Ben Dunlap: The life-long learner

翻译人员: 郭 佳晨 校对人员: zhangb bin

"Jó napot, pacák" Which, as somebody here must surely know,

"Yo napot, pacak!", 想必在座一定有人知道

means "What's up, guys?" in Magyar,

在匈牙利语的意思是：“伙计们，怎么样！”

that peculiar non-Indo-European language spoken by Hungarians

匈牙利人讲的一口非欧洲大陆语系的奇特语种

for which, given the fact that cognitive diversity is

那么，如果说我们认知的多样性目前受威胁程度

at least as threatened as biodiversity on this planet,

在这个星球上已堪比生物多样性

few would have imagined much of a future even a century or two ago.

一两个世纪之前几乎没有人可以想象会有何样的未来

But there it is: "Jó napot, pacák"

然而你又能听到"Yo napot, pacak!"

I said somebody here must surely know, because

我刚说在座各位必定有人知道，因为

despite the fact that there aren't that many Hungarians to begin with,

尽管说, 其实匈牙利并不是一个人口众多的民族

and the further fact that, so far as I know, there's not a drop

据我所致,在我身体里不曾流有一滴匈牙利的血，

of Hungarian blood in my veins, at every critical juncture of my life

但是在我生命里每个关键时刻，

there has been a Hungarian friend or mentor there beside me.

都有一位匈牙利朋友和导师在我身旁。

I even have dreams that take place in landscapes

连梦境都好似在匈牙利发生的一样。

I recognize as the landscapes of Hungarian films,

我能认出那是匈牙利的电影中会浮现的场景

especially the early movies of Miklos Jancso.

尤其是米洛斯·杨索的早期电影作品中的那些。

So, how do I explain this mysterious affinity?

怎样解释这种神奇的联系？

Maybe it's because my native state of South Carolina,

或许是因为我的故乡，

which is not much smaller than present-day Hungary,

与匈牙利大小相似的南卡罗莱纳洲，

once imagined a future for itself as an independent country.

它也曾经设想成为一个独立国家。

And as a consequence of that presumption,

顺着这种假定推测，

my hometown was burned to the ground by an invading army,

我的家乡被入侵的军队焚为平地

an experience that has befallen many a Hungarian town and village

许多匈牙利的城镇乡村,在其漫长多舛的历史上，也曾遭受过外敌入侵，

throughout its long and troubled history.

有着十分相似的历程

Or maybe it's because when I was a teenager back in the '50s,

也或是因在50年代的时候, 那时我还是一个十几岁的少年

my uncle Henry -- having denounced the Ku Klux Klan

我的叔叔亨利, 曾强烈谴责了三K党

and been bombed for his trouble and had crosses burned in his yard,

并因此受到责难，有人在他的院子里焚烧十字架（三K党的仪式）

living under death threat -- took his wife and children to Massachusetts for safety

甚至他的生命都受到了威胁。所以他送他的妻儿到马萨诸塞州寻求避难

and went back to South Carolina to face down the Klan alone.

然后只身回到了南卡罗来纳州，去面对敌党的迫害

That was a very Hungarian thing to do,

那可谓是一桩十分匈牙利般的事迹

as anyone will attest who remembers 1956.

任何能忆起1956年的故人都能证实

And of course, from time to time Hungarians

当然了，有些时候匈牙利人

have invented their own equivalent of the Klan.

也发明了他们自己类似三K党的组织

Well, it seems to me that this Hungarian presence in my life

很难解释发生在我生命里的这种与匈牙利民族的神奇联系，

is difficult to account for, but ultimately I ascribe it to an admiration

在经历了一系列对道德的复杂认识后，

for people with a complex moral awareness,

最终我归因于对人民的敬仰之情，

with a heritage of guilt and defeat matched by defiance and bravado.

伴随着挑衅和虚张声势，他们继承了内疚和挫折。

It's not a typical mindset for most Americans,

这决不是大多美国人的典型思维形态

but it is perforce typical of virtually all Hungarians.

