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畢加索说，“优秀的艺术家借鉴，伟大的艺术家偷窃。”诺贝尔奖得主、时任美国能源部长朱棣文借用这句话在2009年哈佛大学毕业典礼的致辞中表达了自己对年轻一代的殷切希望。此外，他特别提醒大家警惕日益严峻的气候问题，以及人类对于地球能源的过度消耗，充分展现了一位大科学家的人文情怀。
2009 Commencement Address at Harvard University by U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu1美国时任能源部长朱棣文2009年在哈佛大学毕业典礼上的致辞
Madam President Faust， members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers2， faculty， family， friends， and， most importantly， today’s graduates. Thank you for letting me share this wonderful day with you. 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.3 The year before， Bill Gates， the mega-billionaire philanthropist and computer nerd stood here.4 Today， sadly， you have me. I am not wealthy， but at least I am a nerd.
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.
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.
Second， authors who borrow from others are following in the footsteps of the best. Ralph Waldo Emerson5， who graduated from Harvard at the age of 18， noted “All my best thoughts were stolen by the ancients.” Picasso6 declared “Good artists borrow. Great artists steal.” Why should commencement speakers be held to a higher standard？
My address will follow the classical sonata form of commencement addresses.7 The first movement8， just presented， were light-hearted remarks. This next movement consists of unsolicited9 advice， which is rarely valued， seldom remembered， never followed. As Oscar Wilde10 said， “The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself.” So， here comes the advice. First， every time you celebrate an achievement， be thankful to those who made it possible. Thank your parents and friends who supported you， thank your professors who were inspirational， and especially thank the other professors whose less-than-brilliant lectures forced you to teach yourself.11 Going forward， the ability to teach yourself is the hallmark of a great liberal arts education and will be the key to your success.12 To your fellow students who have added immeasurably to your education during those late night discussions， hug them. Also， of course， thank Harvard. Should you forget， there’s an alumni association13 to remind you. Second， in your future life， cultivate14 a generous spirit. In all negotiations， don’t bargain for the last， little advantage. Leave the change on the table. In your collaborations， always remember that “credit” is not a conserved quantity15. In a successful collaboration， everybody gets 90 percent of the credit. Jimmy Stewart， as Elwood P. Dowd in the movie Harvey got it exactly right.16 He said： “Years ago my mother used to say to me， ‘In this world， Elwood， you must be... she always used to call me Elwood... in this world， Elwood， you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.’” Well， for years I was smart... I recommend pleasant. You may quote me on that.
My third piece of advice is as follows： As you begin this new stage of your lives， follow your passion. If you don’t have a passion， don’t be satisfied until you find one. Life is too short to go through it without caring deeply about something. When I was your age， I was incredibly single-minded in my goal to be a physicist. After college， I spent eight years as a graduate student and postdoc at Berkeley， and then nine years at Bell Labs.17 During that time， my central focus and professional joy was physics.
Here is my final piece of advice. Pursuing a personal passion is important， but it should not be your only goal. When you are old and gray， and look back on your life， you will want to be proud of what you have done. The source of that pride won’t be the things you have acquired or the recognition you have received. It will be the lives you have touched and the difference you have made.
In the last several decades， our climate has been changing. If the world continues on a business-asusual path， the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that there is a fifty-fifty chance the temperature will exceed five degrees by the end of this century.18 This increase may not sound like much， but let me remind you that during the last ice age， the world was only six degrees colder. A world five degrees warmer will be very different. The change will be so rapid that many species， including Humans， will have a hard time adapting.
The climate problem is the unintended consequence of our success. We depend on fossil energy19 to keep our homes warm in the winter， cool in the summer， and lit at night； we use it to travel across town and across continents. Energy is a fundamental reason for the prosperity we enjoy， and we will not surrender this prosperity.20 The United States has three percent of the world population， and yet， we consume 25 percent of the energy. By contrast， there are 1.6 billion people who don’t have access to electricity. Hundreds of millions of people still cook with twigs or dung.21 The life we enjoy may not be within the reach of the developing world， but it is within sight， and they want what we have. Here is the dilemma22. How much are we willing to invest， as a world society， to mitigate23 the consequences of climate change？ Deeply rooted in all cultures， is the notion of generational responsibility. Parents work hard so that their children will have a better life. Climate change will affect the entire world， but our natural focus is on the welfare24 of our immediate families. Can we， as a world society， meet our responsibility to future generations？
While I am worried， I am hopeful we will solve this problem. I became the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory， in part because I wanted to enlist some of the best scientific minds to help battle against climate change.25 That’s where you come in. In this address， I am asking you， the Harvard graduates， to join us. As our future intellectual leaders， take the time to learn more about what’s at stake26， and then act on that knowledge.
