How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose be knows not, though he sometimes thinks he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people -first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy.
我們這些總有一死的人的命運多麼奇特! 找們每個人在這個世界上都只作一個短暫的逗留;目的何在，卻無從知道，儘管有時自以為對此若有所感。但是，不必深思。只要從日常生活就可以明白:人是為別人而生存的——首先是為那樣一些人，我們的幸福全部依賴於他們的喜悅和健康;其次是為許多我們所不認識的人，他們的命運通過同情的紐帶同我們密切結合在一起。
A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving. I am strongly drawn to a frugal life and am often oppressively aware that I am engrossing an undue amount of the labor of my fellow-men. regard class distinction as unjustified and, in the last resort, based on force. I also believe that a simple and unassuming life is good for everybody, physically and mentally.
我每天上百次的提醒自己:我的精神生活和物質生活都是以別人(包括生者和死者)的勞動為基礎的，我必須盡力以同樣的分量來報償我所領受了的和至今還在領受著的東西。我強烈地嚮往著儉樸的生活。並且時常發覺自己佔用了同胞的過多勞動而難以忍受。我認為階級的區分是不合理的，它最後所憑藉的是以暴力為根據。我也相信，簡單淳樸的生活，無論在身體上還是在精神上，對每個人都是有益的。
My passionate sense of social justice and social responsibility has always contrasted oddly with my pronounced lack of need for direct contact with other human beings and human communities. I am truly a "lone traveler" and have never belonged to my country, my home, my friend, or even my immediate family, with my whole heart; in the face of all these ties, I have never lost a sense of distance and a need for solitude-feelings which increase with the years. One becomes sharply aware, but without regret of the limits of mutual understanding and consonance with other people. No doubt, such a person loses some of his innocence and unconcern; on the other hand, he is largely independent, of the opinions, habits, and judgments of his fellows and avoids the temptation to build his inner equilibrium upon such insecure foundations.
我有強烈的社會正義感和社會責任感。但我又明顯地缺乏與別人和社會直接接觸的要求，這兩者總是形成古怪的對照。我實在是一個"孤獨的旅客我未曾全心全意地屬於我的國家、我的家庭、我的朋友，甚至我最為接近的親人;在所有這些關係面前，我總是感覺到一定距離而且需妥保持孤獨——而這種感受正與年俱增。人們會清楚地發覺，同別人的相互瞭解和協調一致是有限度的，但這不值得惋惜。無疑，這樣的人在某種程度上會失去他的天真無邪和無憂無慮的心瓏;但另一方面，他卻能夠在很大程度上不為別人的意見、習慣和判斷所左右，並且能夠避免那種把他的內心平衡建立在這樣一些不可靠的基礎之上的誘惑。
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