Thank you very kindly, my friends. As I listened to Ralph Abernathy and his eloquent and generous introduction and then thought about myself, I wondered who he was talking about. It's always good to have your closest friend and associate to say something good about you. And Ralph Abernathy is the best friend that I have in the world. I'm delighted to see each of you here tonight in spite of a storm warning. You reveal that you are determined to go on anyhow. 非常感谢你们，我的朋友们。当我听到拉尔夫·阿伯内西慷慨而雄辩的介绍，然后想到我自己时，我不禁想知道他说的是谁。能让你最亲密的朋友和伙伴为你说好话，总是一件好事。拉尔夫·阿伯内西是我在这个世界上最好的朋友。尽管有风暴警报，我很高兴今晚在这里见到你们每一个人。这表明你们决心无论如何都要继续前进。
Something is happening in Memphis; something is happening in our world. And you know, if I were standing at the beginning of time, with the possibility of taking a kind of general and panoramic view of the whole of human history up to now, and the Almighty said to me, "Martin Luther King, which age would you like to live in?" I would take my mental flight by Egypt and I would watch God's children in their magnificent trek from the dark dungeons of Egypt through, or rather across the Red Sea, through the wilderness on toward the promised land. And in spite of its magnificence, I wouldn't stop there. 孟菲斯正在发生变化；我们的世界正在发生变化。你们知道，如果我站在时间的起点，能够纵观整个人类历史直到现在，并且全能的上帝对我说："马丁·路德·金，你想生活在哪个时代？"我会在想象中飞越埃及，看到上帝的孩子们从埃及黑暗的地牢中壮丽地跋涉，穿过——更准确地说——渡过红海，穿越荒野，朝着应许之地前进。尽管这景象壮丽非凡，我不会停在那里。
I would move on by Greece and take my mind to Mount Olympus. And I would see Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Euripides and Aristophanes assembled around the Parthenon. And I would watch them around the Parthenon as they discussed the great and eternal issues of reality. But I wouldn't stop there. 我会继续前往希腊，让我的思绪飞向奥林匹斯山。我会看到柏拉图、亚里士多德、苏格拉底、欧里庇得斯和阿里斯托芬聚集在帕特农神庙周围。我会注视着他们在帕特农神庙周围讨论现实中伟大而永恒的问题。但我不会停在那里。
I would go on, even to the great heyday of the Roman Empire. And I would see developments around there, through various emperors and leaders. But I wouldn't stop there. 我会继续前进，甚至来到罗马帝国的鼎盛时期。我会看到那里的发展，经历各种皇帝和领袖的统治。但我不会停在那里。
I would even come up to the day of the Renaissance, and get a quick picture of all that the Renaissance did for the cultural and aesthetic life of man. But I wouldn't stop there. 我甚至会来到文艺复兴时期，快速了解文艺复兴为人类的文化和审美生活所做的一切。但我不会停在那里。
I would even go by the way that the man for whom I am named had his habitat. And I would watch Martin Luther as he tacked his ninety-five theses on the door at the church of Wittenberg. But I wouldn't stop there. 我甚至会经过与我同名的那个人曾经生活的地方。我会看到马丁·路德在维滕贝格教堂的门上钉下他的九十五条论纲。但我不会停在那里。
I would come on up even to 1863, and watch a vacillating President by the name of Abraham Lincoln finally come to the conclusion that he had to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. But I wouldn't stop there. 我会继续来到1863年，看到一位犹豫不决的总统——亚伯拉罕·林肯——最终得出结论，他必须签署《解放宣言》。但我不会停在那里。
I would even come up to the early thirties, and see a man grappling with the problems of the bankruptcy of his nation. And come with an eloquent cry that we have nothing to fear but "fear itself." But I wouldn't stop there. 我甚至会来到三十年代初，看到一个人正在努力解决他的国家破产的问题。他发出雄辩的呐喊：我们唯一需要害怕的就是"恐惧本身"。但我不会停在那里。
Strangely enough, I would turn to the Almighty, and say, "If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the 20th century, I will be happy." 奇怪的是，我会转向全能的上帝，说："如果你允许我在20世纪下半叶生活几年，我会很高兴。"
Now that's a strange statement to make, because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land; confusion all around. That's a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a way that men, in some strange way, are responding. 这听起来很奇怪，因为世界一团糟。国家生病了。土地上充满了麻烦；到处都是混乱。这听起来很奇怪。但我知道，不知何故，只有在足够黑暗的时候才能看到星星。我看到上帝在20世纪的这个时期以一种奇怪的方式工作，而人们也以一种奇怪的方式回应。
