David McCullough, Jr.

– ‘You Are Not Special’ At Wellesley High Commencement

Dr. Wong, Dr. Keough, Mrs. Novogroski, Ms. Curran, members of the board of
education, family and friends of the graduates, ladies and gentlemen of the Wellesley
High School class of 2012, for the privilege of speaking to you this afternoon, I am
honored and grateful. Thank you.

Dr. Wong、Dr. Keough、Mrs. Novogroski、Ms. Curran、教育會的委員、畢業生

的家人朋友們、威爾斯利高中 2012 畢業班的女士先生們，我很榮幸也十分感激
能有這個機會在這個下午對你們致詞。謝謝。

So here we are… commencement… life’s great forward-looking ceremony. And

don’t say, “What about weddings?” Weddings are one-sided and insufficiently
effective. Weddings are bride-centric pageantry. Other than conceding to a list of
unreasonable demands, the groom just stands there. No stately,
hey-everybody-look-at-me procession. No being given away1. No identity-changing
pronouncement.

為了畢業典禮 － 生命中重要的前瞻性儀式，我們齊聚於此。不要問：「那麼
婚禮呢？」婚禮是單方面的、而且常常效果不佳。婚禮是以新娘為中心的盛會。
除了容許一連串不怎麼合理的要求外，新郎通常只能杵在那兒。沒有莊重的、
讓大家注視你的隊伍行進，沒有不捨送別， 沒有稱謂變換的身分宣告。

And can you imagine a television show dedicated to watching guys try on tuxedos?
Their fathers sitting there misty-eyed with joy and disbelief, their brothers lurking in
the corner muttering with envy. Left to men, weddings would be, after limits-testing
procrastination, spontaneous, almost inadvertent… during halftime… on the way to
the refrigerator. And then there’s the frequency of failure: statistics tell us half of you
will get divorced. A winning percentage like that’ll get you last place in the American
League East. The Baltimore Orioles do better than weddings.

而且，你能想像專給觀眾欣賞男士們穿燕尾服的電視節目嗎？他們的父親坐在
那裡，眼眶中打轉喜悅與懷疑的淚水。他們的兄弟溜到角落，低聲嘀咕、語帶
羨慕。在幾經耐性大考驗的拖延後，如果讓男士們結論，婚禮只是，在超級盃
中場休息時，接近冰箱打開飲料那樣的無關緊要。其次，婚姻是有其失敗率：
數據指出有一半的在座各位將會離婚。婚姻成功的機率低到讓你穩坐美聯東區
爐主。連巴爾的摩金鶯隊的勝率都比婚姻來的高。

But this ceremony… commencement… a commencement works every time. From

this day forward… truly… in sickness and in health, through financial fiascos,
through midlife crises and passably attractive sales reps at trade shows in Cincinnati,

1
Give away (在婚禮儀式中) 將新娘交給新郎。
Page 1
(parents get that) through diminishing tolerance for annoyingness, through every
difference, irreconcilable and otherwise, you will stay forever graduated from high
school, you and your diploma as one, ‘til death do you part.

可是畢業典禮這個儀式，每次都順利圓滿。從今爾後，真的，不管你經歷生病
或健康、財務困難、中年危機，還是在 Cincinnati 的展售會遇到長相尚可的銷售
代表(家長心知肚明)，或對事物容忍度越來越低、也許遭遇到可解決的或束手
無策的各種改變，不管怎樣，你都確確實實地從這所高中畢業了。你，與你的
文憑合為一體，至死不渝。

No, commencement is life’s great ceremonial beginning, with its own attendant and
highly appropriate symbolism. Fitting, for example, for this auspicious rite of passage,
is where we find ourselves this afternoon, the venue. Normally, I avoid clichés like
the plague, wouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot pole2, but here we are on a literal
level playing field3. That matters. That says something. And your ceremonial
costume… shapeless, uniform, one-size-fits-all. Whether male or female, tall or short,
scholar or slacker, spray-tanned prom queen or intergalactic X-Box assassin, each of
you is dressed, you’ll notice, exactly the same. And your diploma… but for your
name, exactly the same.

