第6章 The World as ISee It——Albert Einstein

内容导读

对人类诚挚情感的珍视，对高尚艺术和科学的不懈追求，构成了伟大科学家爱因斯坦（1879—1955）生活的主旋律。安逸、享乐从来与他无关，真、善、美却与他如影随形，这所有的一切都源于他对生活的感恩之心。

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英文正文

A hundred times every day Iremind myself that my inner and outer life depend on the labors of other men,living and dead,and that Imust exert myself in order to give in the same measure as Ihave received and am still receiving.I am strongly drawn to the simple life and am often oppressed by the feeling that Iam engrossing an unnecessary amount of the labor of my fellow-men.I regard class differences as contrary to justice and,in the last resort,based on force.I also consider that plain living is good for everybody,physically and mentally.

To inquire after the meaning or object of one's own existence or of creation generally has always seemed to me absurd from an objective point of view.And yet everybody has certain ideals which determine the direction of his endeavors and his judgments.In this sense Ihave never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves—such an ethical basis Icall more proper for aherd of swine.The ideals which have lighted me on my way and time after time given me new courage to face life cheerfully,have been Truth,Goodness,and Beauty.Without the sense of fellowship with men of like mind,of preoccupation with the objective,the eternally unattainable in the field of art and scientific research,life would have seemed to me empty.The ordinary objects of human endeavor—

property,outward success,luxury—have always seemed to me contemptible.

我眼中的世界——阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦

中文译文

我每天上百次地提醒自己：我的精神生活、物质生活都是以别人（包括生者和死者）的劳动为基础的，我必须尽力以同样的分量来报偿所领受了的以及至今还在领受的东西。我强烈地向往简朴的生活，并且时常因为发觉自己占用了过多同胞们的劳动而心情沉重。我认为阶级划分很不合理，归根结底是建立在暴力之上。我还相信，简单淳朴的生活对于每个人的身心都是有益的。

我总觉得探究个人或一切生物生存的意义或目的，从客观的角度看，是愚蠢可笑的。可是，每一个人都有一定的理想，这些理想决定了他努力的方向和判断的倾向。从这个意义上讲，我从不把安逸和享乐看作是生活的最终旨归——我把这种伦理基础称为“猪栏式”理想。只有善、美、真这些理想照亮了我的道路，并且不断给我新的勇气去乐观地面对人生。如果没有志同道合者之间的亲密感情，如果不是全神贯注于客观世界——这个在艺术和科学领域都永难企及的目标——那么生活于我便是空虚的。我总觉得，人们所努力追求的庸俗目标——财产、徒有其表的成功、奢侈的生活——都是可鄙的。

词汇速记

engross v. 占用，独占

endeavor n. 努力

ethical adj. 伦理的，道德的

preoccupation n. 全神贯注

contemptible adj. 可鄙的，卑劣的

美句欣赏

Without the sense of fellowship with men of like mind,of preoccupation with the objective,the eternally unattainable in the field of art and scientific research,life would have seemed to me empty.如果没有志同道合者之间的亲密感情，如果不是全神贯注于客观世界——这个在艺术和科学领域都永难企及的目标——那么生活于我便是空虚的。