President Faust， members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers， members of the faculty， proud parents， and， above all， graduates，

福斯特主席，哈佛公司和監(jiān)察委員會(huì)的各位成員，各位老師、家長(zhǎng)、全體畢業(yè)生們：

The first thing I would like to say is “thank you”. Not only has Harvard given me an extraordinary honour， but the weeks of fear Ive endured at the thought of giving this commencement address have made me lose weight. A win-win situation！Now all I have to do is take deep breaths， squint at the red banners and convince myself that I am at the worlds largest Gryffindors reunion.

首先請(qǐng)?jiān)试S我說一聲謝謝。哈佛不僅給了我無上的榮譽(yù)，連日來為這個(gè)演講經(jīng)受的恐懼，更令我減肥成功。這真是一個(gè)雙贏的局面?，F(xiàn)在我要做的就是深呼吸幾下，瞇著眼睛看看前面的大紅橫幅，安慰自己正在世界上最大的格蘭芬多（格蘭芬多是小哈利所在的魔法學(xué)院的名字）聚會(huì)上。

Actually， I have wracked my mind and heart for what I ought to say to you today. I have asked myself what I wish I had known at my own graduation， and what important lessons I have learned in the 21 years that has expired between that day and this.

實(shí)際上，我為今天應(yīng)該和大家談些什么絞盡了腦汁。我問自己什么是我希望早在畢業(yè)典禮上就該了解的，而從那時(shí)起到現(xiàn)在的21年間，我又得到了什么重要的啟示。

I have come up with two answers. On this wonderful day when we are gathered together to celebrate your academic success， I have decided to talk to you about the benefits of failure. And as you stand on the threshold of what is sometimes called ‘real life， I want to extol the crucial importance of imagination.

我想到了兩個(gè)答案。在這美好的一天，當(dāng)我們一起慶祝你們?nèi)〉脤W(xué)業(yè)成就的時(shí)刻，我希望告訴你們失敗有什么樣的益處；在你們即將邁向“現(xiàn)實(shí)生活”的道路之際，我還要褒揚(yáng)想象力的重要性。

These may seem quixotic or paradoxical choices， but bear with me.

這些似乎是不切實(shí)際或自相矛盾的選擇，但請(qǐng)先容我講完。

Looking back at the 21-year-old that I was at graduation is a slightly uncomfortable experience for the 42-year-old that she has become. Half my lifetime ago， I was striking an uneasy balance between the ambition I had for myself， and what those closest to me expected of me.

回顧21歲剛剛畢業(yè)時(shí)的自己，對(duì)于今天42歲的我來說，是一個(gè)稍微不太舒服的經(jīng)歷?？梢哉f，我人生的前一部分，一直掙扎在自己的雄心和身邊的人對(duì)我的期望之間。

I was convinced that the only thing I wanted to do， ever， was to write novels. However， my parents， both of whom came from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college， took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing personal quirk that could never pay a mortgage， or secure a pension.

我一直深信，自己唯一想做的事情，就是寫小說。不過，我的父母，他們都來自貧窮的背景，沒有任何一人上過大學(xué)，堅(jiān)持認(rèn)為我過度的想象力是一個(gè)令人驚訝的個(gè)人怪癖，根本不足以讓我支付抵押，或者取得足夠的養(yǎng)老金。

I would like to make it clear， in parenthesis， that I do not blame my parents for their point of view. There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction； the moment you are old enough to take the wheel， responsibility lies with you. What is more， I cannot criticize my parents for hoping that I would never experience poverty. They had been poor themselves， and I have since been poor， and I quite agree with them that it is not an ennobling experience. Poverty entails fear， and stress， and sometimes depression； it means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts， that is indeed something on which to pride yourself， but poverty itself is romanticized only by fools.

我想澄清一下：我不會(huì)因?yàn)楦改傅挠^點(diǎn)，而責(zé)怪他們。埋怨父母給你指錯(cuò)方向是有一個(gè)時(shí)間段的。當(dāng)你成長(zhǎng)到可以控制自我方向的時(shí)候，你就要自己承擔(dān)責(zé)任了。尤其是，我不會(huì)因?yàn)楦改赶Ｍ也灰^窮日子，而責(zé)怪他們。他們一直很貧窮，我后來也一度很窮，所以我很理解他們。貧窮并不是一種高貴的經(jīng)歷，它帶來恐懼、壓力、有時(shí)還有絕望，它意味著許許多多的羞辱和艱辛?？孔约旱呐[脫貧窮，確實(shí)可以引以自豪，但貧窮本身只有對(duì)傻瓜而言才是浪漫的。

What I feared most for myself at your age was not poverty， but failure.