Something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee -- the cry is always the same: "We want to be free." 我们的世界正在发生变化。人民群众正在觉醒。无论他们今天聚集在哪里，无论是在南非的约翰内斯堡、肯尼亚的内罗毕、加纳的阿克拉、纽约市、佐治亚州的亚特兰大、密西西比州的杰克逊，还是田纳西州的孟菲斯——呼声总是一样的："我们要自由。"
And another reason that I'm happy to live in this period is that we have been forced to a point where we are going to have to grapple with the problems that men have been trying to grapple with through history, but the demands didn't force them to do it. Survival demands that we grapple with them. Men, for years now, have been talking about war and peace. But now, no longer can they just talk about it. It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it's nonviolence or nonexistence. That is where we are today. 我很高兴生活在这个时代的另一个原因是，我们已经被逼到了一个必须解决人类历史上一直试图解决但之前没有被迫解决的问题的境地。生存要求我们必须解决这些问题。多年来，人们一直在谈论战争与和平。但现在，他们不能只谈论了。在这个世界上，不再是在暴力和非暴力之间做出选择；而是非暴力或不存在。这就是我们今天所处的境地。
And also in the human rights revolution, if something isn't done, and done in a hurry, to bring the colored peoples of the world out of their long years of poverty, their long years of hurt and neglect, the whole world is doomed. Now, I'm just happy that God has allowed me to live in this period to see what is unfolding. And I'm happy that He's allowed me to be in Memphis. 在人权革命中，如果不尽快采取行动，将世界上有色人种从长期的贫困、伤害和忽视中解放出来，整个世界都将注定毁灭。现在，我很高兴上帝允许我生活在这个时期，看到正在发生的一切。我也很高兴他允许我来到孟菲斯。
I can remember -- I can remember when Negroes were just going around as Ralph has said, so often, scratching where they didn't itch, and laughing when they were not tickled. But that day is all over. We mean business now, and we are determined to gain our rightful place in God's world. 我记得——我记得正如拉尔夫所说，以前黑人常常是无病呻吟，没被逗乐却假装大笑。但那个时代已经过去了。我们现在是认真的，我们决心在上帝的世界中获得我们应有的地位。
And that's all this whole thing is about. We aren't engaged in any negative protest and in any negative arguments with anybody. We are saying that we are determined to be men. We are determined to be people. We are saying -- We are saying that we are God's children. And that we are God's children, we don't have to live like we are forced to live. 这就是整个事情的全部意义。我们不是在进行任何消极的抗议，也不是在与任何人进行消极的争论。我们说我们决心做真正的人。我们说我们是上帝的孩子。既然我们是上帝的孩子，我们就不必像被强迫那样生活。
Now, what does all of this mean in this great period of history? It means that we've got to stay together. We've got to stay together and maintain unity. You know, whenever Pharaoh wanted to prolong the period of slavery in Egypt, he had a favorite, favorite formula for doing it. What was that? He kept the slaves fighting among themselves. But whenever the slaves get together, something happens in Pharaoh's court, and he cannot hold the slaves in slavery. When the slaves get together, that's the beginning of getting out of slavery. Now let us maintain unity. 那么，在这个伟大的历史时期，这一切意味着什么？这意味着我们必须团结在一起。我们必须团结在一起，保持统一。你们知道，每当法老想延长埃及的奴隶制时期时，他有一个最喜欢的办法。是什么呢？他让奴隶们互相争斗。但每当奴隶们团结起来，法老的宫廷就会发生变化，他无法再把奴隶们束缚在奴隶制中。当奴隶们团结起来，那就是摆脱奴隶制的开始。现在让我们保持团结。
Secondly, let us keep the issues where they are. The issue is injustice. The issue is the refusal of Memphis to be fair and honest in its dealings with its public servants, who happen to be sanitation workers. Now, we've got to keep attention on that. That's always the problem with a little violence. You know what happened the other day, and the press dealt only with the window-breaking. I read the articles. They very seldom got around to mentioning the fact that one thousand, three hundred sanitation workers are on strike, and that Memphis is not being fair to them, and that Mayor Loeb is in dire need of a doctor. They didn't get around to that. 其次，让我们把问题放在它本来的位置上。问题在于不公正。问题在于孟菲斯市拒绝在与它的公共服务人员（也就是环卫工人）的交往中保持公平和诚实。现在，我们必须继续关注这一点。这就是暴力带来的问题。前几天发生的事情你们都知道，但媒体只报道了砸窗户的事。我读了那些文章，他们很少提到一千三百名环卫工人正在罢工，孟菲斯市对他们不公平，而洛布市长急需看医生。他们没有提到这些。
