新学期开始了

受去年疫情的影响，2020年学生的开学演讲也安排在了这里。所以这次演讲分为2篇。

Good afternoon, Class of 2025. It is a pleasure to see all of you gathered in one place—and an honor to add my voice to the chorus welcoming you officially as members of the Harvard community.

下午好，2025届学生！很高兴看到大家聚集在一个这里，很荣幸能正式欢迎你们成为哈佛社区的成员！

You’ll be surprised by how often we run into one another over the next four years. I hope you will feel free to call me Larry—everyone does. And I hope you’ll also feel free to say hello to my wife, Adele—She is also excited to get to know you and to hear about your College experience.

你会惊讶于在接下来的四年里我们会经常碰面。我希望你可以随便叫我拉里，每个人都这么叫。我希望你也能自由地向我的妻子阿黛尔问好。她也很高兴认识你，听你讲诉你在这里的大学经历。

So how is it going so far?

到目前为止大家过的如何？

Sorry—maybe you haven’t clapped in a while—how is it going so far?

对不起，也许你有一段时间没鼓掌了，到目前为止大家过的如何？

That’s better! Please feel free to be elated! Yes, things could be better—a lot better—but we must continue to acknowledge and celebrate all that is good about being here, about being together, about being healthy, about being alive. Give yourself a break and savor this moment—you’ll remember it more than fifty years from now. Trust me.

那更好！请尽情高兴吧！是的，事情可能会变得更好，但我们必须继续承认和庆祝在这里、在一起、健康、活着的一切好处。让自己放松一下，好好享受这一刻，50多年后你会记得它的。相信我。

Life used to be full of diversions, but the pandemic has forced all of us to spend more time with ourselves—more time thinking about how we behave, what we want, and who we are. Entering Harvard College will amplify those questions so I thought I would share my thoughts on how you might seek meaning and happiness in the weeks and months and years ahead.

生活曾经充满了欢乐，但这场疫情迫使我们所有人花更多的时间与自己在一起，花更多的时间思考我们的行为、我们想要什么以及我们是谁。进入哈佛大学将进一步放大这些问题，因此我想我将分享我的想法，在未来的几周、几个月和几年里，你将如何寻求生活的意义和幸福？

There are a lot of books on the topic—and at least a billion TikToks—but the best advice I have ever read comes from an ancient source—the Talmud, a sacred text in the Jewish tradition. In the volume, Ethics of Our Fathers, Ben Zoma asks three questions for the ages:

关于这个话题有很多书，Tiktok上至少有10亿视频，但我读过的最好的建议来自一个古老的地方——犹太传统中的神圣文本《塔木德》（Talmud）。在《父辈的伦理》一卷中，本·佐马向各个时代提出了三个问题：

Who is wise?

Who is mighty?

Who is wealthy?

谁是聪明的人？

谁是强大的人？

谁是富有的人？

Who is wise? The Talmud answers, “The person who learns from all people.” 

A seat away from you—a row away from you—is someone who sees things very differently than you do, someone who holds fast to beliefs that are odds with your own. When you meet that someone—and you will—your first impulse may be to make your point, loudly and clearly. Try to resist that urge. Listen. Ask questions. Prompt conversation rather than conflict. If you leave this place with your backs to those who do not share your views, you will have failed to take advantage of one of Harvard’s greatest strengths—the diversity and dynamism of our community. Never forget: We learn from our differences.

谁是聪明的人？《塔木德》回答说，“向所有人学习的人。”

在离你远一点的座位——离你远一排的座位，是一个对事物的看法与你截然不同的人，一个坚持与你自己观点不一致的有信念的人。当你遇到那个人时，你的第一个冲动可能是大声而清晰地表明你的观点。试着抵制这种冲动，倾听、提问、及时对话，而不是冲突。如果你背着那些不同意你观点的人离开这个地方，你将无法利用哈佛大学最大的优势之一——我们社区的多样性和活力。永远不要忘记：我们从我们的差异中学习。

Who is mighty? The Talmud answers, “The person who exercises self-control.” 

Vaccination does not equal invincibility. The people you interact with daily may be returning home to family members who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated or who are at special risk of complications should they get the virus. Some of your classmates may be immunosuppressed or suffer from conditions that make them particularly vulnerable to this virus. Be mindful of them as you navigate your new home. Being part of this community—this year in particular—means bearing special responsibility for the health and safety of others. Please, please care for one another and for yourself.

