作者 | 世纪君
文章来源 | 21世纪英文报
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孔子曰：“良药苦于口，利于病；忠言逆于耳，利于行。”鸡汤泛滥的时代，扎心的“大实话”显得尤为珍贵。最近就有这样一篇毕业演讲，不走寻常路，刷爆了美国人的朋友圈。
演讲来自美国最高法院首席大法官约翰•罗伯茨（John Roberts）。罗伯茨出生于1955年，毕业于哈佛大学法学院，获得法学博士学位。2005年时，罗伯茨被时任美国总统布什提名，随后获参议院通过，成为第17任美国最高法院首席大法官，年仅50岁，成为了美国自1801年以来最年轻的首席大法官。
今年六月，他来到新罕布什尔州的卡迪根山中学（Cardigan Mountain School），参加儿子的初中毕业典礼并发表演讲。
相比我们熟悉的那些名人演讲“模版”，罗伯茨非但没有祝福毕业生们前程似锦，而是，祝他们前路坎坷，遭遇各种不幸……（这位老爸是来砸场子的吗？）
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完整版中英文双语字幕演讲视频
2005年，罗伯茨被小布什提名为首席大法官，直播期间宣布提名时，罗伯茨时年4岁的小儿子杰克突然跳出来砸场子，在镜头前手舞足蹈，嗨到忘形。
小布什和罗伯茨强作镇定，装作什么也没发生，还是简妮冲上去把儿子揽到身后。第二天，跳舞视频传遍美国，大家揣测这是什么舞步。
《美国邮报》调侃说：小伙子，干嘛这么兴奋，你爹还没得到这份工作。
后来，还是成功出任首席大法官的老爸揭秘：他跳的不是舞蹈，只是在模仿蜘蛛侠用手嗖嗖嗖发射蜘蛛网罢了。
12年过去了，少年蜘蛛侠即将从卡迪根山中学（cardigan mountain school）毕业。2017年7月3日，毕业典礼请来首席大法官罗伯茨致辞。
不同于普通的致辞者，罗伯茨对于孩子们的未来，却发出了让人大跌眼镜的祝福和建议。
此外，他在致辞中援引了苏格拉底名言：未经自审的人生没有意义，以及鲍勃·迪伦的名作《永远年轻》，一位父亲的良苦用心在致辞中表露无遗。
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他谈到了什么呢？
From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice.
我希望今后你能时常遭遇不公，这样，你才能懂得公正的价值。
I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty.
我希望你能遭受背叛，这样，你才能领悟忠诚的重要。
I hope you will be lonely from time to time so that you don’t take friends for granted.
我希望你时常体验到孤独，这样，你才不会视朋友为理所当然。
I wish you bad luck, again, from time to time so that you will be conscious of the role of chance in life and understand that your success is not completely deserved and that the failure of others is not completely deserved either.
我祝你偶尔运气不佳，这样你才会意识到机遇在人生中扮演的角色，从而明白你的成功并非天经地义，而他人的失败也不是理所当然。
And when you lose, as you will from time to time, I hope every now and then, your opponent will gloat over your failure. It is a way for you to understand the importance of sportsmanship.
当你偶尔失败时，我愿你的对手时不时会幸灾乐祸。这样你才能懂得竞技精神的重要。
I hope you’ll be ignored so you know the importance of listening to others, and I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion.
我希望你会被人无视，这样，你才能学会倾听。也希望你遭受痛苦，从而学会同情。
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句句直戳痛处，十分扎心！正如学生时代背诵过的古文：
也就是说，不先受点儿折磨，怎么能成大器？正是挫折、忧患才能使少年们成为照耀人类历史的群星。
罗伯茨大法官的这场演讲，《华盛顿邮报》（The Washington Post）网站是这样评论的：
“罗伯茨大法官本年度最好的作品，不是某个案子的判决书……”
嗯，没错儿，是这篇在儿子毕业典礼上的演讲。
这场演讲的视频被学校上传到Youtube上，迅速引来了众多围观。《华盛顿邮报》等外媒也纷纷报道，并挖出了一波金句，这下这场“祝你不幸”的演讲可谓是在美国媒体及社交网络上火透了。
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除了“祝你不幸”罗伯茨大法官还讲到许多亮点
比如，对于演讲中大家都爱说的“哪里摔倒就从哪里爬起来”，罗伯茨的见解就独到又幽默：
And if you did fail, you got up and tried again. And if you failed again, you got up and tried again. And if you failed again, it might be time to think about doing something else.