Now we're going to march again, and we've got to march again, in order to put the issue where it is supposed to be -- and force everybody to see that there are thirteen hundred of God's children here suffering, sometimes going hungry, going through dark and dreary nights wondering how this thing is going to come out. That's the issue. And we've got to say to the nation: We know how it's coming out. For when people get caught up with that which is right and they are willing to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of victory. 现在我们要再次游行，我们必须再次游行，以便把问题放在它应该在的位置——并迫使每个人看到这里有一千三百名上帝的孩子正在受苦，有时挨饿，在黑暗和沉闷的夜晚中度过，不知道这件事会如何结束。这就是问题所在。我们必须对国家说：我们知道结局会如何。因为当人们投身于正确的事业并愿意为之牺牲时，除了胜利，没有止境。
We aren't going to let any mace stop us. We are masters in our nonviolent movement in disarming police forces; they don't know what to do. I've seen them so often. I remember in Birmingham, Alabama, when we were in that majestic struggle there, we would move out of the 16th Street Baptist Church day after day; by the hundreds we would move out. And Bull Connor would tell them to send the dogs forth, and they did come; but we just went before the dogs singing, "Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around." 我们不会让任何催泪瓦斯阻止我们。在我们的非暴力运动中，我们是解除警察武装的大师；他们不知道该怎么做。我见过他们很多次。我记得在阿拉巴马州的伯明翰，当我们在那里进行那场宏伟的斗争时，我们日复一日地从第十六街浸信会教堂走出来；成百上千人走出来。布尔·康纳会告诉他们放出狗来，狗确实来了；但我们只是在狗面前走过，唱着："谁也不能让我回头。"
Bull Connor next would say, "Turn the fire hoses on." And as I said to you the other night, Bull Connor didn't know history. He knew a kind of physics that somehow didn't relate to the transphysics that we knew about. And that was the fact that there was a certain kind of fire that no water could put out. And we went before the fire hoses; we had known water. If we were Baptist or some other denominations, we had been immersed. If we were Methodist, and some others, we had been sprinkled, but we knew water. That couldn't stop us. 布尔·康纳接着会说："打开消防水管。"就像我前几天晚上对你们说的，布尔·康纳不懂历史。他只知道某种物理，但那种物理与我们所知道的超物理毫无关系。事实是，有一种火是水无法扑灭的。我们走到消防水管前；我们了解水。如果我们是浸信会或其他教派的，我们曾经受过浸礼。如果我们是卫理公会或其他教派的，我们曾经受过洒水礼，但我们了解水。那无法阻止我们。
And we just went on before the dogs and we would look at them; and we'd go on before the water hoses and we would look at it, and we'd just go on singing "Over my head I see freedom in the air." And then we would be thrown in the paddy wagons, and sometimes we were stacked in there like sardines in a can. And they would throw us in, and old Bull would say, "Take 'em off," and they did; and we would just go in the paddy wagon singing, "We Shall Overcome." And every now and then we'd get in jail, and we'd see the jailers looking through the windows being moved by our prayers, and being moved by our words and our songs. And there was a power there which Bull Connor couldn't adjust to; and so we ended up transforming Bull into a steer, and we won our struggle in Birmingham. Now we've got to go on in Memphis just like that. I call upon you to be with us when we go out Monday. 我们只是继续走向狗群，看着它们；我们继续走向消防水管，看着它，继续唱着："在我头顶，我看到自由在空中。"然后我们会被扔进警车，有时我们像罐头里的沙丁鱼一样被堆在里面。他们会把我们扔进去，老布尔会说："把他们带走，"他们照做了；而我们只是在警车里唱着："我们终将胜利。"有时我们会被送进监狱，我们会看到狱卒透过窗户被我们的祈祷感动，被我们的话语和歌声感动。那里有一种力量，布尔·康纳无法适应；所以我们最终把布尔变成了阉牛，我们在伯明翰赢得了斗争。现在我们必须在孟菲斯继续这样做。我呼吁你们周一和我们一起出去。
