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“当世界身陷火海，读书的意义何在？”
耶鲁大学校长苏必德（Peter Salovey）在2021年秋季新生入学典礼上重提这个问题。这也是在51年前各种变革激荡之下，前耶鲁校长金曼·布鲁斯特曾提出的问题。
如今，在全球疫情肆虐、自然灾害频发、种族主义和极端主义抬头的当下，世界似乎一片混乱，或许我们每个人都曾产生过这样的疑问：如何能两耳不闻窗外事，一心只读圣贤书？
心怀改变世界的宏远，又如何在乱世中实现？
耶鲁校长苏必德在“当世界身陷火海”（When the World Is on Fire）的开学演讲中，通过一个犹太智者的故事，给了我们答案：改变世界之前，先改变自己。
早上好！致所有Eli Whitney项目的学生、转校生、访问国际学生和耶鲁大学的大一新生：欢迎来到耶鲁！
Good morning! To all Eli Whitney students, transfer students, visiting international students, and first-year Yale College students: Welcome to Yale!
首先很高兴今天在这里见到你们。
Let me begin by saying it is good to see you here today.
许多亲朋好友此时正在线上观看今天的开学典礼。无论你现在身在何处，我谨代表台上的同事及整个耶鲁大学，向每一位加入耶鲁大家庭的同学致以热烈的欢迎。
Many families and loved ones are watching today’s ceremonies online. On behalf of my colleagues here on stage and the entire Yale community, I want to extend a warm greeting to everyone joining us, wherever you are right now.
这是一个重要的时刻——无论对你们这些新生，还是对耶鲁而言。
This is a big moment—for you, our newest students, and for Yale.
很高兴我们相遇于此。
I am so glad you are here.
当世界深陷火海，读书的意义何在？
51年前，耶鲁大学校长金曼·布鲁斯特（Kingman Brewster Jr.）发表开学演讲，欢迎本科新生来到耶鲁，正如我现在欢迎你们一样。那时，耶鲁经历了非比寻常的一年。我们可以把当下和1970年5月联系起来。彼时，成千上万的人从美国各地来到纽黑文、来到耶鲁，抗议对黑豹党（Black Panther Party）领袖修伊·牛顿（Huey Newton）和西尔（Bobby Seale）被控谋杀罪的审判。由于预计抗议活动很可能会演变为暴力事件，数千名国民警卫队被提前部署在这里。局势紧张，一触即发。幸运的是，理智占了上风，抗议活动基本保持和平，无人受重伤，更无人死亡。
Fifty-one years ago, university president Kingman Brewster Jr. delivered an address to the entering class of new undergraduates, welcoming them to Yale, as I am doing now. At the time, the university was coming out of a very unusual year. (We can relate!) Just a few months earlier, in May 1970, tens of thousands of people from across the country had come to New Haven—and to Yale—to protest the trials of Bobby Seale and Ericka Huggins, leaders of the Black Panther Party, who were being tried for murder. Thousands of National Guard troops had been deployed to the city as some expected the protests to turn violent. The situation was extremely tense. Fortunately, reason prevailed, the protests remained largely peaceful, and no one was seriously injured, let alone killed.
尽管如此，这件事还是震撼了耶鲁校园。那时，战争在东南亚肆虐，民权运动和女权运动正朝着新的方向发展，整个社会似乎都在经历新旧更迭。在此背景下，很多人开始思考耶鲁大学的未来——身处瞬息万变、不可预知的社会里，大学的价值和意义究竟是什么。
Still, these events rocked Yale’s campus. War was raging in Southeast Asia. Movements for civil rights and women’s rights were heading in new directions, and across society it seemed like a younger generation was rising up to challenge the old guard. Against this backdrop, many people were wondering about Yale’s future. They were uncertain about the university’s role—its purpose—in a rapidly changing and unpredictable society.
