布什于2001年在耶魯大學(xué)畢業(yè)典禮上的演講

布什于2001年在耶魯大學(xué)畢業(yè)典禮上的演講 英文版

President Levin, thank you very much. Dean Brodhead, fellows of the Yale Corporation, fellow Yale parents, families, and graduates:

It’s a special privilege to receive this honorary degree. I was proud 33 years ago to receive my first Yale degree. I’m even prouder that in your eyes I’ve earned this one.

I congratulate my fellow honorees. I’m pleased to share this honor with such a distinguished group. I’m particularly pleased to be here with my friend, the former of Mexico. Senor Presidente, usted es un verdadero lider, y un gran amigo.(Bush addresses former Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo in Spanish)

I congratulate all the parents who are here. It’s a glorious day when your child graduates from college. It’s a great day for you; it’s a great day for your wallet.

Most important, congratulations to the class of 2001. To those of you who received honors, awards, and distinctions, I say, well done. And to the C students—I say, you, too, can be President of the United States. A Yale degree is worth a lot, as I often remind Dick Cheney—who studied here, but left a little early. So now we know—if you graduate from Yale, you become President. If you drop out, you get to be Vice President.

I appreciate so very much the chance to say a few words on this occasion. I know Yale has a tradition of having no commencement speaker. I also know that you’ve carved out a single exception. Most people think that to speak at Yale’s commencement, you have to be President. But over the years, the specifications have become far more demanding. Now you have to be a Yale graduate, you have to be President, and you have had to have lost the Yale vote to Ralph Nader.

This is my first time back here in quite a while. I’m sure that each of you will make your own journey back at least a few times in your life. If you’re like me, you won’t remember everything you did here. That can be a good thing. But there will be some people, and some moments, you will never forget.

Take, for example, my old classmate, Dick Brodhead, the accomplished dean of this great university. I remember him as a young scholar, a bright lad—a hard worker. We both put a lot of time in at the Sterling Library, in the reading room, where they have those big leather couches. We had a mutual understanding—Dick wouldn’t read aloud, and I wouldn’t snore.

Our course selections were different, as we followed our own path to academic discovery. Dick was an English major, and loved the classics. I loved history, and pursued a diversified course of study. I like to think of it as the academic road less traveled. For example, I took a class that studied Japanese Haiku. Haiku, for the uninitiated, is a 15th century form of poetry, each poem having 17 syllables. Haiku is fully understood only by the Zen masters. As I recall, one of my academic advisers was worried about my selection of such a specialized course. He said I should focus on English. I still hear that quite often. But my critics don’t realize I don’t make verbal gaffes. I’m speaking in the perfect forms and rhythms of ancient Haiku.

I did take English here, and I took a class called“The History and Practice of American Oratory,”taught by Rollin G. Osterweis. And, President Levin, I want to give credit where credit is due. I want the entire world to know this—everything I know about the spoken word, I learned right here at Yale.

As a student, I tried to keep a low profile. It worked. Last year the New York Times interviewed John Morton Blum because the record showed I had taken one of his courses. Casting his mind’s eye over the parade of young faces down through the years, Professor Blum said, and I quote,“I don’t have the foggiest recollection of him.”

But I remember Professor Blum. And I still recall his dedication and high standards of learning. In my time there were many great professors at Yale. And there still are. They’re the ones who keep Yale going after the commencements, after we have all gone our separate ways. I’m not sure I remembered to thank them the last time I was here, but now that I have a second chance, I thank the professors of Yale University.

That’s how I’ve come to feel about the Yale experience—grateful. I studied hard, I played hard, and I made a lot of lifelong friends. What stays with you from college is the part of your education you hardly ever notice at the time. It’s the expectations and examples around you, the ideals you believe in, and the friends you make.

In my time, they spoke of the“Yale man”. I was really never sure what that was. But I do think that I’m a better man because of Yale. All universities, at their best, teach that degrees and honors are far from the full measure of life. Nor is that measure taken in wealth or in titles. What matters most are the standards you live by, the consideration you show others, and the way you use the gifts you are given.