Now about injunctions: We have an injunction and we're going into court tomorrow morning to fight this illegal, unconstitutional injunction. All we say to America is, "Be true to what you said on paper." If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, maybe I could understand some of these illegal injunctions. Maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges, because they hadn't committed themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for right. And so just as I say, we aren't going to let dogs or water hoses turn us around, we aren't going to let any injunction turn us around. We are going on. 现在谈谈禁令：我们收到了一项禁令，明天早上我们要上法庭来对抗这项非法、违宪的禁令。我们对美国说的只有一句话："言行一致。"如果我生活在中国、俄罗斯或任何极权国家，也许我能理解这些非法禁令。也许我能理解剥夺某些基本的第一修正案权利，因为他们那边没有承诺过这些。但我在某处读到过集会自由，在某处读到过言论自由，在某处读到过新闻自由。我在某处读到过，美国的伟大之处在于有权为正义而抗议。所以，正如我所说，我们不会让狗或消防水管阻止我们，我们也不会让任何禁令阻止我们。我们要继续前进。
We need all of you. And you know what's beautiful to me is to see all of these ministers of the Gospel. It's a marvelous picture. Who is it that is supposed to articulate the longings and aspirations of the people more than the preacher? Somehow the preacher must have a kind of fire shut up in his bones. And whenever injustice is around he tell it. Somehow the preacher must be an Amos, and saith, "When God speaks who can but prophesy?" Again with Amos, "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." Somehow the preacher must say with Jesus, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me," and he's anointed me to deal with the problems of the poor." 我们需要你们所有人。你们知道对我来说最美的景象是什么吗？是看到所有这些福音传道者。这是一幅壮丽的画面。除了传道者，还有谁能更清楚地表达人民的渴望和抱负呢？不知何故，传道者的骨子里必须有一种被压抑的火焰。每当不公正出现时，他必须说出来。传道者必须像阿摩司一样说："当上帝说话时，谁能不预言？"又如阿摩司所说："让正义如流水滚滚而下，让公义如大江奔腾不息。"传道者必须像耶稣一样说："主的灵在我身上，因为他用膏膏我，"并派我去解决穷人的问题。
And I want to commend the preachers, under the leadership of these noble men: James Lawson, one who has been in this struggle for many years; he's been to jail for struggling; he's been kicked out of Vanderbilt University for this struggle, but he's still going on, fighting for the rights of his people. Reverend Ralph Jackson, Billy Kiles; I could just go right on down the list, but time will not permit. But I want to thank all of them. And I want you to thank them, because so often, preachers aren't concerned about anything but themselves. And I'm always happy to see a relevant ministry. 我要赞扬这些传道者，在这些高尚的人的领导下：詹姆斯·劳森，他多年来一直投身于这场斗争；他曾因斗争而入狱；他曾因这场斗争被范德比尔特大学开除，但他仍然继续前进，为他的人民争取权利。拉尔夫·杰克逊牧师、比利·基尔斯；我可以继续列举下去，但时间不允许。但我要感谢他们所有人。我也希望你们感谢他们，因为太多时候，传道者只关心自己。我总是很高兴看到一个有意义的事工。
It's all right to talk about "long white robes over yonder," in all of its symbolism. But ultimately people want some suits and dresses and shoes to wear down here! It's all right to talk about "streets flowing with milk and honey," but God has commanded us to be concerned about the slums down here, and his children who can't eat three square meals a day. It's all right to talk about the new Jerusalem, but one day, God's preacher must talk about the new New York, the new Atlanta, the new Philadelphia, the new Los Angeles, the new Memphis, Tennessee. This is what we have to do. 谈论"那边的白色长袍"及其象征意义是可以的。但最终人们想要的是在这里可以穿的西装、裙子和鞋子！谈论"流淌着奶与蜜的街道"是可以的，但上帝命令我们关心这里的贫民窟，关心那些每天吃不上三顿饭的他的孩子们。谈论新耶路撒冷是可以的，但有一天，上帝的传道者必须谈论新纽约、新亚特兰大、新费城、新洛杉矶、新田纳西州孟菲斯。这就是我们必须做的。
Now the other thing we'll have to do is this: Always anchor our external direct action with the power of economic withdrawal. Now, we are poor people. Individually, we are poor when you compare us with white society in America. We are poor. Never stop and forget that collectively -- that means all of us together -- collectively we are richer than all the nations in the world, with the exception of nine. Did you ever think about that? After you leave the United States, Soviet Russia, Great Britain, West Germany, France, and I could name the others, the American Negro collectively is richer than most nations of the world. We have an annual income of more than thirty billion dollars a year, which is more than all of the exports of the United States, and more than the national budget of Canada. Did you know that? That's power right there, if we know how to pool it. 我们必须做的另一件事是：始终将我们的外部直接行动与经济抵制的力量结合起来。现在，我们是穷人。与美国的白人社会相比，我们个人是贫穷的。我们很贫穷。但永远不要忘记，作为一个整体——意味着我们所有人在一起——我们整体上比世界上除了九个国家之外的所有国家都更富有。你们想过吗？除了苏联、英国、西德、法国等国家之外，美国黑人整体上比世界上大多数国家都更富有。我们每年的收入超过三百亿美元，这超过了苏联的全部出口额，也超过了加拿大的国家预算。你们知道吗？如果我们知道如何集中这些财富，那就是力量。
