Senator Hatfield, Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. President, Vice President Bush, Vice President Mondale, Senator Baker, Speaker O'Neill, Reverend Moomaw, and my fellow citizens: To a few of us here today, this is a solemn and most momentous occasion; and yet, in the history of our Nation, it is a commonplace occurrence. The orderly transfer of authority as called for in the Constitution routinely takes place as it has for almost two centuries and few of us stop to think how unique we really are. In the eyes of many in the world, this every-4-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.
尊敬的海特菲爾德議員、法官先生、總統(tǒng)先生、副總統(tǒng)布什、蒙代爾、貝克議員、發(fā)言人奧尼爾、摩麥以及廣大支持我的美國同胞們：今天對于我們中間的一些人來說，是一個非常莊嚴隆重的時刻。對于這個國家的歷史卻是一件普通的事情。按照憲法要求，政府權利正在有序地移交，我們已經如此“例行公事”了兩個世紀，很少有人覺得這有什么特別。但在世界上更多人看來，我們這個已經習以為常的四年一次的儀式卻是一個奇跡。
Mr. President, I want our fellow citizens to know how much you did to carry on this tradition. By your gracious cooperation in the transition process, you have shown a watching world that we are a united people pledged to maintaining a political system which guarantees individual liberty to a greater degree than any other, and I thank you and your people for all your help in maintaining the continuity which is the bulwark of our Republic.
總統(tǒng)先生，我希望我們的同胞們都能知道你為了這個傳承而付出的努力。通過移交程序中的通力合作，展示了這樣一個事實：我們是一個團結一致的民族，這個民族決心捍衛(wèi)一種比任何其他體制更能充分確保個人民主自由的政治制度。我要感謝你和你的伙伴們的幫助，因為你們堅持了這樣的傳承，這種傳承的連續(xù)性恰是我們共和國的支柱。
The business of our nation goes forward. These United States are confronted with an economic affliction of great proportions. We suffer from the longest and one of the worst sustained inflations in our national history. It distorts our economic decisions, penalizes thrift, and crushes the struggling young and the fixed- income elderly alike. It threatens to shatter the lives of millions of our people.
我們國家的事業(yè)在繼續(xù)前進。合眾國正面臨巨大的經濟困難。我們遭遇到我國歷史上歷時長、嚴重之一的通貨膨脹，它擾亂著我們的經濟決策，使儲蓄的人反而受到懲罰，壓迫著正在掙扎謀生的青年人和收入固定的中年人，威脅著要摧毀我國千百萬人民的生計。
Idle industries have cast workers into unemployment, causing human misery and personal indignity. Those who do work are denied a fair return for their labor by a tax system which penalizes successful achievement and keeps us from maintaining full productivity.
停滯的工業(yè)使工人失業(yè)、蒙受痛苦并失去了個人尊嚴。即使那些有工作的人，也因沉重的稅負而得不到公正的勞動報酬，因為這種稅收制度使我們無法在事業(yè)上取得成就，使我們無法保持充分的生產力。
But great as our tax burden is, it has not kept pace with public spending. For decades, we have piled deficit upon deficit, mortgaging our future and our children's future for the temporary convenience of the present. To continue this long trend is to guarantee tremendous social, cultural, political, and economic upheavals.
盡管我們的納稅負擔相當沉重，但還是跟不上公共開支的增長。數十年來，我們的赤字額屢屢上升，我們?yōu)閳D目前暫時的方便，已把自己和子孫的前途都抵押出去。這一趨勢如果長此以往，必然引起社會、文化、政治和經濟等方面的大動蕩。
You and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but for only a limited period of time. Why, then, should we think that collectively, as a nation, we are not bound by that same limitation? We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow. And let there be no misunderstanding——we are going to begin to act, beginning today.
作為個人，你們和我可以靠借貸過一種入不敷出的生活，然而只能維持一段有限的時期，我們怎么可以認為，作為一個國家整體，我們就不應受到同樣的約束呢？為了明天，我們今天就必須行動起來。大家都要明白無誤地懂得--我們從今天起就要采取行動。
The economic ills we suffer have come upon us over several decades. They will not go away in days, weeks, or months, but they will go away. They will go away because we, as Americans, have the capacity now, as we have had in the past, to do whatever needs to be done to preserve this last and greatest bastion of freedom.
我們深受其害的經濟弊病，幾十年來一直襲擊著我們。這些弊病不會在幾天、幾星期或幾個月內消失，但它們終將消失。它們之所以終將消失，是因為我們作為現在的美國人，一如既往地有能力去完成需要完成的事情，以保存這個后而又偉大的自由堡壘。
In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem.
