Fellow-Citizens: 同胞们：
We have assembled to repeat the public ceremonial, begun by Washington, observed by all my predecessors, and now a time-honored custom, which marks the commencement of a new term of the Presidential office. Called to the duties of this great trust, I proceed, in compliance with usage, to announce some of the leading principles, on the subjects that now chiefly engage the public attention, by which it is my desire to be guided in the discharge of those duties. 我们聚集在这里，重行由华盛顿开创、历任前任遵循、如今已成为悠久传统的公开典礼，以此标志新一届总统任期的开始。受命承担这一重任后，我依照惯例，就当前最受公众关注的若干问题宣布一些基本原则，希望自己在履行职责时以这些原则为指引。
I shall not undertake to lay down irrevocably principles or measures of administration, but rather to speak of the motives which should animate us, and to suggest certain important ends to be attained in accordance with our institutions and essential to the welfare of our country. 我不准备提出不可更改的治理原则或措施，而是希望说明应当激励我们的动机，并提出若干符合国家制度、对国家福祉至关重要的目标。
At the outset of the discussions which preceded the recent Presidential election it seemed to me fitting that I should fully make known my sentiments in regard to several of the important questions which then appeared to demand the consideration of the country. 在最近总统选举之前的讨论刚开始时，我认为自己应当充分表明对当时看来需要全国关注的几个重大问题所持的意见。
Following the example, and in part adopting the language, of one of my predecessors, I wish now, when every motive for misrepresentation has passed away, to repeat what was said before the election. 如今，任何歪曲这些意见的动机都已不复存在；我愿效仿一位前任，并部分借用他的话，重申自己在选举前所说的内容。
I trust that my countrymen will candidly weigh and understand it, and that they will feel assured that the sentiments declared in accepting the nomination for the Presidency will be the standard of my conduct in the path before me, charged, as I now am, with the grave and difficult task of carrying them out in the practical administration of the Government so far as depends, under the Constitution and laws on the Chief Executive of the nation. 我相信同胞们会坦率地权衡并理解这些话，也会确信，我接受总统候选人提名时所表达的主张，将成为今后行动的准则。现在，我肩负着庄严而艰巨的任务，要在宪法和法律赋予国家行政首脑的权限范围内，把这些主张落实到政府的实际治理之中。
The permanent pacification of the country upon such principles and by such measures as will secure the complete protection of all its citizens in the free enjoyment of all their constitutional rights is now the one subject in our public affairs which all thoughtful and patriotic citizens regard as of supreme importance. 依据能够保障所有公民自由享有全部宪法权利的原则和措施，实现国家永久和解，是当前公共事务中唯一得到所有深思熟虑、心怀爱国之情的公民共同视为头等重要的议题。
Many of the calamitous effects of the tremendous revolution which has passed over the Southern States still remain. The immeasurable benefits which will surely follow, sooner or later, the hearty and generous acceptance of the legitimate results of that revolution have not yet been realized. Difficult and embarrassing questions meet us at the threshold of this subject. 席卷南方各州的巨大变革仍留下许多灾难性后果。真诚而宽厚地接受这场变革的正当结果，迟早必将带来不可估量的益处，但这些益处尚未实现。我们一触及这个问题，就会遇到困难而棘手的挑战。
The people of those States are still impoverished, and the inestimable blessing of wise, honest, and peaceful local self-government is not fully enjoyed. Whatever difference of opinion may exist as to the cause of this condition of things, the fact is clear that in the progress of events the time has come when such government is the imperative necessity required by all the varied interests, public and private, of those States. 这些州的人民仍然贫困，也未能充分享有明智、诚实而和平的地方自治这一无价福祉。人们或许对这种局面产生的原因看法不同，但事实很清楚：随着形势发展，建立这样的政府已经成为这些州各种公共和私人利益都迫切需要的必然要求。
But it must not be forgotten that only a local government which recognizes and maintains inviolate the rights of all is a true self-government. 但我们不能忘记，只有承认并完整维护所有人权利的地方政府，才是真正的自治政府。