谁是强大的人？《塔木德》回答说：“能够自我控制的人。”

接种疫苗并不等于无敌。你每天与之互动的人可能会回到家中，与那些还没有资格接种疫苗或在感染病毒时有特殊并发症风险的家庭成员见面。你的一些同学可能免疫功能不全，或者患有使他们特别容易感染这种病毒的疾病。当你在哈佛社区时，要注意他们。今年成为这个社区的一部分尤其意味着对他人的健康和安全负有特殊责任。请关心彼此，关心你自己。

Who is wealthy? The Talmud answers, “The person who rejoices in his or her portion.”

There is nothing wrong with ambition, but ambition for ambition’s sake can be a distraction. Over the next four years, I hope you will devote luxurious amounts of your time to understanding what truly satisfies you. Not your friends. Not your family. Not your community. You. To rejoice in your portion, you must find your portion—the endeavor that swells your heart and fills you with a deep sense of satisfaction and wonder. Believe me when I tell you that devoting yourself to something that matters to you will change your life.  And, if you are like generations of those who have come before you, many of you will find that special something during your time here.

谁是富有的人？《塔木德》回答说：“为自己而高兴的人。”

雄心壮志没有错，但为了雄心壮志而雄心壮志可能会发生偏差。在接下来的四年里，我希望你们能花大量的时间去理解什么才是真正让你们满意的。不是你的朋友，不是你的家人，不是你的社区，而是你自己。要为自己感到高兴——你要找到让自己感到高兴的东西而努力，这种努力会让你心潮澎湃，让你充满深深的满足感和惊奇。相信我，让我告诉你，当你专注于对你来说重要的事情时，你的生活会出现改变。而且，如果你们像在你们之前的几代人一样，你们中的许多人会在哈佛发现特别的东西。

This past weekend I gave a toast at the wedding of the daughter of one of my closest friends from college. We met fifty years ago—about 150 steps from here—in a class in Emerson Hall. I was best man at his wedding. My wish for each of you is that during the next four years you will meet classmates who you will become your closest friends for life. They are here right now in this gathering. Your job is to go find them. 

上个周末，我在我大学一位最好朋友的女儿婚礼上祝酒。五十年前，我们在离这里大约150步的艾默生大厅的一个教室里相遇认识。我是他婚礼上的伴郎。我对你们每个人的祝愿是，在接下来的四年里，你们将遇到同学，他们将成为你们一生中最亲密的朋友。他们现在就在这里参加开学典礼，你的工作就是去找他们。

I am thrilled to welcome all of you to Harvard and excited to see how you grow in wisdom, might, and wealth as the Talmud defines them—and how you choose to seek meaning and happiness both here at Harvard and wherever life takes you. In the meantime, enjoy yourselves, have fun, make friends, and please stay healthy. Class of 2025, good luck and godspeed.

我很高兴欢迎你们来到哈佛，也迫不及待地想看到你们是如何在《塔木德》定义的智慧、力量和财富中成长——以及你们如何在哈佛和今后生活带你们去的任何地方寻求生活的意义和幸福。同时，享受你们自己，玩得开心，结交朋友，请保持健康。2025级新生，祝你好运，一切顺利！

Thank you, Amanda. It’s great to be here—in person!—to welcome all of you back to Harvard. Your class is very special. You are the first in Harvard’s 385-year history to have both an online convocation and an in-person convocation.

谢谢你，阿曼达（哈佛大学负责本科教育院长）！能亲自来这里真是太好了——欢迎大家回到哈佛！你们这一届很特别。你们是哈佛大学385年历史上第一个参加了在线和现场2个开学典礼的一届。

Let’s hope the remix is as good as the original.

让我们希望这次开学典礼和原来应该举行的一样好。

I hope you will still feel free to call me Larry. If we cross paths on campus, please say “hello” and let me know how things are going. We are all finding our footing this semester, and I want you to know that there are many, many people on campus dedicated to ensuring that your second year at Harvard College is everything you hope it will be, including as “normal” as possible.

我希望你还是可以叫我拉里。如果我们在校园里相遇，请对我说声“你好”，并告诉我你所在做的事情。这学期我们都在寻找自己的立足点，我想让你们知道，校园里有许许多多的人致力于确保你们在哈佛大学的第二年是你们希望的一切，包括尽可能的“正常”。

Making that possible is a community effort. Yes, vaccination is required on campus, but the individuals who are here teaching you, coaching you, reshelving your library books, making your meals, cleaning your classrooms—the list goes on and on—may be returning home to young children whose freedom and opportunities are still limited by the pandemic.