Now you leave Yale behind, carrying the written proof of your success here, at a college older than America. When I left here, I didn’t have much in the way of a life plan. I knew some people who thought they did. But it turned out that we were all in for ups and downs, most of them unexpected. Life takes its own turns, makes its own demands, writes its own story. And along the way, we start to realize we are not the author.

We begin to understand that life is ours to live, but not to waste, and that the greatest rewards are found in the commitments we make with our whole hearts—to the people we love and to the causes that earn our sacrifice. I hope that each of you will know these rewards. I hope you will find them in your own way and your own time.

For some, that might mean some time in public service. And if you hear that calling, I hope you answer. Each of you has unique gifts and you were given them for a reason. Use them and share them. Public service is one way—an honorable way—to mark your life with meaning.

Today I visit not only my alma mater, but the city of my birth. My life began just a few blocks from here, but I was raised in West Texas. From there, Yale always seemed a world away, maybe a part of my future. Now it’s part of my past, and Yale for me is a source of great pride.

I hope that there will come a time for you to return to Yale to say that, and feel as I do today. And I hope you won’t wait as long.

Congratulations and God bless.

布什于2001年在耶魯大學(xué)畢業(yè)典禮上的演講 中文版

雷文校長，非常感謝。布羅德黑德主任，耶魯大學(xué)的董事們，耶魯大學(xué)學(xué)子的家長們、家人們，畢業(yè)生們：

能獲此榮譽學(xué)位，我感到不勝榮幸。三十三年前我驕傲地獲得了我的第一個耶魯學(xué)位，這次我更為能在你們面前獲此榮譽學(xué)位而驕傲。

祝賀你們，與我同獲殊榮的人們。我很高興能和如此杰出的團體共享這份榮譽，尤其是能和墨西哥前總統(tǒng)一起在這里分享?？偨y(tǒng)先生，您是一位真正的領(lǐng)袖和偉大的朋友。(布什用西班牙語對墨西哥前總統(tǒng)埃內(nèi)斯托·塞迪略說)

祝賀你們，在場的所有家長們。今天是你們的孩子大學(xué)畢業(yè)光輝燦爛的日子，對你們來說是難得的日子，對你們的錢袋也是不同尋常的一天。

最重要的是，祝賀2001級。祝賀你們中曾獲得過榮譽、獎金和榮銜的人，你們的確非常出色。同時也祝賀成績C等的同學(xué)們，你們也能成為美國總統(tǒng)。耶魯學(xué)位價值不菲。我時常這么提醒切尼，他在早年也短暫就讀于此。所以，我想提醒正就讀于耶魯?shù)妮份穼W(xué)子，如果你們從耶魯順利畢業(yè)，你們也許可以當上總統(tǒng);如果你們中途輟學(xué)，那么你們只能當副總統(tǒng)了。

能有機會在這個盛會上發(fā)言真是榮幸之至，我知道耶魯?shù)膫鹘y(tǒng)是學(xué)位頒授典禮上沒有演講者的。我也知道你們開創(chuàng)了一個例外。多數(shù)人認為要在耶魯學(xué)位頒授典禮上演講必須是總統(tǒng)，但是這么多年來規(guī)格要求越來越高。現(xiàn)在必須是耶魯畢業(yè)的，必須是總統(tǒng)，必須是曾與拉爾夫·內(nèi)德競選時喪失過耶魯選票的。

許久以來，這是我第一次返回母校，我相信你們每個人一生中都會回來幾次。如果你們像我一樣，你們在這兒經(jīng)歷的事就不會樣樣記得。這也許是一件好事，但是有些人和事你們永遠不會忘記。

比如，我的老同學(xué)迪克·布羅德黑德，這位學(xué)識淵博、才華橫溢的主任。我記得他那時是一位年輕學(xué)者，聰明的年輕人，一位學(xué)習(xí)很努力的人。我們倆傾注了大量時間在斯特靈圖書館和閱覽室，記得那里有張大長皮沙發(fā)。我們有個君子協(xié)定，迪克不會大聲朗讀干擾我，我不會打呼嚕影響他。

