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1、MadamPresidentFaust,membersoftheHarvardCorporationandtheBoardofOverseers,faculty,family,friends,and,mostimportantly,today’sgraduates,Thankyouforlettingmesharethiswonderfuldaywithyou.IamnotsureIcanliveuptothehighstandardsofHarvardCommencementspeakers.Lastyear,J.K.
2、Rowling,thebillionairenovelist,whostartedasaclassicsstudent,gracedthispodium.Theyearbefore,BillGates,themega-billionairephilanthropistandcomputernerdstoodhere.Today,sadly,youhaveme.Iamnotabillionaire,butatleastIamanerd.IamgratefultoreceiveanhonorarydegreefromHarv
3、ard,anhonorthatmeansmoretomethanyoumightcaretoimagine.Asyoumayhaveheardthismorning,Iwastheacademicfailureofmyfamily.BothMybrotherhavedegreesfromHarvard.Myolderbrother,Gilbert,aftergettingaPh.D.inphysicsfromthatotherschooldowntheriver,gotanM.D.Ph.D.fromHarvard.Myy
4、oungerbrother,MorganChu,whoyoujustheardhisnametodayattheboardoverseers,hasalawdegree.WhenIwasawardedaNobelPrize,Ithoughtmymotherwouldbepleased.Notso.Icalledheronthemorningoftheannouncement,shereplied,“That’snice,butwhenareyougoingtovisitmenext.”Now,asthelastbroth
5、erwithadegreefromHarvard,maybe,atlast,shewillbepleased.AnotherdifficultywithgivingaHarvardcommencementaddressisthatsomestudentsmaydisapproveofthefactthatIwillborrowmaterialfrompreviousspeeches,aswellfromothers.Iaskthatyouforgivemefortworeasons.First,inordertobehe
6、ard,itisimportanttodeliverthesamemessagemorethanonce.Second,authorswhoborrowfromothersarefollowinginthefootstepsofthebest.RalphWaldoEmerson,whograduatedfromHarvardattheageof18,noted“Allmybestthoughtswerestolenbytheancients.”Picassodeclared“Goodartistsborrow.Great
7、artistssteal.”Whyshouldcommencementspeakersbeheldtoahigherstandard?Ialsowanttopointouttheironyofspeakingtograduatesofaninstitutionthatwouldhaverejectedme,hadIthechutzpahtoapply.Iammarriedto“DeanJean,”theformerdeanofadmissionsatStanford.Sheassuresmethatshewouldhav
8、erejectedme,ifgiventhechance.WhenIshowedheradraftofthisspeech,sheobjectedstronglytomyuseoftheword“rejected.”Sheneverrejectedapplicants;herlettersstatedthat“Wea