英国哲学家罗素 | 对未来的智慧箴言

Question: One last question...Suppose to that, Russel, this film would be looked at by our descendants, like a dead sea scroll in a thousand years time. What would you think it’s worth telling future generations about the life you’ve lived and the lessons you’ve learned from it?

最后一个问题：罗素勋爵，假设这段录像能被我们的后世看到，如同《死海古卷》千年之后重见天日，您有什么想对未来一代人说的呢？关于您这一生以及您对生活的感悟有哪些呢？

Russel: I should like to say two things, one 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 facts bear out. Never let yourself be diverted either by what you wish to believe or by what you think would have beneficent social effects it it were believed. But look only, and solely, at what are the facts. That is the intellectual thing that I should wish to say.

我想说的有两点，一是智慧；二是道德。关于智慧，我想对他们说的是：当你做一门学问或者思考某个观点时，你只能问问自己：‘事实是什么？’以及‘事实揭示了什么真相？’永远不要被那些你愿意相信的或是你认为会对社会有利的观念所引诱，只是纯粹的去审视事实是什么。这就是我想说的关于智慧的问题。

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.

关于道德，我想说的也很简单。我想说的是：爱是明智的，恨是愚蠢的。在如今这个联系日益密切的世界里，我们要学会容忍他人；我们必须学会接受这样一个事实——总有人会说出那些我们不想听的话，我们只有这样才可能共同生活。因为我们想要共存，而非共亡，所以我们必须学会这种宽容和忍让，这对人类在地球上的存续至关重要。