By+Tony+Blair

These remarks are from Tony Blair at the commencement of Yale University 2008.1

Thank you very much. After over 100 years of Class Days2， finally you get a British speaker.

It is an honour to be here and to say to the Yale College Class of 2008： you did it； you came through； from all of us to you： congratulations.

The invitation to a former British Prime Minister to address a college which boasts five former Presidents， many former Vice Presidents and Senators too numerous to mention， is either to give me an exaggerated sense of my own importance or you a reduced sense of yours.3

It was Churchill or Oscar Wilde4—and there is a difference—who called us two nations divided by a common language and so we are.

Here I am at Yale and set to come back for the fall semester. My old Oxford tutor was， Im afraid， horrified to hear I had been taken on5 by Yale. His worries were all for Yale I may say. He said： “I only hope for their sake you are going there to learn rather than teach.” Now I know you Yale guys are smart. So what can I tell you that you dont already think you know？

I can tell you something of the world as I see it. For the first time in many centuries， power is moving East. China and India each have populations roughly double those of America and Europe combined. In the next two decades， these two countries together will undergo industrialization four times the size of the USAs and at five times the speed.6

We must be mindful7 that as these ancient civilizations become somehow younger and more vibrant， our young civilization does not grow old. Most of all we should know that in this new world， we must clear a path to partnership， not stand off8 against each other， competing for power.

The world in which you， in time to come， will take the reins， cannot afford a return to 20th century struggles for hegemony.9

The characteristic of this modern world is the pace， scope10 and scale of change. Globalization is driving it and people are driving globalization. The consequence is that the world opens up； its boundaries diminish11； we are pushed closer together. The conclusion is that we make it work together or not at all.12

The issues you must wrestle with—the threat of climate change， food scarcity， and population growth， worldwide terror based on religion， the interdependence of the world economy—my student generation would barely recognize.13 But the difference today is they are all essentially global in nature. You understand this. Yale has become a melting pot of culture， language and civilization. You are the global generation. So be global citizens.

Each new generation finds the world they enter. But they fashion14 the world they leave. So， what do you inherit15 and what do you pass on？ The history of humankind is marked by great events but written by great people. People like you. Given Yales record of achievement， perhaps by you.

So to you as individuals， what wisdom， if any， have I learnt？ First， in fact， keep learning. Always be alive to the possibilities of the next experience， of thinking， doing， and being. When Buddha was asked， near the end of his life， to describe his secret， he answered bluntly： “Im awake”.16 So be awake. Understand conventional wisdom， but be prepared to change it.

Feel as well as analyze； use your instinct alongside your reason. Calculate too much and you will miscalculate. Be prepared to fail as well as to succeed， and realize it is failure not success that defines character. Be good to people on your way up because you never know if you will meet them again on your way down. Judge someone by how they treat those below them not those above them. Be a firm friend not a fair-weather17 friend. It is your friendships， including those friends you made here at Yale， at this time， that sustain and enrich the human spirit.

A good test of a person is who turns up at their funeral and with what sincerity.18 Try not to sit the test19 too early， of course. Recently， I attended a funeral and the speaker said he would like to begin by reading a list of all those whose funerals he would rather have been attending， but the list was too long. It was a sweet compliment to our friend. So， when others think of you， let them think not with their lips but their hearts of a good friend and a gracious acquaintance.20

Above all， however， have a purpose in life. Life is not about living but about striving. When you get up， get up motivated. Live with a perpetual21 sense of urgency. And make at least part of that purpose about something bigger than you.22

There are great careers. There are also great causes23. At least let some of them into your lives. Giving lifts the heart in a way that getting never can. Maybe it really was Oscar Wilde who said： “No one ever died， saying if only I had one more day at the office.”24

When all is said and done， there is usually more said than done.25 Be a doer not a commentator. Seek responsibility rather than shirk26 it. People often ask me about leadership， I say： leadership is about wanting the responsibility to be on your shoulders， not ignoring its weight but knowing someone has to carry it and， reaching out for that person to be you. Leaders are heat-seekers not heat-deflectors.27 And luck？ You have all the luck you need. You are here， at Yale， and what—apart from the hats—could be better？

You have something else： your parents. When you are your age， you can never imagine being our age. But believe me， when youre our age we remember clearly being your age. Thats why I am so careful about young men and my daughter， “Dont tell me what youre thinking. I know what youre thinking.” But as a parent let me tell you something about parents. Despite all rational impulses， despite all evidence to the contrary， despite what we think you do to us and what you think we do to you—and yes， it is often hell on both sides—the plain， unvarnished28 truth is we love you. Simply， profoundly， utterly.

I remember， back in the mists of time29， yes， the parents. I remember， back in the mists of time， my Dad greeting me off the train at Durham railway station. I was a student at Oxford. Oxford and Cambridge are for Britain kind of like Yale and Harvard， only more so.30 It was a big deal. I had been away for my first year and was coming home. I stepped off the train. My hair was roughly the length of Rumpelstiltskins31 and unwashed. I had no shoes and no shirt. My jeans were torn—and this was in the days before this became a fashion item. Worst of all， we had just moved house. Mum had thrown out the sitting room drapes32. I had retrieved them and made a sleeveless long coat with them.33

My Dad greeted me. There were all his friends at the station. Beside me， their kids looked paragons34 of respectability. He saw the drapes， and visibly winced35. They did kind of stand out.36 I took pity on him.“Dad”， I said. “There is good news. I dont do drugs.” My father looked me in the eye and said： “Son， the bad news is if youre looking like this and youre not doing drugs weve got a real problem.”