我們選擇的課程不同，因為我們各自按照自己的道路進行學(xué)術(shù)探索。迪克主修英語，他喜歡經(jīng)典名著。我喜歡歷史，尋求多樣化的學(xué)習(xí)課程，并愿意將其視為較少有人涉足的學(xué)術(shù)道路。比如，當時我選修了日本俳句課。俳句對外行人來說，只是15世紀的一種詩歌形式，每首有17個音節(jié)。俳句只有禪學(xué)大師才能完全領(lǐng)會。在我的記憶中，就有一位學(xué)術(shù)顧問對我選擇這么一門專業(yè)課感到擔憂。他說我應(yīng)該集中精力學(xué)習(xí)英語，這個建議現(xiàn)在仍然經(jīng)常聽到。但是我的批評者們沒有注意到我并非經(jīng)?？谡`失言，我只是在以古老俳句的完美形式和節(jié)奏演講。

我的確是在這里掌握了英語，并選修了由羅林·G.奧斯特維斯執(zhí)教的被稱為“美國演講的歷史與實踐”的課程。雷文校長，我認為該贊美的就要贊美。我想讓全世界知道，我在演講方面所掌握的一切都是在耶魯這里學(xué)到的。

做學(xué)生時，我盡力保持低姿態(tài)，果然有效。去年《紐約時報》采訪了約翰·莫頓·布盧姆，因為有記載表明，我曾經(jīng)選修過他的課。這么多年過去了，布盧姆教授在記憶中搜尋這群年輕人的面孔，但他的回答是：“我一點兒也記不起他。”

不過，我記得布盧姆教授，我仍然記得他的奉獻精神和高深的學(xué)識。在我就讀期間，耶魯大學(xué)有許多偉大的教授，當然現(xiàn)在仍然擁有。在學(xué)位頒授典禮之后，我們各奔前程，是他們使耶魯繼續(xù)充滿活力。我記不清上次來這里時是否向他們表達過謝意，但現(xiàn)在既然我又有一次機會，我要說謝謝耶魯大學(xué)的教授們。

這就是我對耶魯生活經(jīng)歷的感受——感激。我努力學(xué)習(xí)，盡情玩耍，交了許多終生的朋友。大學(xué)生活給予你們并使你們受益終生的，是你們當時幾乎不曾注意到的那部分教育，是期望，是你們周圍的榜樣，是你們信仰的理想和你們所交的朋友。

我們那時人們常說“耶魯人”，我真的不知道那意味著什么。但我確實認為正是因為耶魯，我才更加杰出。所有大學(xué)最好的教育是使我們懂得學(xué)位和榮譽遠不是衡量生活的全部標準，財富和頭銜也不是標準。至關(guān)重要的是你生活的標準，你對他人的關(guān)愛和你對天賦才能的使用方式。

現(xiàn)在你們將離耶魯而去，帶著記載你在一所比美國還要悠久的大學(xué)里獲得成功的證書離去。當我離開這里的時候，對未來生活道路沒有太多的計劃。我知道有些人自認為是有的，但結(jié)果是我們都會遇到坎坷不平，幸運和不幸，其中多數(shù)是始料未及的。生活總是變幻莫測，不斷提出要求，書寫自己的故事。在這條道路上，我們開始認識到我們不是作者。

我們開始懂得生命是讓我們用來生活的，而不是用來浪費的，懂得最大的獎賞在于我們?nèi)硇牡母冻?mdash;—對我們所愛的人和值得我們?yōu)橹疇奚氖聵I(yè)的付出。我希望你們都能領(lǐng)會這種獎賞。我希望你們能在自己的一生中，以你們的方式獲得這種獎賞。

對于有些人也許意味著在公共部門工作一段時日。一旦聽到號召，我希望你們能夠響應(yīng)。你們每個人都有獨特的才能，而才能賦予你們是有原由的。使用它們并與人分享，公共服務(wù)只是一種方式——一種光榮的方式——使你們的生命富有意義。

今天我不僅參觀了我的母校，而且參觀了我出生的城市。我的生命開始于離這里僅幾個街區(qū)的地方，但我成長于西得克薩斯。從那里看，耶魯一直恍若隔世之遙，也許只能成為我的未來。而現(xiàn)在它成為了我的過去，耶魯對我來說是驕傲的源泉。

我希望有一天你們回到耶魯時，會和我說同樣的話，并且和我今天有同樣的感受。我希望這一天你們不會等得太久。

祝賀你們，愿上帝保佑你們。