但在所有匈牙利人中确实张显无遗

So, "Jó napot, pacák!"

所以，"Yo napot, pacak!"

I went back to South Carolina after some 15 years amid the alien corn

大约在国外待了15年之后，我再次回到南卡罗来纳州

at the tail end of the 1960s,

也就是在二十世纪六十年代末

with the reckless condescension of that era

带着那个时代的轻率地优越感，

thinking I would save my people.

一厢情愿的以为能“拯救”我的人民。

Never mind the fact that they were slow to acknowledge they needed saving.

却没有考虑到，他们还没有真正认为到自己需要解救。

I labored in that vineyard for a quarter century before

在我朝当时正在混乱状态的小王国南卡罗来纳州进发前，

making my way to a little kingdom of the just in upstate South Carolina,

我曾在那里的葡萄园工作了25年，

a Methodist-affiliated institution of higher learning called Wofford College.

在一个附属于卫理公会的高等院校--伍夫德学院教书

I knew nothing about Wofford

我对于伍夫德还一无所知，

and even less about Methodism,

卫理公会就更不知道是什么了，

but I was reassured on the first day that I taught at Wofford College

但是我在伍夫德学院上的第一堂课就给了我莫大的信心，

to find, among the auditors in my classroom,

我不出意料的发现在众多的听众中

a 90-year-old Hungarian, surrounded by a bevy of middle-aged European women

有一位90多岁的匈牙利人。老人被一群中年欧洲女子围着，

who seemed to function as an entourage of Rhinemaidens.

，好像是莱茵女儿的仆人那样守护他。

His name was Sandor Teszler.

这个名叫桑德·特兹勒的老顽童，

He was a puckish widower whose wife and children were dead

独身一人，妻子和孩子都去世了，

and whose grandchildren lived far away.

孙儿远走他乡。

In appearance, he resembled Mahatma Gandhi,

从外表看，老人很像圣雄甘地——

minus the loincloth, plus orthopedic boots.

如果去掉腰带，穿上靴子的话。

He had been born in 1903 in the provinces

他于1903年，

of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire,

出生在曾经还是奥匈帝国的统治的一个省区，

in what later would become Yugoslavia.

也就是现在南斯拉夫的所在地。

He was ostracized as a child, not because he was a Jew --

还是个孩子的时候他就遭到流放，虽然他并不是犹太人--

his parents weren't very religious anyhow --

他的父母也没有什么非常特别的宗教信仰--

but because he had been born with two club feet,

由于特兹勒患有先天性马蹄内翻足（先天双足畸形）。

a condition which, in those days, required institutionalization

这种情况在当时是要被收容在病院，

and a succession of painful operations between the ages of one and 11.

并且要接受一系列的痛苦的手术治疗，治疗一直从1岁持续到11岁。

He went to the commercial business high school as a young man

他后来在布达佩斯上高中，学一些经商的课程，

in Budapest, and there he was as smart as he was modest

那个时候他挺聪明也挺谨慎的，

and he enjoyed a considerable success. And after graduation

毕业的时候他也取得了不错的好成绩。

when he went into textile engineering, the success continued.

后来他开了一家纺织厂，也干的不错。

He built one plant after another.

他开了一家又一家的工厂。

He married and had two sons. He had friends in high places who

结了婚，生了两个儿子。他那些有本事的有地位的朋友

assured him that he was of great value to the economy.

都信誓旦旦地说他对当地经济的发展来说是很有价值的。

Once, as he had left instructions to have done,

有一天，他已经把所有的指令都吩咐下去了，

he was summoned in the middle of the night by the night watchman at one of his plants.

半夜却被他的一个工厂的保安叫醒，

The night watchman had caught an employee who was stealing socks --

保安说，捉到了一个偷袜子的小偷——那个小偷正是工厂的职工。

it was a hosiery mill, and he simply backed a truck up to the loading dock

抓到他时，那个人正在停装货车子的月台上，

and was shoveling in mountains of socks.