然而，畢業典禮只是生命中偉大儀式性的開端，有其自身附加意義與高度象徵
性的意涵。例如，在這個會場上－喜洋洋的成年禮上－我們都替自己找到一個
立足點。按慣例，我會極力迴避所謂的陳腔濫調，甚至“連碰都不想碰”，但
此刻我們處在公平競爭的競技場，這句陳腔濫調就顯得有價值，它透露某重要
訊息。看看你們的典禮服裝，不具造型、大小一致。不管是男女、高矮、讀書
或不會讀書、皮膚曬成棕褐色的舞會女王還是 X-Box 的星際刺客，你們每個人，
注意到了嗎，都穿著一模一樣的衣服。你的文憑，除了你的名字外，也都長得
完全相同。

All of this is as it should be, because none of you is special. You’re not special. You
are not exceptional.
這一切本應如此，因為你，並不特別。你並不特別，你並不與眾不同。

Contrary to what your U94 soccer trophy suggests, your glowing 7th grade report
card, despite every assurance of a certain corpulent purple dinosaur, that nice Mister
Rogers and your batty Aunt Sylvia, no matter how often your maternal caped
crusader has swooped in to save you… you’re nothing special.

2
not touch … with a ten-foot pole 就是一種 clichés，意指不想干涉或介入。
3
level playing field 說法源於美式足球，後泛用於職場，指公平競爭的賽場。此
也指畢業生腳下那片平坦的草地，意指每個人立足點相同。一語雙關。
4
U9 soccer，U9 = under 9 years old，即九歲以下之足球賽。
Page 2
儘管你有座 U9 足球獎杯，有張閃閃發亮的七年級成績單，而且你確信世上存
在著紫色肥胖恐龍，還有那位笑咪咪的 Rogers 先生，以及瘋狂的 Sylvia 阿姨，
儘管你的女超人屢屢從天上飛下來救你，很抱歉…你仍 是沒什麼特別的。

Yes, you’ve been pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, bubble-wrapped. Yes,
capable adults with other things to do have held you, kissed you, fed you, wiped your
mouth, wiped your bottom, trained you, taught you, tutored you, coached you,
listened to you, counseled you, encouraged you, consoled you and encouraged you
again. You’ve been nudged, cajoled, wheedled and implored. You’ve been feted and
fawned over and called sweetie pie.

是的，你一直養尊處優、嬌生慣養、被溺愛、被保護、被美麗泡泡圍繞。是的，
那些被公務纏身的大人們，總把你捧在手心、親吻你、餵養你、幫你擦嘴巴、
替你擦屁股、訓練你、教導你、引導你、指導你、聆聽你、輔導你、鼓勵你、
安慰你，然後再一次地鼓勵你。你曾被人輕推示好、被巧語哄騙、被熱情款待、
被奉承討好，甚至被親暱喊作甜心派。

Yes, you have. And, certainly, we’ve been to your games, your plays, your recitals,
your science fairs. Absolutely, smiles ignite when you walk into a room, and
hundreds gasp with delight at your every tweet. Why, maybe you’ve even had your
picture in the Townsman5. And now you’ve conquered high school… and,
indisputably, here we all have gathered for you, the pride and joy of this fine
community, the first to emerge from that magnificent new building…

是的，你有過。而且，我們都去過：你們的比賽、你們的戲劇、你們的獨奏會、
你們的科學展覽。當你走進房間看到每個人臉上掛起笑容、當你隨便發則推特
文章底下就響起數百個讚聲，甚至 Townsman 還曾刊出你的照片。而現在，你
完成了高中學業，無庸置疑地，我們全為了 你－身為學校的榮耀和喜悅，身為
第一位擺脫那座宏偉新大樓的學生－ 而聚集在這裡。

But do not get the idea you’re anything special. Because you’re not.
但，千萬不要以為你就有什麼特別的，因為你並沒有。

The empirical evidence is everywhere, numbers even an English teacher can’t ignore.
Newton, Natick, Nee… I am allowed to say Needham6, yes? …that has to be two
thousand high school graduates right there, give or take, and that’s just the
neighborhood N’s. Across the country no fewer than 3.2 million seniors are
graduating about now from more than 37,000 high schools.

