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When the World Is on Fire
– Yale College Opening Assembly Address to Class of 2025
Peter Salovey, President of Yale University
August 28, 2021
当世界置身火海
——2025届耶鲁大学本科学院新生开学典礼演讲
耶鲁大学校长 苏必德
2021年8月28日
Good morning, everyone! To all Eli Whitney students, transfer students, visiting international students, and first-year Yale College students: Welcome to Yale!
早上好！致所有Eli Whitney项目录取的学生、转学生、来访的国际学生和耶鲁本科学院一年级新生：欢迎来到耶鲁！
Let me begin by saying it is good, really good, to see you here today.
首先，很高兴见到这里的每一个人。
And many families and loved ones are watching today’s ceremonies online. And 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.
许多耶鲁家属和亲朋好友们也正在网上观看今天的开学典礼。我谨代表台上的同事们和整个耶鲁社区，向加入我们的各位表示亲切的问候。
This is a big moment – for you, our newest students, and for Yale.
无论对于你们这一届新生，还是对耶鲁而言，这都是一个重大的时刻。
I am so glad you are here.
我很高兴你们在这里。
Fifty-one years ago, university President Kingman Brewster delivered an address to the entering class of new undergraduates, welcoming them to Yale, just 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.
五十一年前，耶鲁大学校长Kingman Brewster Jr.面向新入学的本科生发表演讲，欢迎他们来到耶鲁，就像我现在所做的一样。当时，耶鲁大学刚刚经历了非常不寻常的一年。因为几个月前，也就是1970年5月，来自全美各地的数万人涌入纽黑文和耶鲁大学，抗议对黑豹党领导人Bobby Seale和Ericka Huggins有关谋杀罪的审判。一些人预估抗议活动会演变成暴力，成千上万的美国国民警卫队被部署到这座城市，局势一度十分紧张。幸运的是，理性最终占据了上风，抗议活动保持了极大地克制，没有人受重伤或死亡。
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.
但是，这些事件还是震撼了耶鲁的校园。在那个年代，东南亚战火不断、民权和女权运动正朝着新的方向发展，年轻一代似乎在社会上崛起，挑战守旧派。在这种风云变幻的社会背景下，许多人对耶鲁的未来感到担忧，对大学的角色以及它的宗旨感到迷茫。
Standing here today, I’m 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, to go to the library, to write papers, to conduct experiments. He was asking them to be students.
今天，我站在这里，感受到了Brewster校长在1970年时一定经历过的相似情绪。望着新生聚集于此，他知道他们中的许多人倍感焦虑，他知道他们对自己未来在耶鲁大学会做什么、毕业后会进入怎样的社会没有答案。然而，那次演讲中他向学生们提出的期望是，继续学习、去图书馆、写论文、做实验——他要求他们做一名学生。
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, and these are his words, “Where then is the purpose which makes patient learning supportable when the world is on fire?” … “Where then is the purpose which makes patient learning supportable when the world is on fire?”
他道出了一个可能在许多人心中都有的疑问，一个我今天也想向你们提出的疑问：“当世界置身火海时，支持你们潜心学习的意义究竟何在？”
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.
今天，我们面对的是同样的境况，无论是从字面上和还是喻义上理解，世界似乎又一次置身火海。美国正处于自911事件以来最大的危机之中。我们正在与一场全球大流行病斗争。对许多人来说，这将是我们一生中遇到的最重大的地缘政治事件或个人经历。
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 the rich and poor – these are complex challenges that call out for urgent and concerted action.
但这还不是全部。今年夏天，我们目睹了全球许多地方发生的可怕野火、干旱和洪水。你们中的一些人甚至亲身经历了这些气候灾难。其实，不仅是气候变化，还有种族主义、极端主义、日益拉大的贫富差距——这些都是复杂的挑战，需要我们尽快采取统一的行动。
The world is on fire, and again we asked, 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?
世界正置身火海，我想再次发问：我们在这里的目的是什么？在这样的时刻，如何像我对你们期望的那样——耐心、认真、严谨地学习？
In thinking about the answer to this question, I was reminded of Musar, sometimes called Mussar in English, 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 our empathy and imagination.
在思考这个问题的答案时，我想起了穆萨运动（Musar），这是一场19世纪发源于立陶宛的犹太运动。穆萨运动以及犹太教以外的类似宗教和道德实践的核心思想是，在向社会之外寻求改变之前，我们必须改善自己——审视我们的价值观，扩大我们的知识，并发展同理心和想象力。
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, 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.”
据说当时的一位犹太拉比曾这样描述：“开始的时候，我尝试改变世界，但我失败了。所以我决定缩小范围，只尝试影响波兰的犹太社区，但在那里我也失败了。于是我把目标锁定在我的家乡雷丁（现为白俄罗斯）的社区，但也没有取得多大的成功。然后我又把所有的努力都集中在改变我自己的家庭上，但依旧以失败告终。最后，我决定改变自己，这就是我对……世界产生影响的原因所在。”
Much like this sage, we are here to make an impact on our communities and on the world. Don’t get me wrong. 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.
