生活讓我感到快樂,因為我對人、對人類的發(fā)展有無窮無盡的興趣。這一興趣使我不停地了解更多的人,而對人的深入了解則促使我相信人之初,性本善。也就是說人生來就善解人意,有同情心,熱望被人認同,也認同他人,渴望單純的幸福和生存的機會。人不希望被人殺害也不希望去殺害被人。即使邪念因境而生,人也不會完全被邪念所左右。人總有其美好的一面,無論如何退化變質(zhì),總有棄惡從善的可能。
I believe in human beings, but my faith is without sentimentality. I know that in environments of uncertainty, fear, and hunger, the human being is dwarfed and shaped without his being aware of it, just as the plant struggling under a stone does not know its own condition. Only when the stone is removed can it spring up freely into the light. But the power to spring up is inherent, and only death puts an end to it. I feel no need for any other faith than my faith in human beings.
我相信人類,但我的信念絕非是濫施情感。我知道,處于饑餓、恐懼、無法預(yù)測未來的環(huán)境中,人類沒有意識到他們的發(fā)展遇到了很大的阻力,正如石頭下的植物掙扎著生長卻不知道自己被石頭壓住了一樣。只有推開了石頭,植物才能自由地、蓬勃地在陽光下生長。但是,蓬勃生長的力量是植物固有的,只有死亡才能奪去它們的這種力量。
Life Confucius of old, I am absorbed in the wonder of earth, and the life upon it, and I cannot think of heaven and the angels. I have enough for this life. If there is no other life, than this one has been enough to make it worth being born, myself a human being. With so profound a faith in the human heart and its power to grow toward the light, I find here reason and cause enough for hope and confidence in the future of mankind. The common sense of people will surely prove to them someday that mutual support and cooperation are only sensible for the security and happiness of all. Such faith keeps me continually ready and purposeful with energy to do what one person can towards shaping the environment in which the human being can grow with freedom. This environment, I believe, is based upon the necessity for security and friendship.
如同古代的孔夫子一樣,我深深地沉醉于奇妙的大地和美好的塵世生活之中,不可能再去暢想什么天堂和天使。此生我活得充實。如果沒有來世,今世也足以值得我為它誕生,不枉為一世人。對人心之善及其向往光明之力的堅定信念使我對人類的未來充滿希望和信心。人類的常識一定在未來的某一天向他們證明,互相支持與合作只會對全人類的安全和幸福有實際意義。這種信念使我精力充沛、盡我所能去營造人類能自由發(fā)展的環(huán)境且樂此不疲。營造這個環(huán)境,我相信,是以安全和友誼為必要前提的。
I take heart in a promising fact that the world contains food supplies sufficient for the entire earth population. Our knowledge of medical science is already sufficient to improve the health of the whole human race. Our resources and education, if administered on a world scale, can lift the intelligence of the race. All that remains is to discover how to administer upon a world scale, the benefits which some of us already have. In other words, to return to my simile, the stone must be rolled away. This too can be done, as a sufficient number of human beings come to have faith in themselves and in each other. Not all will have such faith at the same moment, but there is a growing number who have the faith.
我對未來充滿信心:世界的食物能供養(yǎng)人類;我們的醫(yī)學(xué)知識足以改善人類的健康狀況;我們的教育資源,若在世界范圍內(nèi)統(tǒng)一管理,能提高各種族的智力;我們只需去發(fā)現(xiàn)如何在世界范圍內(nèi)管理我們已經(jīng)擁有的資源。換言之,用我剛提到的明喻來表示,石頭必須推開。這也是能做到的。因為我們相當(dāng)多的人已逐漸樹立了對自己的信念,彼此也相互信任。雖然并不是所有的人在同一時刻具備這種信念,但具備這種信念的人數(shù)在不斷增加。
Half a century ago, no one had thought of world food, world health, world education. Many are thinking today of these things. In the midst of possible world war, of wholesale destruction, I find my only question this: are there enough people now who believe? Is there time enough left for the wise to act? It is a contest between ignorance and death, or wisdom and life. My faith in humanity stands firm.
半個世紀以前,沒有人關(guān)注世界的食品問題、健康問題和教育問題。今天就有許多人想到這些了。在可能發(fā)生的世界戰(zhàn)爭中,在大規(guī)模的毀滅過程中,我發(fā)現(xiàn)我唯一的疑問是:有足夠多的人樹立了信仰嗎?有足夠的時間讓智者采取行動嗎?這是無知與死亡之間或是智慧與生命之間的較量。我對人類的這種信念堅定不移。