Vice President Cheney, Mr. Chief Justice, President Carter, President Bush, President Clinton, Members of the United States Congress, reverend clergy, distinguished guests, fellow citizens: 副总统切尼、首席大法官先生、卡特总统、布什总统、克林顿总统、美国国会议员们、尊敬的神职人员、各位嘉宾、同胞们：
On this day, prescribed by law and marked by ceremony, we celebrate the durable wisdom of our Constitution and recall the deep commitments that unite our country. I am grateful for the honor of this hour, mindful of the consequential times in which we live, and determined to fulfill the oath that I have sworn and you have witnessed. 今天，按照法律规定并举行仪式，我们庆祝宪法经久不衰的智慧，回顾将我们国家团结在一起的深厚承诺。我为这一时刻的荣耀深表感激，铭记我们所处的重要时代，并决心履行我所宣誓、你们所见证的誓言。
At this second gathering, our duties are defined not by the words I use but by the history we have seen together. For a half a century, America defended our own freedom by standing watch on distant borders. After the shipwreck of communism came years of relative quiet, years of repose, years of sabbatical, and then there came a day of fire. 在第二次就职典礼上，我们的职责不由我使用的言辞来定义，而是由我们共同经历的历史来定义。半个世纪以来，美国通过在遥远边境站岗来捍卫自己的自由。共产主义覆灭之后是几年相对平静的时期，几年休养生息的时期，几年休整的时期，然后迎来了火的一天。
We have seen our vulnerability, and we have seen its deepest source. For as long as whole regions of the world simmer in resentment and tyranny, prone to ideologies that feed hatred and excuse murder, violence will gather and multiply in destructive power and cross the most defended borders and raise a mortal threat. There is only one force of history that can break the reign of hatred and resentment and expose the pretensions of tyrants and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant, and that is the force of human freedom. 我们已经看到了我们的脆弱，也看到了其最深的根源。只要世界上某些地区在怨恨和暴政中酝酿，容易滋生仇恨和为谋杀辩解的意识形态，暴力就会积聚并以破坏性力量蔓延，跨越最坚固的边界，构成致命威胁。历史上只有一种力量能够打破仇恨和怨恨的统治，揭露暴君的虚伪，回报善良和宽容者的希望，那就是人类自由的力量。
We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world. 事件和常识引导我们得出一个结论：我们国家自由的存续越来越取决于其他国家自由的成功。世界和平的最大希望是自由在全球的扩展。
America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one. From the day of our founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this Earth has rights and dignity and matchless value, because they bear the image of the Maker of heaven and Earth. Across the generations, we have proclaimed the imperative of self-government, because no one is fit to be a master and no one deserves to be a slave. Advancing these ideals is the mission that created our Nation. It is the honorable achievement of our fathers. Now, it is the urgent requirement of our Nation's security and the calling of our time. 美国的核心利益和我们最深的信念现在合而为一。从建国之日起，我们就宣告，地球上每一个男人和女人都拥有权利、尊严和无与伦比的价值，因为他们承载着天地创造者的形象。一代又一代，我们宣告自治的必要性，因为没有人适合做主人，也没有人应该做奴隶。推进这些理想是创建我们国家的使命。这是我们先辈的光荣成就。现在，这是我们国家安全的紧迫要求和我们时代的召唤。
So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world. This is not primarily the task of arms, though we will defend ourselves and our friends by force of arms when necessary. Freedom, by its nature, must be chosen and defended by citizens and sustained by the rule of law and the protection of minorities. And when the soul of a nation finally speaks, the institutions that arise may reflect customs and traditions very different from our own. America will not impose our own style of government on the unwilling. Our goal instead is to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way. 因此，美国的政策是寻求和支持在每一个国家和文化中民主运动和机构的发展，最终目标是在我们的世界中终结暴政。这主要不是武力的任务，尽管必要时我们将用武力保卫自己和我们的朋友。自由就其本质而言，必须由公民选择和捍卫，并由法治和对少数群体的保护来维系。当一个国家的灵魂最终发声时，所产生的机构可能反映出与我们自己截然不同的习俗和传统。美国不会将自己的政府模式强加于不愿意接受的人。相反，我们的目标是帮助他人找到自己的声音，获得自己的自由，并走出自己的道路。
The great objective of ending tyranny is the concentrated work of generations. The difficulty of the task is no excuse for avoiding it. America's influence is not unlimited, but fortunately for the oppressed, America's influence is considerable and we will use it confidently in freedom's cause. 终结暴政的伟大目标是几代人的集中工作。任务的难度不是回避它的借口。美国的影响力不是无限的，但幸运的是，对于被压迫者来说，美国的影响力相当大，我们将在自由事业中自信地运用它。
