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.

非常感謝您，萊文校長。布萊涵德院長、耶魯董事會的成員、各位畢業生的家 長以及所有畢業生：獲得這個榮譽學位對我來說真是一大殊榮。我很自豪在33年前 領取到第一個耶魯大學的學位。此次，我獲得耶魯榮譽學位更是倍感驕傲。

I congratulate my fellow honorees. I’m pleased to share this honor with such a distinguished group.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.

我祝賀我的校友們，我也很高興在此同如此優秀的學弟學妹們分享這一榮譽。 我要恭喜所有在這里的家長們：恭喜你們的子女修完學業順利畢業，這不僅對 你們來說這是好日子，也是你們錢包解放的大好日子！

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

最重要的是，我要恭喜2001屆的畢業生們：對于那些曾獲得榮譽、獎學金和殊榮的同學，我要說，你們真棒！對于那些C等生，我要說，你們也可以當美國總統！ 耶魯學位價值不菲，意義重大。我時常這么提醒切尼(現任美國副總統)，他在早年也暫讀于此。所以，我想提醒正就讀于耶魯的莘莘學子，如果你們從耶魯順利畢業， 你們可以當上總統；如果你們中途綴學，那么你們就只能當副總統了。

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 you5ve 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.

能夠在這里發表簡短的演說，我深感榮幸。我知道不邀請畢業典禮演講者是耶 魯的傳統，同時我也知道你們打破了陳規。很多人認為，在耶魯大學畢業典禮上演 講的只能是總統。多年來，對演講人資格的要求也變得更加嚴苛。如今，要來耶魯 演講，就必須得是從耶魯大學畢業的美國總統，而且他在耶魯大學選區的得票數還 不能超過拉爾夫納德。

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.

這是我畢業以來第一次回到這里，我相信你們有生之年也會回來幾次。當你們 到我這個年紀的時候，會不記得在這里做過的每一件事，這或許是一件好事。但是 一些人和一些時刻則會讓你終生難忘。

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.

舉例來說，我的老同學迪克布洛德翰，他如今已是這所大學中頗有成就的一 位院長了。在我的記憶里，他是一個年輕的學者，一個聰明的小伙，一個勤勞的工 作者。我們經常泡在斯特靈圖書館，那里的閱覽室里有張很大的皮沙發。我倆之間 也很有默契：迪克不大聲朗讀課文，而我睡覺不打呼。

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.

由于我們各自的學術研究道路不同，所以我們選擇了不同的課程。迪克主修英語，并且鐘愛古典文學。我喜歡歷史，并且選修了各種各樣的課程。我喜歡把這種 學習過程想象成是人跡罕至的學術道路。

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.

舉例來說，我選修過日本俳句。對門外漢來說，俳句是15世紀日本的一種詩 歌，每首詩只有17個音節，我想只有禪學大師才能明白其中的意義。回想起來，我 的一位學業導師對我選修如此專精的課程表示擔憂，他認為我應該專攻英語。現 在，我仍然時常聽到這類建議。那些批評我的人并不知道，我并非詞不達意，我只 是按照古俳句優美的形式和韻律在講話。

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.

在這里我的確學習了英文課程，也選修了歐斯特維斯主講的“美國演講的歷史 與實踐”課程。萊文校長，我想在此給予耶魯大學所應得的贊許。我想要全世界都 知道，我所知道的一切關于演講的東西都是在耶魯學到的。

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.”

作為一名學生，我努力保持低調，而我也的確做到了。去年《紐約時報》釆訪 了約翰莫頓布魯姆教授，因為記錄顯示我曾選修過他的一門課程。任憑布魯姆 教授怎么絞盡腦汁回想記憶里僅存的那些年輕的臉龐，他說：“我壓根都記不起有 布什這么個學生。”

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’ve 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.

但是我記得布魯姆教授，他的無私奉獻精神和淵博深厚的學識至今讓我印象深刻。在我讀大學的時候，很多優秀的教授在耶魯任教，現在也是如此。在一屆又一 屆的畢業典禮之后，學生們各奔東西，而正是這些教授們繼續推動著耶魯大學向前 發展。我已經不記得畢業離開前是否有向他們表達過感激之情，但是我現在還有一 次機會，我要衷心感謝耶魯大學所有的教授。

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.

我在耶魯求學的感受可以用四個字來形容——感激不盡。我努力學習過，盡情 玩耍過，并且結識了許多相伴終生的知己。繼續陪著你的是那部分“教育”，但在 這之前幾乎你幾乎從未意識到。這部分“教育”是你的期許，你身邊的楷模，你所 堅信的理想，還有你所結識的朋友。

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.

我的大學時代，大家常說“耶魯人”，我真的從不確定什么是“耶魯人”。但 我堅信因為耶魯，我成為了一個優秀的人。所有的學校，都會盡其所能的告訴學生 學位和榮譽并非生活的全部，財富和聲望也不是。重要的是你的人生準則，為他人 所作的考慮以及利用天賦的方式。

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.

現在你們即將離開耶魯，帶著證明你們成功的畢業證書，離開這個比美國歷 史還要悠久的學府。當我離開這兒的時候，我并沒有明確的人生計劃。我知道有些 人認為他們曾經做過這種計劃，結果是經歷了各種起伏之后，很多坎坷都出乎我們 的意料。人生有著自身的軌道，有著自身的訴求，譜寫著自身的篇章。走過漫漫長路，我們會開始意識到我們并非人生這本書的作者。

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.

我們開始理解人生是要我們自己去經歷的，而不是拿來揮霍的，而我們得到最 好的嘉獎，就是我們全身心的投人到那些深愛的人和那些值得我們為之犧牲的事業 中去。我希望你們每一個人都會懂得這些嘉獎。我希望你們可以在有生之年用自己 的方式找到這些嘉獎。

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.

對有些人來說，這可能意味著要做一些公共服務。如果有人對你發出召喚，我 希望你們能夠回應。你們中的每個人都有著獨特的天賦，你們得到這些天賦也都是 有原因的。好好利用這些天賦并和他人分享。參與公共服務就是其中一種方式，這 是一種十分榮耀的方式，它這會使你的人生意義非凡。

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.

這次我不僅重游母校，也回到了我的出生地。我人生開始的地方離這里只有幾 個街區，但我在西得克薩斯長大。在那里，我和耶魯的距離仿佛隔著一個世界，也 許耶魯是未來的一個夢。而現在，她是我過去的一部分，是令我極度驕傲的源泉。

I hope that there will come a time for you to return to Yale to say that, and feel as I do today. Congratulations and God bless.
 

我希望，將來你們回到耶魯時，能有與我一樣的感受并說出相同的話。祝福你 們，愿上帝保佑你們。
 

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