The World as I See It 我的世界觀

By Albert Einstein

How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he 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-being 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. A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors 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 drawn to a frugal life and am often oppressively aware that I am engrossing an undue amount of the labor of my fellowmen. I regard class distinctions as unjustified and, in the last resort, based on force. I also believe that a simple and unassuming life is good for everybody, physically and mentally.

我們這些肉體凡胎是多么奇怪啊!每個人來到這個世上都只作短暫停留，究竟為了什么目的卻無從知曉，雖然有時覺得自己好像有所感悟。但是，無需深入思考，僅從日常生活就可明白，人是為他人而存在的——首先是為這樣一些人：他們的歡笑、健康和福祉與我們的幸福息息相關;其次是為那些為數眾多的陌生人，因為同情他們，使得我們與他們的命運聯系在了一起。每一天，我都上百次地提醒自己，我的精神和物質生活都是建立在他人(包括生者和死者)的勞動基礎上，對于我已經得到和正在得到的一切，我必須盡力給以相同程度的回報。我深深向往一種儉樸的生活，由于經常意識到自己占用了同胞太多的勞動而心有不安。我認為階級區分是不正當的，其最終的達成方式常常訴諸暴力。我還認為，無論是在身體上還是心理上，過一種簡單而不鋪張浪費的生活對每個人都有好處。

I do not at all believe in human freedom in the philosophical sense. Everybody acts not only under external compulsion but also in accordance with inner necessity. Schopenhauer’s saying, “A man can do what he wants, but not want what he wants,” has been a very real inspiration to me since my youth; it has been a continual consolation in the face of life’s hardships, my own and others’, and an unfailing wellspring of tolerance. This realization mercifully mitigates the easily paralyzing sense of responsibility and prevents us from taking ourselves and other people all too seriously; it is conducive to a view of life which, in particular, gives humor its due. 我完全不相信哲學意義上的人的自由。每個人的行為不僅受外在力量的約束，還要與內在需求協調一致。叔本華說：“人可以任意而為，卻不能心想事成。”這句話從我年輕時起就一直深深地啟發著我。在面對生活的艱辛時——無論是我自己還是他人的艱辛，這句話總能不斷地給我安慰，成為永不枯竭的忍耐的源泉。這一認識能夠仁慈地緩和那份令人幾欲崩潰的責任感，并防止我們太把自己或者他人當回事，還有助于形成一種尤其幽默的人生觀。