在堆积如山的袜子堆里铲袜子。

Mr. Teszler went down to the plant and confronted the thief and said,

特兹勒用一种安慰的语气对小偷说，

"But why do you steal from me? If you need money you have only to ask."

“你何必要偷袜子呢？要是你需要钱，你直接跟我说嘛。”

The night watchman, seeing how things were going and waxing indignant,

那个保安，愤愤然的看着整件事的发展，

said, "Well, we're going to call the police, aren't we?"

问是否要叫来警察，

But Mr. Teszler answered, "No, that will not be necessary.

特兹勒说，“完全不需要，

He will not steal from us again."

因为他以后都不会再偷窃了。”

Well, maybe he was too trusting, because he stayed where he was

也许，有时他太过于亲信了，因为，德国纳粹进驻奥地利一段时间了

long after the Nazi Anschluss in Austria

他还留在奥地利不走，

and even after the arrests and deportations began in Budapest.

甚至当布达佩斯的一些人被拘留或者流放

He took the simple precaution of having cyanide capsules placed in lockets

特兹勒早早地就在身边准备好了几支有剧毒的氰化物，

that could be worn about the necks of himself and his family.

以备他和家人不时之需。

And then one day, it happened: he and his family were arrested

然后，真的有一天：他和他的家人都被捉了，

and they were taken to a death house on the Danube.

他们被带到多瑙河岸的一个死亡之屋。

In those early days of the Final Solution, it was handcrafted brutality;

在集中营就要解放之前，情况非常的惨不忍睹--

people were beaten to death and their bodies tossed into the river.

那些被捉的人被活生生的打死，尸体直接丢到多瑙河里--

But none who entered that death house had ever come out alive.

进了死亡之屋的人没一个活着出来了。

And in a twist you would not believe in a Steven Spielberg film --

这时候故事发生了转折，这甚至在史蒂文·斯皮尔伯格导演的电影里你也不敢相信--

the Gauleiter who was overseeing this brutal beating was the very same thief

监视酷刑的刽子手竟然是

who had stolen socks from Mr. Teszler's hosiery mill.

前面提到的那个偷袜子的人。

It was a brutal beating. And midway through that brutality,

酷刑真是惨不忍睹，特兹勒的一个儿子安德鲁看不下去了，

one of Mr. Teszler's sons, Andrew, looked up and said,

抬头对父亲说，

"Is it time to take the capsule now, Papa?"

“该服药了。”

And the Gauleiter, who afterwards vanishes from this story,

那个就要从故事中消失的纳粹头头，

leaned down and whispered into Mr. Teszler's ear,

扭过头来对特兹勒说，

"No, do not take the capsule. Help is on the way."

“千万不要！救兵马上到了！”

And then resumed the beating.

然后继续施暴。

But help was on the way, and shortly afterwards

不久，瑞士大使馆果然派来了人员

a car arrived from the Swiss Embassy.

把特兹勒从死神的手里拉了回来。

They were spirited to safety. They were reclassified as Yugoslav citizens

他们被秘密地带到了安全的地方。他们被重新划分为南斯拉夫人，

and they managed to stay one step ahead of their pursuers

在战争期间，他们成功的和追捕者进行周旋，

for the duration of the War, surviving burnings and bombings

逃过了火灾和爆炸的种种劫难，

and, at the end of the War, arrest by the Soviets.

在战争即将结束的时候，被苏军捉住了。

Probably, Mr. Teszler had gotten some money into Swiss bank accounts

估计是因为特兹勒在瑞士的银行有较大一笔存款，

because he managed to take his family first to Great Britain,

因为他和家人都逃到英国去了，

then to Long Island and then to the center of the textile industry in the American South.

然后到了长岛，最后去了美国南部纺织业的中心，

Which, as chance would have it, was Spartanburg, South Carolina,

非常巧合的是，他到的就是南卡罗来纳州的斯帕坦堡：

the location of Wofford College.