我在你們這個(gè)年齡，最害怕的不是貧窮，而是失敗。

At your age， in spite of a distinct lack of motivation at university， where I had spent far too long in the coffee bar writing stories， and far too little time at lectures， I had a knack for passing examinations， and that， for years， had been the measure of success in my life and that of my peers.

我在您們這么大時(shí)，明顯缺乏在大學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)的動(dòng)力，我花了太久時(shí)間在咖啡吧寫故事，而在課堂的時(shí)間卻很少。我有一個(gè)通過考試的訣竅，并且數(shù)年間一直讓我在大學(xué)生活和同齡人中不落人后。

I am not dull enough to suppose that because you are young， gifted and well-educated， you have never known hardship or heartache. Talent and intelligence never yet inoculated anyone against the caprice of the Fates， and I do not for a moment suppose that everyone here has enjoyed an existence of unruffled privilege and contentment.

我不想愚蠢地假設(shè)，因?yàn)槟銈兡贻p、有天份，并且受過良好的教育，就從來沒有遇到困難或心碎的時(shí)刻。擁有才華和智慧，從來不會(huì)使人對(duì)命運(yùn)的反復(fù)無常有所準(zhǔn)備；我也不會(huì)假設(shè)大家坐在這里冷靜地滿足于自身的優(yōu)越感。

However， the fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that you are not very well-acquainted with failure. You might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success. Indeed， your conception of failure might not be too far from the average persons idea of success， so high have you already flown academically.

相反，你們是哈佛畢業(yè)生的這個(gè)事實(shí)，意味著你們并不很了解失敗。你們也許極其渴望成功，所以非常害怕失敗。說實(shí)話，你們眼中的失敗，很可能就是普通人眼中的成功，畢竟你們?cè)趯W(xué)業(yè)上已經(jīng)達(dá)到很高的高度了。

Ultimately， we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure， but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it. So I think it fair to say that by any conventional measure， a mere seven years after my graduation day， I had failed on an epic scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded， and I was jobless， a lone parent， and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain， without being homeless. The fears my parents had had for me， and that I had had for myself， had both come to pass， and by every usual standard， I was the biggest failure I knew.

最終，我們所有人都必須自己決定什么算作失敗，但如果你愿意，世界是相當(dāng)渴望給你一套標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的。所以我想很公平的講，從任何傳統(tǒng)的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)看，在我畢業(yè)僅僅七年后的日子里，我的失敗達(dá)到了史詩般空前的規(guī)模：短命的婚姻閃電般地破裂，我又失業(yè)成了一個(gè)艱難的單身母親。除了流浪漢，我是當(dāng)代英國(guó)最窮的人之一，真的一無所有。當(dāng)年父母和我自己對(duì)未來的擔(dān)憂，現(xiàn)在都變成了現(xiàn)實(shí)。按照慣常的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來看，我也是我所知道的最失敗的人。

Now， I am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun. That period of my life was a dark one， and I had no idea that there was going to be what the press has since represented as a kind of fairy tale resolution. I had no idea how far the tunnel extended， and for a long time， any light at the end of it was a hope rather than a reality.

現(xiàn)在，我不打算站在這里告訴你們，失敗是有趣的。那段日子是我生命中的黑暗歲月，我不知道它是否代表童話故事里需要?dú)v經(jīng)的磨難，更不知道自己還要在黑暗中走多久。很長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間里，前面留給我的只是希望，而不是現(xiàn)實(shí)。

So why do I talk about the benefits of failure？ Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was， and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else， I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free， because my greatest fear had been realised， and I was still alive， and I still had a daughter whom I adored， and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

那么為什么我要談?wù)撌〉暮锰幠?？因?yàn)槭∫馕吨鴦冸x掉那些不必要的東西。我因此不再偽裝自己、遠(yuǎn)離自我，而重新開始把所有精力放在對(duì)我最重要的事情上。如果不是沒有在其他領(lǐng)域成功過，我可能就不會(huì)找到，在一個(gè)我確信真正屬于的舞臺(tái)上取得成功的決心。我獲得了自由，因?yàn)樽詈ε碌碾m然已經(jīng)發(fā)生了，但我還活著，我仍然有一個(gè)我深愛的女兒，我還有一個(gè)舊打字機(jī)和一個(gè)很大的想法。所以困境的谷底，成為我重建生活的堅(jiān)實(shí)基礎(chǔ)。

You might never fail on the scale I did， but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something， unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all in which case， you fail by default.

