俗话说得好:良药苦口利于病,忠言逆耳利于行。
鸡汤泛滥的时代,听起来扎心的“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。
US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the commencement address at his son's ninth-grade graduation last month, bestowing advice that ran counter to many typical commencement speeches.
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……(所以,这位老爸是来砸场子的吗?)
那么,这位大法官老爸到底说了些什么了不得的话?
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。
是不是句句直戳痛处,十分扎心?
小编不禁想起了初中就背过的古文:
也就是说,不先受点儿折磨,怎么能成大器?
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。
除了“祝你不幸”,罗伯茨大法官的演讲还有很多亮点。
比如,对于演讲中大家都爱说的“哪里摔倒就哪里爬起来”,罗伯茨的见解就毒舌又幽默:
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。
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。
随后他也说了说自己的看法:
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。
之后他引用了古希腊哲学家苏格拉底的名言:
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
“未经自省的人生没有意义”。
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。
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)。(对,就是去年获诺贝尔文学奖的那位有个性的老爷子。)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。
不过,至于这首歌的歌名——“永远年轻”(Forever Young),毒舌的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。
上下滑动查看歌词↓↓↓
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
歌词来源:网易云音乐
大法官罗伯茨一家
最后,小编特意找来了完整版演讲,有中英文双语字幕哦~ 来,一起干了这碗提神醒脑的“毒鸡汤”!
来源|21世纪英文报(i21stCentury)