So your parents look at you today with love. They know how hard it is to make the grade and they respect you for making it. And tomorrow as I know， as a parent of one of this class， as you receive your graduation， their hearts will beat with the natural rhythm of pride. Pride in what you have achieved. Pride in who you are. They will be nervous for you， as you stand on the threshold of37 a new adventure， for they know the many obstacles that lie ahead. But they will be confident that you can surmount38 them， for they know also the strength of character and of spirit that has taken you thus far.

So to my fellow parents： I say， let us rejoice39 and be glad together. And to the Yale College Class of 2008， I say： well done， and may blessings and good fortune be yours in the years to come. Thank you very much indeed.

1. Tony Blair： 托尼·布萊爾（1953— ），英國前首相（1997—2007），是工黨歷史上在任時(shí)間最長的首相；Yale University： 耶魯大學(xué)，創(chuàng)立于1701年，美國著名私立研究型大學(xué)，八所常春藤盟校之一。作為全美第三古老的高等學(xué)府和最具影響力的私立大學(xué)之一，耶魯非常重視本科教育，其本科學(xué)院與哈佛、普林斯頓齊名。

2. Class Day： 畢業(yè)紀(jì)念日。

3. boast： 以擁有……而自豪；senator： 參議員；exaggerated： 夸大的。

4. Churchill： 溫斯頓·丘吉爾（1874—1965），兩度出任英國首相，被認(rèn)為是20世紀(jì)最重要的政治領(lǐng)袖之一；Oscar Wilde： 奧斯卡·王爾德（1854—1900），愛爾蘭作家、詩人、劇作家，代表作為《道林·格雷的畫像》。

5. take on： 雇傭，聘用。

6. 未來20年，這兩個(gè)國家的工業(yè)化進(jìn)程在規(guī)模上將是美國的四倍，速度上將會(huì)是美國的五倍。undergo： 經(jīng)歷（變化的過程）。

7. mindful： 注意的，留神的。

8. stand off： 與人疏遠(yuǎn)，對(duì)人冷漠。

9. take the reins： 支配，掌控；hegemony：（一國對(duì)他國的）霸權(quán)。

10. scope： 范圍。

11. diminish： 縮減。

12. 結(jié)論就是，如果我們不同心協(xié)力，就將會(huì)一事無成。

13. 亟待你們解決的問題包括來自氣候變化的威脅、食物短缺、人口激增、由宗教引發(fā)的世界范圍內(nèi)的恐怖主義，以及世界經(jīng)濟(jì)的日益相互依賴。這些在我的學(xué)生時(shí)代幾乎都沒有被意識(shí)到。wrestle with： 費(fèi)力地解決；scarcity： 短缺；interdependence： 相互依賴。

14. fashion： v. 影響，塑造。

15. inherit： 繼承。

16. 佛祖圓寂之前，有人問他成佛的秘訣，他坦誠相告：因?yàn)槲沂乔逍训?。bluntly： 率直地，直言不諱地。

17. fair-weather： 只能同安樂不能共患難的，fair-weather friend即酒肉朋友。

18. 檢驗(yàn)一個(gè)人的好辦法就是看看有誰會(huì)參加他的葬禮并帶著多少真誠。

19. sit the test： 參加考試，接受考驗(yàn)。

20. 所以，當(dāng)別人想起你時(shí)，要讓他們作為好友和親切的舊相識(shí)來發(fā)自內(nèi)心懷念你，而不只是說說而已。gracious： 和藹的，可親的。

21. perpetual： 持續(xù)的，永久的。

22. 至少要把部分目標(biāo)定得高于當(dāng)前水平。

23. cause： 目標(biāo)，事業(yè)。

24. 也許真如奧斯卡·王爾德所言：“渴望再多工作一天的人不會(huì)死去。”

25. 每當(dāng)談及說和做時(shí)，人們通常都是說得多做得少。

26. shirk： 逃避，推卸。

27. heat-seeker： 承擔(dān)責(zé)任者；heat-deflector： 推卸責(zé)任者。heat意為“壓力，批評(píng)”，deflector意為“導(dǎo)向裝置，偏轉(zhuǎn)器”。

28. unvarnished： 未加掩飾的。

29. back in the mists of time： 很久很久之前。

30. 英國的牛津和劍橋就相當(dāng)于美國的耶魯和哈佛，有過之而無不及。

31. Rumpelstiltskin： 侏儒怪（德國民間故事中的侏儒狀妖怪）。

32. drapes： [復(fù)] 厚布簾。

33. retrieve： 找回；sleeveless：無袖的。

34. paragon： 典范，完美的人。

35. wince：（尤指因疼痛或?qū)擂味┟娌砍榇?，皺眉蹙目?/p>

36. 這衣服確實(shí)太扎眼了。stand out： 引人注目，顯眼。

37. on the threshold of： 在……的開端。

38. surmount： 克服，戰(zhàn)勝困難。

39. rejoice： 歡喜，感到高興。