約翰·羅伯茨（John Roberts）：美國最高法院首席大法官，在新罕布什爾州的卡迪根山中學（Cardigan Mountain School），參加兒子的初中畢業典禮，並發表演講。
部分原文
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.
我希望在未來歲月中，你能時不時地遭遇不公，唯有如此，你才能懂得公正的價值。
I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty.
我希望你嚐到背叛的滋味，這樣你才能領悟到忠誠之重要。
Sorry to say, but I hope you will be lonely from time to time so that you don’t take friends for granted.
抱歉，我還希望你們時常感到孤獨，唯有如此，你纔不會視朋友爲理所當然。
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.
我祝你們偶爾運氣不佳，這樣你纔會意識到機遇在人生中扮演的角色，從而明白你的成功並非天經地義，而他人的失敗也不是命中註定。
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.
當你偶爾失敗時，我願你的對手時不時地會幸災樂禍。這樣你才能懂得互相尊重的競技精神的重要。
I hope you’ll be ignored so you know the importance of listening to others.
我希望你被人無視，唯有如此，你才懂得傾聽他人有多重要。
And I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion.
我祝你感受足夠的痛楚來學會同情。
約翰·羅伯茨還評論了一下演講嘉賓們愛對畢業生說的一句話：“做自己”（Be yourself）。
Unless you are perfect, it does not mean don’t make any changes.
除非你完美無瑕，那麼這句話絕不意味着不去改變自己。
他鼓勵畢業生們思考自己想成爲什麼樣的人，這樣才能真正地“做自己”。他引用蘇格拉底的話說：
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
未經自省的人生沒有意義。
約翰·羅伯茨還說了一句大實話，“你們都是享有特權的一批年輕人”：
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.
你們也是享有特權的一羣年輕人。即使初來此地之時你們並不優人一等，但成爲這裏的一員，已經使你們比他人享有更多優勢。我的建議是，不要表現得高人一等。
怎樣不表現得高人一等？他給了一些具體建議：
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.
當你來到新學校時，見到那些掃落葉、剷雪、倒垃圾的人，便走上前自我介紹，同時記住他們名字。在學校的日子裏，記得稱呼他們的名字。
給完建議，他還不忘開個小玩笑，因爲卡迪根山中學是一所男子中學，所以他說：
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.
你們之前在的學校裏只有男孩，現在大多數人都將進入有女生的學校。關於這件事，我就不提建議了。
當時場下觀衆一片爆笑，羅伯茨也忍不住笑起來……
這篇演講機智幽默、妙語連珠、提神醒腦。
聽多了雞湯演講，再來聽聽這些大實話，絕對讓你神清氣爽……
演講全文：
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.
人們說，雨就像天堂灑下的五彩紙屑。所以今早，連天堂也在和我們一起慶祝這個美妙的畢業典禮。
Before we go any further, graduates, you have an important task to perform because behind you are your parents and guardians.
在我繼續下去之前，畢業生們，你們有一個重要任務要做。在你們身後是你們的父母和家長。
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.
兩年、三年或四年前，他們驅車送你們來到卡迪根山中學，幫你們安頓妥當，然後又開車離去。他們做出了很大的犧牲。他們一路含淚回到那更加空蕩蕩、更加寂寞的家。
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.
他們這樣做，因爲這個關於教育的決定，實際上，更是關於你們本身。是他們做出的犧牲，以及各種奉獻，成就了你們的今天。但今天早上你們不是唯一的主角，今天也是他們的大日子，所以，我希望大家能起立、轉身，爲自己的家人送上熱烈鼓掌。
Now when somebody asks me how the remarks at Cardigan went, I will be able to say they were interrupted by applause.
好了，現在如果有人問我卡迪根的演講進行得怎麼樣，我就可以說，掌聲如雷，把演講都打斷了。
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.