如果失败了，你爬起来重新来过。如果再次失败，你爬起来再来一次。如果这次还是失败了，也许是时候琢磨着做点别的事了。
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对于毕业演讲里爱套用的金句“做自己（Be yourself）”，他也开了句玩笑：“给一群穿着整齐划一的人提这样的建议有点奇怪……”引发全场大笑。
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随后，他说了自己的看法
Unless you are perfect, it does not mean don’t make any changes.
除非你完美无瑕，否则这并不是让你不做任何改变。
People say ‘be yourself’ because they want you to resist the impulse to conform to what others want you to be. But you can’t be yourself if you don't learn who are, and you can’t learn who you are unless you think about it.
人们说“做自己”，因为他们希望你不要屈服于他人的意愿。但如果你自己都不了解自己，那么你就无法“做自己”，而你只有思考后，才能清楚自己想成为怎样的人。
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引用古希腊哲学家苏格拉底名言
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
“未经自省的人生没有意义”。
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戳心忠告：
罗伯茨还给了毕业生们一句戳心忠告：“你们是享有特权的一批年轻人”，“不要表现得高人一等”：
You are also privileged young men. And if you weren’t privileged when you came here, you are privileged now because you have been here. My advice is: Don’t act like it.
你们也是享有特权的一群年轻人。即使初来此地之时你们并不优人一等，但成为这里的一员，已经使你们比他人享有更多优势。我的建议是，不要表现得如此（高人一等）。
When you get to your new school, walk up and introduce yourself to the person who is raking the leaves, shoveling the snow or emptying the trash. Learn their name and call them by their name during your time at the school.
当你到了新学校时，见到那些扫落叶、铲雪、倒垃圾的人，走上前去做自我介绍，同时记住他们名字。在学校的日子里，记得称呼他们的名字。
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大法官罗伯茨一家
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结语
演讲最后，罗伯茨引用了一段歌词作为结语。这首歌来自美国著名音乐人鲍勃•迪伦Bob Dylan。罗伯茨将鲍勃•迪伦称为“伟大的美国哲人the great American philosopher”。
这首歌是50年前迪伦在巡演期间思念儿子所做，饱含父母对孩子的美好期盼。
罗伯茨说：
The wishes are beautiful, they’re timeless. They’re universal.
这些期盼是美好的、永恒的，也是普世的。
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不过，至于这首歌的歌名--“永远年轻”Forever Young，罗伯茨不忘再点明一下：
That wish is a parent’s lament. It’s not a good wish.
那只能算是家长们的扼腕叹息，算不得美好的愿望。
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Forever YoungBob Dylan - Planet Waves
网易云音乐
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May God bless and keep you always,
愿上帝的庇护与你同在
May your wishes all come true,
愿你能够梦想成真
May you always do for others
愿你永远帮助别人
And let others do for you.
也接受别人的恩惠
May you build a ladder to the stars
愿你可以造一把采摘繁星的云梯
And climb on every rung,
稳妥沿它而上
May you stay forever young,
愿你永远年轻
May you grow up to be righteous,
愿你长大后正直无私
May you grow up to be true,
愿你懂事时真实善良
May you always know the truth
愿你永远了解真理的方向
And see the lights surrounding you.
所到之处都有高灯明照
May you always be courageous,
愿你永远勇敢无畏
Stand upright and be strong,
坚韧不拔，意志坚强
May you stay forever young,
愿你永远年轻
May your hands always be busy,
愿你总是忙碌充实
May your feet always be swift,
愿你脚步永远轻盈
May you have a strong foundation
愿你根基牢固
When the winds of changes shift.
