The World as I See It 我的世界觀

By Albert Einstein

How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people—first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy. A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving. I am strongly drawn to a frugal life and am often oppressively aware that I am engrossing an undue amount of the labor of my fellowmen. I regard class distinctions as unjustified and, in the last resort, based on force. I also believe that a simple and unassuming life is good for everybody, physically and mentally.

我們這些肉體凡胎是多么奇怪啊!每個(gè)人來(lái)到這個(gè)世上都只作短暫停留，究竟為了什么目的卻無(wú)從知曉，雖然有時(shí)覺得自己好像有所感悟。但是，無(wú)需深入思考，僅從日常生活就可明白，人是為他人而存在的——首先是為這樣一些人：他們的歡笑、健康和福祉與我們的幸福息息相關(guān);其次是為那些為數(shù)眾多的陌生人，因?yàn)橥樗麄儯沟梦覀兣c他們的命運(yùn)聯(lián)系在了一起。每一天，我都上百次地提醒自己，我的精神和物質(zhì)生活都是建立在他人(包括生者和死者)的勞動(dòng)基礎(chǔ)上，對(duì)于我已經(jīng)得到和正在得到的一切，我必須盡力給以相同程度的回報(bào)。我深深向往一種儉樸的生活，由于經(jīng)常意識(shí)到自己占用了同胞太多的勞動(dòng)而心有不安。我認(rèn)為階級(jí)區(qū)分是不正當(dāng)?shù)模渥罱K的達(dá)成方式常常訴諸暴力。我還認(rèn)為，無(wú)論是在身體上還是心理上，過(guò)一種簡(jiǎn)單而不鋪張浪費(fèi)的生活對(duì)每個(gè)人都有好處。

I do not at all believe in human freedom in the philosophical sense. Everybody acts not only under external compulsion but also in accordance with inner necessity. Schopenhauer’s saying, “A man can do what he wants, but not want what he wants,” has been a very real inspiration to me since my youth; it has been a continual consolation in the face of life’s hardships, my own and others’, and an unfailing wellspring of tolerance. This realization mercifully mitigates the easily paralyzing sense of responsibility and prevents us from taking ourselves and other people all too seriously; it is conducive to a view of life which, in particular, gives humor its due. 我完全不相信哲學(xué)意義上的人的自由。每個(gè)人的行為不僅受外在力量的約束，還要與內(nèi)在需求協(xié)調(diào)一致。叔本華說(shuō)：“人可以任意而為，卻不能心想事成。”這句話從我年輕時(shí)起就一直深深地啟發(fā)著我。在面對(duì)生活的艱辛?xí)r——無(wú)論是我自己還是他人的艱辛，這句話總能不斷地給我安慰，成為永不枯竭的忍耐的源泉。這一認(rèn)識(shí)能夠仁慈地緩和那份令人幾欲崩潰的責(zé)任感，并防止我們太把自己或者他人當(dāng)回事，還有助于形成一種尤其幽默的人生觀。