5
Townsman 為威爾斯利中學社區的一份刊物，也有網路版。
6
Newton, Natick, Needham 皆是附近的中學
Page 3
實證無所不在。這數據甚至連英文老師都不會忽略。Newton, Natick, Nee⋯我
可以提「Needham」嗎？光是這裡就有將近 2000 個高中畢業生，而且這還只是
鄰近社區而已。此時此刻，全美有超過 320 萬個高中生 從 3 萬 7 千所高中畢業。

That’s 37,000 valedictorians… that’s 37,000 class presidents… 92,000 harmonizing

altos… 340,000 swaggering jocks… 2,185,967 pairs of Uggs. But why limit
ourselves to high school? After all, you’re leaving it. So think about this: even if
you’re one in a million, on a planet of 6.8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000
people just like you. Imagine standing somewhere over there on Washington Street
on Marathon Monday and watching 6,800 ‘yous’ go running by.

這意味，3 萬 7 千位畢業生代表。3 萬 7 千位學生會長。9 萬 2 千位和聲男高音。

34 萬個體育健將。281 萬雙靴子。然而，為何把視野侷限在高中呢？畢竟你將
離開這個地方。所以，試著這樣想：即便你是百萬中選一的菁英，但地球上有
68 億人口，那代表這世界上有將近 7 千個 像你這樣的人。想像自己：站在舉辦
星期一馬拉松的華盛頓街道， 然後看著 6 千 8 百個「你」從你身旁擦身而過。

And consider for a moment the bigger picture: your planet, I’ll remind you, is not the
center of its solar system, your solar system is not the center of its galaxy, your
galaxy is not the center of the universe. In fact, astrophysicists assure us the universe
has no center; therefore, you cannot be it.[applause] Neither can Donald Trump…
which someone should tell him… although the hair is quite a phenomenon.

接著，把視野再拉大一點：你所處的地球－容我提醒你－並不是太陽系的中心。
你的太陽系也不是銀河系的中心。你的銀河系更不是這宇宙的中心。事實上，
太空物理學家們向大家保証，宇宙並沒有所謂的中心。 因此，你也不可能會是。
當然，Donald Trump 也不會是…儘管他的頭髮還蠻酷炫的，或許某人應該告訴
他這個事實。

“But, Dave,” you cry, “Walt Whitman tells me I’m my own version of perfect!
Epictetus tells me I have the spark of Zeus!” And I don’t disagree. So that makes 6.8
billion examples of perfection, 6.8 billion sparks of Zeus. You see, if everyone is
special, then no one is. If everyone gets a trophy, trophies become meaningless.

「但，大衛老師」你高聲說「惠特曼(美國詩人)告訴我，我是自己的完美版本。
艾匹克提塔斯(古希臘賢人)也說，我擁有宙斯的火花。」對此我不反對。按照
這個說法，這世上便有 68 億個完美版本，有 68 億道宙斯的火花。你明白了嗎，
當每個人都是特別的，便沒有人是 特別的了。如果每個人都拿到獎盃，那獎盃
將毫無意義。

In our unspoken but not so subtle Darwinian competition with one another — which

Page 4
springs, I think, from our fear of our own insignificance, a subset of our dread of
mortality — we have of late, we Americans, to our detriment, come to love accolades
more than genuine achievement. We have come to see them as the point — and we’re
happy to compromise standards, or ignore reality, if we suspect that’s the quickest
way, or only way, to have something to put on the mantelpiece, something to pose
with, crow about, something with which to leverage ourselves into a better spot on
the social totem pole7.

近來，在從不明說卻顯而易見的“達爾文競爭模式”— 對此，我相信它源自於
人類，對自身渺小的恐懼與害怕死亡的某種心態 — 顯示出，喜愛讚美大過於
真實成就，有害於我們美國人。我們必須對以下幾點持如上態度 -我們總樂於
妥協標準、忽視事實，即便以為這是最快或是唯一的方式，擁有‘能放在壁爐
架上、能拍照留念、能自誇自擂’或者‘能讓我們在社會圖騰柱取得更好位置’
的某件物品。

No longer is it how you play the game, no longer is it even whether you win or lose,
or learn or grow, or enjoy yourself doing it… Now it’s “So what does this get me?”
As a consequence, we cheapen worthy endeavors, and building a Guatemalan
medical clinic becomes more about the application to Bowdoin than the well-being of
Guatemalans.