在变故横生之时
May your heart always be joyful,
愿你的心总是充满快乐
May your song always be sung,
愿你的歌曲能够永远被人传唱
May you stay forever young,
愿你永远年轻
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I wish you bad luck
John G. Roberts, Jr.翻译：丹尼尔先生
Rain, somebody said, is like confetti from heaven. So even the heavens are celebrating this morning, joining the rest of us at this wonderful commencement ceremony. Before we go any further, graduates, you have an important task to perform because behind you are your parents and guardians. Two or three or four years ago, they drove into Cardigan, dropped you off, helped you get settled and then turned around and drove back out the gates. It was an extraordinary sacrifice for them. They drove down the trail of tears back to an emptier and lonelier house. They did that because the decision about your education, they knew, was about you. It was not about them. That sacrifice and others they made have brought you to this point. But this morning is not just about you. It is also about them, so I hope you will stand up and turn around and give them a great round of applause. Please.
人们说，雨就像天上来的五彩纸屑。今天早上，天堂的天使们也正在我们这个精彩的毕业庆典中。同学们，在我们进一步演讲之前，有一个重要的任务需要完成，在你的身后是你们的父母和监护人。两年、三年、或四年之前，他们送你们来 Cardigan 学校，帮助你安顿下来，然后转身又默默离开了大门。对家人而言，意味着莫大的牺牲。他们或许沿着泪的痕迹，回到空洞和孤独的房子。这样之所以这样做，是因为他们知道你的教育，最终是关乎你自己的，而不是关乎他们的。为了帮你实现这一点，他们愿意做出牺牲，以及其他任何的帮助。所以，今天早上的此时，不只是关于你，也关于他们，所以我希望你能站起来，转过身，给他们一个热烈的掌声。
Now when somebody asks me how the remarks at Cardigan went, I will be able to say they were interrupted by applause. Congratulations, class of 2017. You’ve reached an important milestone. An important stage of your life is behind you. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you it is the easiest stage of your life, but it is in the books. While you’ve been at Cardigan, you have all been a part of an important international community as well. And I think that needs to be particularly recognized.
当有人问我对 Cardigan 学校的评价如何时，我可以说他们会被掌声打断（大家自觉地笑了，并鼓掌）。祝贺你们，2017届的毕业生。这是你们人生的一个重要里程碑。人生重要的阶段，其实还在你们身后。我很抱歉地告诉你，书本其实是你生命中最容易的一个阶段（大家会心一笑）。当你们还在 Cardigan 的时候，同时也是国际社会的重要组成部分。我认为这需要特别认知。
“Roberts gave brief remarks in other languages.”
（罗伯茨用其他语言，发表了简短的讲话。）
Now around the country today at colleges, high schools, middle schools, commencement speakers are standing before impatient graduates. And they are almost always saying the same things. They will say that today is a commencement exercise. ‘It is a beginning, not an end. You should look forward.’ And I think that is true enough, however, I think if you’re going to look forward to figure out where you’re going, it’s good to know where you’ve been and to look back as well. And I think if you look back to your first afternoon here at Cardigan, perhaps you will recall that you were lonely. Perhaps you will recall that you were a little scared, a little anxious. And now look at you. You are surrounded by friends that you call brothers, and you are confident in facing the next step in your education.
现在全国各地，在大学/高中/中学，毕业典礼的嘉宾们站在不耐烦的毕业生面前，几乎总是说同样的话。 他们会说，“今天的毕业只是一个开始，而不是结束。你们应该向前看。” 我认为这也足够真实。但是，如果你想弄清楚往哪里去，最好回头看看现在究竟是在哪一步了，然后决定哪里才是你要去的。回想一下当你来到 Cardigan 的第一个下午，也许你曾感到孤独。或许你还会记得，曾有过一点害怕和焦虑。现在看看你自己，身边有很多称兄道弟的朋友，你也有了信心面对下一阶段的教育。
It is worth trying to think why that is so. And when you do, I think you may appreciate that it was because of the support of your classmates in the classroom, on the athletic field and in the dorms. And as far as the confidence goes, I think you will appreciate that it is not because you succeeded at everything you did, but because with the help of your friends, you were not afraid to fail. And if you did fail, you got up and tried again. And if you failed again, you got up and tried again. And if you failed again, it might be time to think about doing something else. But it was not just success, but not being afraid to fail that brought you to this point.