祝賀你們，2017屆畢業生。你們來到了一個重要的里程碑，人生中的一個重要階段已經過去。但很抱歉，我要告訴你們，這是你們人生中最簡單的一個階段，但它已告一段落。你們就讀於卡迪根山中學時，同時也成爲了國際社會中的一員，我覺得大家尤其應當認識到這一點。
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.’
今天，在全國各地的大學、高中、初中，有很多的畢業演講者正站在一羣躁動不安的畢業生面前，他們講的話大同小異。他們會說，今天是一個嶄新開端的提前演練，“這是一個開始，而不是結束。你們應當向前看。”
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.
他們說的很對，然而，我覺得如果你要向前看，找到自己的方向，那麼清楚自己走過的路，回頭看看，也同樣有益。
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.
我想，如果你們回顧自己來到卡迪根第一天的那個午後，你們也許會記起自己當時有多孤獨，也許還有些害怕、忐忑不安。然而看看現在的你們，身邊滿是朋友，彼此成爲兄弟，信心滿滿地迎接下一教育階段。
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.
想一想，爲什麼會有這樣的變化，這是很有意義的。我想你們也許會感謝同學們在課堂上、運動場上、宿舍裏給予的幫助。而信心是哪裏來的呢，也許你們要感激的不僅是自己的成功，還要感激因爲朋友的相助，你們不再害怕失敗。
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.
如果失敗了，你們爬起來重新來過。如果再次失敗，你們爬起來再來一次。如果這次還是失敗了，也許是時候想想做點別的事了。但並不僅僅是成功，還有不懼失敗的勇氣讓你們走到了今天。
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.
現在，畢業典禮的演講嘉賓照例要祝你們好運並送上祝福了。我不會這樣做，讓我來告訴你爲什麼。
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.
我希望在未來歲月中，你能時不時地遭遇不公，唯有如此，你才能懂得公正的價值。
I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty.
我希望你嚐到背叛的滋味，這樣你才能領悟到忠誠之重要。
Sorry to say, but I hope you will be lonely from time to time so that you don’t take friends for granted.
抱歉，我還希望你們時常感到孤獨，唯有如此，你纔不會視朋友爲理所當然。
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.
我祝你們偶爾運氣不佳，這樣你纔會意識到機遇在人生中扮演的角色，從而明白你的成功並非天經地義，而他人的失敗也不是命中註定。
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.
當你偶爾失敗時，我願你的對手時不時地會幸災樂禍。這樣你才能懂得互相尊重的競技精神的重要。
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.
我希望你常被人無視，唯有如此，你才能懂得傾聽他人有多重要。也祝你感受切膚之痛，從而學會同情。
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.
無論我祝願與否，這些事都會發生。而你能否從中獲益，則取決於你能否參透這些苦難中傳遞的信息。
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.
畢業典禮演講嘉賓還要給出一些忠告。他們會說一些宏大的建議或實用的技巧。而他們最常說的宏大建議就是，做自己。給一羣穿着整齊劃一的人提出這樣的建議有點奇怪，不過你們確實應該做自己。但你們要明白這句話的真正含義。
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.
除非你完美無瑕，那麼這句話絕不意味着不去改變自己。從某種意義上來說，你不應當做自己。你應當努力成爲更好的人。人們說“做自己”，因爲他們希望你不要屈服於他人的意願隨波逐流。但如果你自己都不瞭解自己，那麼你就無法“做自己”，而你只有思考了，才能清楚自己想成爲怎樣的人。
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.
古希臘哲學家蘇格拉底曾說過，“未經自省的人生沒有意義”。對某些事來說，“放膽去做”也許是句金玉良言，但當你在思考未來人生將如何度過時，這卻不是一句好的格言。不要爲了所謂的“好生活”而生活。如果你從來不思索生活的意義，那你很容易就會迷失自我。
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.
