The World as I See It

我的世界观

How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn¹; for what purpose be 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-being² 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.

我们这些总有一死的人的命运多么奇特！我们每个人在这个世界上都只作一个短暂的逗留；目的何在，却无从知道，尽管有时自以为对此若有所感。但是，不必深思。只要从日常生活就可以明白：人是为别人而生存的——首先是为那样一些人，我们的幸福全部依赖于他们的喜悦和健康；其次是为许多我们所不认识的人，他们的命运通过同情的纽带同我们密切结合在一起。

A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors³ 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 drawn⁴ to a frugal⁵ life and am often oppressively aware that I am engrossing⁶ an undue⁷ amount of the labor of my fellow-men. regard class distinction as unjustified and, in the last resort, based on force. I also believe that a simple and unassuming life is good for everybody, physically⁸ and mentally.

我每天上百次的提醒自己：我的精神生活和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我所领受了的和至今还在领受着的东西。我强烈地向往着俭朴的生活。并且时常发觉自己占用了同胞的过多劳动而难以忍受。我认为阶级的区分是不合理的，它最后所凭借的是以暴力为根据。我也相信，简单淳朴的生活，无论在身体上还是在精神上，对每个人都是有益的。

My passionate⁹ sense of social justice and social responsibility has always contrasted oddly with my pronounced lack of need for direct contact with other human beings and human communities. I am truly a "lone¹⁰ traveler" and have never belonged to my country, my home, my friend, or even my immediate¹¹ family, with my whole heart; in the face of all these ties, I have never lost a sense of distance and a need for solitude-feelings which increase with the years. One becomes sharply aware, but without regret of the limits of mutual¹² understanding and consonance with other people. No doubt, such a person loses some of his innocence¹³ and unconcern; on the other hand, he is largely independent, of the opinions, habits, and judgments¹⁴ of his fellows and avoids the temptation to build his inner equilibrium¹⁵ upon such insecure foundations.

我有强烈的社会正义感和社会责任感。但我又明显地缺乏与别人和社会直接接触的要求，这两者总是形成古怪的对照。我实在是一个"孤独的旅客，我未曾全心全意地属于我的国家、我的家庭、我的朋友，甚至我最为接近的亲人；在所有这些关系面前，我总是感觉到一定距离而且需要保持孤独——而这种感受正与年俱增。人们会清楚地发觉，同别人的相互了解和协调一致是有限度的，但这不值得惋惜。无疑，这样的人在某种程度上会失去他的天真无邪和无忧无虑的心珑；但另一方面，他却能够在很大程度上不为别人的意见、习惯和判断所左右，并且能够避免那种把他的内心平衡建立在这样一些不可靠的基础之上的诱惑。