值得去思考，为什么会这样？当你这样做的时候，我想你可能会理解，这是因为同学们在教室里、运动场上、和宿舍里给予的支持。就信心而言，我想你会明白，并不是因为你做的每件事都成功了，而是因为在朋友的帮助下，你便不再害怕失败。如果你失败了，你站起来再试一次。如果你又失败了，你站起来再试一次。如果你再次又失败了，也许是时候考虑做别的事情了（大家砰然大笑）。你们之所以走到今天，不仅是因为你们的成功，而是因为你们不害怕失败。
Now the commencement speakers will typically also wish you good luck and extend good wishes to you. I will not do that, and I’ll tell you why. From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice. I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty. Sorry to say, but I hope you will be lonely from time to time so that you don’t take friends for granted.
通常，毕业典礼的演讲嘉宾都会向你们表示祝贺，并向你们致以诚挚的祝愿。我不会这么做，让我来告诉你为什么：在未来的岁月里，我希望你会遭遇不公正的对待，这样你才会明白正义的价值；我希望你会遭受背叛，那样你才会懂得忠诚的重要。很抱歉我这么说。我还希望你会时常有孤独感，如此你才不会把良朋益友视为理所当然的。
I wish you bad luck, again, from time to time so that you will be conscious of the role of chance in life and understand that your success is not completely deserved and that the failure of others is not completely deserved either. And when you lose, as you will from time to time, I hope every now and then, your opponent will gloat over your failure. It is a way for you to understand the importance of sportsmanship. I hope you’ll be ignored so you know the importance of listening to others, and I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion. Whether I wish these things or not, they’re going to happen. And whether you benefit from them or not will depend upon your ability to see the message in your misfortunes.
我再次地祝愿你不幸，这样你才会意识到机遇在人生中的角色，并能明白你们的成功并非命中注定，别人的失败也非天经地义。当你偶尔遭遇失败时，希望你的对手会因为你的失败而幸灾乐祸，如此你才能意识到有风度的竞争精神的重要性。希望你会被别人忽视，这样你才能意识到倾听别人的重要性，同时希望你有足够的同情心去学习同情。不论我愿不愿意，这些迟早都会发生。而你是否从中受益，取决于你能否参透人生苦难所带来的价值。
Now commencement speakers are also expected to give some advice. They give grand advice, and they give some useful tips. The most common grand advice they give is for you to be yourself. It is an odd piece of advice to give people dressed identically, but you should — you should be yourself. But you should understand what that means. Unless you are perfect, it does not mean don’t make any changes. In a certain sense, you should not be yourself. You should try to become something better. People say ‘be yourself’ because they want you to resist the impulse to conform to what others want you to be. But you can’t be yourself if you don't learn who are, and you can’t learn who you are unless you think about it.
如今，毕业典礼嘉宾们也会提出一些建议。有些建议很宏大，有些建议很实用。他们给你最普遍的忠告，就是“做你自己”。给你们都是一样的建议，是一个很奇怪的建议（全场大笑）。除了你必须做你自己外，更需要知道其中的真意。从某种意义上说，你不应该是你自己，而是你应该努力成为的那个更好的自己。除非你是完美的，否则不需要做出任何改变。人们常说“做你自己”，是因为他们希望你抵制按他人意愿随波逐流的冲动。如果你都不知道自己想成为什么样的人，你是不可能“做你自己”的。如果不好好思考，你也不可能知道自己想成为什么样的人。
The Greek philosopher Socrates said, ‘The unexamined life is not worth living.’ And while ‘just do it’ might be a good motto for some things, it’s not a good motto when it’s trying to figure out how to live your life that is before you. And one important clue to living a good life is to not to try to live the good life. The best way to lose the values that are central to who you are is frankly not to think about them at all.
希腊哲学家苏格拉底曾说，“未经审视的人生是没有意义的”。对某些事而言，“Just do it”，或许是一个不错的座右铭，但在你还未想明白要过怎样的人生之前，这个座右铭其实并不怎么样。拥有美好人生的一个最好的路径，就是不要试图过轻松的人生。如果你们不思考，就会丢掉对自己至关重要的价值观。
So that’s the deep advice. Now some tips as you get ready to go to your new school. Other the last couple of years, I have gotten to know many of you young men pretty well, and I know you are good guys. But you are also privileged young men. And if you weren’t privileged when you came here, you are privileged now because you have been here. My advice is: Don’t act like it.
