当生命走向终点

 　　Oliver Wendell Holmes (奥利佛·文德尔·荷默斯)

　　Mar¹.7,1931. (1931.3.7)

　　Brief introduction to the speaker : (演讲者简介：)

　　Oliver Wendeil Holmes (1841-1935) Oliver Wendeil Holmes, Jr., was known as "the great dissenter²". In 1902 President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him an associate justice of the United States Supreme³ Court. He served until he was almost 91 years old.

　　奥利佛·文德尔·荷默斯以“大反对家”而著称。1902年，瑟奥多·罗斯福总统任命他美国最高法院陪审法官。他任此职将近91岁。

　　In this symposium⁴, better is it only to sit in silence. To express one's feelings as the end draws near is too intimate a task. That I would mention only one thought that comes to me as a listener-in: the riders in a race do not stop short when they reach the goal, there is a little finishing canter before coming to a standstill, there is time to hear the kind voice of friends, and to say to oneself, the work is done. But just as one says that, the answer comes the race is over but the work never is done while the power to work remains⁵. The canter that brings you to a standstill need not be only coming to rest, it cannot be while you still live. But to lives is to function, that is all there is in living. So I end with a land from a Latin voice who had heard the message more than fifteen hundred years ago：death, death, clutch my ear, and says, live, I am coming.

　　此刻，沉默是金。生命行将结束，要表达个人感受并非易事。我只想谈一下作为一名听众的想法。骑手们并非一到终点就即刻停止，而是继续缓步向前，倾听朋友的欢呼，并告诉自己行程结束了。但能力尚在，人生之行程就永未结束。终点之后的慢跑并非止步不前，因为活着便不能如此。活着就要有所作为，这就是生命的真谛。最后谨以一句古老的拉丁格言与诸位共勉：死神不至，生命不止。

1 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

2 dissenter   

n.反对者

参考例句：

• The role of the dissenter is not for the weak-kneed.反对者的角色不是软弱之人所能够担当的。
• The Party does not tolerate dissenters in its ranks.该政党不允许其成员中存在异见分子。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 symposium   

n.讨论会，专题报告会；专题论文集

参考例句：

• What have you learned from the symposium?你参加了这次科学讨论会有什么体会？
• The specialists and scholars present at the symposium come from all corners of the country.出席研讨会的专家学者们来自全国各地。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。