我們不再在乎：如何比賽、勝還是負、成長與學習、或是從中獲得樂趣。我們
所關心的變成：「這件事給我什麼好處？」如此一來，我們只會把每一份努力
變得廉價，對於興建瓜地馬拉醫療中心，我們把焦點放在 對於 Bowdoin 大學
的推甄申請，而非瓜地馬拉人的福祉。

It’s an epidemic — and in its way, not even dear old Wellesley High is immune…
one of the best of the 37,000 nationwide, Wellesley High School… where good is no
longer good enough, where a B is the new C, and the mid-level curriculum is called
Advanced College Placement. And I hope you caught me when I said “one of the
best.” I said “one of the best” so we can feel better about ourselves, so we can bask in
a little easy distinction, however vague and unverifiable, and count ourselves among
the elite, whoever they might be, and enjoy a perceived leg up on the perceived
competition. But the phrase defies logic. By definition – by definition there can be
only one best. You’re it or you’re not.

這種想法是具傳染性，連我們這間歷史悠久、全美 3 萬 7 千所高中裡最好之一
的 Wellesley 高中也無法倖免。在這裡，我們覺得好還要更好，乙等頂多算是
丙等，中等學程其實是大學預修課程。我希望你們注意到 我剛剛提到的「最好
之一」這個說法。我之所以說「最好之一」，因為這使我們得以自我感覺良好，
使我們沉浸在草率分類下所帶來的喜悅，儘管模糊且缺乏考證。我們以為自己
7
social totem pole 類似 social ladder，指一個人在群體裡的位階。
Page 5
是菁英之一，先不論這些菁英身分為何，然後在自我想像的競賽裡，享受自己
處於領先地位。但這句話其實沒有邏輯，照道理講，最好的只有一個，是就是，
不是就不是。

If you’ve learned anything in your years here I hope it’s that education should be for,
rather than material advantage, the exhilaration of learning. You’ve learned, too, I
hope, as Sophocles assured us, that wisdom is the chief element of happiness. Second
is ice cream… just a – just an fyi. I also hope you’ve learned enough to recognize
how little you know… how little you know now… at the moment… for today is just
the beginning. It’s where you go from here that matters.

在學校的這些年，如果你曾經學過什麼，我希望你學到的是：教育的真義在於
學習的樂趣，而非世俗的收穫。我希望你體會到索福克里斯曾說過的「智慧是
快樂的主要成分」這句話。第二成分是冰淇淋…純粹…僅供參考。我也希望，
你懂得承認你的所知有限。沒錯…這一刻，你的所知有限。今天只是個開端，
日後的不斷學習才是關鍵。

As you commence, then, and before you scatter to the winds, I urge you to do
whatever you do for no reason other than you love it and believe in its importance.
Don’t bother with work you don’t believe in any more than you would a spouse
you’re not crazy about, lest you too find yourself on the wrong side of a Baltimore
Orioles comparison. Resist the easy comforts of complacency, the specious glitter of
materialism, the narcotic paralysis of self-satisfaction. Be worthy of your advantages.

在你畢業的此刻，在你們即將乘風飛翔之前，我希望你們能夠基於真正熱愛並
相信其重要性才去做任何事情。不要費心理會那些你不再相信的事物，倒不如
煩惱自己可能無法和相愛的人結婚。但也不要在巴爾的摩金鶯隊比賽坐錯邊。
不要太志得意滿、不要被物質主義的閃閃亮光誘惑、也不要被自我美化的幻象
給催眠。珍視你的長處。

And read… read all the time… read as a matter of principle, as a matter of
self-respect. Read as a nourishing staple of life. Develop and protect a moral
sensibility and demonstrate the character to apply it. Dream big. Work hard. Think
for yourself. Love everything you love, everyone you love, with all your might. And
do so, please, with a sense of urgency, for every tick of the clock subtracts from
fewer and fewer; and as surely as there are commencements there are cessations, and
you’ll be in no condition to enjoy the ceremony attendant to that eventuality no
matter how delightful the afternoon.

閱讀，持續廣泛閱讀。閱讀關乎價值觀與自尊的建立，閱讀是生命的精神食糧。
培養及保持道德理性，並展現良好品格。勇敢地夢想，並付諸實行，好好思考
自己的人生。盡可能地去愛周遭的每一件事物與每一個人。而且，要把握時機，

Page 6
時間正一分一秒地流逝。各位也要記得，凡事有開始就有結束。不管你有多麼
享受今天午後時光，這場畢業典禮總會落幕。

The fulfilling life, the distinctive life, the relevant life, is an achievement, not
something that will fall into your lap because you’re a nice person or mommy
ordered it from the caterer. You’ll note the founding fathers took pains to secure your
inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness–quite an active verb,
“pursuit” – which leaves, I should think, little time for lying around watching parrots
roller skate on Youtube.