如今站在这里，我有着和布鲁斯特校长在1970年时同样的感触。彼时，布鲁斯特校长看着台下聚集的新生，他深知他们的焦虑；他知道他们对耶鲁生活以及未来毕业后进入社会感到迷茫。然而，在布鲁斯特校长的演讲中，他没有要求学生们去学习、去图书馆、写论文、做实验。他只要求他们做好一名学生。
Standing here today, I am feeling many of the same emotions that President Brewster must have felt in 1970. Looking out over that gathering of new students, he knew many of them were anxious; he knew they had questions about what they would do at Yale and many more about the kind of society they would encounter when they graduated. Yet, in his speech, he was asking them to study, go to the library, write papers, and conduct experiments. He was asking them to be students.
他提出了一个萦绕在很多人心头已久、也是如今我想问你们的问题：“当世界身处一片火海，一心只读圣贤书的意义何在？”
And so he gave voice to a question that was probably on the minds of many, a question I also pose to you today. He asked, “Where then is the purpose which makes patient learning supportable when the world is on fire?”
今天，这个世界似乎再次深陷火海——无论从字面上还是比喻意义来看。美国正处在9·11以来最大的危机之中。我们在与全球疫情斗争，这对于我们中的很多人来说，或许将成为一生中最重要的地缘政治事件，或许也是一些人生命中的不可承受之重。
Today, again, it seems like the world is on fire, literally and metaphorically. The United States is in the midst of its greatest crisis since 9/11. We are fighting a global pandemic, which will be, for many of us, the most significant geopolitical, and perhaps personal, event of our lives.
但这还并非全部。今年夏天，我们目睹了全球多处可怕的野火、干旱和洪水。你们中的一些人甚至亲历了这些气候灾难。不仅是气候变化，还有种族主义、极端主义、不断扩大的贫富差距——这些复杂的挑战，都在呼吁我们采取紧急和协调一致的行动。
But that is not all. This summer we have witnessed terrible wildfires, drought, and flooding in many corners of the globe. Some of you have experienced these climate disasters firsthand. Not only climate change but also racism, extremism, the widening gulf between rich and poor—these are complex challenges that call out for urgent and concerted action.
当世界深陷火海，我们不得再一次扪心自问，读书的意义何在？我们如何能静下心来，两耳不闻窗外事，一心只读圣贤书？
The world is on fire, and again we ask, what is our purpose here? And how do we learn—patiently, seriously, and rigorously, as I sincerely hope you will—in times such as these?
改变世界前，先改变自己
在思考这个问题的答案时，我想起了穆萨尔运动（Musar），这场犹太运动于19世纪兴起于立陶宛，那里离我的犹太拉比祖先很近。穆萨尔运动——以及犹太教以外类似的宗教和伦理实践，其核心思想是：我们必须先提升自己，然后再向外寻求改变整个社会的机会。我们必须审视自己的价值观，扩展知识，培养同理心和想像力。
In thinking about the answer to this question, I was reminded of Musar, a nineteenth-century Jewish movement that came out of Lithuania, very close to where my ancestors were rabbis. The central idea of the Musar movement—and of similar religious and ethical practices beyond Judaism—is that we must improve ourselves before looking outward at society seeking to change it. We must examine our values, expand our knowledge, and develop empathy and imagination.
据说当时一位智者讲过这个故事：“我曾经试图改变世界，但失败了。于是我决定缩小自己的努力范围，只试着影响波兰的犹太社区，但我也失败了。于是我将目标聚焦在我的家乡拉丁（Radin，现位于白俄罗斯）社区，依然所获甚微。后来，我竭尽全力改变我的家庭，还是失败了。最终，我决定改变自己，这就是我改变世界的方式。”
One of the rabbis of the time is said to have told this story: “I set out to try to change the world, but I failed. So I decided to scale back my efforts and only try to influence the Jewish community of Poland, but I failed there, too. So I targeted the community in my hometown of Radin [now in Belarus], but achieved no greater success. Then I gave all my effort to changing my own family and failed at that as well. Finally, I decided to change myself, and that’s how I had such an impact on the…world.”