在當前這場危機中，政府的管理不能解決我們面臨的問題。政府的管理就是問題所在。
From time to time, we have been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. But if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price.
我們時常誤以為，社會已經越來越復雜，已經不可能憑借自治方式加以管理，而一個由杰出人物組成的政府要比民享、民治、民有的政府高明?？墒牵偃缥覀冎姓l也管理不了自己，那么，我們之中誰還能去管理他人呢。我們大家--不論政府官員還是平民百姓--必須共同肩負起這個責任，我們謀求的解決辦法必須是公平的，不要使任何一個群體付出較高的代價。
We hear much of special interest groups. Our concern must be for a special interest group that has been too long neglected. It knows no sectional boundaries or ethnic and racial divisions, and it crosses political party lines. It is made up of men and women who raise our food, patrol our streets, man our mines and our factories, teach our children, keep our homes, and heal us when we are sick——professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies, and truckdrivers. They are, in short, "We the people," this breed called Americans.
我們聽到許多關于特殊利益集團的談論，然而。我們必須關心一個被忽視了大久的特殊利益集團。這個集團沒有區(qū)域之分，沒有人種之分，沒有民族之分，沒有政黨之分，這個集團由許許多多的男人與女人組成，他們生產糧食，巡邏街頭，管理廠礦，教育兒童，照料家務和治療疾病。他們是專業(yè)人員、實業(yè)家、店主、職員、出租汽車司機和貨車駕駛員，總而言之，他們就是"我們的人民"—就是美國人民。
Well, this administration's objective will be a healthy, vigorous, growing economy that provides equal opportunity for all Americans, with no barriers born of bigotry or discrimination. Putting America back to work means putting all Americans back to work. Ending inflation means freeing all Americans from the terror of runaway living costs. All must share in the productive work of this "new beginning" and all must share in the bounty of a revived economy. With the idealism and fair play which are the core of our system and our strength, we can have a strong and prosperous America at peace with itself and the world.
本屆政府的目標是必須建立一種健全的、生氣勃勃的和日益發(fā)展的經濟，為全體美國人民提供一種不因偏執(zhí)或歧視而造成障礙的均等機會。使美國復興，意味著使全體美國人都有工作；制止通貨膨脹，意味著使全體美國人免除對勢如脫韁之馬的生活費用的恐懼。人人都應分擔"新開端"的富有成效的工作，人人都應分享經濟復蘇的碩果。我們力量的核心是理想主義和公正對待的精神，有了這些，我們就能建立一個強大繁榮的美國，在國內和全世界都相安無事。
So, as we begin, let us take inventory. We are a nation that has a government——not the other way around. And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth. Our Government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of government which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed.
在我們向復興美國開始邁步之際，先讓我們看看我們的實際情況。我們是一個擁有政府的國家--而不是一個擁有國家的政府。這一點使我們在世界合國中獨樹一幟，我們的政府除了人民授予的權力，沒有任何別的權力?，F在是制止并扭轉政府機構和權力膨脹的時候了，因為種種跡象表明，這種膨脹已超過人民的意愿。
It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Federal establishment and to demand recognition of the distinction between the powers granted to the Federal Government and those reserved to the States or to the people. All of us need to be reminded that the Federal Government did not create the States; the States created the Federal Government.
我想要做的是限制聯(lián)邦政府的規(guī)模和權力，并要求大家承認聯(lián)邦政府被授予的權力同各州或人民保留的權利這兩者之間的區(qū)別。必須提醒我們大家注意：不是聯(lián)邦政府創(chuàng)立了各州，而是各州創(chuàng)立了聯(lián)邦政府。
Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it is not my intention to do away with government. It is, rather, to make it work-work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it.
因此，請不要誤解，我不是要取消政府，而是要它發(fā)揮作用--同我們一起合作，而不是凌駕于我們之上；同我們并肩而立，而不是騎在我們的身上。政府能夠而且必須提供而不是扼殺機會，能夠而且必須促進而不是抑制生產力。
If we look to the answer as to why, for so many years, we achieved so much, prospered as no other people on Earth, it was because here, in this land, we unleashed the energy and individual genius of man to a greater extent than has ever been done before. Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on Earth. The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price.