Finally， as humanists， I ask that you speak to our common humanity. One of the cruelest ironies about climate change is that the ones who will be hurt the most are the most innocent： the world’s poorest and those yet to be born.27
Graduates， you have an extraordinary role to play in our future. As you pursue your private passions， I hope you will also develop a passion and a voice to help the world in ways both large and small. Nothing will give you greater satisfaction.
Please accept my warmest congratulations. May you prosper28， may you help preserve and save our planet for your children， and all future children of the world.
1. commencement： 毕业典礼；Steven Chu：朱棣文（1948— ），美籍华裔科学家，1997年诺贝尔物理奖获得者，曾任奥巴马政府能源部长（2009—2013）。
2. the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers： 哈佛大学理事会和监事会。
3. grace： 使增色，使生辉；podium： 讲台。
4. mega-billionaire： 超级富翁，mega意为“巨大的”；philanthropist：/
/ 慈善家；nerd：（理工科学科的）爱好者，（尤指）电脑迷。
5. Ralph Waldo Emerson： 拉尔夫·沃尔多·爱默生（1803—1882），美国著名思想家、文学家，被誉为“确立美国文化精神的代表人物”。
6. Picasso： 巴勃罗·毕加索（1881—1973），西班牙画家、雕塑家，20世纪现代艺术的主要代表人物之一。
7. 毕业典礼演讲都遵循古典奏鸣曲的结构，我也不例外。sonata： //奏鸣曲。
8. movement：（尤指交响乐的）乐章。
9. unsolicited： // 主动提供的。
10. Oscar Wilde： 奥斯卡·王尔德（1854—1900），爱尔兰作家、诗人、剧作家，英国唯美主义艺术运动的倡导者，以短诗、小说《道林·格雷的画像》及戏剧作品闻名。
11. inspirational： 鼓舞人心的，有啟发的；less-than-brilliant： 不够精彩的，较为枯燥的。
12. hallmark： 标志，特点；liberal arts education： 通识教育，人文教育。 13. alumni association： 校友会。
14. cultivate： 培养，陶冶。
15. conserved quantity： 守恒量。
16. Jimmy Stewart： 吉米·史都华，詹姆斯·史都华的昵称（James Stewart， 1908—1997），美国男演员，美国空军准将，毕业于普林斯顿大学建筑系；Elwood P. Dowd： 艾尔·伍德，电影《我的朋友叫哈维》的男主人公；Harvey ：《我的朋友叫哈维》，1950年上映的美国奇幻喜剧电影，讲述的是主人公伍德和他的隐形好友—— 一只六英尺三英寸高的兔子——之间的故事。
17. postdoc： 博士后（即postdoctoral）；Berkeley：指加州大学伯克利分校；Bell Labs： 贝尔实验室，1925年成立，美国著名技术研发机构，科研成果八次获得诺贝尔奖。
18. 如果全世界按照现有的经济模式发展下去，联合国政府间气候变化专门委员会预测，本世纪末全球气温有一半几率会上升五度。panel：（由选定人员组成的）专门小组，（讨论会、座谈会等的）讨论小组。
19. fossil energy： 化石能源，由古代生物的化石沉淀而来的不可再生能源，包括煤炭、石油和天然气。
20. prosperity： 繁荣，成功；surrender： 交出，让与。
21. twig： 小树枝；dung：（大象、奶牛等大型动物的）粪便。
22. dilemma：（进退两难的）困境。
23. mitigate： 使缓和，使减轻。
24. welfare： 福利。
25. the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory： 劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室，位于加州大学伯克利分校，隶属于美国能源部；enlist： 谋求……的帮助。
26. at stake： 在危急关头，成问题。
27. 气候变化带来的一个最残酷的讽刺就是，最受伤的人恰恰就是那些最无辜的人——世界上最貧穷的和尚未出生的人。
28. prosper： 成功，蒸蒸日上。
2009 Commencement Address at Harvard University by U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu1美国时任能源部长朱棣文2009年在哈佛大学毕业典礼上的致辞
Madam President Faust， members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers2， faculty， family， friends， and， most importantly， today’s graduates. Thank you for letting me share this wonderful day with you. 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.3 The year before， Bill Gates， the mega-billionaire philanthropist and computer nerd stood here.4 Today， sadly， you have me. I am not wealthy， but at least I am a nerd.