We don't have to argue with anybody. We don't have to curse and go around acting bad with our words. We don't need any bricks and bottles. We don't need any Molotov cocktails. We just need to go around to these stores, and to these massive industries in our country, and say, "God sent us by here, to say to you that you're not treating his children right. And we've come by here to ask you to make the first item on your agenda fair treatment, where God's children are concerned. Now, if you are not prepared to do that, we do have an agenda that we must follow. And our agenda calls for withdrawing economic support from you." 我们不必与任何人争论。我们不必诅咒或用言语作恶。我们不需要砖块和瓶子。我们不需要燃烧瓶。我们只需要走到这些商店和我们国家的大型企业面前，说："上帝派我们来这里，告诉你们，你们没有正确对待他的孩子们。我们来这里是要求你们把公平对待上帝的孩子们作为议程上的第一项。现在，如果你们不准备这样做，我们确实有一个必须遵循的议程。我们的议程要求撤回对你们的经济支持。"
And so, as a result of this, we are asking you tonight, to go out and tell your neighbors not to buy Coca-Cola in Memphis. Go by and tell them not to buy Sealtest milk. Tell them not to buy -- what is the other bread? -- Wonder Bread. And what is the other bread company, Jesse? Tell them not to buy Hart's bread. As Jesse Jackson has said, up to now, only the garbage men have been feeling pain; now we must kind of redistribute the pain. We are choosing these companies because they haven't been fair in their hiring policies; and we are choosing them because they can begin the process of saying they are going to support the needs and the rights of these men who are on strike. And then they can move on town -- downtown and tell Mayor Loeb to do what is right. 因此，作为这项行动的结果，我们今晚要求你们走出去，告诉你们的邻居不要在孟菲斯购买可口可乐。去告诉他们不要购买Sealtest牛奶。告诉他们不要购买——另一种面包叫什么？——Wonder Bread。还有另一家面包公司叫什么，杰西？告诉他们不要购买Hart's面包。正如杰西·杰克逊所说，到目前为止，只有环卫工人在承受痛苦；现在我们必须重新分配这种痛苦。我们选择这些公司是因为他们在招聘政策上不公平；我们选择他们还因为他们可以开始表示将支持这些罢工工人的需求和权利。然后他们可以去市中心告诉洛布市长做正确的事。
But not only that, we've got to strengthen black institutions. I call upon you to take your money out of the banks downtown and deposit your money in Tri-State Bank. We want a "bank-in" movement in Memphis. Go by the savings and loan association. I'm not asking you something that we don't do ourselves at SCLC. Judge Hooks and others will tell you that we have an account here in the savings and loan association from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. We are telling you to follow what we are doing. Put your money there. You have six or seven black insurance companies here in the city of Memphis. Take out your insurance there. We want to have an "insurance-in." 不仅如此，我们还必须加强黑人机构。我呼吁你们把钱从市中心的银行取出来，存入三州银行。我们希望在孟菲斯发起一场"存钱运动"。去储蓄贷款协会。我不是要求你们做我们南方基督教领袖会议（SCLC）自己不做的事情。胡克斯法官和其他人会告诉你们，我们南方基督教领袖会议在这里的储蓄贷款协会有一个账户。我们告诉你们要跟随我们的做法。把钱存在那里。孟菲斯市有六家或七家黑人保险公司。在那里购买保险。我们希望发起一场"投保运动"。
Now these are some practical things that we can do. We begin the process of building a greater economic base. And at the same time, we are putting pressure where it really hurts. I ask you to follow through here. 这些是我们可以做的一些实际事情。我们开始建立更大的经济基础。同时，我们在真正能产生影响的地方施加压力。我要求你们坚持下去。
