英国新闻听力 唯一能够获得的智慧是谦卑的智慧（在线收听）

Good morning. I’ve been unable to get an old Beatles’ song out of my mind this week. Friends sang “When I’m 64” for my birthday on Monday. I’d rather expected it. Now I discover that Paul McCartney originally wrote the words when he was just 16. The chorus “Will you still need me, will you still feed me” questions whether affection survives ageing. But it was probably adolescent insecurities about lovability which inspired it. We often project present anxieties well into the future.

At the time the song was written there were plenty of wider insecurities in the world. Nuclear weapons, the Soviet threat and the escalation of the Vietnam War: they were then the background for the personal dramas of our lives. I feel almost nostalgic for such times. The choices we faced seemed clearer. For those so inclined, CND marches or anti-Vietnam demonstrations gave a vehicle for protest. It was the policy of Western Governments which many people then wanted to change. Now, as in France last week, leaders of those governments march with the people. Governments protest too. And sometimes seem almost as bewildered as those they govern. None of us would have predicted that jihadist terror would be such a threat nor that we would feel so helpless personally to do anything about it.

Such helplessness may be why there seems such weariness in our public and political discourse. Routine policy quarrels about the mansion tax, the NHS or the deficit seem to miss these broader insecurities. Perhaps this is why those who have a longer perspective on political and social questions are heard with more respect. Elder statesmen such as Jimmy Carter and Mikhail Gorbachov are honoured more now than when in office. In South Africa, despite his reported retirement from public life, Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s voice is still heard with reverence, though not so much by those in power. Elder statesmen are most respected when they do not claim too much. We respond positively to informed humility.

There’s a gospel story about two very old and humble people, Simeon and Anna. They both saw the child Jesus in the temple at Jerusalem and discerned in him the promise of a new age. It wasn’t just the passing of the years which gave them insight and wisdom. Their humility kept them open to the unexpected. TS Eliot dismissed the idea that age alone makes us wise and then went on to write:

“The only wisdom we can hope to acquire

Is the wisdom of humility: humility is endless.”

Humility isn’t a sign of insecurity. Nor is it weakness. But it causes other virtues to flourish. It’s often accompanied by hope for a better future – possible even when you’re 64.

早上好。本周，披头士的一首老歌总是萦绕在我的心头。周一的时候，朋友们为我的生日唱了一首歌“当我64岁的时候”。我非常期待。现在，我发现保罗·麦卡特尼最初在16岁的时候就创作了这首歌的歌词。合唱部分“你是否仍然需要我,仍然会喂我”质疑了随着年老，爱是否仍然存在。或许是青少年对爱缺乏安全感激发了这首歌的诞生。我们总是把现在的焦虑融入未来。

这首歌创作的时候，全世界有着更多的不安全因素。核武器，苏联的威胁和越南战争升级：那些都是我们个人生活的背景。我甚至有点怀念那样的日子。我们面临的选择似乎更加明确。对于那些有天赋的人来说，核裁军运动组织游行或反越南示威游行都赋予他们抗议的动力。那时许多人想要改变西方政府的政策。现在，上周，许多政府领导人在法国与民众一起举行了游行。政府也提出了抗议。有时，他们和他们统治的民众一样迷茫。我们中没有人预料到圣战组织恐怖分子是如此大的威胁，也从未感到作为个人会如此无助。

这样的无助感或许就是我们的公众和政治讲话如此消沉的原因。关于豪宅税，医疗服务体系或赤字的争吵与之相比似乎微不足道。或许这也是对政治和社会问题有着更长远的眼光的人能够获得尊重的原因。卡特和戈尔巴乔夫等老牌政客比他们在任时更受尊重。在南非，尽管宣布退出公众生活，德斯蒙德?图图(Desmond Tutu)的声音仍然令人敬畏，尽管稍微逊色于当权者。较老的政客不断言太多的时候是最受尊重的时候。我们会对明智的谦逊作出积极的回应。

有一个福音故事是关于两位年老而谦逊的人的，西米恩和安娜。他们都在耶路撒冷的庙宇中见到了孩童时期的耶稣，他们都理解新时代即将到来。赋予他们独到的眼光和智慧的不仅仅是时间。他们的谦卑让他们勇于接受未预料到的事情。艾略特驳斥了仅仅年龄就可以让我们聪慧的观点，他写道：

“我们唯一能够获得的智慧是谦卑的智慧。谦卑是无止境的。”

谦卑不是不安全的标志，也不是软弱的标志。但是它可以让其它美德得以弘扬。它通常伴随着对更美好的未来的希望——甚至当你64岁的时候。