On the eve of his death, David Goodall, 104, Australian scientist, father, grandfather and right-to-die advocate, was asked if he had any moments of hesitation, “even fleeting ones.”
104岁的澳大利亚科学家戴维·古道尔(David Goodall)既是一名父亲，也是一名祖父，还是一名死亡权倡导者。离世前夕，他被问及否有过犹豫的时候，“哪怕是稍纵即逝的”。
“No, none whatever,” Mr. Goodall said in a strong voice. “I no longer want to continue life, and I’m happy to have a chance tomorrow to end it.”
“没有，从来没有，”古道尔铿锵有力地说。“我不想继续活下去了，我很高兴可以在明天结束生命。”
Mr. Goodall spoke on Wednesday before a phalanx journalists and photographers in Basel, Switzerland. That the inquisitors had come from around the globe to hear what would be most likely the last public words of the man once called Australia’s oldest working scientist was evidence that his campaign to end his life had captivated audiences worldwide.
古道尔是澳大利亚最年长的在职科学家，周三，他在瑞士巴塞尔接受一群记者和摄影师的采访。提问的人从全球各地赶来，聆听极有可能是他最后的公开发言。这证明他结束自己生命的行动在世界范围内引起了关注。
On Thursday, Mr. Goodall died about 12:30 p.m. local time, according to Exit International, a right-to-die organization of which he had been a longtime member.
据死亡权组织“解脱国际”(Exit International)称，周四，古道尔在当地时间下午12点30分离世。他是该组织的资深成员。
A botanist and ecologist of some renown, he was not terminally ill, but his health had deteriorated so badly that he had to stop most of his activities — like working at Edith Cowan University in Perth and performing in the theater — and he did not want to continue living. A fall in his home last month exacerbated his condition.
作为植物学家和生态学家，古道尔颇有声望。他没有病入膏肓，但他的健康状况严重恶化，以致他不得不停止大部分活动——比如在珀斯埃迪斯科文大学(Edith Cowan University)的工作和在剧院的表演;他已不想继续活下去。上月，他在家中跌倒，导致情况进一步恶化。
Keenly aware that the news conference on Wednesday was one last opportunity to help promote euthanasia and assisted dying in his own country, Mr. Goodall withstood the barrage of questions, squinting because of the flashing cameras and sometimes struggling to understand because of his hearing loss.
古道尔敏锐地意识到，周三的新闻发布会是他帮助推广澳大利亚安乐死和辅助死亡的最后机会。他经受住了连珠炮似的提问。因为闪光灯，他眯着眼睛。因为听力受损，他有时候听不清提出的问题。
He was flanked by Philip Nitschke, the director of Exit International; and Moritz Gall, a representative for Lifecircle, an association that supports people going through major life decisions and guides them through the laws of Switzerland.
他旁边是“解脱国际”的负责人菲利普·尼奇克(Philip Nitschke)和“生命周期”(Lifecircle)的代表莫里茨·加尔(Moritz Gall)。“生命周期”是一个支持人们完成主要的生命决策，并帮助他们通过瑞士法律规定的团体。
Mr. Goodall said, “I’ve had a good life.” He was not afraid of death but acknowledged that he previously tried to end his life in Australia.
古道尔说：“我度过了美好的一生。”他不害怕死亡，但他承认自己之前在澳大利亚尝试过终结自己的生命。
“It would’ve been much more convenient for everyone if I had been able to,” he said, “but unfortunately it failed.”
“如果我做到了，对所有人来说都方便多了，”他说，“但遗憾的是，尝试失败了。”
He was crystal clear about why he had chosen “the Swiss option.” Euthanasia and assisted dying are banned in Australia, though Victoria State has passed a law on assisted dying that goes into effect next year; it will apply only to terminally ill patients who have a life expectancy of no more than six months.
他非常清楚自己为什么选择了“瑞士选项”。澳大利亚禁止安乐死和辅助死亡，不过维多利亚州通过了一项和辅助死亡有关的法律。法律将于明年生效，但只适用于预期寿命不超过六个月的绝症病人。
He said he hoped his life story would “increase the pressure” on Australia to change its laws. “One wants to be free to choose his death when death is at the appropriate time,” Mr. Goodall said.
他说他希望自己的故事能向澳大利亚“加压”，迫使其修改法律。“有人希望当死亡在恰当的时候到来时，能够自由选择自己的死亡，”古道尔说。
He had flown to Basel from his home in Perth last week with the help of Exit International and entered an assisted-dying center on Monday. Lifecircle, which works with the Eternal Spirit, a foundation that facilitates assisted voluntary death, helped him navigate the process. He had consultations this week with two doctors, including a psychiatrist, in Switzerland, and was visited by the Swiss police as a formality.
