Gettysgueg Address

Fourscore and seven years ago，our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new Nation， conceived in Liberty， and dedi-cated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now， we are engaged in a great Civil War， testing whether that Nation， or any nation so conceived and so dedicated， can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a moral resting-place for those who gave their lives that Nation might live. It is altogether fit' ting and proper that we should do this. But， in a larger sense， we cannot dedicate， we cannot consecrate， we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men， living and dead， who struggled here， have conse-crated it far above our power to add or detract.

The world will little note nor long re-member what we say here， but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us， the living， rather to be dedicated to the great task remaining before us; that from these honored dead， we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly revolve that these dead 'shall not have died in vain; that this Nation， under GOD， shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the People by the People and for the People shall not perish from the earth.

葛底斯堡演說

八十七年前，我們的先輩們?cè)谶@個(gè)大陸上創(chuàng)立了一個(gè)新國家，它以自由為理想。致力實(shí)現(xiàn)人人享有天賦的平等權(quán)利為目標(biāo)。現(xiàn)在我們正從事一場(chǎng)偉大的內(nèi)戰(zhàn)，任何一個(gè)孕育于自由和奉行上述原則的國家是否能夠長久存在下去，此次戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)就是一次考驗(yàn)。我們?cè)谶@場(chǎng)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)中的一個(gè)偉大戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)上聚集在一起。烈士們?yōu)槭惯@個(gè)國家的生存而獻(xiàn)出了自己的生命，我們來到這里，是要把這個(gè)戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)的一部分奉獻(xiàn)給他們作為最后安息之地。我們這樣做是完全應(yīng)該的，而且也是非常恰當(dāng)?shù)摹５牵瑥母鼜V泛的意義上來說，我們沒有能力奉獻(xiàn)這塊土地，沒有能力使得這塊土地變得更為神圣。那些曾在這里戰(zhàn)斗過的，活著的和去世的勇士們，已經(jīng)把這塊土地神圣化了，這遠(yuǎn)不是我們微薄的力量所能增減的。

我們今天在這里所說的話，世人不大會(huì)注意，也不會(huì)長久地記住，但勇士們?cè)谶@里所做過的事，全世界將永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)忘記。我們這些后來者應(yīng)該做的是獻(xiàn)身于勇士們?cè)?jīng)在這里為之奮斗、努力推進(jìn)但尚未完成的事業(yè)。我們應(yīng)該在這里把自己奉獻(xiàn)于仍然留在我們面前的偉大任務(wù)。我們要從這些先烈身上汲取更多的精神力量。來完成他們已經(jīng)完全為之獻(xiàn)身的事業(yè)，努力使他們的鮮血不白流；在上帝保佑下，自由將在我們國家得到新生。我們這個(gè)民有、民治、民享的政府將永世長存。