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2009 Commencement Address - U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.
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. Last year, J.K. Rowling, the billionaire novelist, who started as a classics student, graced this podium. The year before, Bill Gates, the mega-billionaire philanthropist and computer nerd stood 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。前年站在這里的是比爾·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 me than you might care to imagine. You see, I was the academic black sheep of my family. My older brother has an M.D./Ph.D. from MIT and Harvard while my younger brother has a law degree from Harvard. When I was awarded a Nobel Prize, I thought my mother would be pleased. Not so. When I called her on the morning of the announcement, she replied, “That’s nice, but when are you going to visit me next.” Now, as the last brother with a degree from Harvard, 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。消息公布的那天早上，我給她打電話，她聽了只說：“這是好消息，不過我想知道，你下次什么時候來看我？”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 may disapprove of the fact that I have borrowed material from previous speeches. I ask that you forgive 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，不喜歡我重復前人演講中說過的話。我要求你們諒解我，因為兩個理由。
First, in order to have impact, it is important to deliver the same message more than once. In science, it is important to be the first person to make a discovery, but it is even more important to be the last person to make that discovery.
首先，為了產生影響力，很重要的方法就是重復傳遞同樣的信息。在科學中，第一個發現者是重要的，但是在得到公認前，最后一個將這個發現重復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 Waldo Emerson, who graduated from Harvard at the age of 18, noted “All my best thoughts were stolen by the ancients.” Picasso declared “Good artists borrow. Great artists steal.” Why should commencement speakers be held to a higher standard?
其次，一個借鑒他人的作者，正走在一條前人開辟的最佳道路上。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“優秀的藝術家借鑒，偉大的藝術家偷竊。”那么為什么畢業典禮的演說者，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 have rejected me, had I the chutzpah to apply. I am married to “Dean Jean,” the former dean of admissions at Stanford. She assures me that she would have rejected me, if given the chance. When 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 you admission.” I have difficulty understanding the difference. After all, deans of admissions of highly selective schools are in reality, “deans of rejection.” Clearly, I have a lot to learn about marketing.
我還要指出一點，向哈佛畢業生發表演說，對我來說是有諷刺意味的，因為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為“準許你入學的主任”，還不如稱為“拒絕你入學的主任”。很顯然，我需要好好學學怎么來推銷自己。
