A Message to Future Generations致未来书

⊙ ByBertrand Russell

翻译：蓝蓝

Suppose,1)Lord Russell, this fi lm which will be looked at by our2)descendants,like a Dead Sea3)Scroll, in a thousand years’ time. What would you think it’s worth telling that generation about the life you’ve lived and the lessons you’ve learned from it?

I should like to say two things—one4)intellectual, and one moral.

The intellectual thing I should want to say to them is this: When you are studying any matter, or considering any philosophy, ask yourself only what are the facts, and what is the truth that the facts5)bear out.

Never let yourself be6)diverted either by what you wish to believe, or by what you think would have7)beneficent social effects if it were believed, but look only and8)solely at what are the facts. That is the intellectual thing that I should wish to say.

The moral thing I should wish to say to them is very simple. I should say: Love is wise; hatred is foolish.

In this world, which is getting more and more closely interconnected, we have to learn to tolerate each other. We have to learn to put up with the fact that some people say things that we don’t like. We can only live together in that way. And if we are to live together and not die together, we must learn a kind of charity and a kind of tolerance, which is absolutely vital to the continuation of human life on this planet.

百科

◆ Dead Sea Scrolls 死海古卷：又称死海文书，泛指1947-1956年间，在死海西北基伯昆兰旷野的山洞里发现的古代文献，它们的发现被称为二十世纪最伟大的考古发现。1947年，死海附近某个小村的儿童在山洞中发现了一些羊皮卷，这些羊皮卷后来被证实是用希伯来文书写的早期犹太教与基督教经文，人们将其统称为死海古卷，是研究犹太教、伊斯兰教、基督教发展史的重要文献资料。

1) lord [lɔːd] n. 老爷，勋爵（对贵族或高级官员的尊称）

2) descendant [dɪˑsend（ə）nt] n. 子孙，后代

3) scroll [skrəʊl] n. 卷轴

4) intellectual [ˌɪntəˑlektʃʊəl] adj.智力的，聪明的，理性的

5) bear out 证实

6) divert [daɪˑvзːt] v. 转向，转移

7) beneficent [bɪˑnefɪsənt] adj. 行善的，有益的

8) solely [ˑsəʊ（l）lɪ] adv. 单独，只是

参考译文

罗素爵士，假设这段录像会被我们的后人看到，如同死海古卷一般，千年之后展现在世人面前——关于您所经历的人生，以及这一生的感悟，您有什么话要对他们那一代人说的吗？

我想说两点，其一关乎理性，其二关乎品德。

关于理性，我想说的是：不管你在研究什么课题，或者思考任何哲学问题，你只需专注于事实本身，以及这些事实所证明的真理。

永远不要让自己被更愿意相信的东西，或是认为人们相信了就会对社会更有益处的东西所影响，单单审视事实本身。关于理性，我想说的就是这些。

关于品德，我想对他们说的话十分简单，那就是：爱为明智，恨为愚蠢。

在这个日益紧密相连的世界，我们必须学会彼此容忍，必须学会接受这样一个事实：总有人会说一些我们不想听的话。只有这样，我们才能共同生存。假如我们渴望的是共存，而不是互相毁灭，我们就必须学会宽厚待人，互相忍让——因为人类要在这个星球上存续下去，这些品德至关重要。