1862年 杰弗遜·戴維斯總統(tǒng) 就職演講
注：戴維斯從未擔(dān)任過官方意義上的美國總統(tǒng)(President of the United States)，故未收錄在美國總統(tǒng)演講合集中。且戴維斯總統(tǒng)哪怕在19世紀(jì)也是較為保守反動的奴隸制支持者，切勿將其話語奉為真理，謹(jǐn)慎參考。?
1862年2月22日，杰弗遜·戴維斯在美利堅聯(lián)盟國首都里士滿正式就任總統(tǒng)。
他首次就任時的身份是臨時總統(tǒng)，此次就任后就成為了美利堅聯(lián)盟國的正式總統(tǒng)，然而他的國家壽命還沒有他的首個任期久，1865年，戴維斯的任期第四年，他的國家不復(fù)存在。他本人也被捕入獄，后來美國聯(lián)邦政府為防止南北因戰(zhàn)爭相互仇視而將他釋放。
It is our duty to keep the memory of our heroes green. Yet they belong to the whole country; they belong to America. —— Jefferson Davis
我們有責(zé)任銘記我們的英雄。他們屬于整個國家，他們屬于美利堅。 ——?杰弗遜·戴維斯
Fellow-Citizens:?
同胞們：
On this the birthday of the man most identified with the establishment of American independence, and beneath the monument erected to commemorate his heroic virtues and those of his compatriots, we have assembled to usher into existence the Permanent Government of the Confederate States. Through this instrumentality, under the favor of Divine Providence, we hope to perpetuate the principles of our revolutionary fathers. The day, the memory, and the purpose seem fitly associated.
在這個為美國獨立做出最大貢獻(xiàn)的公民的誕辰(譯者注：指喬治·華盛頓，其誕辰是1732年2月22日)，我們聚集在為紀(jì)念這位公民和其同胞們的英勇品質(zhì)而修建的紀(jì)念碑下，見證了美利堅聯(lián)盟國正式政府的成立。
It is with mingled feelings of humility and pride that I appear to take, in the presence of the people and before high Heaven, the oath prescribed as a qualification for the exalted station to which the unanimous voice of the people has called me. Deeply sensible of all that is implied by this manifestation of the people's confidence, I am yet more profoundly impressed by the vast responsibility of the office, and humbly feel my own unworthiness.
應(yīng)人民的一致呼聲要求，我心懷謙卑與自豪，在此當(dāng)著全體人民的面，在上帝的見證之下，宣誓就任我國最高職務(wù)。我深知人民的高度信任意味著該職位所肩負(fù)的巨大責(zé)任，也愈發(fā)擔(dān)憂自身的低下能力。
In return for their kindness I can offer assurances of the gratitude with which it is received; and can but pledge a zealous devotion of every faculty to the service of those who have chosen me as their Chief Magistrate.
我保證會感激回報大家的善意；我發(fā)誓，我會竭盡所能地服務(wù)每一位選舉我擔(dān)任最高行政官的公民。
When a long course of class legislation, directed not to the general welfare, but to the aggrandizement of the Northern section of the Union, culminated in a warfare on the domestic institutions of the Southern States--when the dogmas of a sectional party, substituted for the provisions of the constitutional compact, threatened to destroy the sovereign rights of the States, six of those States, withdrawing from the Union, confederated together to exercise the right and perform the duty of instituting a Government which would better secure the liberties for the preservation of which that Union was established.
長期以來，聯(lián)邦試圖制定一系列法律，這些法律并非為推進(jìn)全國人民普遍福祉，而僅為聯(lián)邦北方侵略者的一己私利，這場立法斗爭最終以南方各州舉起反抗大旗而結(jié)束——在某個政黨試圖以他們的教條代替憲法契約的法規(guī)，即將摧毀各州的主權(quán)時，我們南方的六個州退出聯(lián)邦，然后聯(lián)合到一起，履行建立新政府的職責(zé)，以更好地維護(hù)自由，執(zhí)行聯(lián)邦成立之初的目標(biāo)。
Whatever of hope some may have entertained that a returning sense of justice would remove the danger with which our rights were threatened, and render it possible to preserve the Union of the Constitution, must have been dispelled by the malignity and barbarity of the Northern States in the prosecution of the existing war. The confidence of the most hopeful among us must have been destroyed by the disregard they have recently exhibited for all the time-honored bulwarks of civil and religious liberty. Bastiles filled with prisoners, arrested without civil process or indictment duly found; the writ of?habeas corpus?suspended by Executive mandate; a State Legislature controlled by the imprisonment of members whose avowed principles suggested to the Federal Executive that there might be another added to the list of seceded States; elections held under threats of a military power; civil officers, peaceful citizens, and gentle-women incarcerated for opinion's sake--proclaimed the incapacity of our late associates to administer a Government as free, liberal, and humane as that established for our common use.
