Unlike any other creature on this planet，humans can learn and understand，without having experienced.They can think themselves into other people"s minds，imagine themselves into other people"s places.
Of course，this is a power，like my brand of fictional magic，that is morally neutral.One might use such an ability to manipulate，or control，just as much as to understand or sympathize.
And many prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all.They choose to remain comfortably within the bounds of their own experience，never troubling to wonder how it would feel to have been born other than they are.They can refuse to hear screams or to peer inside cages；they can close their minds and hearts to any suffering that does not touch them personally；they can refuse to know.
I might be tempted to envy people who can live that way，except that I do not think they have any fewer nightmares than I do.Choosing to live in narrow spaces can lead to a form of mental agoraphobia，and that brings its own terrors.
I think the willfully unimaginative see more monsters.They are often more afraid.
What is more，those who choose not to empathize may enable real monsters.For without ever committing anact of outright evil ourselves，we collude with it，through our own apathy.
One of the many things I learned at the end of that Classics cor ridor down which I ventured at the age of 18，in search of something I could not then define，was this，written by the Greek author Plutarch：What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.
That is an astonishing statement and yet proven a thousand times every day of our lives.It expresses，in part，our inescapable connection with the outside world，the fact that we touch other people"s lives simply by existing.
But how much more are you，Harvard graduates of 2008，likely to touch other people"s lives？Your intelligence，your capacity for hard work，the education you have earned and received，give you unique status，and unique responsibilities.Even your nationality sets you apart.The great majority of you belong to the world"s only remaining superpower.The way you vote，the way you live，the way you protest，the pressure you bring to bear on your government，has an impact way beyond your borders.That is your privilege，and your burden.
If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice；if you choose to identify not only with the powerful，but with the powerless；if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages，then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence，but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped transform for the better.We do not need magic to change the world，we carry all thepower we need inside ourselves already：we have the power to imagine better.
I am nearly finished.I have one last hope for you，which is something that I already had at 21.The friends with whom I sat on g raduation day have been my friends for life.They are my children"s godparents，the people to whom I"ve been able to turn in times of trouble，friends who have been kind enough not to sue mewhen I"ve used their names for Death Eaters.At our graduation we were bound by enormous affection，by our shared experience of a time that could never come again，and，of course，by the knowledge that we held certain photographic evidence that would be exceptionally valuable if any of us ran for prime minister.
So today，I can wish you nothing better than similar friendships.And tomorrow，I hope that even if you remember not a single word of mine，you remember those of Seneca，another of those old Romans I met when I fled down the Classics corridor，in retreat from career ladders，in search of ancient wisdom：
As is a tale，so is life：Not how long it is，but how good it is，is what matters.
I wish you all very good lives.Thank you very much.
参考译文（吴洁淇译）
福斯特主席、哈佛董事会和监事会的各位成员、各位教职员工、各位毕业同学，以及你们的家长：
首先我想说一声"谢谢你们！"，因为"哈佛"给予我的不只是特殊的荣誉，还有连日来因准备这个演讲而感受到的恐惧和焦急导致的减肥成功，这可真是一个互惠互利的局面。此刻要做的是深呼吸，眼睛盯着眼前的大红横幅，以便哄骗自己让自己认为：我的确是在世界上最好的教育机构里为"哈利·波特"演讲。
发表毕业演说其实是在承受一个巨大的责任。在回忆我当年的毕业典礼之前，我一直这样认为。那天的演讲者是英国著名的哲学家玛丽·沃洛克男爵夫人。对她的演讲的回忆，对完成我今天的演讲稿有很大帮助。因为我竟然想不起来她演讲的内容了。这个发现让我释然，让我不再有任何恐惧：我的演讲可能会让你们为了追求成为"同性恋男巫"（《哈利·波特》中的角色）的令人晕眩的喜悦，而误导你们放弃在商业、法律、政治领域的大好前途。
你们知道吗？如果在几年后您们还记得住"同性恋男巫"的笑话，说明我已经超越了玛丽·沃洛克。设定目标：是你们迈出自我提升的第一步。
事实上，我为今天应该给你们讲什么好，已经苦思冥想、绞尽脑汁了。我曾问自己：我毕业的时候我期望自己能够知道什么，我从毕业到现在的21年间，我究竟学到了些什么，有过什么重要的教训？
我已想出了两个答案。首先，在这个美好的日子里，我们聚集在一起，庆贺你们取得的学术成功，而我决定与你们谈谈有关失败带来的收益；其次，当你们即将步入"现实生活"之时，我想特别颂扬一下想象力对人生发展的重要性。
这些也许看起来不切实际或自相矛盾，但请耐心的听我讲下去。对于我这样一个已经42岁的人来说，要回头看自己21岁刚毕业时的情景，并不是一件令人愉快的事情。可以说，我人生的前一部分，为取得一种平衡，我一直纠结在我自己的雄心和身边的人对我的期盼之间。
我一直深信，自己真正想做的事就是写小说。然而，我的父母，两人都来自贫穷的家庭，都没上过大学的人却坚持认为，我超凡的想象力仅仅是一种另类的个人癖好，我们不能用它来支付抵押或获取养老金。
他们只希望我能尽早读一个职业院校，而我却想去攻读英国文学。最终，我们有了一个没人感到满意的妥协--我选择学外语。等我父母走开之后，我却瞒着他们放弃了德语语言学的学习，选择了古希腊文学。