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.
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.
Second， authors who borrow from others are following in the footsteps of the best. Ralph Waldo Emerson5， who graduated from Harvard at the age of 18， noted “All my best thoughts were stolen by the ancients.” Picasso6 declared “Good artists borrow. Great artists steal.” Why should commencement speakers be held to a higher standard？
My address will follow the classical sonata form of commencement addresses.7 The first movement8， just presented， were light-hearted remarks. This next movement consists of unsolicited9 advice， which is rarely valued， seldom remembered， never followed. As Oscar Wilde10 said， “The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself.” So， here comes the advice. First， every time you celebrate an achievement， be thankful to those who made it possible. Thank your parents and friends who supported you， thank your professors who were inspirational， and especially thank the other professors whose less-than-brilliant lectures forced you to teach yourself.11 Going forward， the ability to teach yourself is the hallmark of a great liberal arts education and will be the key to your success.12 To your fellow students who have added immeasurably to your education during those late night discussions， hug them. Also， of course， thank Harvard. Should you forget， there’s an alumni association13 to remind you. Second， in your future life， cultivate14 a generous spirit. In all negotiations， don’t bargain for the last， little advantage. Leave the change on the table. In your collaborations， always remember that “credit” is not a conserved quantity15. In a successful collaboration， everybody gets 90 percent of the credit. Jimmy Stewart， as Elwood P. Dowd in the movie Harvey got it exactly right.16 He said： “Years ago my mother used to say to me， ‘In this world， Elwood， you must be... she always used to call me Elwood... in this world， Elwood， you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.’” Well， for years I was smart... I recommend pleasant. You may quote me on that.
My third piece of advice is as follows： As you begin this new stage of your lives， follow your passion. If you don’t have a passion， don’t be satisfied until you find one. Life is too short to go through it without caring deeply about something. When I was your age， I was incredibly single-minded in my goal to be a physicist. After college， I spent eight years as a graduate student and postdoc at Berkeley， and then nine years at Bell Labs.17 During that time， my central focus and professional joy was physics.
Here is my final piece of advice. Pursuing a personal passion is important， but it should not be your only goal. When you are old and gray， and look back on your life， you will want to be proud of what you have done. The source of that pride won’t be the things you have acquired or the recognition you have received. It will be the lives you have touched and the difference you have made.
In the last several decades， our climate has been changing. If the world continues on a business-asusual path， the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that there is a fifty-fifty chance the temperature will exceed five degrees by the end of this century.18 This increase may not sound like much， but let me remind you that during the last ice age， the world was only six degrees colder. A world five degrees warmer will be very different. The change will be so rapid that many species， including Humans， will have a hard time adapting.
The climate problem is the unintended consequence of our success. We depend on fossil energy19 to keep our homes warm in the winter， cool in the summer， and lit at night； we use it to travel across town and across continents. Energy is a fundamental reason for the prosperity we enjoy， and we will not surrender this prosperity.20 The United States has three percent of the world population， and yet， we consume 25 percent of the energy. By contrast， there are 1.6 billion people who don’t have access to electricity. Hundreds of millions of people still cook with twigs or dung.21 The life we enjoy may not be within the reach of the developing world， but it is within sight， and they want what we have. Here is the dilemma22. How much are we willing to invest， as a world society， to mitigate23 the consequences of climate change？ Deeply rooted in all cultures， is the notion of generational responsibility. Parents work hard so that their children will have a better life. Climate change will affect the entire world， but our natural focus is on the welfare24 of our immediate families. Can we， as a world society， meet our responsibility to future generations？
While I am worried， I am hopeful we will solve this problem. I became the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory， in part because I wanted to enlist some of the best scientific minds to help battle against climate change.25 That’s where you come in. In this address， I am asking you， the Harvard graduates， to join us. As our future intellectual leaders， take the time to learn more about what’s at stake26， and then act on that knowledge.
