For myself and for our Nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land.
我谨以我个人和全国人民的名义,在此向我的前任表示感谢,感谢他为使我国康复所做的一切。
In this outward and physical ceremony we attest once again to the inner and spiritual strength of our Nation.
此刻这一外在的和有形的庆典,再次验证了我们国家所具有的内在的精神的力量。
As my high school teacher, Miss Julia Coleman, used to say: "We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles."
诚如我高中时代的老师朱丽亚科尔曼小姐过去常说的:“我们既要适应变动的时代,同时又必须坚持各项不变的原则。”
Here before me is the Bible used in the inauguration of our first President, in 1789,
现在摆在面前的,是1789年我国首任总统就职时使用过的那本《圣经》。
and I have just taken the oath of office on the Bible my mother gave me a few years ago, opened to a timeless admonition from the ancient prophet Micah:
我刚才宣誓时用的则是几年前我母亲送给我的一部《圣经》,一打开它就可看到古代先知弥迦留下的永恒训诫:
He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God."
世人哪,耶和华已指示你何为善,他向你要的是什么呢?只要你行公义,好怜悯,存谦卑的心,与你的神同行。
This inauguration ceremony marks a new beginning, a new dedication within our Government, and a new spirit among us all.
这一次就职标志着一个新的开端,表明我们政府内的人准备进行新的奉献,也意味着我们大家当中形成了一种新的精神。
A President may sense and proclaim that new spirit, but only a people can provide it.
一位总统或许能体会并说出这种新精神,但唯有全体人民才能提供这种精神。
Two centuries ago our Nation's birth was a milestone in the long quest for freedom,
两个世纪以前,我们国家的诞生乃是寻求自由的漫漫长路上的一个里程碑。
but the bold and brilliant dream which excited the founders of this Nation still awaits its consummation.
然而,我国的缔造者们所珍视和怀抱的勇敢而辉煌的梦想,依然有待于实现。
I have no new dream to set forth today, but rather urge a fresh faith in the old dream.
我今天并不想提出新的梦想,而宁愿在原有的梦想中注入一种崭新的信念。
Ours was the first society openly to define itself in terms of both spirituality and of human liberty.
我们的社会乃是第二个依据精神价值和人类自由来公开界定自己性质的社会。