Under this covenant of justice, liberty, and union we have become a nation—prosperous, great, and mighty.
在这项以公正、自由、团结为原则的公约指导下,我们已经成为一个繁荣、伟大和强盛的国家。
And we have kept our freedom.
而且我们还保持了我们的自由。
But we have no promise from God that our greatness will endure.
但是,我们并未从上帝那里得到保证我们永远是一个伟大国家的诺言。
We have been allowed by Him to seek greatness with the sweat of our hands and the strength of our spirit.
我们只是已经得到上帝的准许,用我们勤劳的双手和坚强的精神去赢得伟大。
I do not believe that the Great Society is the ordered, changeless, and sterile battalion of the ants.
我并不认为“伟大社会”应像蚁群那样安排有序、一成不变和了无生气。
It is the excitement of becoming always becoming, trying, probing, falling, resting, and trying again but always trying and always gaining.
这是一种由“生成”带来的振奋;它在不停地生成,尝试,探索,起伏,休整,再尝试;但只要一直在尝试,就总会有收获。
In each generation, with toil and tears, we have had to earn our heritage again.
我们每一代人都只得靠汗水和泪水来重新继承我们的传统。
If we fail now, we shall have forgotten in abundance what we learned in hardship: that democracy rests on faith,
假如我们现在遭到了失败,那就说明我们身处富足之中而忘记了在艰难中学到的东西--民主须建立在信仰之上,
that freedom asks more than it gives, and that the judgment of God is harshest on those who are most favored.
自由所要求的多于它所给予的,上帝对他最宠爱的人所做的评判也最为苛刻。
If we succeed, it will not be because of what we have, but it will be because of what we are;
倘若我们获得了成功,其原因并不是我们具备了什么条件,而是在于我们自身的素质;
not because of what we own, but, rather because of what we believe.
并不是我们拥有的什么东西,而毋宁在于我们所信仰的事情。
For we are a nation of believers. Underneath the clamor of building and the rush of our day's pursuits,
因为我们是一个由有信仰的人所组成的国家。在我们创业的扰攘和日常事务的奔忙背后,