罗宾德拉纳德·泰戈尔/Rabindranath Tagore
There are some people, who are proud and wise and practical, who say that it is not in human nature to be generous, that men will always fight one another, that the strong will conquer the weak, and that there can be no real moral foundation for man's civilization. We cannot deny the facts of their assertion that the strong have power in the human world, but I refuse to accept this as a revelation of truth……
We should know that truth, any truth that man acquires, is for everyone. Money and property belong to individuals, to each of you, but you must never exploit truth for your personal aggrandizement; that would be selling God's blessing for a profit. However, science is also truth; it has its place in the healing of the sick, and in giving more food and leisure for life. When it helps the strong crush the weak, and rob those who are asleep, it is using truth for impious ends. Those who are thus sacrilegious will suffer and be punished, for their own weapons will be turned against them.
一些很骄傲、明智且务实的人说，宽厚并不是人类的本性，人们将永远互相争斗，强者将会征服弱者，人类的文明不可能有真实的道德基础。我们不能否认他们所说的强者在人类世界上具有权势这个事实，但是我拒绝把这种说法当作真理的启示而加以接受……
我们应该知道，真理——人类所获得的任何真理——都是为一切人而设的。金钱和财产属于个人，属于你们当中的每一个人，但是你们绝对不能利用真理来增长你们个人的财富和权势，因为那样做就等于出卖上帝的恩泽，借以牟利。可是科学也是真理，它适当的职责在于救治病人，并为人类生活提供更多的食物与闲暇。如果它帮助强者去压迫弱者，去掠夺那些沉睡中的人们，它就是在利用真理去达成不虔敬的目的。那些以这种方式亵渎神圣的人们定会遭到报应和惩罚，因为他们的武器将会被用来对付他们自己。