多年來我們能取得巨大成就，獲得世界上任何一個民族未曾獲得的繁榮昌盛的原因是在這片土地上我們比以往任何時候都地發(fā)揮人的潛能和個人的天才；這里比任何其他任何地方更容易得到、更可以確保個人的自由和尊嚴。得到這種自由所付出的代價有時相當昂貴，但我們從沒不愿意付出這種代價。
It is no coincidence that our present troubles parallel and are proportionate to the intervention and intrusion in our lives that result from unnecessary and excessive growth of government. It is time for us to realize that we are too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams. We are not, as some would have us believe, loomed to an inevitable decline. I do not believe in a fate that will all on us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing. So, with all the creative energy at our command, let us begin an era of national renewal. Let us renew our determination, our courage, and our strength. And let us renew; our faith and our hope.We have every right to dream heroic dreams.
我們目前困難的制造者是政府不必要和過度膨脹對我們生活的干預和侵擾，這不是偶然的巧合。我們應該真正認識到我們是一個偉大的國家，不能自囿于小小的夢想，我們不像有些人要我們相信的那樣注定要不可避免地衰落，我不相信我們命該如此，無論我們做什么都不能改變那些人描繪的宿命，但我相信，如果我們什么也不做，我們將的確命該如此。為此，讓我們以我們擁有的一切創(chuàng)造力來開創(chuàng)一個國家復興的時代吧。讓我們重新下定決心，拿出我們的勇氣和力量，讓我們重新滿懷信心和希望，我們完全有權利塑造崇高的理想。
Those who say that we are in a time when there are no heroes just don't know where to look. You can see heroes every day going in and out of factory gates. Others, a handful in number, produce enough food to feed all of us and then the world beyond. You meet heroes across a counter——and they are on both sides of that counter. There are entrepreneurs with faith in themselves and faith in an idea who create new jobs, new wealth and opportunity. They are individuals and families whose taxes support the Government and whose voluntary gifts support church, charity, culture, art, and education. Their patriotism is quiet but deep. Their values sustain our national life.
當下那些不知道去哪發(fā)現英雄的人說我們正身處于一個沒有英雄的時代。你們可以看到每天進出于工廠大門的英雄們；另外一些英雄人數雖少，但生產的糧食卻足夠養(yǎng)活我們大家和世界其他地區(qū)的人民；你們會在柜臺前遇到英雄--在柜臺的內外遇到英雄們，其中的一些人是對自己抱有信心的、有理想的企業(yè)家，他們創(chuàng)造新的職業(yè)、新的財富和機會，政府的維持就是靠這樣一些個人和家族繳納的捐稅，教會、慈善事業(yè)、文化、藝術和教育事業(yè)也是靠他們的自愿捐獻來維持的。他們的愛國主義精神含而不露，但卻是強烈的，他們創(chuàng)造的價值支撐著我們的國民生活。
I have used the words "they" and "their" in speaking of these heroes. I could say "you" and "your" because I am addressing the heroes of whom I speak——you, the citizens of this blessed land. Your dreams, your hopes, your goals are going to be the dreams, the hopes, and the goals of this administration, so help me God.
我在說到這些英雄時，用了“他們”和“他們的”這兩個字眼，但也可以說“你們”、“你們的”。因為我現在正給我提及的英雄們講話--就是你們，這個上帝降福的國土上的公民們。你們的理想、希望、目標將是本屆政府的理想、希望、目標，愿上帝保佑我做到這一點。
We shall reflect the compassion that is so much a part of your makeup. How can we love our country and not love our countrymen, and loving them, reach out a hand when they fall, heal them when they are sick, and provide opportunities to make them self- sufficient so they will be equal in fact and not just in theory?
我們將體現出在你們的稟性中占很大成分的同情心。怎么能愛我們的國家而不愛我們的同胞呢？我們要愛他們，在他們摔倒時伸出手去扶住他們，在他們患病時給他們治愈，并提供機會使他們自給自足，使他們獲得實在而不是口頭上的平等。
Can we solve the problems confronting us? Well, the answer is an unequivocal and emphatic "yes." To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I did not take the oath I have just taken with the intention of presiding over the dissolution of the world's strongest economy.
我們能解決擺在我們面前的這些問題嗎？回答是毫不含糊和斷然的兩個字“能夠”，借用溫斯頓丘吉爾的話說，我剛才宣誓并不是想要在我的領導下使這個世界強大的經濟瓦解。
In the days ahead I will propose removing the roadblocks that have slowed our economy and reduced productivity. Steps will be taken aimed at restoring the balance between the various levels of government. Progress may be slow——measured in inches and feet, not miles——but we will progress. Is it time to reawaken this industrial giant, to get government back within its means, and to lighten our punitive tax burden. And these will be our first priorities, and on these principles, there will be no compromise.