有些人曾抱希望，認(rèn)為只要雙方發(fā)揮公正精神，我們的權(quán)利就不會受到威脅，美國憲法設(shè)立的聯(lián)邦也能得以存續(xù)，然而北方各州挑起了現(xiàn)在這場戰(zhàn)爭，無論大家此前抱什么希望，都已經(jīng)被北方對我國的深仇大恨和野蠻行徑擊得粉碎。捍衛(wèi)人身自由和思想自由最悠久的堡壘被摧毀；許多公民未受起訴、未經(jīng)司法程序就被關(guān)進(jìn)了監(jiān)獄；北方行政機(jī)關(guān)中止了人身保護(hù)法令；一個州議會因為其發(fā)表的聲明，被聯(lián)邦政府懷疑有脫離聯(lián)邦的嫌疑，結(jié)果議會全體成員都遭到了逮捕；各類型選舉在軍隊的監(jiān)管下進(jìn)行；公職人員、愛好和平的公民和溫柔的女性，因為表達(dá)自己的觀點遭到監(jiān)禁；看到這一切，我們中對北方最抱希望的公民也拋棄了幻想，這一切標(biāo)志著我們曾經(jīng)的同胞沒有能力建立起一個讓我們共同享受自由、共和與人道的政府。
For proof of the sincerity of our purpose to maintain our ancient institutions, we may point to the Constitution of the Confederacy and the laws enacted under it, as well as to the fact that through all the necessities of an unequal struggle there has been no act on our part to impair personal liberty or the freedom of speech, of thought, or of the press. The courts have been open, the judicial functions fully executed, and every right of the peaceful citizen maintained as securely as if a war of invasion had not disturbed the land.
我們維護(hù)美利堅祖宗制度的誠意，早已在《美利堅聯(lián)盟國憲法》及其下屬法律中得到了印證，即使在南北爭端中，我們顯然遭到了不公正對待，但是我們從未有過任何損害過人身自由、思想自由和新聞自由的行為，這也進(jìn)一步佐證了我們的誠意。我國的法院一直處于開放狀態(tài)，認(rèn)真執(zhí)行著司法職能，我國熱愛和平的公民每一項權(quán)利都可以得到保障，仿佛完全不受北方侵略戰(zhàn)爭的影響。
The people of the States now confederated became convinced that the Government of the United States had fallen into the hands of a sectional majority, who would pervert that most sacred of all trusts to the destruction of the rights which it was pledged to protect. They believed that to remain longer in the Union would subject them to a continuance of a disparaging discrimination, submission to which would be inconsistent with their welfare, and intolerable to a proud people. They therefore determined to sever its bonds and establish a new Confederacy for themselves.
美利堅聯(lián)盟國各州的人民相信，美利堅合眾國政府已經(jīng)被某些特定地區(qū)的多數(shù)派裹挾，他們會濫用人民最重要的信任，侵犯聯(lián)邦政府宣誓要保護(hù)的權(quán)利。我國人民認(rèn)為，繼續(xù)留在聯(lián)邦，我們只會繼續(xù)遭受不公和區(qū)別對待，如果對北方的不公忍氣吞聲，既不符合我們?nèi)嗣竦母ｌ?，也是我們高傲的民族所無法容忍的。于是，我國人民決心切斷同聯(lián)邦之間的紐帶，并自己組建一個新的聯(lián)盟。
The experiment instituted by our revolutionary fathers, of a voluntary Union of sovereign States for purposes specified in a solemn compact, had been perverted by those who, feeling power and forgetting right, were determined to respect no law but their own will. The Government had ceased to answer the ends for which it was ordained and established. To save ourselves from a revolution which, in its silent but rapid progress, was about to place us under the despotism of numbers, and to preserve in spirit, as well as in form, a system of government we believed to be peculiarly fitted to our condition, and full of promise for mankind, we determined to make a new association, composed of States homogeneous in interest, in policy, and in feeling.