这便是深刻的建议。现在给一些你们准备去新学校的建议。在过去的几年里，我很了解你们其中的年轻人，我知道你们都做得非常棒。你们是非常幸运的年轻人。如果你们来这里时还没有特权，现在已拥有了某种特权。正是因为来到了这里，便拥有了某种特权。我的忠告是：请不要表现出有特权的样子。
When you get to your new school, walk up and introduce yourself to the person who is raking the leaves, shoveling the snow or emptying the trash. Learn their name and call them by their name during your time at the school. Another piece of advice: When you pass by people you don’t recognize on the walks, smile, look them in the eye and say hello. The worst thing that will happen is that you will become known as the young man who smiles and says hello, and that is not a bad thing to start with.
当你来到新学校时，请走上前向那个正在扫树叶、铲雪或倒垃圾的人介绍你自己。学习知道他们的名字，在学校的时候叫他们的名字。另一条忠告：当你走过那些你不认识的人的时候，微笑着看着他们的眼睛，向他们问好。最糟糕的情况无外乎，你会成为一个微笑着向别人打招呼的年轻人（全场微笑），这并不是一件坏事。
You’ve been at a school with just boys. Most of you will be going to a school with girls. I have no advice for you.
目前你们在一所男校，很多人未来将会去一间有女生的学校。在此，我无法给你们建议（全场爆笑，并热烈鼓掌）。
The last bit of advice I’ll give you is very simple, but I think it could make a big difference in your life. Once a week, you should write a note to someone. Not an email. A note on a piece of paper. It will take you exactly 10 minutes. Talk to an adult, let them tell you what a stamp is. You can put the stamp on the envelope. Again, 10 minutes, once a week. I will help you, right now.
I will dictate to you the first note you should write. It will say, ‘Dear「fill in the name of a teacher at Cardigan Mountain School」.’ Say: ‘I have started at this new school. We are reading 「blank」 in English. Football or soccer practice is hard, but I’m enjoying it. Thank you for teaching me.’ Put it in an envelope, put a stamp on it and send it. It will mean a great deal to people who — for reasons most of us cannot contemplate — have dedicated themselves to teaching middle school boys. As I said, that will take you exactly 10 minutes a week. By the end of the school year, you will have sent notes to 40 people. Forty people will feel a little more special because you did, and they will think you are very special because of what you did. No one else is going to carry that dividend during your time at school.
我给你们的最后一点建议很简单，但我认为它会给你的生活带来很大的改变。一周一次，你应该给某人写封信，不是电子邮件，一张写在纸上的便条。你只需要10分钟。学会跟大人说话，让他们告诉你邮票是什么。你可以把邮票贴在信封上。10分钟，每周一次。
我现在就教你，应该写的第一张便条。譬如：“亲爱的“填上学校老师的名字”：‘从这所新学校开始。我们正在用英语阅读「空白处填写」。足球和足球训练都很难，但我很享受。谢谢您教我。’” 把它放在信封里，贴上邮票寄出去。这些对于为了献身中学教育的人来说意义重大（爆笑）。就像我说的，你每周只需要10分钟。到学年结束的时候，你会给40个人寄信条。40个人会因为你做到了，觉得你很特别。没有人会在你上学的时候带着这种红利。
Enough advice. I would like to end by reading some important lyrics. I cited the Greek philosopher Socrates earlier. These lyrics are from the great American philosopher, Bob Dylan. They’re almost 50 years old. He wrote them for his son, Jesse, who he was missing while he was on tour. It lists the hopes that a parent might have for a son and for a daughter. They’re also good goals for a son and a daughter. The wishes are beautiful, they’re timeless. They’re universal. They’re good and true, except for one: It is the wish that gives the song its title and its refrain. That wish is a parent’s lament. It’s not a good wish.
最后，我想用一段歌词来结束今天的致辞。之前，我引用了希腊哲学家苏格拉底的名言。下面，则来自伟大的美国音乐哲人鲍勃 • 迪伦的歌词。这些歌词，都快超过50年的历史了。在当年巡演期间，他为失踪的儿子杰西写了这些信，歌词呈现了父母对子女的深切期盼。这些期盼是美好的，是永恒的，也是普世的。
1、温哥华大型演讲 | 赵晓：经济发展、婚姻家庭与中华文明崛起之路
编辑：青云
配图：Enoch
美编：Deborah
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