我给罗森教授写的第二封信，他没能收到，因为他一年前就离开人世。罗森教授的好朋友，蒙特利尔大学化学系的唐纳尔德.帕特森教授 (Prof. Donald Patterson)，给我回了一封信，还附上了他在罗森教授追悼会上宣读的悼词。
追悼会是在一所类似于教堂的哲学和伦理学研究协会中心举行的。在追掉会上，朋友们追忆了罗森教授的早期人生经历。罗森教授童年和少年时代都是在寄宿学校度过的。父母离异，让罗森教授从孩提时代起就饱受生活的辛酸。缺乏父爱和母爱让他性格孤僻，很难与朋友们友好相处，他时常跟他们发生口角。
在追悼会上，罗森教授的朋友们一起朗诵了一首他创作的优美诗歌，诗歌的标题叫《人际纽带》（“Human Ties”）。这首诗歌是他在中国武汉华中师范大学任教时创作的。大家从诗歌里轻松愉快的语气中可以感觉到，罗森教授在中国度过了一年快乐的时光，他与中国学生一起欣赏英美文学名作，学生们对他的尊敬和情感上的亲近，让他感受到家庭般的温暖。
值此清明节即将到来之际，我作为罗森教授的中国门生，借用帕特森教授的悼词，向恩师表达我的追思和怀念。
Probably many of us do not know how David came to die. David as diagnosed with prostate cancer about three years ago. He received the standard treatments. I was optimistic, and I think he was, too, that he had many years to live. However, in January of this year it was found that the cancer had recurred and had spread to the bones. He was given perhaps six months to live. However, even on May 11, his doctor was talking of at least several months still. In fact, he died rapidly and without pain only a week later of something totally unrelated to the cancer. This was an aneurism of the aorta which apparently cut off the blood supply to the liver, kidneys, and intestines. Curiously, his father died of exactly the same condition and at the same age as David.
I think the way to look at David is as a TRAVELLER, physically, professionally, and intellectually or really spiritually. I had better define my terms since “spiritual” is one of those words with a religious aura which David absolutely hated. But, apparently, spirituality only refers to the search for meaning which is a necessary consequence of being human and which David shared to a considerable degree. So we can say that David was a spiritual person (although I am glad he cannot hear me say that).
生词解释：
prostate cancer: 前列腺癌
optimistic: 乐观的
recur: 复发
unrelated to: 与……不相干
aneurism: 动脉瘤
aorta: 主动脉
liver: 肝
kidney: 肾
intestine: 肠
physically: 身体上地，体力上地
professionally: 职业上地
spiritual/spiritually: 精神上的（地）
spirituality: 精神追求
religious: 宗教的
aura: 光环
refer to: 指的是
consequence: 结果（结局）
considerable: 巨大的
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