我們的革命先輩進(jìn)行了一次偉大實驗，使得各州簽訂一項莊嚴(yán)契約，為共同達(dá)到目標(biāo)而自愿組成了聯(lián)邦，但現(xiàn)在某些人掌握了國家大權(quán)后，就忘記了人民的權(quán)利，他們蔑視法律，凡事只遵從自己的個人意愿，聯(lián)邦已經(jīng)被這群竊賊者腐化了。聯(lián)邦政府已經(jīng)不再履行其建立時，人民賦予它的任務(wù)。這場無聲的奪權(quán)進(jìn)展迅速，在我們即將生活在少數(shù)人的專制統(tǒng)治下之際，我們將南方各州拯救了出來，我們奮起反抗，從精神層面和制度層面捍衛(wèi)我們認(rèn)為符合我們利益、代表人類希望的政府，我們決心讓具有共同利益、共同政策、共同感情的各州聯(lián)合起來。
True to our traditions of peace and our love of justice, we sent commissioners to the United States to propose a fair and amicable settlement of all questions of public debt or property which might be in dispute. But the Government at Washington, denying our right to self-government, refused even to listen to any proposals for a peaceful separation. Nothing was then left to do but to prepare for war.
為展現(xiàn)我們一貫的熱愛和平、熱愛正義的精神，我們一開始就向合眾國政府派遣使者，提議簽訂一份公平友好的協(xié)議，以解決雙方爭議的國債和財產(chǎn)問題。但是華盛頓政府否定了我們自己建立自治政府的權(quán)利，甚至都拒絕聽取我們和平分離的提議。除了準(zhǔn)備戰(zhàn)爭之外，我們別無選擇。
The first year in our history has been the most eventful in the annals of this continent. A new Government has been established, and its machinery put in operation over an area exceeding seven hundred thousand square miles. The great principles upon which we have been willing to hazard everything that is dear to man have made conquests for us which could never have been achieved by the sword. Our Confederacy has grown from six to thirteen States; and Maryland, already united to us by hallowed memories and material interests, will, I believe, when able to speak with unstifled voice, connect her destiny with the South. Our people have rallied with unexampled unanimity to the support of the great principles of constitutional government, with firm resolve to perpetuate by arms the right which they could not peacefully secure. A million of men, it is estimated, are now standing in hostile array, and waging war along a frontier of thousands of miles. Battles have been fought, sieges have been conducted, and, although the contest is not ended, and the tide for the moment is against us, the final result in our favor is not doubtful.
我國歷史的第一年是美洲大陸最不平凡的一年。我們組建了新政府，其管轄范圍超過70萬平方英里(譯者注：換算為公制單位大約是180萬平方公里，比我國的新疆自治區(qū)還要大)。我們遵循偉大的原則，賭上我們所珍視的一切，去完成那些用武力無法征服的目標(biāo)。我們的聯(lián)盟已經(jīng)從建國之初的6各州發(fā)展為今天的13個州(譯者注：按照加入時間排序，13個州分別是南卡羅來納州、密西西比州、佛羅里達(dá)州、亞拉巴馬州、佐治亞州、路易斯安那州、得克薩斯州、弗吉尼亞州、阿肯色州、田納西州、北卡羅來納州、密蘇里州、肯塔基州)；馬里蘭州也在神圣記憶和現(xiàn)實利益的影響下，和我們團(tuán)結(jié)在一起，我相信，當(dāng)馬里蘭州能夠自由發(fā)聲的時候，她也會將自身命運同南方各州綁定。我們民族從未如此團(tuán)結(jié)一致地支持憲法的偉大原則，無法以和平方式獲得的權(quán)利，我們下定決心以武力捍衛(wèi)，使得這些權(quán)利永久屬于我們。敵軍大約有100萬軍隊在邊界數(shù)千英里的戰(zhàn)線上對我們發(fā)動進(jìn)攻。爆發(fā)了許多遭遇戰(zhàn)和圍城戰(zhàn)，雖然目前戰(zhàn)爭尚未結(jié)束，我軍處于劣勢，但戰(zhàn)爭毋庸置疑會以我軍的勝利而告終。
The period is near at hand when our foes must sink under the immense load of debt which they have incurred, a debt which in their effort to subjugate us has already attained such fearful dimensions as will subject them to burdens which must continue to oppress them for generations to come.