伍夫德学院的所在地。

And there, Mr. Teszler began all over again and once again achieved immense success,

在这儿，特兹勒一切重头开始，并且又一次取得了巨大的成功，

especially after he invented the process

特别是他发明了一种

for manufacturing a new fabric called double-knit.

叫做双面针织物的制作方法。

And then in the late 1950s, in the aftermath of Brown v. Board of Education,

然后 在20世纪50年代末，布朗诉教育委员会案的影响下，

when the Klan was resurgent all over the South,

３K党又在南部复苏，

Mr. Teszler said, "I have heard this talk before."

特兹勒说：＂我已经听说了．＂

And he called his top assistant to him and asked,

然后他把他的高级助理叫到身边，问到，

"Where would you say, in this region, racism is most virulent?"

＂你说这里种族偏见最严重的是哪块地区？＂

"Well, I don't rightly know, Mr. Teszler. I reckon that would be Kings Mountain."

＂我不是很清楚，特兹勒先生，我猜是金斯山那块地方．＂

"Good. Buy us some land in Kings Mountain

＂很好，你去金斯山置购一些地，

and announce we are going to build a major plant there."

然后对外宣布说我们将要在那建一个大厂房．＂

The man did as he was told, and shortly afterwards,

助理把事情办好后，没多久

Mr. Teszler received a visit from the white mayor of Kings Mountain.

特兹勒先生就受到了金斯山白人市长的接见．

Now, you should know that at that time,

你要知道在那个时候

the textile industry in the South was notoriously segregated.

美国南部地区的纺织业里的种族歧视现象臭名远扬．

The white mayor visited Mr. Teszler and said,

白人市长对特兹勒先生说：

"Mr. Teszler, I trust you’re going to be hiring a lot of white workers."

＂特兹勒先生，我相信你一定需要雇佣很多的白人．＂

Mr. Teszler told him, "You bring me the best workers that you can find,

特兹勒先生回答到：＂你把你们这最好的工人带过来，

and if they are good enough, I will hire them."

如果我觉得可以的话，我当然会用他们．＂

He also received a visit from the leader of the black community,

特兹勒先生同时也接到了当地黑人社区领导的邀约，

a minister, who said, "Mr. Teszler, I sure hope you're going to

一个部长提到：＂特兹勒先生，我真希望您的新工厂可以

hire some black workers for this new plant of yours."

雇佣一批黑人．＂

He got the same answer: "You bring the best workers that you can find,

他也答道：＂你把你们这最好的工人带过来，

and if they are good enough, I will hire them."

如果我觉得可以的话，我当然会用他们．＂

As it happens, the black minister did his job better than the white mayor,

非常巧合的是，白人，黑人

but that's neither here or there.

两方实力相当．

Mr. Teszler hired 16 men: eight white, eight black.

特兹勒先生最后选定的１６个人里，正好８个白人，８个黑人．

They were to be his seed group, his future foremen.

他们这批人将会是新厂的核心团队，未来的工头．

He had installed the heavy equipment for his new process

他在金斯山附近一家荒废的仓库

in an abandoned store in the vicinity of Kings Mountain,

购置了一套大型设备．

and for two months these 16 men would live and work together,

在接下来的两个月里，这１６个人要一起生活和工作，

mastering the new process.

熟练掌握这套新流程．

He gathered them together after an initial tour of that facility

在大略参观了整个厂房后，特兹勒先生把他们叫到一起，

and he asked if there were any questions.

问他们还有什么疑问．

There was hemming and hawing and shuffling of feet,

刚开始他们都吞吞吐吐，欲言又止的，

and then one of the white workers stepped forward and said,

最后终于有个白人站出来，

"Well, yeah. We’ve looked at this place and there's only one place to sleep,

＂我们仔细看了一下这里，睡觉的地方只有一个，

there's only one place to eat, there's only one bathroom,

吃饭的地方只有一个，卫生间只有一个，

there's only one water fountain. Is this plant going to be integrated or what?"