My most solemn duty is to protect this Nation and its people from further attacks and emerging threats. Some have unwisely chosen to test America's resolve and have found it firm. We will persistently clarify the choice before every ruler and every nation, the moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong, and freedom, which is eternally right. 我最庄严的职责是保护这个国家及其人民免受进一步的攻击和新出现的威胁。有些人不明智地选择考验美国的决心，结果发现我们的决心坚定不移。我们将持续向每一位统治者和每一个国家阐明选择，即在永远错误的压迫与永恒正确的自由之间的道德选择。
America will not pretend that jailed dissidents prefer their chains or that women welcome humiliation and servitude or that any human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies. We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own people. America's belief in human dignity will guide our policies. Yet rights must be more than the grudging concessions of dictators. They are secured by free dissent and the participation of the governed. In the long run, there is no justice without freedom and there can be no human rights without human liberty. 美国不会假装被监禁的异议者喜欢他们的锁链，也不会假装妇女欢迎羞辱和奴役，更不会假装任何人渴望在恶霸的仁慈下生活。我们将通过明确表示，在我们的关系中取得成功需要对本国人民给予体面对待，来鼓励其他政府进行改革。美国对人类尊严的信念将指导我们的政策。然而，权利必须不仅仅是独裁者勉强的让步。它们是通过自由的异议和被统治者的参与来保障的。从长远来看，没有自由就没有正义，没有人类自由就没有人权。
Some, I know, have questioned the global appeal of liberty, though this time in history, four decades defined by the swiftest advance of freedom ever seen, is an odd time for doubt. Americans, of all people, should never be surprised by the power of our ideals. Eventually, the call of freedom comes to every mind and every soul. We do not accept the existence of permanent tyranny because we do not accept the possibility of permanent slavery. Liberty will come to those who love it. 我知道，有些人质疑自由的全球吸引力，尽管在历史上这个由自由有史以来最迅速进步所定义的四十年，是怀疑的奇怪时刻。美国人，尤其是美国人，永远不应为我们理想的力量感到惊讶。最终，自由的召唤会来到每个人的心中和灵魂中。我们不接受永久暴政的存在，因为我们不接受永久奴隶制的可能性。自由将属于热爱它的人。
Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world. All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: The United States will not ignore your oppression or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you. 今天，美国再次向世界各国人民发表讲话。所有生活在暴政和绝望中的人都可以知道：美国不会忽视你们的压迫，也不会原谅你们的压迫者。当你们为自由而站时，我们将与你们站在一起。
Democratic reformers facing repression, prison, or exile can know: America sees you for who you are, the future leaders of your free country. 面临镇压、监禁或流放的民主改革者可以知道：美国看到了你们的本色，你们是你们自由国家未来的领袖。
The rulers of outlaw regimes can know that we still believe as Abraham Lincoln did: "Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it." 非法政权的统治者可以知道，我们仍然像亚伯拉罕·林肯那样相信："那些剥夺他人自由的人不配享有自由，在公正上帝的统治下，他们也无法长久保有自由。"
The leaders of governments with long habits of control need to know: To serve your people, you must learn to trust them. Start on this journey of progress and justice, and America will walk at your side. 长期习惯于控制的政府领导人需要知道：要为你们的人民服务，你们必须学会信任他们。开始这一进步与正义的旅程，美国将与你们同行。
And all the allies of the United States can know: We honor your friendship; we rely on your counsel; and we depend on your help. Division among free nations is a primary goal of freedom's enemies. The concerted effort of free nations to promote democracy is a prelude to our enemies' defeat. 所有美国的盟友都可以知道：我们珍视你们的友谊；我们依赖你们的建议；我们依靠你们的帮助。自由国家之间的分裂是自由敌人的首要目标。自由国家共同努力促进民主是我们敌人失败的前奏。