如同这位智者，我们来到耶鲁是为了对我们的社区和世界产生影响。但首先，我们必须先从自我提升开始。你将用大学时光去发挥自己的优势和天赋，用一切皆有可能的方式挑战自己，汲取知识和思想，探索未知。在耶鲁，你将接触到各种新鲜的观点，遇到来自五湖四海的同学。你将开启智慧的冒险，从宇宙结构到小说结构，一切皆可追问。
Much like this sage, we are here to make an impact on our communities and our world. But first we must start by improving ourselves. Your college years are a time to develop your strengths and talents; to challenge yourself in ways you did not think possible; to gain knowledge and understanding; and to explore. Here at Yale, you will encounter new ideas and engage with people from different backgrounds and walks of life. You will take intellectual risks, and ask questions about everything from the structure of the cosmos to the structure of a novel.
提升自我意味着离开你的舒适区。去报名一门听上去有趣但不熟悉的课程；去拜访有些令人生畏的教授——你将会对你们之间展开的对话感到惊讶；去参加一些与你观点不同的演讲者的演讲，认真聆听他们的观点。无论你今后学什么、加入什么社团，我保证你离开耶鲁时将焕然一新。你将被耶鲁改变和重塑。
Improving yourself means leaving your comfort zone. Sign up for a class that sounds interesting but unfamiliar. Go to office hours with slightly intimidating professors; you may be surprised by the conversation that unfolds. Attend talks by speakers whose views are different than yours—and really listen to their arguments. Regardless of what you study or the clubs you join, I promise that you will not leave Yale the same person you are today. You will be changed, transformed, by Yale.
我们知道你们已经准备好迎接这些挑战，我们也期待你们将为耶鲁所做的贡献。在接下来的几天、几周和几年里，你们将如何在我们共同的历史中书写新的篇章？
We know that you are ready for these challenges, and we are excited to see what contributions you will make to Yale; how you will write new chapters in our shared history in the coming days, weeks, and years.
回首1970年那个春天，我想起四位耶鲁大学的学生，他们和其他人在一起在抗议活动中发挥了关键作用：库尔特·施莫克（Kurt Schmoke）、拉尔夫·道森（Ralph Dawson）、比尔·法利（Bill Farley）和格伦·德·夏伯（Glenn de Chabert）。他们都是认真严谨的学生，积极建立并领导了耶鲁的黑人学生联盟；其中两人被授予罗德学者（Rhodes Scholars）。那个春天，与校长金曼·布鲁斯特、校长特助山姆·昌西（Sam Chauncey）以及其他耶鲁大学的管理人员一起，这些学生在危机时刻表现出了堪称楷模的领导力，在帮助维护校园秩序方面发挥了重要作用，甚至可能拯救了无数生命。
Thinking back to that spring of 1970, I am reminded of four Yale College students who, with others, played a pivotal role in the May Day events: Kurt Schmoke, Ralph Dawson, Bill Farley, and Glenn de Chabert. They were serious students and active in founding and leading the Black Student Alliance at Yale. Two would be named Rhodes Scholars. That spring, along with Kingman Brewster, his special assistant Sam Chauncey, and other administrators, these students showed exemplary leadership during a time of crisis and were instrumental in helping keep the peace on campus, most likely saving lives.
世界曾深陷火海，但他们在耶鲁的岁月，让他们做好了毕业后应对重要挑战的准备。其中一名学生成为大城市的市长和大学校长，其他人则成为了杰出的律师。他们都成了影响周围的人。正如历届校友一样，这群耶鲁人坚定地致力于提升自我、让学校更美好、让世界更美好的使命。
The world was on fire, but their time at Yale prepared them to tackle important challenges after graduation: one as a big-city mayor and university president, others as distinguished attorneys; all as engaged community members. Like generations of alumni, these Yalies were deeply committed to making themselves better, making the university better, and making the world better.