敵軍為征服我國，承擔(dān)了巨額債務(wù)，當(dāng)前他們欠下的債務(wù)堪稱天文數(shù)字，待這些債務(wù)將他們壓垮之時，我們的勝利就會到來，而侵略者的債務(wù)將會持續(xù)困擾他們之后的幾代人。
We too have had our trials and difficulties. That we are to escape them in future is not to be hoped. It was to be expected when we entered upon this war that it would expose our people to sacrifices and cost them much, both of money and blood. But we knew the value of the object for which we struggled, and understood the nature of the war in which we were engaged. Nothing could be so bad as failure, and any sacrifice would be cheap as the price of success in such a contest.
我們經(jīng)歷過困難與考驗。我們未來面對它們也不會選擇逃避。在我國卷入這場戰(zhàn)爭時，我們的人民都知道戰(zhàn)爭意味著犧牲，意味著我們要散盡財富、拋灑熱血。但是我們知道，我們的目標(biāo)值得我們?nèi)ズ葱l(wèi)，也明白這場戰(zhàn)爭的性質(zhì)。戰(zhàn)敗是我們絕對不能接受的結(jié)果，在這場戰(zhàn)爭中，只要能取得勝利，再多犧牲也在所不惜。
But the picture has its lights as well as its shadows. This great strife has awakened in the people the highest emotions and qualities of the human soul. It is cultivating feelings of patriotism, virtue, and courage. Instances of self-sacrifice and of generous devotion to the noble cause for which we are contending are rife throughout the land. Never has a people evinced a more determined spirit than that now animating men, women, and children in every part of our country. Upon the first call the men flew to arms, and wifes and mothers send their husbands and sons to battle without a murmur of regret.
現(xiàn)在的戰(zhàn)況不僅有陰影，也有曙光。這場大戰(zhàn)激起了人民最強(qiáng)烈的感情，喚醒了人類最高尚的品質(zhì)。這場戰(zhàn)爭激發(fā)了我們的愛國，提升了我們的美德，鼓舞了我們的勇氣。公民犧牲自己來成就我們崇高事業(yè)的例子在全國境內(nèi)比比皆是。我國所有地區(qū)的男女老幼從未表現(xiàn)出過如此堅定的信念。剛一受到號召，男人們就拿起武器，妻子和母親毫無悔恨地將她們的丈夫、兒子送上戰(zhàn)場。
It was, perhaps, in the ordination of Providence that we were to be taught the value of our liberties by the price which we pay for them.
可能，正是上帝曾經(jīng)教導(dǎo)我們，自由具有無上價值，因此我們要敢于為其付出代價。
The recollections of this great contest, with all its common traditions of glory, of sacrifice and blood, will be the bond of harmony and enduring affection amongst the people, producing unity in policy, fraternity in sentiment, and just effort in war.
以后每次回憶起這場偉大的戰(zhàn)爭，回想起我們民族勇爭榮耀、不怕犧牲、敢于流血的一貫傳統(tǒng)，我國聯(lián)結(jié)的和諧紐帶就更加緊密了，我們?nèi)嗣褚蚕嗷ビ褠?，我們在政治上團(tuán)結(jié)一致，在感情上相互親如兄弟，在戰(zhàn)爭中同仇敵愾。
Nor have the material sacrifices of the past year been made without some corresponding benefits. If the acquiescence of foreign nations in a pretended blockade has deprived us of our commerce with them, it is fast making us a self-supporting and an independent people. The blockade, if effectual and permanent, could only serve to divert our industry from the production of articles for export and employ it in supplying the commodities for domestic use.