在今后的一段時間，我將建議消除一些使得我們經濟發(fā)展緩慢和生產力下降的障礙，將要采取一些旨在恢復各級政府之間保持平衡的步驟，進展也許是緩慢的，用英寸和英尺而不是用英里來衡量，但我們會前進?，F在應當是喚醒這個工業(yè)巨人的時候，使政府能夠重新量入為出，減輕我們懲罰性的賦稅負擔，這將是我們首要的任務，在這些原則上絕不會妥協(xié)
On the eve of our struggle for independence a man who might have been one of the greatest among the Founding Fathers, Dr. Joseph Warren, President of the Massachusetts Congress, said to his fellow Americans, "Our country is in danger, but not to be despaired of…… On you depend the fortunes of America. You are to decide the important questions upon which rests the happiness and the liberty of millions yet unborn. Act worthy of yourselves."
在我國為獨立而斗爭的前夕，有一個人曾對他的美國同胞說：“我們現在處于危險之中，但并沒有絕望…美國的命運取決與你們。關系到尚未出生的千百萬人的幸福和自由的一個重要問題是由你們來決定，你們的行動要無愧與你自己。”這個人就是馬薩諸塞議會主席約瑟夫沃倫博士，如果他當初沒有在邦克山犧牲，他也許成為我國建國的先人中偉大的任務之一。
Well, I believe we, the Americans of today, are ready to act worthy of ourselves, ready to do what must be done to ensure happiness and liberty for ourselves, our children and our children's children.
我相信，我們當代美國人已做好無愧于我們自己行動的準備，做好為確保我們自己、孩子和子孫后代的幸福和自由必須進行工作的準備。
And as we renew ourselves here in our own land, we will be seen as having greater strength throughout the world. We will again be the exemplar of freedom and a beacon of hope for those who do not now have freedom.
當我們在這塊土地上時代相傳時，全世界將看到，我們所具有的力量更加強大，我們將再度成為自由的典范，成為現在還沒有獲得自由的那些人的希望之光。
To those neighbors and allies who share our freedom, we will strengthen our historic ties and assure them of our support and firm commitment. We will match loyalty with loyalty. We will strive for mutually beneficial relations. We will not use our friendship to impose on their sovereignty, for or own sovereignty is not for sale.
對于與我們懷有同樣自由理想的那些鄰國和盟國，我們將加強我們之間傳統(tǒng)性的溝通，確保對他們予以支持，對他們履行應盡的義務，忠誠地報答他們的忠誠，努力爭取建立互利的關系，決不利用這種友誼去影響他們的主權，因為我們自己的主權也是不能出賣的。
As for the enemies of freedom, those who are potential adversaries, they will be reminded thatpeace is the highest aspiration of the American people. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it; we will not surrender for it——now or ever.
對于那些自由的敵人和潛在的對手，我們要提醒他們，和平是美國人民的高愿望。我們將為和平而談判，為和平而犧牲，但我們絕不為和平而投降，現在不會，將來也永遠不會。
Our forbearance should never be misunderstood. Our reluctance for conflict should not bemisjudged as a failure of will. When action is required to preserve our national security, we will act.We will maintain sufficient strength to prevail if need be, knowing that if we do so we have the best chance of never having to use that strength.
對我們的忍讓絕不應誤解。不要把我們對沖突采取的克制態(tài)度誤認為是意志不堅強。一旦需要采取行動保衛(wèi)我們國家的安全，我們就采取行動。我們將保持足以在必要時取勝的力量，這樣我們才有可能不必動用這種力量。
Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have. It is a weapon that we as Americans do have. Let that be understood by those who practice terrorism and prey upon their neighbors.
所以，我們必須認識到，世界各地軍火庫中的任何武器沒有自由人們的意志和維護道義的勇氣強大，這是當今世界上我們美國獨有而我們對手所沒有的武器。要讓那些采取恐怖行動和掠奪自己鄰國的人懂得這一點。
I am told that tens of thousands of prayer meetings are being held on this day, and for that I am deeply grateful. We are a nation under God, and I believe God intended for us to be free. It would be fitting and good, I think, if on each Inauguration Day in future years it should be declared a day of prayer.