Finally， as humanists， I ask that you speak to our common humanity. One of the cruelest ironies about climate change is that the ones who will be hurt the most are the most innocent： the world’s poorest and those yet to be born.27
Graduates， you have an extraordinary role to play in our future. As you pursue your private passions， I hope you will also develop a passion and a voice to help the world in ways both large and small. Nothing will give you greater satisfaction.
Please accept my warmest congratulations. May you prosper28， may you help preserve and save our planet for your children， and all future children of the world.
1. commencement： 毕业典礼；Steven Chu：朱棣文（1948— ），美籍华裔科学家，1997年诺贝尔物理奖获得者，曾任奥巴马政府能源部长（2009—2013）。
2. the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers： 哈佛大学理事会和监事会。
3. grace： 使增色，使生辉；podium： 讲台。
4. mega-billionaire： 超级富翁，mega意为“巨大的”；philanthropist：/
/ 慈善家；nerd：（理工科学科的）爱好者，（尤指）电脑迷。
5. Ralph Waldo Emerson： 拉尔夫·沃尔多·爱默生（1803—1882），美国著名思想家、文学家，被誉为“确立美国文化精神的代表人物”。
6. Picasso： 巴勃罗·毕加索（1881—1973），西班牙画家、雕塑家，20世纪现代艺术的主要代表人物之一。
7. 毕业典礼演讲都遵循古典奏鸣曲的结构，我也不例外。sonata： //奏鸣曲。
8. movement：（尤指交响乐的）乐章。
9. unsolicited： // 主动提供的。
10. Oscar Wilde： 奥斯卡·王尔德（1854—1900），爱尔兰作家、诗人、剧作家，英国唯美主义艺术运动的倡导者，以短诗、小说《道林·格雷的画像》及戏剧作品闻名。
11. inspirational： 鼓舞人心的，有啟发的；less-than-brilliant： 不够精彩的，较为枯燥的。
12. hallmark： 标志，特点；liberal arts education： 通识教育，人文教育。 13. alumni association： 校友会。
14. cultivate： 培养，陶冶。
15. conserved quantity： 守恒量。
16. Jimmy Stewart： 吉米·史都华，詹姆斯·史都华的昵称（James Stewart， 1908—1997），美国男演员，美国空军准将，毕业于普林斯顿大学建筑系；Elwood P. Dowd： 艾尔·伍德，电影《我的朋友叫哈维》的男主人公；Harvey ：《我的朋友叫哈维》，1950年上映的美国奇幻喜剧电影，讲述的是主人公伍德和他的隐形好友—— 一只六英尺三英寸高的兔子——之间的故事。
17. postdoc： 博士后（即postdoctoral）；Berkeley：指加州大学伯克利分校；Bell Labs： 贝尔实验室，1925年成立，美国著名技术研发机构，科研成果八次获得诺贝尔奖。
18. 如果全世界按照现有的经济模式发展下去，联合国政府间气候变化专门委员会预测，本世纪末全球气温有一半几率会上升五度。panel：（由选定人员组成的）专门小组，（讨论会、座谈会等的）讨论小组。
19. fossil energy： 化石能源，由古代生物的化石沉淀而来的不可再生能源，包括煤炭、石油和天然气。
20. prosperity： 繁荣，成功；surrender： 交出，让与。
21. twig： 小树枝；dung：（大象、奶牛等大型动物的）粪便。
22. dilemma：（进退两难的）困境。
23. mitigate： 使缓和，使减轻。
24. welfare： 福利。
25. the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory： 劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室，位于加州大学伯克利分校，隶属于美国能源部；enlist： 谋求……的帮助。
26. at stake： 在危急关头，成问题。
27. 气候变化带来的一个最残酷的讽刺就是，最受伤的人恰恰就是那些最无辜的人——世界上最貧穷的和尚未出生的人。
28. prosper： 成功，蒸蒸日上。