愛因斯坦的一張幸福論紙條,拍賣至天價

Albert Einstein's 'humble' advice on happiness sells for ￡1.18 million

愛因斯坦“幸福論”便條 以超百萬美元價格成交

'A calm and humble life will bring more happiness than the pursuit of success and the constant restlessness that comes with it.' Scribbled briefly on a piece of paper, this advice from Albert Einstein has just sold at auction for ￡1.18 million.

據悉，一張由愛因斯坦親手寫着：“平靜質樸的人生能比動盪不安地追求成功帶來更多的幸福” 的便條近日拍出了118萬歐元的高價。

The renowned physicist had no money to tip a bellboy, so wrote him the note instead saying that it would be worth more than a tip one day if he kept hold of it.

愛因斯坦當時收到了郵遞員送來的信件，或許是因爲沒有零錢，他爲前來送信的郵遞員送上這兩張便條，並表示：“留着這些紙，它們的價值將遠遠超出普通小費。”

Around 100 years later, his prediction was proved correct – as the note made the bellboy's nephew a millionaire when he contacted an auction house to put it up for sale.

大約100年之後，他的話應驗了——這兩張紙條的拍賣所得的錢，使得當年那個快遞員的侄子成了百萬富翁。

Einstein wrote his take on life while staying at a hotel in Tokyo in 1922, just after he had been told he was going to be given the Nobel prize in physics. Winner's Auctions and Exhibitions in Jerusalem organised the sale of the note, along with another which he wrote at the same time saying ‘Where there's a will there’s a way’ (this one seems less genius).

耶路撒冷的一家拍賣行組織了這場拍賣，愛因斯坦的另一張便條寫的則是“有志者，事竟成”。（這句話看着就略顯平庸了一些）

The happiness note was only expected to sell for between $5,000 (￡3,809) and $8,000 (￡6,094), but it clearly meant something special to someone.

寫着“幸福論”的便條起價爲2000美元，在拍賣前的預估成交價僅爲5000至8000美元，然而，它的成交價卻出乎我們的意料，顯然，它對有些人來說有着特殊的意義。

Written at the height of his success, there's speculation Einstein might have been musing on his career so far.

愛因斯坦在成功的巔峯時寫下這這兩句話，人們推測這可能是一直以來影響愛因斯坦事業的箴言。

It shows he had daily concerns to think about too, just like the rest of us – although the rest of us didn't work out the Special Theory of Relativity. The identity of the European online buyer has not been revealed.

這兩張便條顯示愛因斯坦和我們一樣，他也會思考日常瑣事——只不過我們並沒有寫出相對論。目前這位歐洲在線買家的身份仍舊是個謎。