我們過去一年犧牲了許多戰(zhàn)士和資源，但未能取得相應(yīng)的戰(zhàn)果。即使外國因為所謂海上封鎖就默默終止了同我們的貿(mào)易往來，我們也不畏懼，這只會讓我國進(jìn)一步成為一個獨立、自知自足的民族。如果我們永遠(yuǎn)都被封鎖，那么我們就將出口產(chǎn)業(yè)轉(zhuǎn)換為只供應(yīng)國內(nèi)市場需求的產(chǎn)業(yè)。
It is a satisfaction that we have maintained the war by our unaided exertions. We have neither asked nor received assistance from any quarter. Yet the interest involved is not wholly our own. The world at large is concerned in opening our markets to its commerce. When the independence of the Confederate States is recognized by the nations of the earth, and we are free to follow our interests and inclinations by cultivating foreign trade, the Southern States will offer to manufacturing nations the most favorable markets which ever invited their commerce. Cotton, sugar, rice, tobacco, provisions, timber, and naval stores will furnish attractive exchanges. Nor would the constancy of these supplies be likely to be disturbed by war. Our confederate strength will be too great to tempt aggression; and never was there a people whose interests and principles committed them so fully to a peaceful policy as those of the Confederate States. By the character of their productions they are too deeply interested in foreign commerce want only to disturb it. War of conquest they cannot wage, because the Constitution of their Confederacy admits of no coerced association. Civil war there cannot be between States held together by their volition only. The rule of voluntary association, which cannot fail to be conservative, by securing just and impartial government at home, does not diminish the security of the obligations by which the Confederate States may be bound to foreign nations. In proof of this, it is to be remembered that, at the first moment of asserting their right to secession, these States proposed a settlement on the basis of the common liability for the obligations of the General Government.
好在，我們憑借自身力量在這場戰(zhàn)爭中堅持了下來。我們沒有請求，也沒有接到任何國際援助。但是，這場戰(zhàn)爭涉及的利益沖突并不僅限我們自己。全世界都希望我國市場能再次向國際開放。待到美利堅聯(lián)盟國的獨立得到世界各國承認(rèn)，且我們可以不受限制地遵循自身利益和喜好發(fā)展商業(yè)時，南方聯(lián)盟的各州將為世界各工業(yè)國家提供有史以來利潤最高的市場，引得他們的商業(yè)前來投資。我們生產(chǎn)的棉花、糖、大米、煙草、給養(yǎng)、木材和航海貯藏物資會吸引全世界來貿(mào)易。戰(zhàn)爭不會干擾以上物資的穩(wěn)定生產(chǎn)。屆時美利堅聯(lián)盟國的國力將宛如神明，其他國家完全不敢侵犯我國；但是我們不會像其他民族那樣侵略好戰(zhàn)，我們的利益和原則要求我們完全致力于維護(hù)和平。從我國商品的方面來設(shè)想，我國出口的商品對國際市場實在太具吸引力了，以至于有些嫉妒的國家想擾亂我國貿(mào)易。我們不會發(fā)動戰(zhàn)爭吞并任何地區(qū)，因為聯(lián)盟國的憲法不允許強(qiáng)制吞并。聯(lián)盟國各州也不可任意發(fā)動內(nèi)戰(zhàn)。為證明我們熱愛和平，我需提醒各位，南方各州在剛剛脫離聯(lián)邦時，就向聯(lián)邦政府提議就如何分配雙方此前的共同責(zé)任進(jìn)行和平磋商。法規(guī)規(guī)定各州可以通過組建一個公平公正的政府來自行實現(xiàn)聯(lián)合，這一法規(guī)固然保守，但是絲毫沒有削弱聯(lián)盟國對外國的安全義務(wù)。
Fellow-citizens, after the struggle of ages had consecrated the right of the Englishman to constitutional representative government, our colonial ancestors were forced to vindicate that birthright by an appeal to arms. Success crowned their efforts, and they provided for the posterity a peaceful remedy against future aggression.
同胞們，英國人經(jīng)歷了幾個世紀(jì)的斗爭才建立了立憲代議制政府，我們移民到美洲大陸的祖輩也是通過武力反抗才維護(hù)了自己與生俱來的權(quán)利。他們的努力都取得了成功，并給子孫后代留下了一種和平解決未來爭端的方法。
The tyranny of an unbridled majority, the most odious and least responsible form of despotism, has denied us both the right and the remedy. Therefore we are in arms to renew such sacrifices as our fathers made to the holy cause of constitutional liberty. At the darkest hour of our struggle the Provisional gives place to the Permanent Government. After a series of successes and victories, which covered our arms with glory, we have recently met with serious disasters. But in the heart of a people resolved to be free these disasters tend but to stimulate to increased resistance.