With respect to the two distinct races whose peculiar relations to each other have brought upon us the deplorable complications and perplexities which exist in those States, it must be a government which guards the interests of both races carefully and equally. It must be a government which submits loyally and heartily to the Constitution and the laws--the laws of the nation and the laws of the States themselves--accepting and obeying faithfully the whole Constitution as it is. 两个不同种族之间的特殊关系给这些州带来了令人痛心的复杂局面和重重困惑。面对这种关系，地方政府必须审慎而平等地保护两个种族的利益，也必须真诚忠实地服从宪法和法律——既包括国家法律，也包括各州自身的法律——完整接受并忠实遵守现行宪法的全部内容。
Resting upon this sure and substantial foundation, the superstructure of beneficent local governments can be built up, and not otherwise. In furtherance of such obedience to the letter and the spirit of the Constitution, and in behalf of all that its attainment implies, all so-called party interests lose their apparent importance, and party lines may well be permitted to fade into insignificance. 只有在这一可靠而坚实的基础上，才能建立造福人民的地方政府，除此别无他途。为了在文字和精神上都遵守宪法，也为了实现这一目标所包含的一切意义，所有所谓的党派利益都将失去表面的重要性，党派界线也理应逐渐淡化，变得无关紧要。
The question we have to consider for the immediate welfare of those States of the Union is the question of government or no government; of social order and all the peaceful industries and the happiness that belongs to it, or a return to barbarism. 为了联邦南方各州眼前的福祉，我们必须面对的是有政府还是无政府的问题，是选择社会秩序及随之而来的和平产业与幸福，还是重新退回野蛮状态的问题。
It is a question in which every citizen of the nation is deeply interested, and with respect to which we ought not to be, in a partisan sense, either Republicans or Democrats, but fellow-citizens and fellowmen, to whom the interests of a common country and a common humanity are dear. 全国每一位公民都同这个问题利益攸关。面对它，我们不应以党派身份区分为共和党人或民主党人，而应作为珍视共同国家利益和全人类福祉的同胞和同类。
The sweeping revolution of the entire labor system of a large portion of our country and the advance of 4,000,000 people from a condition of servitude to that of citizenship, upon an equal footing with their former masters, could not occur without presenting problems of the gravest moment, to be dealt with by the emancipated race, by their former masters, and by the General Government, the author of the act of emancipation. 我国广大地区的整个劳动制度经历了彻底变革，四百万人从受奴役状态提升到公民地位，在法律地位上同昔日的主人平等；这一变化不可能不带来极其重大的问题。获得解放的种族、他们过去的主人以及颁布解放措施的联邦政府，都必须共同处理这些问题。
That it was a wise, just, and providential act, fraught with good for all concerned, is now generally conceded throughout the country. That a moral obligation rests upon the National Government to employ its constitutional power and influence to establish the rights of the people it has emancipated, and to protect them in the enjoyment of those rights when they are infringed or assailed, is also generally admitted. 如今，全国普遍承认，解放是一项明智、公正、顺应天意并将使所有相关者受益的行动。人们也普遍承认，联邦政府负有道德义务，应运用宪法赋予的权力和影响，确立被其解放者的权利，并在这些权利遭到侵犯或攻击时，保护他们继续享有这些权利。
The evils which afflict the Southern States can only be removed or remedied by the united and harmonious efforts of both races, actuated by motives of mutual sympathy and regard; and while in duty bound and fully determined to protect the rights of all by every constitutional means at the disposal of my Administration, I am sincerely anxious to use every legitimate influence in favor of honest and efficient local 'self'-government as the true resource of those States for the promotion of the contentment and prosperity of their citizens. 只有两个种族在相互同情与尊重的推动下，团结和谐地努力，才能消除或纠正困扰南方各州的弊病。本届政府有责任、也已坚定决心，运用一切可用的宪法手段保护所有人的权利；与此同时，我真诚希望运用一切正当影响支持诚实而高效的地方自治，把它作为这些州促进公民安定与繁荣的真正依靠。