你們可能永遠(yuǎn)沒有達(dá)到我經(jīng)歷的那種失敗程度，但有些失敗，在生活中是不可避免的。生活不可能沒有一點(diǎn)失敗，除非你生活的萬般小心，而那也意味著你沒有真正在生活了。無論怎樣，有些失敗還是注定地要發(fā)生。

Failure gave me an inner security that I had never attained by passing examinations. Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way. I discovered that I had a strong will， and more discipline than I had suspected； I also found out that I had friends whose value was truly above the price of rubies.

失敗使我的內(nèi)心產(chǎn)生一種安全感，這是我從考試中沒有得到過的。失敗讓我看清自己，這也是我通過其他方式無法體會(huì)的。我發(fā)現(xiàn)，我比自己認(rèn)為的，要有更強(qiáng)的意志和決心。我還發(fā)現(xiàn)，我擁有比寶石更加珍貴的朋友。

The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are， ever after， secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself， or the strength of your relationships， until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift， for all that it is painfully won， and it has been worth more to me than any qualification I ever earned.

從挫折中獲得智慧、變得堅(jiān)強(qiáng)，意味著你比以往任何時(shí)候都更有能力生存。只有在逆境來臨的時(shí)候，你才會(huì)真正認(rèn)識(shí)你自己，了解身邊的人。這種了解是真正的財(cái)富，雖然是用痛苦換來的，但比我以前得到的任何資格證書都有用。

So given a Time Turner， I would tell my 21-year-old self that personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement. Your qualifications， your CV， are not your life， though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse the two. Life is difficult， and complicated， and beyond anyones total control， and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes.

如果給我一部時(shí)間機(jī)器，我會(huì)告訴21歲的自己，人的幸福在于知道生活不是一份漂亮的成績(jī)單，你的資歷、簡(jiǎn)歷，都不是你的生活，雖然你會(huì)碰到很多與我同齡或更老一點(diǎn)的人今天依然還在混淆兩者。生活是艱辛的，復(fù)雜的，超出任何人的控制能力，而謙恭地了解這一點(diǎn)，將使你歷經(jīng)滄桑后能夠更好的生存。

You might think that I chose my second theme， the importance of imagination， because of the part it played in rebuilding my life， but that is not wholly so. Though I will defend the value of bedtime stories to my last gasp， I have learned to value imagination in a much broader sense. Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not， and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity， it is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared.

對(duì)于第二個(gè)主題的選擇——想象力的重要性——你們可能會(huì)認(rèn)為是因?yàn)樗鼘?duì)我重建生活起到了幫助，但事實(shí)并非完全如此。雖然我愿誓死捍衛(wèi)睡前要給孩子講故事的價(jià)值觀，我對(duì)想象力的理解已經(jīng)有了更廣泛的含義。想象力不僅僅是人類設(shè)想還不存在的事物這種獨(dú)特的能力，為所有發(fā)明和創(chuàng)新提供源泉，它還是人類改造和揭露現(xiàn)實(shí)的能力，使我們同情自己不曾經(jīng)受的他人苦難。

Unlike any other creature on this planet， human beings can learn and understand， without having experienced. They can think themselves into other peoples places.

不同于在這個(gè)星球上任何其他的動(dòng)物，人類可以學(xué)習(xí)和理解未曾經(jīng)歷過的東西。他們可以將心比心、設(shè)身處地的理解他人。

Of course， this is a power， like my brand of fictional magic that is morally neutral. One might use such an ability to manipulate， or control， just as much as to understand or sympathize.

當(dāng)然，這種能力，就像在我虛構(gòu)的魔法世界里一樣，在道德上是中立的。一個(gè)人可能會(huì)利用這種能力去操縱控制，也有人選擇去了解同情。

And many prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all. They choose to remain comfortably within the bounds of their own experience， never troubling to wonder how it would feel to have been born other than they are. They can refuse to hear screams or to peer inside cages； they can close their minds and hearts to any suffering that does not touch them personally； they can refuse to know.

