The World as I See It 我的世界观

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.

我们这些肉体凡胎是多么奇怪啊!每个人来到这个世上都只作短暂停留，究竟为了什么目的却无从知晓，虽然有时觉得自己好像有所感悟。但是，无需深入思考，仅从日常生活就可明白，人是为他人而存在的——首先是为这样一些人：他们的欢笑、健康和福祉与我们的幸福息息相关;其次是为那些为数众多的陌生人，因为同情他们，使得我们与他们的命运联系在了一起。每一天，我都上百次地提醒自己，我的精神和物质生活都是建立在他人(包括生者和死者)的劳动基础上，对于我已经得到和正在得到的一切，我必须尽力给以相同程度的回报。我深深向往一种俭朴的生活，由于经常意识到自己占用了同胞太多的劳动而心有不安。我认为阶级区分是不正当的，其最终的达成方式常常诉诸暴力。我还认为，无论是在身体上还是心理上，过一种简单而不铺张浪费的生活对每个人都有好处。

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. 我完全不相信哲学意义上的人的自由。每个人的行为不仅受外在力量的约束，还要与内在需求协调一致。叔本华说：“人可以任意而为，却不能心想事成。”这句话从我年轻时起就一直深深地启发着我。在面对生活的艰辛时——无论是我自己还是他人的艰辛，这句话总能不断地给我安慰，成为永不枯竭的忍耐的源泉。这一认识能够仁慈地缓和那份令人几欲崩溃的责任感，并防止我们太把自己或者他人当回事，还有助于形成一种尤其幽默的人生观。