In the effort I shall make to accomplish this purpose I ask the cordial cooperation of all who cherish an interest in the welfare of the country, trusting that party ties and the prejudice of race will be freely surrendered in behalf of the great purpose to be accomplished. In the important work of restoring the South it is not the political situation alone that merits attention. 为了实现这一目标，我请求所有关心国家福祉的人诚挚合作，并相信大家会为这一伟大目标主动放下党派羁绊和种族偏见。在恢复南方的重要工作中，需要关注的绝不只是政治局势。
The material development of that section of the country has been arrested by the social and political revolution through which it has passed, and now needs and deserves the considerate care of the National Government within the just limits prescribed by the Constitution and wise public economy. 这一地区的物质发展因其经历的社会与政治变革而停滞。现在，在宪法和审慎财政原则所规定的合理限度内，它既需要也理应得到联邦政府审慎的关怀。
But at the basis of all prosperity, for that as well as for every other part of the country, lies the improvement of the intellectual and moral condition of the people. Universal suffrage should rest upon universal education. To this end, liberal and permanent provision should be made for the support of free schools by the State governments, and, if need be, supplemented by legitimate aid from national authority. 然而，无论这个地区还是全国其他地区，一切繁荣的根基都在于提升人民的知识与道德水平。普遍选举权应当建立在普及教育的基础上。为此，各州政府应为免费学校提供充足而长期的保障；如有必要，国家权力也应给予合法援助。
Let me assure my countrymen of the Southern States that it is my earnest desire to regard and promote their truest interest--the interests of the white and of the colored people both and equally--and to put forth my best efforts in behalf of a civil policy which will forever wipe out in our political affairs the color line and the distinction between North and South, to the end that we may have not merely a united North or a united South, but a united country. 请允许我向南方各州的同胞保证，我真诚希望关心并促进他们最切实的利益，也就是同等关心白人和有色人种的利益。我将尽最大努力推行一项民政政策，永远消除政治事务中的肤色界线和南北区别，使我们拥有的不只是团结的北方或团结的南方，而是一个团结的国家。
I ask the attention of the public to the paramount necessity of reform in our civil service--a reform not merely as to certain abuses and practices of so-called official patronage which have come to have the sanction of usage in the several Departments of our Government, but a change in the system of appointment itself; a reform that shall be thorough, radical, and complete; a return to the principles and practices of the founders of the Government. 我请求公众注意，文官制度改革已是当务之急。这项改革不能只针对政府各部门中那些因长期沿袭而获得认可的所谓官职恩庇的弊端和惯例，还必须改变任命制度本身；改革应当彻底、根本而完整，使我们重新回到政府创建者所坚持的原则与实践。
They neither expected nor desired from public officers any partisan service. They meant that public officers should owe their whole service to the Government and to the people. They meant that the officer should be secure in his tenure as long as his personal character remained untarnished and the performance of his duties satisfactory. 创建者既不期待，也不希望公务人员为任何党派提供服务。他们认为，公务人员应把全部服务奉献给政府和人民；只要个人品格保持清白、履职表现令人满意，公职人员的任职就应得到保障。
They held that appointments to office were not to be made nor expected merely as rewards for partisan services, nor merely on the nomination of members of Congress, as being entitled in any respect to the control of such appointments. 他们认为，公职任命不能仅仅作为党派服务的奖赏，也不能仅凭国会议员提名作出，仿佛国会议员理所当然有权以任何方式支配这些任命。
The fact that both the great political parties of the country, in declaring their principles prior to the election, gave a prominent place to the subject of reform of our civil service, recognizing and strongly urging its necessity, in terms almost identical in their specific import with those I have here employed, must be accepted as a conclusive argument in behalf of these measures. 两大政党在选举前宣布各自主张时，都把文官制度改革置于突出位置，以具体含义几乎同我刚才所用措辞完全一致的语言承认并强烈强调改革的必要性。这个事实必须被视为支持这些措施的决定性理由。
It must be regarded as the expression of the united voice and will of the whole country upon this subject, and both political parties are virtually pledged to give it their unreserved support. 这应被视为全国就此问题发出的共同声音和意志；两个政党实际上都已承诺给予改革毫无保留的支持。