饮水的地方只有一个．这个工厂是要把我们弄在一起还是怎么样？＂

Mr. Teszler said, "You are being paid twice the wages of any other textile workers in this region

特兹勒先生回答到，＂你们在这里拿到了普通工人双倍的工资，

and this is how we do business. Do you have any other questions?"

我们就是这样管理的．你们还有别的问题吗？＂

"No, I reckon I don't."

＂我觉得没什么问题了．＂

And two months later when the main plant opened

两个月后，当总厂开始运营的时候

and hundreds of new workers, white and black,

成百上千的工人，白人和黑人

poured in to see the facility for the first time,

蜂拥而至参观工厂，

they were met by the 16 foremen, white and black, standing shoulder to shoulder.

他们看到这16个工头肩并肩站着，既有黑人又有白人。

They toured the facility and were asked if there were any questions, and

他们参观了工厂然后被问是否有任何疑问。

inevitably the same question arose:

意料之中，同样的问题再次被提到：

"Is this plant integrated or what?"

“这个工厂是要把我们弄在一起还是怎么样？”

And one of the white foremen stepped forward and said,

一个白人工头站出来说，

"You are being paid twice the wages of any other workers

“你们在这里拿到了普通工人双倍的工资，

in this industry in this region and this is how we do business.

我们就是这样管理的。

Do you have any other questions?"

你还有什么异议吗？”

And there were none. In one fell swoop,

再没有人作声了。没过多久，

Mr. Teszler had integrated the textile industry in that part of the South.

特兹勒先生带动当地纺织产业都取消了种族隔离的管理。

It was an achievement worthy of Mahatma Gandhi,

他带来的效应堪比圣雄甘地，

conducted with the shrewdness of a lawyer and the idealism of a saint.

兼具律师的机智和圣贤的理想主义。

In his eighties, Mr. Teszler, having retired from the textile industry,

特兹勒先生在八十多岁的时候从纺织业退下来，

adopted Wofford College,

到伍夫德学院学习--

auditing courses every semester,

每个学期都回去听课。

and because he had a tendency to kiss anything that moved,

他总是和蔼可亲，

becoming affectionately known as "Opi" -- which is Magyar for grandfather --

很受欢迎，并被大家亲切地称为Opi--匈牙利语里是祖父的意思。

by all and sundry. Before I got there, the library of the college

我到伍夫德的时候，学院的图书馆就是以

had been named for Mr. Teszler, and after I arrived in 1993,

特兹勒先生的名字命名的，到1993年我再次回到伍夫德，

the faculty decided to honor itself by naming Mr. Teszler Professor of the College --

全校教师决定授予特兹勒先生教授职称。

partly because at that point he had already taken

部分是因为他已经学完了学校所有的课程，

all of the courses in the catalog, but mainly because

但主要还是因为

he was so conspicuously wiser than any one of us.

他拥有超群的智慧。

To me, it was immensely reassuring that the presiding spirit

给我极大鼓励和震撼的是他

of this little Methodist college in upstate South Carolina

对于这个南卡罗来纳州偏僻地区

was a Holocaust survivor from Central Europe.

在欧洲中部大屠杀中幸存下来的卫理公会学院的引导精神。

Wise he was, indeed, but he also had a wonderful sense of humor.

他同时也是一个非常幽默的人。

And once for an interdisciplinary class,

在一次跨学科的课堂上，

I was screening the opening segment of Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal."

我正播放英格玛·伯格曼“第七封印”的电影片断。

As the medieval knight Antonius Block returns from the wild goose chase

骑士布洛克从十字军东征回到故土，

of the Crusades and arrives on the rocky shore of Sweden,

多礁的瑞典海岸。

only to find the specter of death waiting for him,

在途中他遇到了死神的化身。

Mr. Teszler sat in the dark with his fellow students. And

特兹勒先生和他的同学坐在暗处。

as death opened his cloak to embrace the knight

当死神的黑色斗篷就要包围骑士时

in a ghastly embrace, I heard Mr. Teszler's tremulous voice:

听到特兹勒先生颤抖的声音：

"Uh oh," he said, "This doesn't look so good." (Laughter)

“哦 哦 情况不妙。”

But it was music that was his greatest passion, especially opera.