从废墟中重新筑梦，以改变世界为已任
你们也在这样一个历史性时刻加入了耶鲁这个大家庭。此刻我们四周仍被大大小小的火海包围。我想象不出有比此时在耶鲁学习更好的时机了。我们将在新的学年继续践行承诺，培育这所大学及大学中的每一个人。你很快就会发现，耶鲁人热爱学习。他们寻求新的体验，全身心投入于他们所做的一切。在耶鲁，你可以和顶级公共卫生专家学习，他们为政府提供应对疫情的建议；你可以和普利策奖得主、研究弗雷德里克·道格拉斯（Frederick Douglass）的历史学家或研究约翰·弥尔顿（John Milton）的权威泰斗一起参加研讨会；你可以和校园里1200多个实验室的教员一起进行研究。
You, too, are joining the Yale community at a historic moment. We are surrounded on all sides by fires small and large. And yet I can think of no better moment to be at Yale. We begin this academic year with a renewed commitment to nurture this community and the people in it. Yalies, you will soon discover, love to learn. They seek out new experiences, and they immerse themselves fully in everything they do. At Yale, you can study with top public health experts who are advising governments on the pandemic response. You can take a seminar with a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian of Frederick Douglass or a leading authority on John Milton. You can conduct research alongside faculty members in over 1,200 laboratories on campus.
耶鲁大学的强大之处，一如既往地在于我们互相学习、彼此激励。尽管我们来自不同的地方，但我们有一个共同的目标：完善自己，从而改善世界。耶鲁的使命宣言表达了我们的最高抱负，其中包括：“耶鲁致力于改善世界，为当下也为后人”，以及“耶鲁以为培养全球各界的领袖为己任”。
Yale’s great strength—now, as always—is that we learn from and are inspired by one another. Although we come from different places, we share a common purpose: to improve ourselves, so that we can improve the world. Yale’s mission statement expresses our highest ambitions. It says, in part, “Yale is committed to improving the world today and for future generations,” and “Yale educates aspiring leaders worldwide who serve all sectors of society.”
你们正是那群志向远大的领袖，这项使命也是我们对布鲁斯特校长在50多年前所提问题的答案。我相信布鲁斯特校长所说的“潜心学习”意味着深入学习，意味着挑战你们的想法和信念，意味着扩大知识的边界——你自己的、以及世界的，意味着你将用在耶鲁的时光迎接未来的考验。从这个意义上来说，如果我们要完成耶鲁大学的使命、真正改善世界，潜心学习不仅是有益的，甚至是必不可少的。
You are those aspiring leaders, and this mission is our answer to the question my predecessor asked over fifty years ago. I believe the “patient learning” President Brewster spoke of means deep engagement in your studies; it means challenging your thoughts and beliefs; it means expanding the frontiers of knowledge—your own, and the world’s. It means using your time at Yale to prepare for the trials ahead. In this sense, patient learning is not only supportable but essential if we are to fulfill Yale’s mission and, indeed, improve the world.
我将以我最爱的民谣歌手之一——伍迪·格思里（Woody Guthrie）在其歌曲《当世界深陷火海》（World’s on Fire）中所写的歌词作为结语。他的话非常适用于当下：”当天空正在放晴，我们的梦想苏醒，从废墟中重建我们的城市。”
I will end with lyrics written by one of my favorite folk singers, Woody Guthrie, in his song, “World’s on Fire.” His words are only too applicable: “While the skies they’re clearing / We’ll rise up dreaming; / Build our city from the ashes.”
是的，世界此时深陷火海。但就在我面前，我看到了许多令人乐观的理由。从今天起，你们将成为耶鲁的一员，一起筑梦，一起建设，为未来领导和服务社会的使命而做好准备。
Yes, the world is on fire, but right in front of me, I see many reasons for optimism. Together, as part of this community, you will dream, you will build, and you will prepare for lives of leadership and service.
欢迎来到耶鲁！
Welcome to Yale!
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