The President of the United States of necessity owes his election to office to the suffrage and zealous labors of a political party, the members of which cherish with ardor and regard as of essential importance the principles of their party organization; but he should strive to be always mindful of the fact that he serves his party best who serves the country best. 美国总统能够当选，必然有赖于某个政党的选票和积极努力，而该党成员会热情珍视并认为本党组织原则至关重要。但总统应始终牢记：最能服务国家的人，也最能服务自己的政党。
In furtherance of the reform we seek, and in other important respects a change of great importance, I recommend an amendment to the Constitution prescribing a term of six years for the Presidential office and forbidding a reelection. 为了推进我们追求的改革，并在另一个重要方面作出重大改变，我建议修订宪法，把总统任期规定为六年，并禁止连任。
With respect to the financial condition of the country, I shall not attempt an extended history of the embarrassment and prostration which we have suffered during the past three years. The depression in all our varied commercial and manufacturing interests throughout the country, which began in September, 1873, still continues. It is very gratifying, however, to be able to say that there are indications all around us of a coming change to prosperous times. 谈到国家财政状况，我不准备详细回顾过去三年遭受的困难与衰败。自一八七三年九月开始的萧条至今仍未结束，全国各种商业和制造业利益都受到影响。不过，令人十分欣慰的是，周围已经出现繁荣即将回归的迹象。
Upon the currency question, intimately connected, as it is, with this topic, I may be permitted to repeat here the statement made in my letter of acceptance, that in my judgment the feeling of uncertainty inseparable from an irredeemable paper currency, with its fluctuation of values, is one of the greatest obstacles to a return to prosperous times. The only safe paper currency is one which rests upon a coin basis and is at all times and promptly convertible into coin. 货币问题同财政状况密切相关。请允许我重申接受提名信中的观点：在我看来，不可兑换纸币必然带来的不确定感及其价值波动，是繁荣恢复的最大障碍之一。唯一安全的纸币，是以硬币为基础、并能随时迅速兑换成硬币的纸币。
I adhere to the views heretofore expressed by me in favor of Congressional legislation in behalf of an early resumption of specie payments, and I am satisfied not only that this is wise, but that the interests, as well as the public sentiment, of the country imperatively demand it. 我仍坚持过去表达的观点，支持国会通过立法尽早恢复硬币兑付。我确信，这不仅是明智之举，而且国家利益和公众意愿都迫切要求这样做。
Passing from these remarks upon the condition of our own country to consider our relations with other lands, we are reminded by the international complications abroad, threatening the peace of Europe, that our traditional rule of noninterference in the affairs of foreign nations has proved of great value in past times and ought to be strictly observed. 从国内状况转向我国同其他国家的关系，国外威胁欧洲和平的国际纠纷提醒我们：不干涉外国事务这一传统原则过去已证明极有价值，今后也应严格遵守。
The policy inaugurated by my honored predecessor, President Grant, of submitting to arbitration grave questions in dispute between ourselves and foreign powers points to a new, and incomparably the best, instrumentality for the preservation of peace, and will, as I believe, become a beneficent example of the course to be pursued in similar emergencies by other nations. 我敬重的前任格兰特总统开创了一项政策，把我国同外国政府之间的重大争端提交仲裁。这为维护和平指出了一种新的、也是无可比拟的最佳手段。我相信，它将成为其他国家处理类似紧急局势时可以效仿的有益范例。
If, unhappily, questions of difference should at any time during the period of my Administration arise between the United States and any foreign government, it will certainly be my disposition and my hope to aid in their settlement in the same peaceful and honorable way, thus securing to our country the great blessings of peace and mutual good offices with all the nations of the world. 如果不幸在本届政府任内任何时候，美国与外国政府之间发生分歧，我必将愿意并希望协助双方以同样和平而体面的方式解决问题，从而使我国获得和平的巨大福祉，并同世界各国保持相互友善的关系。