而很多人選擇不去使用他們的想象力。他們選擇留在自己舒適的世界里，從來不愿花力氣去想想如果生在別處會(huì)怎樣。他們可以拒絕去聽別人的尖叫，看一眼囚禁的籠子；他們可以封閉自己的內(nèi)心，只要痛苦不觸及個(gè)人，他們可以拒絕去了解。

I might be tempted to envy people who can live that way， except that I do not think they have any fewer nightmares than I do. Choosing to live in narrow spaces can lead to a form of mental agoraphobia， and that brings its own terrors. I think the willfully unimaginative see more monsters. They are often more afraid.

我可能會(huì)受到誘惑，去嫉妒那樣生活的人。但我不認(rèn)為他們做的噩夢(mèng)會(huì)比我更少。選擇生活在狹窄的空間，可以導(dǎo)致不敢面對(duì)開闊的視野，給自己帶來恐懼感。我認(rèn)為不愿展開想像的人會(huì)看到更多的怪獸，他們往往更感到更害怕。

What is more， those who choose not to empathize may enable real monsters. For without ever committing an act of outright evil ourselves， we collude with it， through our own apathy.

更甚的是，那些選擇不去同情的人，可能會(huì)激活真正的怪獸。因?yàn)楸M管自己沒有犯下罪惡，我們卻通過冷漠與之勾結(jié)。

But how much more are you， Harvard graduates of 2008， likely to touch other peoples lives？ Your intelligence， your capa-

city for hard work， the education you have earned and received， give you unique status， and unique responsibilities. Even your nationality sets you apart. The great majority of you belong to the worlds only remaining superpower. The way you vote， the way you live， the way you protest， the pressure you bring to bear on your government， has an impact way beyond your borders. That is your privilege， and your burden.

但是，哈佛大學(xué)的2008屆畢業(yè)生們，你們多少人有可能去觸及他人的生命？你們的智慧，你們努力工作的能力，以及你們所受到的教育，給予你們獨(dú)特的地位和責(zé)任。甚至你們的國(guó)籍也讓你們與眾不同，你們絕大部份人屬于這個(gè)世界上唯一的超級(jí)大國(guó)。你們表決的方式，你們生活的方式，你們抗議的方式，你們給政府帶來的壓力，具有超乎尋常的影響力。這是你們的特權(quán)，也是你們的責(zé)任。

If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice； if you choose to identify not only with the powerful， but with the powerless； if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages， then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence， but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped to change. We do not need magic to transform the world， we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already： we have the power to imagine better.

如果你選擇利用自己的地位和影響，去為那些沒有發(fā)言權(quán)的人發(fā)出聲音；如果你選擇不僅與強(qiáng)者為伍，還會(huì)同情幫扶弱者；如果你會(huì)設(shè)身處地為不如你的人著想，那么你的存在，將不僅是你家人的驕傲，更是無數(shù)因?yàn)槟愕膸椭淖兠\(yùn)的成千上萬人的驕傲。我們不需要改變世界的魔法，我們自己的內(nèi)心就有這種力量：那就是我們一直在夢(mèng)想，讓這個(gè)世界變得更美好。

I am nearly finished. I have one last hope for you， which is something that I already had at 21. The friends with whom I sat on graduation day have been my friends for life.

我的演講要接近尾聲了。對(duì)你們，我有最后一個(gè)希望，也是我21歲時(shí)就有的。畢業(yè)那天坐在我身邊的朋友現(xiàn)在是我終身的摯交。

So today， I can wish you nothing better than similar friendships. And tomorrow， I hope that even if you remember not a single word of mine， you remember those of Seneca， another of those old Romans I met when I fled down the Classics corridor， in retreat from career ladders， in search of ancient wisdom：

所以今天我可以給你們的，沒有比擁有知己更好的祝福了。明天，我希望即使你們不記得我說的任何一個(gè)字，你們還能記得哲學(xué)家塞內(nèi)加的一句至理明言。我當(dāng)年沒有順著事業(yè)的階梯向上攀爬，轉(zhuǎn)而與他在古典文學(xué)的殿堂相遇，他的古老智慧給了我人生的啟迪：

As is a tale， so is life： not how long it is， but how good it is， is what matters.

生活就像故事一樣：不在乎長(zhǎng)短，而在于質(zhì)量，這才是最重要的。

I wish you all very good lives. Thank you very much.

我祝愿你們都有美好的生活。非常感謝大家。