特兹勒先生最钟爱的还是音乐，尤其是歌剧，

And on the first occasion that I visited his house, he gave me

我第一次拜访他家，

honor of deciding what piece of music we would listen to.

他就请我挑选要播放的音乐。

And I delighted him by rejecting "Cavalleria Rusticana"

没有选《乡村骑士间奏曲〉

in favor of Bela Bartok's "Bluebeard's Castle."

而是选了巴托克的《 蓝胡子城堡》。

I love Bartok's music, as did Mr. Teszler,

我和他都喜欢巴托克的音乐。

and he had virtually every recording of Bartok's music ever issued.

他几乎收藏了巴托克所有的专辑。

And it was at his house that I heard for the first time

就是在他家我第一次听到

Bartok's Third Piano Concerto and learned from

巴托克的第三钢琴协奏曲，并且从特兹勒先生得知

Mr. Teszler that it had been composed in nearby Asheville, North Carolina

它是巴托克在生命的最后几年

in the last year of the composer's life.

在北卡罗来纳州的阿什维尔附近谱写的。

He was dying of leukemia and he knew it,

当时他患了白血病，得知自己的时日不多，

and he dedicated this concerto to his wife,

他谱写这首曲子献给他的妻子蒂塔，

Dita, who was herself a concert pianist.

她自己也是一名钢琴演奏家。

And into the slow, second movement, marked "adagio religioso,"

在柔缓的第二乐章"adagio religioso" 中

he incorporated the sounds of birdsong that he heard

他在曲子中融入了窗外小鸟的叫声，

outside his window in what he knew would be his last spring;

那时他知道这将使他人生最后的一个春天了。

he was imagining a future for her in which he would play no part.

他想象着妻子没有他的未来的生活。

And clearly this composition is his final statement to her --

而这首曲子将是他对妻子的最后一次告白--

it was first performed after his death --

他死后曲子才弹奏出来--

and through her to the world.

通过她传给了世界。

And just as clearly, it is saying, "It's okay. It was all so beautiful.

曲子仿佛在诉说着，“情况没你想的那么糟，世界多么美好的。

Whenever you hear this, I will be there."

每次你听到这首曲子的时候，我都在你的身边。”

It was only after Mr. Teszler's death that I learned

特兹勒先生死后我才得知

that the marker on the grave of Bela Bartok in Hartsdale, New York

巴托克·贝拉在纽约，哈茨戴尔镇的墓碑

was paid for by Sandor Teszler. "Jó napot, Bela!"

是他捐助的。"Yo napot, Bela!"

Not long before Mr. Teszler’s own death at the age of 97,

在特兹勒先生97年生命结束之前，

he heard me hold forth on human iniquity.

他听说我认为人的本性的邪恶的。

I delivered a lecture in which I described history

在一次演讲中，我把历史描绘成

as, on the whole, a tidal wave of human suffering and brutality,

人类受难和残暴的

and Mr. Teszler came up to me afterwards with gentle reproach and said,

然后特兹勒先生用温和却又责备的语气对我说，

"You know, Doctor, human beings are fundamentally good."

“你知道吗 ，博士，人的本性都是善良的。”

And I made a vow to myself, then and there,

从此以后，我常不时的暗示自己，

that if this man who had such cause to think otherwise

如果这个人有什么理由

had reached that conclusion,

支持他的结论的话，

I would not presume to differ until he released me from my vow.

除非他说我的结论是错的，否则我是不会改变的。

And now he's dead, so I'm stuck with my vow.

现在他过世了，而我就只能坚持我的言论了。

"Jó napot, Sandor!"

"Yo napot, Sandor!"

