important to be the last person to make that discovery.
其次，一个借鉴他人的作者，正走在一条前人开辟的最佳道路上。18岁就从哈佛大学毕业的爱默生曾经写下“我最好的一些思想，都是从古人那里偷来的。”毕加索宣称“优秀的艺术家借鉴，伟大的艺术家偷窃。”那么为什么毕业典礼的演说者，就不适用同样的标准呢？
Second, authors who borrow from others are following in the footsteps of the best. Ralph Waldo Emerson, who graduated from Harvard at the age of 18, noted “All my best thoughts were stolen by the ancients.” Picasso declared “Good artists borrow. Great artists steal.” Why should commencement speakers be held to a higher standard?
我还要指出一点，向哈佛毕业生发表演说，对我来说是有讽刺意味的，因为如果当年我斗胆向哈佛大学递交入学申请，一定会被拒绝。我的妻子简当过斯坦福大学的招生主任，她向我保证，如果当年我申请斯坦福大学，她会拒绝我。我把这篇演讲的草稿给她过目时，她强烈反对我使用“拒绝”这个词。她从来不拒绝任何申请者。在拒绝信中，她总是写：“我们无法提供你入学机会。”我难以分清两者之间的差别。不过，那些热门学校的招生主任总是很现实的，堪称“拒绝他人的主任”。很显然，我需要好好学学怎么来推销自己。
I also want to point out the irony of speaking to graduates of an institution that would have rejected me, had I the chutzpah to apply. I am married to “Dean Jean”, the former dean of admissions at Stanford. She assures me that she would have rejected me, if given the chance. When I showed her a draft of this speech, she objected strongly to my use of the word “rejected”. She never rejected applicants; her letters stated that “we are unable to offer you admission.” I have difficulty understanding the difference. After all, deans of admissions of highly selective schools are in reality, “deans of rejection”. Clearly, I have a lot to learn about marketing.
我的演讲将遵循毕业典礼演讲古典奏鸣曲的结构。刚才是第一乐章——轻松愉快的闲谈。接下来的第二乐章是不请自来的忠告。这样的忠告很少有价值，几乎注定被忘记，永远不会被实践。但是，就像奥斯卡·维尔德说的：“对于忠告，你所能做的，就是把它送给别人，因为它对你没有任何用处。”所以，下面就是我的忠告。第一，每当取得成就的时候，不要忘记帮助过你的人。要感谢支持你的父母和朋友，要感谢那些启发过你的教授，尤其要感谢那些教得不怎么样的教授，因为他们迫使你不得不自学。从整体看，自学能力是优秀的文科教育中必不可少的，将成为你成功的关键。你还要去拥抱你的同学，感谢他们同你进行过的许多次彻夜长谈，这为你的教育带来了无法衡量的价值。当然，你还要感谢哈佛大学。不过即使你忘了这一点，校友会也会来提醒你。第二，在你们未来的人生中，培养一种慷慨大方的精神。在任何谈判中，都不要为了最后一点点利益讨价还价。不要把桌上的钱都拿走。在合作中，永远记住荣誉不是一个守恒的量。成功合作的任何一方都应获得全部荣誉的90%。
My address will follow the classical sonata form of commencement addresses. The first movement, just presented, were light-hearted remarks. This next movement consists of unsolicited advice, which is rarely valued, seldom remembered, never followed. As Oscar Wilde said, “The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself.” So, here comes the advice. First, every time you celebrate an achievement, be thankful to those who made it possible. Thank your parents and friends who supported you, thank your professors who were inspirational, and especially thank the other professors whose less-than-brilliant lectures forced you to teach yourself. Going forward, the ability to teach yourself is the hallmark of a great liberal arts education and will be the key to your success. To your fellow students who have added immeasurably to your education during those late night discussions, hug them. Also, of course, thank Harvard. Should you forget, there’s an alumni association to remind you. Second, in your future life, cultivate a generous spirit. In all negotiations, don’t bargain for the last, little advantage. Leave the change on the table. In your collaborations, always remember that “credit” is not a conserved quantity. In a successful collaboration, everybody gets 90 percent of the credit.
电影《哈维》中，吉米·斯图尔特扮演的角色埃尔伍德·P·道得，就完全理解这一点。他说：“多年前，母亲曾经对我说，‘在这个世界上，埃尔伍德你要么——’她过去总是这么叫我埃尔伍德——‘在这个世界上，埃尔伍德你要么做一个聪明人，要么做一个好人。’”我做聪明人，已经做了好多年了……但是，我推荐你们做好人。你们可以引用我这句话。
Jimmy Stewart, as Elwood P. Dowd in the movie Harvey got it exactly right. He said, “Years ago my mother used to say to me, ‘In this world, Elwood, you must be… ’ she always used to call me Elwood … ‘in this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.’” Well, for years I was smart... I recommend pleasant. You may quote me on that.
我的第三个忠告是，当你开始生活的新阶段时，请跟随你的爱好。如果你没有爱好，就去找，找不到就不罢休。生命太短暂，所以不能空手走过，你必须对某样东西倾注你的深情。我在你们这个年龄，是超级的一根筋，我的目标就是非成为物理学家不可。本科毕业后，我在加州大学伯克利分校又待了8年，读完了研究生，读完了博士后，然后去贝尔实验室待了9年。在这些年中，我关注的中心和职业上的全部乐趣，都来自物理学。