上周，他在“解脱国际”的帮助下离开珀斯的家飞往巴塞尔，并于周一入住一家辅助死亡中心。与协助自愿死亡的基金会“永恒的精神”(Eternal Spirit)合作的“生命周期”协助他完成了这个过程。他本周同两名医生进行了商讨，其中包括瑞士的一名精神病专家。瑞士警方探访了他，这是一种程序。
On Wednesday, realizing that his case had ricocheted around the world and that responding to the outpouring of requests for interviews would have consumed all of his last few days, Mr. Goodall consented to one final news conference.
周三，古道尔意识到自己的事情在全球引起了轰动，而回复蜂拥而至的采访请求会耗尽他最后几天时间，于是他同意召开最后一次新闻发布会。
He expressed gratitude to the Swiss and regret at having to leave home for Switzerland, the only country that offers assisted-dying services to foreigners if the person assisting does not benefit from the person’s death. (Only 40 Australians are known to have made the journey, according to Exit International, because of the length of the flight and the cost of the trip.)
他向瑞士民众表示感谢，对不得不离开家乡前往瑞士表示遗憾。瑞士是唯一一个为外国人提供辅助死亡服务的国家，条件是提供辅助的人不会从死者的死亡中获益。(据“解脱国际”称，因为飞行距离和费用的原因，已知只有40名澳大利亚人踏上这一旅程。)
“I am very appreciative of the hospitality of the Swiss Federation and the ability that one has here to come to an end gracefully,” Mr. Goodall said, adding, “I greatly regret that Australia is behind Switzerland in this move.”
“我非常感谢瑞士联邦的盛情款待和人们在这里享有的优雅走向生命尽头的权利，”古道尔说，并接着表示，“非常遗憾澳大利亚在这一点上落在了瑞士的后面。”
He said that no one in his family had pressured him to change his mind. As for leaving his children and grandchildren behind, he said: “I have already said my piece to my family. I send them my love and I’m glad that I had the opportunity of seeing most of them for the past week.”
他说家里没人强迫他改变主意。至于离开子孙后辈，他说：“我已经和家人告别过了。我向他们问了好，我很高兴过去一周有机会见到他们中的大部分人。”
Asked if there was anything he still wanted to do, he said: “There are many things I would like to do, of course, but it’s too late. I’m content to leave them undone.”
被问及还有什么想做的事情时，他说：“肯定有很多事情是我想做的，但为时已晚。没有做那些事我也很满足。”
Pressed about what he would miss, he allowed, “I have been missing for a long time my journeys into the Australian countryside, but I haven’t been able to do that for quite a while”
有人逼问他会怀念什么，他同意回答，“长期以来我一直很怀念去澳大利亚乡下的经历，但从很久以前我就去不了了。”
He was asked about his last meal. “I’m rather limited in my culinary enjoyment nowadays,” he responded. “I don’t find that I can enjoy my meals as I used to.”
他被问到最后一餐会吃什么。“现在，我的饮食享受非常有限，”他回答说，“我不能像从前那样享受食物了。”
On Thursday, he received a fatal dose of a barbiturate intravenously. In order to comply with Swiss law that bans the interference of third parties in the process, he opened the valve to release the solution himself and fell asleep, dying soon after. Some of his grandchildren were with him in his final hours, Exit International said.
周四，他通过静脉注射了致命剂量的巴比妥类药物。为了遵守瑞士法律禁止第三方介入该过程的规定，他自己打开阀门，释放出溶液，然后他睡着了，很快就死去了。解脱国际组织表示，在他的最后几个小时里，他的一些孙辈跟他在一起。
He wanted no funeral and no remembrance service, and he asked that his body be donated to medicine or his ashes sprinkled locally, according to Exit. Mr. Goodall did not believe in the afterlife, the organization said.
解脱国际表示，古道尔不想举办葬礼或追悼会，他要求捐献遗体，用作医学研究，或者把他的骨灰撒在当地。该组织表示，古道尔不相信来世。
How would he like to be remembered? “As an instrument of freeing the elderly from the need to pursue their life irrespective,” he said at the news conference on Wednesday.
他希望人们记得他什么?“令老年人从无差别的求生需求中解脱出来，我对此做了贡献，”周三，他在新闻发布会上表示。
At one point, he was asked what tune he would choose for his last song, and he said the final movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Then he began to sing, with verve and vigor.
在某个时刻，有人问他，他会选哪首乐曲作为自己的终曲，他回答说，贝多芬《第九交响曲》(Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony)的最后乐章。然后他开始唱那首曲子，充满了热情和活力。
According to Mr. Nitschke, Mr. Goodall did end up choosing Beethoven, and he died the moment “Ode to Joy” concluded.
据尼奇克称，古道尔最后选的的确是贝多芬的乐曲，他在《欢乐颂》(Ode to Joy)曲终时离世。