正如这位圣人一样，我们在这里是为了对我们的社区和世界产生影响，但首先我们必须从提高自己开始。大学时代是发展你的优势和才能的时机，是以你认为用不可能的方式挑战自己的机会，是获取知识和构建理解的时候，也是你不断探索的岁月。在耶鲁大学，你将遇到新思想，与来自不同背景和生命轨迹的人接触；你将跨越知识的鸿沟，对从宇宙到文学的一切新鲜事物发问。
Improving yourself means leaving your comfort zone. Signing up for classes that sound interesting but unfamiliar. Going to office hours with slightly intimidating professors; you may be surprised by the conversation that unfolds. Attending talks by speakers whose views are different than yours – and really listening to their arguments. Regardless of what you study or the clubs you join, I promise you that you will not leave Yale the same person you are today. You will be changed, transformed, by Yale.
提高自己意味着离开你的舒适区：报名参加一门听起来有趣但不熟悉的课程；课后去找那些略显威严的教授展开一场或许出乎意料的对话；参加那些与你观点不同的讲者的讲座，并用心聆听他们的观点。无论你学习什么或加入什么社团，我相信当你离开耶鲁的时候，你将不再是今天的那个你，你将被改变，被耶鲁改变。
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.
我知道你们已经为这些挑战做好了准备。我们很期待看到你们为耶鲁做出的贡献，以及在未来的几天、几周和几年里，在我们共度的时间中书写新的篇章。
Thinking back to that spring of 1970, I’m reminded of four Yale College students who, with others, played a pivotal role in the May Day events: Kurt Schmoke, Ralph Dawson, Bill Farley, Glenn de Chabert. They were serious students and active…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. They were instrumental in helping keep the peace on campus, and most likely, saving lives.
回想1970年的那个春天，我想起了耶鲁本科学院的四名学生：Kurt Schmoke，Ralph Dawson，Bill Farley和Glenn de Chabert，他们和其他人一起在五月事件中发挥了关键作用。他们是严肃认真的学生，积极创建和领导了耶鲁大学的黑人学生联盟，其中两人被评为罗德学者。那年春天，这些学生与校长Brewster、和他的特别助理Sam Chauncey，以及其他耶鲁行政人员一起，在危机时刻表现出了典范式的领导能力，在帮助维持校园和平方面发挥了重要作用，可以说挽救了许多生命。
The world was on fire, but their time at Yale prepared them to tackle important challenges then and 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.
那时，世界正置身火海，但他们在耶鲁的日子为他们毕业后应对重要的挑战做好了准备：其中一人成为了一座大城市的市长和大学校长，其他人成为了杰出的律师。就像一代代耶鲁校友一样，这些耶鲁人深深地履行着让自己变得更好，让学校变得更好，让世界变得更好的使命。
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.
你们也是在一个历史性的时刻加入到耶鲁社区，被身边大大小小的危机与挑战所包围。然而，我却认为这恰好是你们加入耶鲁的最佳时刻。随着本学年开启，我们将重新投入到培育这个社区和这个社区里的人的工作中来。你们很快就会发现，耶鲁人热爱学习。他们寻求新的体验，能将自己完全沉浸在所做的每一件事情之中。在耶鲁，你可以与正在为政府提供大流行病应对策略的顶级公共卫生专家一起学习，可以与获得普利策奖的历史学家或与研究约翰·米尔顿的权威学者一起研讨，你也可以在校园内1200多个实验室中与老师们一起做研究。
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, and that is 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.” It goes on to say, “Yale educates aspiring leaders worldwide who serve all sectors of society.”
耶鲁大学一直以来的巨大优势是我们相互学习，相互启发。虽然来自不同的地方，但我们有一个共同的目标：改善我们自己，以便能够改善世界。这是我们的最高理想，正如耶鲁的使命宣言中诉说的：“耶鲁致力于改善世界，为今天也为后人。耶鲁以为世界各地和社会各界培养领导者为己任。”
You, 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 then 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.
你们就是这些有理想、有抱负的领导者，而这一使命是我们对Brewster校长在50多年前提出的那个问题的回答。我相信他所说的“潜心学习”意味着孜孜不倦，意味着批判思考，意味着开拓创新——不仅是开拓你们自己的，还有世界的。它意味着利用你在耶鲁的时间为未来的考验做好准备。在这个意义上，如果我们要完成耶鲁大学的使命，并且确实要改善世界，那么“潜心学习”就不仅是值得鼓励的，而且是不可或缺的。
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:
最后，我想以我最喜欢的民谣歌手之一伍迪·格思里（Woody Guthrie）的歌曲World’s on Fire中的几句歌词结束今天的演讲：
“While the skies they’re clearing
We’ll rise up dreaming;
Build our city from the ashes.”
当天空放晴时
我们的梦想将再次起舞
家园将在灰烬上重建
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.
是的，世界正置身火海，但就在我面前，我看到了许多值得保持乐观的理由。作为这个社区的一部分，你们的梦想相连，你们的努力共通，在引领和服务明天的道路上，你们蓄势待发。
Welcome to Yale!
欢迎来到耶鲁！
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发表于 2021-10-10 11:29:24
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