然而北方多數(shù)人肆無忌憚的暴政、北方可憎、不負(fù)責(zé)的專制政府，剝奪了我們的權(quán)利和和平解決爭端的方法。所以，我們要向我們的祖輩那樣，再次為我們的憲法和自由神圣事業(yè)做出犧牲。在我們戰(zhàn)爭最黯淡的時刻，正式政府取代了臨時政府。戰(zhàn)爭初始，我們?nèi)〉昧艘幌盗写蠼輨倮?，讓我們手中有?shù)不盡的榮耀，可是后來，我們遭到了重大失敗。但是，對于一個有決心取得自由的民族來說，這些失敗只會增強(qiáng)他們心中的斗爭意識。
To show ourselves worthy of the inheritance bequeathed to us by the patriots of the Revolution, we must emulate that heroic devotion which made reverse to them but the crucible in which their patriotism was refined.
我們必須效仿祖輩們英勇犧牲的精神，這樣才能證明我們不愧對獨立戰(zhàn)爭愛國先輩們的遺產(chǎn)，他們雖然倒下了，但是他們的愛國精神在煉爐中得到了升華。
With confidence in the wisdom and virtue of those who will share with me the responsibility and aid me in the conduct of public affairs; securely relying on the patriotism and courage of the people, of which the present war has furnished so many examples, I deeply feel the weight of the responsibilities I now, with unaffected diffidence, am about to assume; and, fully realizing the inequality of human power to guide and to sustain, my hope is reverently fixed on Him whose favor is ever vouchsafed to the cause which is just. With humble gratitude and adoration, acknowledging the Providence which has so visibly protected the Confederacy during its brief but eventful career, to thee, O God, I trustingly commit myself, and prayerfully invoke thy blessing on my country and its cause.
許多同胞在我處理政務(wù)時幫我分擔(dān)，我相信他們的智慧和道德；同時我也堅信我國人民的愛國和勇氣，這場戰(zhàn)爭已經(jīng)印證了我們?nèi)嗣癫粦譃閲鵂奚?，我深深感受到了自己即將肩?fù)責(zé)任之重大，但看到了我國人民，我絲毫不膽怯；我也知道，僅靠人類的力量去指揮、進(jìn)行戰(zhàn)爭是不夠的，因此我虔誠地向上帝祈禱，上帝總是賜福于正義事業(yè)。哦，上帝啊，我心懷謙卑、感激和對您的崇敬，感謝您在過去短暫但不平凡的時間里庇佑美利堅聯(lián)盟國，我愿獻(xiàn)身自己，熱切地祈求您能繼續(xù)保佑我的祖國，保佑我國事業(yè)。
聲明：本人僅按照原文翻譯內(nèi)容，演講內(nèi)容不代表本人觀點。此專欄僅供歷史和英語交流學(xué)習(xí)使用，任何讀者皆可引用本人的譯本。
希望來學(xué)習(xí)英語的觀眾明白：我覺得這些專欄的主要精華在于英語原文，而并非我的譯本，我的譯本很大程度上只是供來學(xué)習(xí)歷史的觀眾使用的。本人的英語水平一般，翻譯得并不會多么精彩，只能在你看不懂時來幫助你了解這些演講內(nèi)容最基本的意思，而且翻譯時難免會出現(xiàn)差錯，切勿直接完全以我的譯本為標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。如發(fā)現(xiàn)有翻譯錯誤或者歧義內(nèi)容，歡迎指正。
希望來學(xué)習(xí)歷史的觀眾明白：任何歷史人物都有一定的局限性，隨著時代發(fā)展，很多觀點看法可能已經(jīng)不再適用今天的世界，西方的觀點也不一定適用于我們。通過了解這些演講，僅可給我們提供一個更全面了解過去和世界的渠道。我們可以從優(yōu)秀的歷史、當(dāng)代人物身上學(xué)到很多，但是請保持獨立思考，理性看待演講內(nèi)容，切勿全信或?qū)⑵浞顬檎胬怼?/strong>
