So said Yin Haiguang, a herald of liberalism, employing easy-to-understand language to point out the responsibility of intellectuals: Intellectuals don't exist for themselves but rather for everyone, for the public-and even, in a way that transcends an individual's life, for the age.
身為中國自由主義思想先驅的殷海光，用這句淺顯易懂的話點出了知識分子的責任：知識分子不是為自己，而是為「大家」──簡言之就是「公共」──甚至是為超越一己之生命的「時代」。