當得知今天舉行的祈禱會成千上萬時，我深為感激。我們是上帝保佑的國家，我們相信，上帝希望我們得到自由。如果每次就職典禮日都能成為祈禱日，那是恰如其逢的好事。
This is the first time in history that this ceremony has been held, as you have been told, on this West Front of the Capitol. Standing here, one faces a magnificent vista, opening up on this city's special beauty and history. At the end of this open mall are those shrines to the giants on whose shoulders we stand.
就職儀式在國會大廈西門舉行是美國歷史的第一次。站在這里，宏偉壯麗的景色盡收眼底，可以看到華盛頓這座城市獨特的美麗和歷史。在這條寬闊林蔭大道盡頭矗立著我國歷史偉大的紀念物。
Directly in front of me, the monument to a monumental man: George Washington, Father of our country. A man of humility who came to greatness reluctantly. He led America out of revolutionary victory into infant nationhood. Off to one side, the stately memorial to Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence flames with his eloquence.
在我的正前方是一位不朽人物的紀念碑，他就是我們的國父喬治華盛頓。他稟性謙恭，處于時勢所迫才做出偉大業(yè)績，領導美國取得革命勝利，建立一個新國家。稍偏一點是莊嚴雄偉的托馬斯杰斐遜紀念堂，獨立宣言閃耀著他的雄辯才華。
And then beyond the Reflecting Pool the dignified columns of the Lincoln Memorial. Whoever would understand in his heart the meaning of America will find it in the life of Abraham Lincoln.
在映影池的那一邊，矗立著由大圓柱組成的莊嚴肅穆的林肯紀念堂，任何想徹底了解美國真諦的人都會在亞伯拉罕林肯的一生中得到答案。
Beyond those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery with its row on row of simple white markers bearing crosses or Stars of David. They add up to only a tiny fraction of the price that has been paid for our freedom.
過了這些英雄紀念物就是波托馬克河，河對岸就是阿靈頓國家公墓，坡地上排者一行行刻著十字架和大衛(wèi)王之星的樸實無華的白色墓碑，他們僅僅是為了我們的自由所付出的代價的縮影。
Each one of those markers is a monument to the kinds of hero I spoke of earlier. Their lives ended in places called Belleau Wood, The Argonne, Omaha Beach, Salerno and halfway around the world on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Pork Chop Hill, the Chosin Reservoir, and in a hundred rice paddies and jungles of a place called Vietnam.
這里的每一個墓碑都是對我所提及的那些英雄的紀念。他們在一些叫貝魯伍德、阿爾貢、奧馬哈灘、薩萊諾的地方，在相隔半個地球之遙的瓜達卡鈉爾、塔拉瓦、獨排山、長津水岸和一個叫越南--有著許許多多稻田和叢林的地方獻出了他們的生命。
Under one such marker lies a young man——Martin Treptow——who left his job in a small town barber shop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division. There, on the western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy artillery fire.
在這里的一塊墓碑下躺著一位名叫馬丁托雷普托的年輕人，他于1917年離開一座小鎮(zhèn)的理發(fā)館，隨同知名的彩虹師來到法國。在那里的西部戰(zhàn)場上，他在猛烈的炮火中為自己的部隊傳遞信息時犧牲了。
We are told that on his body was found a diary. On the flyleaf under the heading, "My Pledge," he had written these words: "America must win this war. Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone."
有人告訴我們在他的身上發(fā)現一本日記。扉頁上寫著這樣的標題：“我的誓言”。 他寫下了這樣的話語：“美國必須贏得這場戰(zhàn)爭。為此，我會奮斗，我會拯救，我會犧牲，我會忍受，我會并將盡我努力英勇奮戰(zhàn)，就好比所有的戰(zhàn)爭問題都將由我一個人來肩負?！?br>
The crisis we are facing today does not require of us the kind of sacrifice that Martin Treptow and so many thousands of others were called upon to make. It does require, however, our best effort, and our willingness to believe in ourselves and to believe in our capacity to perform great deeds; to believe that together, with God's help, we can and will resolve the problems which now confront us.
我們今天面臨的危機并不是要求我們作出像馬丁托雷普托和其他數以千計人那樣的犧牲，然而，它確實要求我們作出努力去工作，要求我們愿意相信自己，相信我們有能力干出偉大的事業(yè)：團結一致，在上帝的幫助下，能夠并且一定會解決我們面臨的種種問題。
And, after all, why shouldn't we believe that? We are Americans. God bless you, and thank you.
我們?yōu)槭裁床粦撓嘈胚@一點呢？畢竟我們是美國人。愿上帝祝福你們。