充實的人生、獨特的人生、有意義的人生，是一項難得的成就。那不會因為你
是個好人就從天而降，或是你母親出面替你打點就能獲得。我們的開國元勳們，
費盡心力替我們鞏固生命、自由與對幸福的追求 - 「追求」，相當活躍的一個
動詞 -等不可剝奪的權利。今日你才得以在瑣碎時間裡，舒服躺著看 YouTube
鸚鵡溜冰的影片。

The first President Roosevelt, the old rough rider, advocated the strenuous life. Mr.
Thoreau wanted to drive life into a corner, to live deep and suck out all the marrow.
The poet Mary Oliver tells us to row, row into the swirl and roil. Locally, someone…
I – I forget who… from time to time encourages young scholars to carpe the heck out
of the diem. The point is the same: get busy, have at it.

老羅斯福總統，一位老練的騎士，提倡勤奮的人生。作家梭羅嘗試過著隱居的
簡單生活，活得深刻，並品嘗生命的精髓。詩人瑪麗．奧利佛告訴我們，划行，
划行到漩渦處，激蕩起水花。在本地，有人⋯我忘了 是誰⋯(應該是他自己)，
常常鼓勵莘莘學子們活在當下。這些話的重點都是一樣：「動起來，盡力去做。」

Don’t wait for inspiration or passion to find you. Get up, get out, explore, find it
yourself, and grab hold with both hands. Now, before you dash off and get your
YOLO tattoo, ah let me point out the illogic of that trendy little expression–because
you can and should live not merely once, but every day of your life.

不要枯等靈感與熱情來敲門。起身吧，出門去，大膽冒險，勇敢探索，用雙手
好好把握。在你匆匆跑去紋上「YOLO」的刺青前，讓我為你點出時下流行語的
不合邏輯之處 — 由於，你不能也不應該只生存一次，而是要好好活在每一天
的當下。

Rather than You Only Live Once, it should be You Live Only Once… but because
YLOO doesn’t have the same ring, we shrug and decide it doesn’t matter. None of
this day-seizing, though, this YLOOing, should be interpreted as license for
self-indulgence. Like accolades ought to be, the fulfilled life is a consequence, ah a
gratifying byproduct. It’s what happens when you’re thinking about more important
things.
Page 7
與其說你只能生存一次(YOLO)，不如說人生無法重來(YLOO)。不過因為 YLOO
唸來沒那麼響亮，所以我們聳聳肩，並覺得無所謂。把握今朝，亦即 YLOOing，
不應該被曲解為自我沉溺的藉口。如同讚美的本質般，充實的生活是一個結果，
一項令人喜悅的副產品。當你用心在重要的事物時，結果往往會自動浮現。

Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air
and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you.
Go to Paris to be in Paris, not to cross it off your list and congratulate yourself for
being worldly.
登上山頂，不是為了插上旗幟，而是能夠迎向挑戰，享受新鮮空氣，欣賞底下
的美景。爬上去，所以你可以看到世界，而非為了讓世界可以看到你。去巴黎，
就好好體驗巴黎，不是把為了將它從旅遊清單上劃去，然後沾沾自喜自己去過
一個國家。

Exercise free will and creative, independent thought not for the satisfactions they will
bring you, but for the good they will do others, the rest of the 6.8 billion – and those
who will follow them. And then you too will discover the great and curious truth of
the human experience is that selflessness is the best thing you can do for yourself.
The sweetest joys of life, then, come only with the recognition that you’re not special.

Because everyone is.

運用自由意志、創造力與獨立思考能力，並非為了自身的滿足，而是為他人的
福祉—其他的那些 68 億人口，以及未來的下一代子孫。然後，你就會發現人類
經驗中真正偉大且充滿奇趣的真理： 「無私，是我們所能帶給自己最棒的事情。」
生命最甜美的滋味，就在於，你我都確認到 我們並不特別。

因為，每個人都是特別的。

Congratulations. Good luck. Make for yourselves, please, for your sake and for ours,
extraordinary lives.

恭喜畢業生。祝各位好運。為了自己，為了自己的目標，也為我們大家，好好
打造自己不凡的人生。

Youtube 中文字幕版 、 中英對照來源 ：純白裡的繽紛

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