Today I also speak anew to my fellow citizens. From all of you I have asked patience in the hard task of securing America, which you have granted in good measure. Our country has accepted obligations that are difficult to fulfill and would be dishonorable to abandon. Yet because we have acted in the great liberating tradition of this Nation, tens of millions have achieved their freedom. And as hope kindles hope, millions more will find it. By our efforts, we have lit a fire as well, a fire in the minds of men. It warms those who feel its power. It burns those who fight its progress. And one day this untamed fire of freedom will reach the darkest corners of our world. 今天，我也再次向我的同胞们讲话。我曾向你们所有人请求耐心，以完成保卫美国的艰巨任务，你们慷慨地给予了我们耐心。我们的国家已经接受了难以履行但放弃会不光彩的义务。然而，因为我们按照这个国家伟大的解放传统采取行动，数千万人已经获得了自由。随着希望点燃希望，数百万人将找到自由。通过我们的努力，我们也点燃了一把火，一把在人们心中燃烧的火。它温暖那些感受到其力量的人。它燃烧那些阻碍其进步的人。有一天，这股自由的烈火将照亮我们世界最黑暗的角落。
A few Americans have accepted the hardest duties in this cause, in the quiet work of intelligence and diplomacy, the idealistic work of helping raise up free governments, the dangerous and necessary work of fighting our enemies. Some have shown their devotion to our country in deaths that honored their whole lives, and we will always honor their names and their sacrifice. 一些美国人在这项事业中承担了最艰巨的职责，从事安静的情报和外交工作，从事帮助建立自由政府的理想主义工作，从事与敌人战斗的危险而必要的工作。有些人以牺牲生命的方式表达了对国家的忠诚，他们的一生因此而荣耀，我们将永远铭记他们的名字和牺牲。
All Americans have witnessed this idealism and some for the first time. I ask our youngest citizens to believe the evidence of your eyes. You have seen duty and allegiance in the determined faces of our soldiers. You have seen that life is fragile and evil is real and courage triumphs. Make the choice to serve in a cause larger than your wants, larger than yourself, and in your days you will add not just to the wealth of our country but to its character. 所有美国人都见证了这种理想主义，有些人是第一次见证。我请我们最年轻的公民相信你们亲眼所见的证据。你们在我们士兵坚定的脸上看到了责任和忠诚。你们看到了生命是脆弱的，邪恶是真实的，勇气会胜利。选择为一个比你们的欲望更伟大、比你们自己更伟大的事业服务，在你们的日子里，你们不仅会增加我们国家的财富，还会增加它的品格。
America has need of idealism and courage because we have essential work at home, the unfinished work of American freedom. In a world moving toward liberty, we are determined to show the meaning and promise of liberty. 美国需要理想主义和勇气，因为我们在国内有重要的工作要做，即美国自由的未竟事业。在一个走向自由的世界里，我们决心展示自由的意义和承诺。
In America's ideal of freedom, citizens find the dignity and security of economic independence instead of laboring on the edge of subsistence. This is the broader definition of liberty that motivated the Homestead Act, the Social Security Act, and the GI bill of rights. And now we will extend this vision by reforming great institutions to serve the needs of our time. To give every American a stake in the promise and future of our country, we will bring the highest standards to our schools and build an ownership society. We will widen the ownership of homes and businesses, retirement savings, and health insurance, preparing our people for the challenges of life in a free society. By making every citizen an agent of his or her own destiny, we will give our fellow Americans greater freedom from want and fear and make our society more prosperous and just and equal. 在美国的自由理想中，公民在经济独立中找到尊严和安全，而不是在生存边缘劳作。这是激励《宅地法》、《社会保障法》和《退伍军人权利法案》的更广泛的自由定义。现在，我们将通过改革伟大的机构来扩展这一愿景，以服务于我们时代的需求。为了让每个美国人都在我们国家的承诺和未来中拥有一份份额，我们将为我们的学校带来最高标准，并建设一个所有权社会。我们将扩大住房和企业所有权、退休储蓄和医疗保险，让我们的人民为自由社会中的生活挑战做好准备。通过让每个公民成为自己命运的主人，我们将给予我们的同胞更大的免于匮乏和恐惧的自由，并使我们的社会更加繁荣、公正和平等。
In America's ideal of freedom, the public interest depends on private character, on integrity and tolerance toward others and the rule of conscience in our own lives. Self-government relies, in the end, on the governing of the self. That edifice of character is built in families, supported by communities with standards, and sustained in our national life by the truths of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount, the words of the Koran, and the varied faiths of our people. Americans move forward in every generation by reaffirming all that is good and true that came before, ideals of justice and conduct that are the same yesterday, today, and forever. 在美国的自由理想中，公共利益取决于个人品格，取决于正直、对他人的宽容以及我们生活中的良知准则。自治最终依赖于自我治理。品格的大厦建立在家庭中，由有标准的社区支持，并在我们的国家生活中由西奈山的真理、登山宝训、《古兰经》的话语以及我们人民不同的信仰所维系。美国人在每一代人中都通过重申所有过去美好和真实的事物——昨天、今天和永远不变的正义和行为理想——来前进。