以上是一些深刻的忠告。接下來的建議是給即將步入新學校的你們。過去幾年裏，我已經熟識你們當中很多年輕人，也知道你們都是好青年。但你們也是享有特權的一羣年輕人。即使初來此地之時你們並不優人一等，但成爲這裏的一員，已經使你們比他人享有更多優勢。我的建議是，不要表現得高人一等。
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. 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. 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.
當你來到新學校時，見到那些掃落葉、剷雪、倒垃圾的人，便走上前自我介紹，同時記住他們名字。在學校的日子裏，記得稱呼他們的名字。另外一條建議是：當你在路上遇見陌生人時，看着他們眼睛並微笑致意。這樣做最糟糕的結果不過是，人們會記住你這個愛笑愛打招呼的年輕人，這是個不錯的開頭。你們之前在的學校裏只有男孩，現在大多數人都將進入有女生的學校。關於這件事，我沒有建議。
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.
最後一條建議十分簡單，但是卻會對你的人生產生很大的影響：每週給一些人寫一封信。不是電子郵件，而是寫在一張紙上，只要花你10分鐘。問一位長輩，讓他告訴你郵票是什麼，然後你就可以給信封貼郵票了。再說一遍，一週只花10分鐘哦。
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.’
我現在就可以教你怎樣做。我告訴你第一張便條寫什麼。稱呼是“親愛的卡迪根山中學某老師”，然後寫“我們已經開始了新學期，最近正在學某本書，足球對我來說很困難，但我很喜歡。謝謝您的教誨。”
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.
然後把你的便條裝進信封，貼好郵票後寄出。這對那些把生命奉獻給教育初中小男孩的中學老師們來講意義非凡。如我所說，每週只需要花十分鐘。當學年結束時，你差不多給40位老師寄出過便條。這40位老師會因爲你做的這件事而感到自己很特殊，同時也會對你另眼相看。在學校的時光裏，這是你一人獨享的一份紅利。
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.
忠告說得夠多了。下面我將引用一段著名的歌詞結束我的致辭。剛纔，我引用了希臘哲人蘇格拉底的名言，而這些歌詞，則來自偉大的美國哲人鮑勃·迪倫。這些歌詞已有50年曆史，是迪倫巡迴演出期間，思子心切，寫給兒子傑西的。歌詞表達了家長對子女的美好期盼。同時也可作爲子女們的奮鬥目標。這些期盼是美好的、永恆的，也是普世的。
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.
整體來說都很好，除了有一條，即歌名和副歌裏表達的願望。那隻能算是家長們的扼腕嘆息，算不得美好的願望。
So these are the lyrics from Forever Young by Bob Dylan:
這就是鮑勃迪倫的《永遠年輕》的歌詞：
May God bless and keep you always,
願上帝的庇護與你同在
May your wishes all come true,
|願你能夠夢想成真
May you always do for others
願你永遠幫助別人
And let others do for you.
也接受別人的恩惠
May you build a ladder to the stars
願你可以造一把採摘繁星的雲梯
And climb on every rung,
穩妥沿它而上
May you stay forever young,
願你永遠年輕
May you grow up to be righteous,
願你長大後正直無私
May you grow up to be true,
願你懂事時真實善良
May you always know the truth
願你永遠瞭解真理的方向
And see the lights surrounding you.
所到之處都有高燈明照
May you always be courageous,
願你永遠勇敢無畏
Stand upright and be strong,
堅韌不拔，意志堅強
May you stay forever young,
願你永遠年輕
May your hands always be busy,
願你總是忙碌充實
May your feet always be swift,
願你腳步永遠輕盈
May you have a strong foundation
願你根基牢固
When the winds of changes shift.
在變故橫生之時
May your heart always be joyful,
願你的心總是充滿快樂
May your song always be sung,
願你的歌曲能夠永遠被人傳唱
May you stay forever young,
願你永遠年輕
附
[1]. 大法官的演講的部分視頻.
[2]. Forever Young, Bob Dylan.