Madam President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers,faculty, family, friends, and, most importantly, today's graduates,
尊敬的Faust校長，哈佛集團的各位成員，監管理事會的各位理事，各位老師，各位家長，各位朋友，以及最重要的各位畢業生同學，
Thank you for letting me share this wonderful day with you.
感謝你們，讓我有機會同你們一起分享這個美妙的日子。
I am not sure I can live up to the high standards of Harvard Commencement speakers. Lastyear, J.K. Rowling, the billionaire novelist, who started as a classics student, graced thispodium. The year before, Bill Gates, the mega-billionaire philanthropist and computer nerdstood here. Today, sadly, you have me. I am not wealthy, but at least I am a nerd.
我不太肯定，自己夠得上哈佛大學畢業典禮演講人這樣的殊榮。去年登上這個講臺的是，英國億萬身家的小說家J.K. Rowling女士，她最早是一個古典文學的學生。前年站在這裏的是比爾蓋茨先生，他是一個超級富翁、一個慈善家和電腦高手。今年很遺憾，你們的演講人是我，雖然我不是很有錢，但是至少我也算一個高手。
I am grateful to receive an honorary degree from Harvard, an honor that means more to methan you might care to imagine. You see, I was the academic black sheep of my family. Myolder brother has an M.D./Ph.D. from MIT and Harvard while my younger brother has a lawdegree from Harvard. When I was awarded a Nobel Prize, I thought my mother would besatisfied. Not so. When I called her on the morning of the announcement, she replied, "That'snice, but when are you going to visit me next." Now, as the last brother with a degree fromHarvard, maybe, at last, she will be satisfied.
我很感激哈佛大學給我榮譽學位，這對我很重要，也許比你們會想到的還要重要。要知道，在學術上，我是我們家的不肖之子。我的哥哥在麻省理工學院得到醫學博士，在哈佛大學得到哲學博士;我的弟弟在哈佛大學得到一個法律學位。我本人得到諾貝爾獎的時候，我想我的媽媽會高興。但是，我錯了。消息公佈的那天早上，我給她打電話，她聽了只說："這是好消息，不過我想知道，你下次什麼時候來看我?"如今在我們兄弟當中，我最終也拿到了哈佛學位，我想這一次，她會感到滿意。
Another difficulty with giving a Harvard commencement address is that some of you maydisapprove of the fact that I have borrowed material from previous speeches. I ask that youforgive me for two reasons.
在哈佛大學畢業典禮上發表演講，還有一個難處，那就是你們中有些人可能有意見，不喜歡我重複前人演講中說過的話。我要求你們諒解我，因爲兩個理由。
First, in order to have impact, it is important to deliver the same message more than once. Inscience, it is important to be the first person to make a discovery, but it is even more importantto be the last person to make that discovery.
首先，爲了產生影響力，很重要的方法就是重複傳遞同樣的資訊。在科學中，第一個發現者是重要的，但是在得到公認前，最後一個將這個發現重複做出來的人也許更重要。
Second, authors who borrow from others are following in the footsteps of the best. Ralph WaldoEmerson, who graduated from Harvard at the age of 18, noted "All my best thoughts werestolen by the ancients." Picasso declared "Good artists borrow. Great artists steal." Why shouldcommencement speakers be held to a higher standard?
其次，一個借鑑他人的作者，正走在一條前人開闢的最佳道路上。哈佛大學畢業生、詩人愛默生曾經寫下："古人把我最好的一些思想都偷走了。"畫家畢加索宣稱"優秀的藝術家借鑑，偉大的藝術家偷竊。"那麼爲什麼畢業典禮的演說者，就不適用同樣的標準呢?
I also want to point out the irony of speaking to graduates of an institution that would haverejected me, had I the chutzpah to apply. I am married to "Dean Jean," the former dean ofadmissions at Stanford. She assures me that she would have rejected me, if given the I showed her a draft of this speech, she objected strongly to my use of the word"rejected." She never rejected applicants; her letters stated that "we are unable to offer youadmission." I have difficulty understanding the difference. After all, deans of admissions ofhighly selective schools are in reality, "deans of rejection." Clearly, I have a lot to learn aboutmarketing.
我還要指出一點，向哈佛畢業生髮表演說，對我來說是有諷刺意味的，因爲如果當年我斗膽向哈佛大學遞交入學申請，一定會被拒絕。我的妻子Jean當過斯坦福大學的招生主任，她向我保證，如果當年我申請斯坦福大學，她會拒絕我。我把這篇演講的草稿給她過目，她強烈反對我使用"拒絕"這個詞，她從來不拒絕任何申請者。在拒絕信中，她總是寫："我們無法提供你入學機會。"我分不清兩者到底有何差別。在我看來，那些大熱門學校的招生主任與其稱爲"准許你入學的主任"，還不如稱爲"拒絕你入學的主任"。很顯然，我需要好好學學怎麼來推銷自己。
My address will follow the classical sonata form of commencement addresses. The firstmovement, just presented, were light-hearted remarks. This next movement consists ofunsolicited advice, which is rarely valued, seldom remembered, never followed. As Oscar Wildesaid, "The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself."So, here comes the advice. First, every time you celebrate an achievement, be thankful tothose who made it possible. Thank your parents and friends who supported you, thank yourprofessors who were inspirational, and especially thank the other professors whose less-than-brilliant lectures forced you to teach yourself. Going forward, the ability to teach yourself is thehallmark of a great liberal arts education and will be the key to your success. To your fellowstudents who have added immeasurably to your education during those late night discussions,hug them. Also, of course, thank Harvard. Should you forget, there's an alumni association toremind you. Second, in your future life, cultivate a generous spirit. In all negotiations, don'tbargain for the last, little advantage. Leave the change on the table. In your collaborations,always remember that "credit" is not a conserved quantity. In a successful collaboration,everybody gets 90 percent of the credit.
畢業典禮演講都遵循古典奏鳴曲的結構，我的演講也不例外。剛纔是第一樂章----輕快的閒談。接下來的第二樂章是送上門的忠告。這樣的忠告很少被重視，幾乎註定被忘記，永遠不會被實踐。但是，就像王爾德說的："對於忠告，你所能做的，就是把它送給別人，因爲它對你沒有任何用處。"所以，下面就是我的忠告。第一，取得成就的時候，不要忘記前人。要感謝你的父母和支援你的朋友，要感謝那些啓發過你的教授，尤其要感謝那些上不好課的教授，因爲他們迫使你自學。從長遠看，自學能力是優秀的文理教育中必不可少的，將成爲你成功的關鍵。你還要去擁抱你的同學，感謝他們同你進行過的許多次徹夜長談，這爲你的教育帶來了無法衡量的價值。當然，你還要感謝哈佛大學。不過即使你忘了這一點，校友會也會來提醒你。第二，在你們未來的人生中，做一個慷慨大方的人。在任何談判中，都把最後一點點利益留給對方。不要把桌上的錢都拿走。在合作中，要牢記榮譽不是一個守恆的量。成功合作的任何一方，都應獲得全部榮譽的90%。