I thought my skein of Hungarian mentors had come to an end,

我原以为我与匈牙利导师的神奇缘分就此结束了，

but almost immediately I met Francis Robicsek, a Hungarian doctor --

几乎在同时我遇到了弗朗西斯.罗宾斯克，一位匈牙利医生--

actually a heart surgeon in Charlotte, North Carolina, then in his late seventies --

一位北卡罗来纳州夏洛特的心脏外科医生，他已将近80高龄--

who had been a pioneer in open-heart surgery,

胸外科手术领域的带头人，

and, tinkering away in his garage behind his house,

我见到他时他正在房子后面的车库里修修补补，

had invented many of the devices that are standard parts of those procedures.

发明了很多装置，一些用于驱动上的标准件。

He's also a prodigious art collector, beginning as an intern in Budapest

在布达佩斯的时候还只是个实习生，

by collecting 16th- and 17th-century Dutch art and Hungarian painting,

专门收集16到17世纪荷兰的艺术品和匈牙利的油画，

and when he came to this country moving on to Spanish colonial art,

他到美国后开始收集西班牙殖民时期的艺术品，

Russian icons and finally Mayan ceramics.

俄国的硬币，马雅的陶瓷。

He's the author of seven books, six of them on Mayan ceramics.

他一共写了7本书，其中有6本都是有关玛雅陶瓷的。

It was he who broke the Mayan codex, enabling scholars to relate

是他破译了玛雅人的法规，使得学者们能够

the pictographs on Mayan ceramics to the hieroglyphs of the Mayan script.

将玛雅制陶术中的象形文字和玛雅人的手写文字联系在一起。

On the occasion of my first visit, we toured his house

我第一次拜访他家的时候，

and we saw hundreds of works of museum quality,

他就先带领我参观了成百上千堪称博物馆级别的艺术品，

and then we paused in front of a closed door and Dr. Robicsek said,

我们在一扇门前停住了，罗宾斯克先生无不骄傲地说，

with obvious pride, "Now for the piece De resistance."

“现在我们来看看压轴之作吧。”

And he opened the door and we walked into a

他把门打开，在我们面前的是一个

windowless 20-by-20-foot room with shelves from floor to ceiling, and

没有窗户的20*20英尺大小的房子，

crammed on every shelf his collection of Mayan ceramics.

高到天花板的陈列柜里塞满了玛雅陶瓷。

Now, I know absolutely nothing about Mayan ceramics,

当时我对这方面还一无所知，

but I wanted to be as ingratiating as possible so I said,

但为了讨他欢心我还是说，

"But Dr. Robicsek, this is absolutely dazzling."

“先生，这简直太神奇了！”

"Yes," he said. "That is what the Louvre said.

“是的，”他继续说道“卢浮宫的专家也这么说呢，

They would not leave me alone until I let them have a piece,

他们一直缠着我直到我送了他们一件，

but it was not a good one." (Laughter)

当然我不会送很好的。”

Well, it occurred to me that I should invite Dr. Robicsek

我想我应该邀请罗宾斯克先生

to lecture at Wofford College on -- what else?

到伍夫德学院做一个演讲，有关--什么呢？

-- Leonardo da Vinci. And further, I should invite him to meet

--列奥纳多·达芬奇。甚至，我想把他介绍给我

my oldest trustee, who had majored in French history at Yale

最要好得朋友，十来岁的时候就在耶鲁大学主攻法国历史专业，

some 70-odd years before and, at 89, still ruled the world's

89岁时还是长官世界上最大的私人纺织企业

largest privately owned textile empire with an iron hand.

的巨头。

His name is Roger Milliken. And Mr. Milliken agreed,

他就是罗杰 麦利肯。麦利肯先生和

and Dr. Robicsek agreed. And Dr. Robicsek visited

罗宾斯克先生都同意见面了。

and delivered the lecture and it was a dazzling success.

罗宾斯克先生的精彩的演讲结束后，

And afterwards we convened at the President's House with Dr. Robicsek

我们三人就在校长办公室

on one hand, Mr. Milliken on the other.