Now, let me say as I move to my conclusion that we've got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end. Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point in Memphis. We've got to see it through. And when we have our march, you need to be there. If it means leaving work, if it means leaving school -- be there. Be concerned about your brother. You may not be on strike. But either we go up together, or we go down together. 现在，在我即将结束时，我要说我们必须全身心投入到这场斗争中直到最后。没有什么比在孟菲斯的这个关头停下来更悲惨的了。我们必须坚持到底。当我们游行时，你们需要在场。如果这意味着离开工作，如果这意味着离开学校——也要在场。关心你们的兄弟。你可能没有参加罢工，但我们要么一起上升，要么一起下降。
Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness. One day a man came to Jesus, and he wanted to raise some questions about some vital matters of life. At points he wanted to trick Jesus, and show him that he knew a little more than Jesus knew and throw him off base.... 让我们培养一种危险的无私精神。有一天，一个人来到耶稣面前，他想就生命中一些重要的问题提出质疑。有时他想戏弄耶稣，向他展示自己比耶稣知道得多一点，试图让他陷入困境……
Now that question could have easily ended up in a philosophical and theological debate. But Jesus immediately pulled that question from mid-air, and placed it on a dangerous curve between Jerusalem and Jericho. And he talked about a certain man, who fell among thieves. You remember that a Levite and a priest passed by on the other side. They didn't stop to help him. And finally a man of another race came by. He got down from his beast, decided not to be compassionate by proxy. But he got down with him, administered first aid, and helped the man in need. Jesus ended up saying, this was the good man, this was the great man, because he had the capacity to project the "I" into the "thou," and to be concerned about his brother. 那个问题本来很容易陷入哲学和神学的辩论中。但耶稣立即把这个问题从半空中拉下来，放在耶路撒冷和耶利哥之间的一条危险的路上。他讲述了一个落入强盗手中的人。你们记得有一个利未人和一个祭司从另一边走过，他们没有停下来帮助他。最后，一个另一个种族的人走过来。他从他的牲口上下来，决定不做代理式的同情。他亲自走过去，进行急救，帮助那个需要帮助的人。耶稣最后说，这才是好人，这才是伟大的人，因为他有能力将"我"投射到"你"身上，关心他的兄弟。
Now you know, we use our imagination a great deal to try to determine why the priest and the Levite didn't stop. At times we say they were busy going to a church meeting, an ecclesiastical gathering, and they had to get on down to Jerusalem so they wouldn't be late for their meeting. At other times we would speculate that there was a religious law that "One who was engaged in religious ceremonials was not to touch a human body twenty-four hours before the ceremony." And every now and then we begin to wonder whether maybe they were not going down to Jerusalem -- or down to Jericho, rather to organize a "Jericho Road Improvement Association." That's a possibility. Maybe they felt that it was better to deal with the problem from the causal root, rather than to get bogged down with an individual effect. 你们知道，我们经常用想象力来试图确定为什么祭司和利未人没有停下来。有时我们说他们忙着去参加教堂会议，一个教会集会，他们必须赶到耶路撒冷以免迟到。有时我们推测有一条宗教律法规定"在仪式前二十四小时内，从事宗教仪式的人不得触碰人体。"有时我们开始怀疑他们是不是要去耶路撒冷——或者更确切地说是去耶利哥组织一个"耶利哥道路改善协会"。这是一种可能性。也许他们觉得最好从根本原因上解决问题，而不是陷入个人的后果中。
But I'm going to tell you what my imagination tells me. It's possible that those men were afraid. You see, the Jericho road is a dangerous road. I remember when Mrs. King and I were first in Jerusalem. We rented a car and drove from Jerusalem down to Jericho. And as soon as we got on that road, I said to my wife, "I can see why Jesus used this as the setting for his parable." It's a winding, meandering road. It's really conducive for ambushing. You start out in Jerusalem, which is about 1200 feet above sea level. And by the time you get down to Jericho, fifteen or twenty minutes later, you're about 2200 feet below sea level. That's a dangerous road. In the days of Jesus it came to be known as the "Bloody Pass." And you know, it's possible that the priest and the Levite looked over that man on the ground and wondered if the robbers were still around. Or it's possible that they felt that the man on the ground was merely faking. And he was acting like he had been robbed and hurt, in order to seize them over there, lure them there for quick and easy seizure. And so the first question that the priest asked -- the first question that the Levite asked was, "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?" 