Fellow-citizens, we have reached the close of a political contest marked by the excitement which usually attends the contests between great political parties whose members espouse and advocate with earnest faith their respective creeds. The circumstances were, perhaps, in no respect extraordinary save in the closeness and the consequent uncertainty of the result. 同胞们，我们刚刚结束一场政治竞赛。两大政党的成员各自怀着坚定信念拥护并宣传本党信条，因此选战同往常一样充满激烈情绪。除了结果极为接近并由此产生不确定性之外，这次选举的情形或许并无其他不同寻常之处。
For the first time in the history of the country it has been deemed best, in view of the peculiar circumstances of the case, that the objections and questions in dispute with reference to the counting of the electoral votes should be referred to the decision of a tribunal appointed for this purpose. 鉴于这次选举的特殊情况，我国历史上第一次认为，最好把围绕选举人票计票提出的异议与争议，交由专门为此设立的裁决机构决定。
That tribunal--established by law for this sole purpose; its members, all of them, men of long-established reputation for integrity and intelligence, and, with the exception of those who are also members of the supreme judiciary, chosen equally from both political parties; its deliberations enlightened by the research and the arguments of able counsel--was entitled to the fullest confidence of the American people. 这个机构完全依据法律为这一唯一目的设立。除同时担任最高司法机关成员者外，其成员由两党等额选出，所有人都长期享有正直与智慧的声誉；其审议又得到优秀律师深入研究和论证的启发。因此，它理应得到美国人民最充分的信任。
Its decisions have been patiently waited for, and accepted as legally conclusive by the general judgment of the public. For the present, opinion will widely vary as to the wisdom of the several conclusions announced by that tribunal. This is to be anticipated in every instance where matters of dispute are made the subject of arbitration under the forms of law. Human judgment is never unerring, and is rarely regarded as otherwise than wrong by the unsuccessful party in the contest. 公众耐心等待该机构的裁决，并普遍接受其决定在法律上具有终局效力。目前，人们仍会对该机构若干结论是否明智存在广泛分歧。只要争议事项依照法律形式提交仲裁，这种情况总会出现。人的判断从不绝对可靠，而在竞赛失败的一方看来，裁决也几乎总是错误的。
The fact that two great political parties have in this way settled a dispute in regard to which good men differ as to the facts and the law no less than as to the proper course to be pursued in solving the question in controversy is an occasion for general rejoicing. 在事实、法律以及解决争议应采取何种适当途径上，正直人士都存在分歧；但两大政党仍以这种方式解决了争端，这是值得全国共同庆贺的事情。
Upon one point there is entire unanimity in public sentiment--that conflicting claims to the Presidency must be amicably and peaceably adjusted, and that when so adjusted the general acquiescence of the nation ought surely to follow. 公众在一点上完全一致：相互冲突的总统职位主张必须友好、和平地解决；一旦作出解决，全国就理应普遍接受结果。
It has been reserved for a government of the people, where the right of suffrage is universal, to give to the world the first example in history of a great nation, in the midst of the struggle of opposing parties for power, hushing its party tumults to yield the issue of the contest to adjustment according to the forms of law. 在实行普遍选举权的人民政府中，一个伟大国家在对立党派争夺权力的斗争中平息党派喧嚣，把竞赛结果交由法律程序裁定。这是我国为世界提供的历史上第一个范例。
Looking for the guidance of that Divine Hand by which the destinies of nations and individuals are shaped, I call upon you, Senators, Representatives, judges, fellow-citizens, here and everywhere, to unite with me in an earnest effort to secure to our country the blessings, not only of material prosperity, but of justice, peace, and union--a union depending not upon the constraint of force, but upon the loving devotion of a free people; 我祈求那只塑造国家与个人命运的神圣之手给予指引，并号召在场和各地的参议员、众议员、法官与全体同胞同我团结一致，真诚努力，使国家不仅获得物质繁荣，也获得正义、和平与团结的福祉——这种团结不依赖武力强制，而依靠自由人民充满爱意的奉献；
"and that all things may be so ordered and settled upon the best and surest foundations that peace and happiness, truth and justice, religion and piety, may be established among us for all generations." “愿一切事务都能建立在最优良、最可靠的基础上，得到妥善安排与安定，使和平与幸福、真理与正义、宗教与虔敬在我们中间世代长存。”