In America's ideal of freedom, the exercise of rights is ennobled by service and mercy and a heart for the weak. Liberty for all does not mean independence from one another. Our Nation relies on men and women who look after a neighbor and surround the lost with love. Americans, at our best, value the life we see in one another and must always remember that even the unwanted have worth. And our country must abandon all the habits of racism, because we cannot carry the message of freedom and the baggage of bigotry at the same time. 在美国的自由理想中，权利的行使因服务、仁慈和对弱者的关怀而变得高尚。人人享有自由并不意味着彼此独立。我们的国家依赖于那些关心邻居、用爱包围迷失者的男人和女人。美国人在最好的时候，珍视我们在彼此身上看到的生命，必须永远记住，即使是不受欢迎的人也有价值。我们的国家必须摒弃所有种族主义习惯，因为我们不能同时携带自由的信息和偏执的包袱。
From the perspective of a single day, including this day of dedication, the issues and questions before our country are many. From the viewpoint of centuries, the questions that come to us are narrowed and few: Did our generation advance the cause of freedom? And did our character bring credit to that cause? 从包括今天这个奉献日在内的单一日子的角度来看，我们国家面临的问题和挑战很多。从几个世纪的角度来看，摆在我们面前的问题变得狭窄而有限：我们这一代人是否推进了自由事业？我们的品格是否为这一事业增光？
These questions that judge us also unite us, because Americans of every party and background, Americans by choice and by birth are bound to one another in the cause of freedom. We have known divisions, which must be healed to move forward in great purposes, and I will strive in good faith to heal them. Yet those divisions do not define America. We felt the unity and fellowship of our Nation when freedom came under attack, and our response came like a single hand over a single heart. And we can feel that same unity and pride whenever America acts for good and the victims of disaster are given hope and the unjust encounter justice and the captives are set free. 这些评判我们的问题也将我们团结在一起，因为每个党派和背景的美国人，无论是选择成为美国人还是生来就是美国人，都在自由事业中相互联系。我们经历过分歧，必须治愈这些分歧才能朝着伟大的目标前进，我将真诚地努力治愈它们。然而，这些分歧不能定义美国。当自由受到攻击时，我们感受到了国家的团结和情谊，我们的反应就像一只手放在一颗心上。每当美国行善、灾难受害者获得希望、不公正者得到正义、被囚禁者获得自由时，我们都能感受到同样的团结和自豪。
We go forward with complete confidence in the eventual triumph of freedom, not because history runs on the wheels of inevitability—it is human choices that move events; not because we consider ourselves a chosen nation—God moves and chooses as He wills. We have confidence because freedom is the permanent hope of mankind, the hunger in dark places, the longing of the soul. When our Founders declared a new order of the ages, when soldiers died in wave upon wave for a union based on liberty, when citizens marched in peaceful outrage under the banner "Freedom Now," they were acting on an ancient hope that is meant to be fulfilled. History has an ebb and flow of justice, but history also has a visible direction, set by liberty and the Author of Liberty. 我们满怀信心地前进，相信自由终将胜利，不是因为历史在必然性的车轮上运行——是人类的选择推动事件发展；不是因为我们认为自己是被选中的民族——上帝按照他的意愿行事和选择。我们有信心，因为自由是人类永久的希望，是黑暗地方的渴望，是灵魂的向往。当我们的开国元勋宣告一个新的时代秩序时，当士兵们为一个基于自由的联盟一波又一波地牺牲时，当公民们举着"现在自由"的旗帜和平抗议时，他们是在践行一种注定要实现的古老希望。历史有正义的潮起潮落，但历史也有一个可见的方向，由自由和自由的创造者所设定。
When the Declaration of Independence was first read in public and the Liberty Bell was sounded in celebration, a witness said, "It rang as if it meant something." In our time, it means something still. America, in this young century, proclaims liberty throughout all the world and to all the inhabitants thereof. Renewed in our strength, tested but not weary, we are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom. 当《独立宣言》首次公开宣读、自由钟敲响庆祝时，一位目击者说："它敲响时仿佛意味着什么。"在我们这个时代，它仍然意味着什么。美国在这个年轻的世纪里，向全世界和所有居民宣告自由。我们的力量得到更新，虽经考验但毫不疲倦，我们已准备好迎接自由历史上最伟大的成就。
May God bless you, and may He watch over the United States of America. 愿上帝保佑你们，愿上帝保佑美利坚合众国。