但我要告诉你们我的想象告诉我什么。很可能那些人害怕了。你们看，耶利哥路是一条危险的路。我记得金夫人和我第一次在耶路撒冷的时候，我们租了一辆车从耶路撒冷开到耶利哥。我们一上那条路，我就对妻子说："我明白为什么耶稣用这里作为他寓言的背景了。"这是一条蜿蜒曲折的路，非常适合伏击。你从海拔约1200英尺的耶路撒冷出发，十五到二十分钟后到达耶利哥时，你已经在海平面以下约2200英尺了。那是一条危险的路。在耶稣的时代，它被称为"血腥通道"。你们知道，很可能祭司和利未人看着地上的那个人，想知道强盗是否还在附近。或者他们可能觉得地上的那个人只是在假装，他表现得好像被抢劫受伤了，目的是引诱他们过去，以便迅速抓住他们。所以祭司问的第一个问题——利未人问的第一个问题是："如果我停下来帮助这个人，会发生什么事？"但后来好撒玛利亚人来了。他把问题反过来问："如果我不停下来帮助这个人，会发生什么事？"
That's the question before you tonight. Not, "If I stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to my job. Not, "If I stop to help the sanitation workers what will happen to all of the hours that I usually spend in my office every day and every week as a pastor?" The question is not, "If I stop to help this man in need, what will happen to me?" The question is, "If I do not stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to them?" That's the question. 这就是今晚摆在你们面前的问题。不是："如果我停下来帮助环卫工人，我的工作会怎么样？"不是："如果我停下来帮助环卫工人，作为牧师我每天每周通常在办公室花的所有时间会怎么样？"问题不是："如果我停下来帮助这个需要帮助的人，会发生什么事？"问题是："如果我不停下来帮助环卫工人，会发生什么事？"这才是问题所在。
Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation. And I want to thank God, once more, for allowing me to be here with you. 让我们今晚以更大的准备站起来。让我们以更大的决心站立。让我们在这些充满挑战的日子里继续前进，让美国成为它应该成为的样子。我们有机会让美国成为一个更好的国家。我要再次感谢上帝允许我来到这里与你们在一起。
You know, several years ago, I was in New York City autographing the first book that I had written. And while sitting there autographing books, a demented black woman came up. The only question I heard from her was, "Are you Martin Luther King?" And I was looking down writing, and I said, "Yes." And the next minute I felt something beating on my chest. Before I knew it I had been stabbed by this demented woman. I was rushed to Harlem Hospital. It was a dark Saturday afternoon. And that blade had gone through, and the X-rays revealed that the tip of the blade was on the edge of my aorta, the main artery. And once that's punctured, you drowned in your own blood -- that's the end of you. 你们知道，几年前，我在纽约市为我写的第一本书签名。坐在那里签名的时候，一个精神失常的黑人妇女走过来。我听到她问的唯一问题是："你是马丁·路德·金吗？"我低头写字，回答说："是的。"接着我感到胸口被什么东西刺了一下。我还没反应过来，就被这个精神失常的妇女刺伤了。我被紧急送往哈莱姆医院。那是一个阴暗的星期六下午。那把刀刺穿了我的身体，X光片显示刀尖已经碰到了我的主动脉——主血管。一旦主动脉被刺破，你就会淹死在自己的血液中——那就是你的末日。
It came out in the New York Times the next morning, that if I had merely sneezed, I would have died. Well, about four days later, they allowed me, after the operation, after my chest had been opened, and the blade had been taken out, to move around in the wheel chair in the hospital. They allowed me to read some of the mail that came in, and from all over the states and the world, kind letters came in. I read a few, but one of them I will never forget. I had received one from the President and the Vice-President. I've forgotten what those telegrams said. I'd received a visit and a letter from the Governor of New York, but I've forgotten what that letter said. But there was another letter that came from a little girl, a young girl who was a student at the White Plains High School. And I looked at that letter, and I'll never forget it. It said simply, "Dear Dr. King, I am a ninth-grade student at the White Plains High School." And she said, "While it should not matter, I would like to mention that I'm a white girl. I read in the paper of your misfortune, and of your suffering. And I read that if you had sneezed, you would have died. And I'm simply writing you to say that I'm so happy that you didn't sneeze." 第二天早上《纽约时报》报道说，如果我当时只是打了个喷嚏，我就会死。大约四天后，手术后，我的胸腔被打开，刀片被取出来后，他们允许我在医院的轮椅上活动。他们允许我读一些收到的邮件，来自全国各地和世界各地的友好信件涌来。我读了几封，但有一封我永远不会忘记。我收到了一封来自总统和副总统的信，但我忘了那些电报上说了什么。我也收到了纽约州州长的来访和一封信，但我也忘了那封信上说了什么。但还有一封信来自一个小女孩，一个在怀特普莱恩斯高中上学的年轻女孩。我看了那封信，永远不会忘记。信上简单地写道："亲爱的金博士，我是怀特普莱恩斯高中九年级的学生。"她说："虽然这不重要，但我想提一下我是一个白人女孩。我在报纸上读到了你的不幸和痛苦。我还读到如果你当时打了个喷嚏，你就会死。我写这封信只是想告诉你，我很高兴你没有打喷嚏。"