让这成为可能需要社区的共同努力。是的，校园里需要接种疫苗，但是在这里教你、指导你、重新整理你的图书馆书籍、做饭、打扫教室的人可能会回到家中，他们的自由和机会仍然受到疫情的限制。

That’s just one example of a degree of separation that each of us needs to keep in mind this year. Preserving our community—maintaining the ability to be together—depends on constant care for one another, especially as circumstances change. By now, we all know what it takes to stay safe—and I ask that you continue to be responsible and considerate people as we make our way through the semester together. The more we work together, the more likely we will be able to provide you with as normal a College experience as we can.

这只是今年我们每个人都需要牢记的隔离程度的一个例子。维护我们的社区，保持我们在一起的能力，取决于彼此之间的持续关爱，特别是随着环境的变化。

到目前为止，我们都知道如何保持安全，我要求你们在我们一起度过这学期的过程中，继续成为负责任和体贴的人。我们合作得越多，就越有可能为您提供尽可能正常的大学经历。

I also ask that you spend some time during these first few weeks noticing and marking those aspects of community that you missed last year—the everyday exchanges and experiences that narrow gaps in understanding and make friends of strangers. What do you savor most about time in person with your classmates? With your professors and mentors? What parts of this amazing campus now hold special meaning for you? Think about how you can shape your next three years to maximize those moments because those are the moments that will be with you for a lifetime. Moments that you may not have even noticed before but that now take on special meaning because of what you have all been through, together.

我还请你们在最初的几周里花些时间注意你们去年错过的东西——互相理解和与陌生人成为朋友的日常交流。你最喜欢和同学、导师在一起的时间是什么？这个令人惊叹的校园的哪些部分现在对你有特殊意义？想一想你如何塑造未来三年，让这些时刻最大化，因为这些时刻将伴随你一生。

Notice and mark, too, how you have changed as a person since we last met. Challenges lead to growth, and this past year certainly was a challenge for every single one of us. How did you grow? Which aspects of who you are will you choose to nurture in the year ahead? Which will you choose to shed? This return—your return—to campus is a chance to see yourself and your classmates anew, to define and distinguish yourselves and your class. I cannot imagine a better time to undertake that work.

你对事情应该如何发展的看法完全有可能与离你只有几个座位的人的看法不一致。永远不要忘记，我们从我们的差异中学习。也请注意，自从我们上次见面以来，你作为一个人是如何改变的？挑战带来成长，过去的一年对我们每个人来说都是一个挑战。你是怎么成长的？在未来的一年里，你会选择培养的哪些方面能力？你会选择哪一个？这次重返校园是一次重新审视自己和同学的机会，是一次定义和区分自己和班级的机会。我无法想象一个更好的时间来承担这项工作。

Finally, now that you have the luxury of being together again, I hope you will seize the opportunity to build a better community, a more compassionate community, a kinder community. I still have yet to meet anyone who thinks the world we live in—or the University to which we belong—is perfect. It is entirely possible that your view of how things ought to be is at odds with the view of someone just a few seats away from you. Never forget that we learn from our differences. Interrogating your own beliefs—and being open to thinking differently about your own assertions and assumptions—is what leads to wisdom. Learning and growing in wisdom is what being here—and being here together—is all about.

最后，现在你们有了再次相聚的机会，我希望你们能抓住机会，建设一个更好的社区，一个更富有同情心的社区，一个更友善的社区。我还没有遇到任何人认为我们生活的世界或我们所属的大学是完美的。质疑自己的信仰，对自己的主张和假设持不同的思考态度，这才是智慧的源泉。在智慧中学习和成长是在哈佛和我们在一起的全部。

I cannot express how happy I am to be here with all of you to begin the academic year. Our time together is precious, more precious than any of us might have thought when you first arrived on campus. I look forward to seeing you throughout the semester. In the meantime, enjoy all that this remarkable University has to offer—but especially one another’s company. Good luck—and Godspeed.

我无法表达我有多高兴能在这里与大家一起开始新学年。我们在一起的时间是宝贵的，比你们刚来校园时我们任何人可能想到的都要宝贵。我期待着整个学期都能见到你。同时，享受这所卓越的大学所提供的一切，尤其是彼此的陪伴。祝你好运，一切顺利！