汇合了。

And it was only at that moment, as we were sitting down to dinner,

我们坐下来开始用餐的时候，

that I recognized the enormity of the risk I had created,

我才意识到我在做一个多么冒险的事情。

因为我把两大世界巨头带到一起，

because to bring these two titans, these two masters of the universe

together -- it was like introducing Mothra to Godzilla over the skyline of Tokyo.

好比把哥吉拉和摩斯拉都带到东京。

If they didn't like each other, we could all get trampled to death.

如果他们合不来的话，我必死无疑。

But they did, they did like each other.

但是他们没有，他们互相喜欢。

They got along famously until the very end of the meal,

他们都相处地非常好，--直到快要用餐时，

and then they got into a furious argument.

他们激烈的争论起来。

And what they were arguing about was this:

而他们争论的内容是：

whether the second Harry Potter movie was as good as the first. (Laughter)

第二部哈利波特电影有没有第一部好看。

Mr. Milliken said it was not. Dr. Robicsek disagreed.

麦利肯先生说没有，罗宾斯克先生不同意。

I was still trying to take in the notion that these titans,

我还在纳闷

these masters of the universe, in their spare time watch Harry Potter movies,

这两个世界巨头在空闲时间就是看哈利波特系列电影的吗，

这时，麦利肯先生胜券在握的说道，

when Mr. Milliken thought he would win the argument by saying,

"You just think it's so good because you didn't read the book."

“你觉得第二部不错，是因为你没有看原著吧。”

And Dr. Robicsek reeled back in his chair, but quickly gathered his wits,

但很快恢复了斗智，

leaned forward and said, "Well, that is true, but I'll bet you went

往前倾了倾说，“我得确没读过，但是我敢打赌，

to the movie with a grandchild." "Well, yes, I did," conceded Mr. Milliken.

你是和孙子一起去看电影的吧。”“对，是的。”麦利肯先生勉强承认道。

"Aha!" said Dr. Robicsek. "I went to the movie all by myself." (Laughter) (Applause)

“哈！”罗宾斯克先生得意地说“我可是一个人去看的。”

And I realized, in this moment of revelation,

真相被揭露后我才意识到，

that what these two men were revealing was the secret

他们揭露的其实是

of their extraordinary success, each in his own right.

他们取得非凡成就的秘密。

And it lay precisely in that insatiable curiosity,

那就是他们永不满足的好奇心、

that irrepressible desire to know, no matter what the subject,

难以揭制的求知欲--对任何事物，

no matter what the cost,

无论要付出什么，

even at a time when the keepers of the Doomsday Clock

世界末日钟的看守者大概在93年前就

are willing to bet even money that the human race won't be around

人们不可能预知

to imagine anything in the year 2100, a scant 93 years from now.

2100年的世界是个什么样子。

"Live each day as if it is your last," said Mahatma Gandhi.

圣雄甘地说，“要活就要像明天你就会死去一般活着，”

"Learn as if you'll live forever."

“要学习就要好像你会永远活着一般学习。”

This is what I'm passionate about. It is precisely this.

这就是我的热情之所在。

It is this inextinguishable, undaunted appetite for learning and experience,

一种对知识和经验的坚定的无畏的渴望，

no matter how risible, no matter how esoteric,

无论多么滑稽，无论多么专业，

no matter how seditious it might seem.

无论看上去多么有煽动性。

This defines the imagined futures of our fellow Hungarians --

这决定了匈牙利人想象中的未来。

Robicsek, Teszler and Bartok -- as it does my own.

罗宾斯克先生，特兹勒先生，巴托克先生和我都是这样的。

As it does, I suspect, that of everybody here.

我想在座的各位都是这样的。

To which I need only add, "Ez a mi munkank; es nem is keves."

我只想说"Ez a mi munkank; es nem is keves."

This is our task; we know it will be hard.

这就是我们的任务，虽然非常艰巨。

"Ez a mi munkank; es nem is keves. Jó napot, pacák!" (Applause)

"Ez a mi munkank; es nem is keves." Yo napot, pacak!