And I want to say tonight -- I want to say tonight that I too am happy that I didn't sneeze. Because if I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around here in 1960, when students all over the South started sitting-in at lunch counters. And I knew that as they were sitting in, they were really standing up for the best in the American dream, and taking the whole nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. 我今晚想说——我今晚想说我也很高兴我没有打喷嚏。因为如果我当时打了喷嚏，我就不会在1960年在这里，那年南方各地的学生开始在午餐柜台静坐。我知道，当他们静坐时，他们实际上是在为美国梦中最好的部分而站起来，将整个国家带回到开国元勋们在《独立宣言》和《宪法》中深深挖掘的那些民主之井。
If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around here in 1961, when we decided to take a ride for freedom and ended segregation in inter-state travel. 如果我当时打了喷嚏，我就不会在1961年在这里，那年我们决定为自由而骑行，结束了州际旅行中的种族隔离。
If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around here in 1962, when Negroes in Albany, Georgia, decided to straighten their backs up. And whenever men and women straighten their backs up, they are going somewhere, because a man can't ride your back unless it is bent. 如果我当时打了喷嚏，我就不会在1962年在这里，那年佐治亚州奥尔巴尼的黑人决定挺直腰板。每当男人和女人挺直腰板时，他们就在前进，因为一个人骑在你背上时，你的背必须是弯的。
If I had sneezed -- If I had sneezed I wouldn't have been here in 1963, when the black people of Birmingham, Alabama, aroused the conscience of this nation, and brought into being the Civil Rights Bill. 如果我当时打了喷嚏——如果我当时打了喷嚏，我就不会在1963年在这里，那年阿拉巴马州伯明翰的黑人唤醒了这个国家的良知，并促成了《民权法案》的诞生。
If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have had a chance later that year, in August, to try to tell America about a dream that I had had. 如果我当时打了喷嚏，我就不会在那年八月有机会尝试告诉美国我做过的一个梦。
If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been down in Selma, Alabama, to see the great Movement there. 如果我当时打了喷嚏，我就不会在阿拉巴马州的塞尔马看到那里伟大的运动。
If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been in Memphis to see a community rally around those brothers and sisters who are suffering. 如果我当时打了喷嚏，我就不会在孟菲斯看到社区团结起来支持那些受苦的兄弟姐妹。
I'm so happy that I didn't sneeze. 我很高兴我没有打喷嚏。
And they were telling me --. Now, it doesn't matter, now. It really doesn't matter what happens now. I left Atlanta this morning, and as we got started on the plane, there were six of us. The pilot said over the public address system, "We are sorry for the delay, but we have Dr. Martin Luther King on the plane. And to be sure that all of the bags were checked, and to be sure that nothing would be wrong with on the plane, we had to check out everything carefully. And we've had the plane protected and guarded all night." 他们告诉我——。现在已经无关紧要了。现在发生什么事真的已经无关紧要了。我今天早上离开亚特兰大，当我们在飞机上准备起飞时，我们有六个人。飞行员通过公共广播系统说："很抱歉延误，但我们的飞机上有马丁·路德·金博士。为了确保所有行李都经过检查，确保飞机上没有任何问题，我们必须仔细检查所有东西。我们整夜都派人保护和守卫这架飞机。"
And then I got into Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers? 然后我到达了孟菲斯。有些人开始谈论威胁，或者谈论外面的威胁。一些病态的白人兄弟会对我做什么？
Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop. 我不知道现在会发生什么。我们前方有一些艰难的日子。但现在对我来说真的已经无关紧要了，因为我已到达山顶。
And I don't mind. 我不在乎。
Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land! 和任何人一样，我也希望长寿。长寿有其价值。但我现在不关心这个。我只想做上帝的旨意。他允许我登上山顶。我眺望远方。我看到了应许之地。我可能无法与你们一同到达那里。但我想让你们知道，今晚，我们作为一个民族，终将到达应许之地！
And so I'm happy, tonight. 所以我今晚很快乐。
I'm not worried about anything. 我不担心任何事情。
I'm not fearing any man! 我不惧怕任何人！
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!! 我的双眼已经看到了主降临的荣耀！！
