美國總統林肯葛底斯堡演講詞 Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
Four score and seven yearsago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived inLiberty, and dedicated tothe proposition that all men are created equal.
87年以前，我們的先輩們在這個大陸上創立了一個新國家，它孕育於自由之中，奉行一切人生來平等的原則。
Now we are engaged in agreat civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and sodedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. Wehave come to dedicate a portion of the field, as a final resting-place forthose who here gave their lives that nation might live. It is altogether fittingand proper that we should do this.
現在我們正從事一場偉大的內戰，以考驗這個國家，或者説以考驗任何一個孕育於自由而奉行上述原則的國家是否能夠長久存在下去。我們在這場戰爭中的一個偉大戰場上集會。烈士們為使這個國家能夠生存下去而獻出了自己的生命，我們在此集會是為了把這個戰場的一部分奉獻給他們作為最後的安息之所，我們這樣做是完全應該的而且是非常恰當的。
But, in a large sense, we can not dedicate—we can notconsecrate— we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, whostruggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add ordetract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but itcan never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to bededicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus farso nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great taskremaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion tothat cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion— that we herehighly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation,underGod,shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of thepeople, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
但是，從更廣泛的意義上來説，這塊土地我們不能夠奉獻，我們不能夠聖化，我們不能夠神化：曾在這裏戰鬥過的勇士們，活着的和逝去的，已經把這塊土地神聖化了，這遠不是我們微薄的力量所能增減的。全世界將很少注意到、也不會長久地記得我們今天在這裏所説的話，但全世界永遠不會忘記勇士們在這裏所做過的事：毋寧説，倒是我們這些還活着的人，應該在這裏把自己奉獻於勇士們已經如此崇高地向前推進但尚未完成的事業。倒是我們應該在這裏把自己奉獻於仍然留在我們面前的偉大任務．以便使我們從這些光榮的死者身上吸取更多的奉獻精神，來完成他們已徹底為之獻身的事業；以便使我們在這裏下定最大的決心，不讓這些死者們白白犧牲；以便使我們國家在上帝福佑下得到自由的新生，並且使這個民有、民治、民享的政府永世長存。
