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What you do is as important as anything government does. I ask you to seek a common good beyond your comfort; to defend needed reforms against easy attacks; to serve your nation, beginning with your neighbor. I ask you to be citizens: citizens, not spectators; citizens, not subjects; responsible citizens, building communities of service and a nation of character.
你们所做的一切和政府的工作同样重要。我希望你们除了追求个人享受之外也要为我们的共同利益而努力；要捍卫必要的改革措施，使其不会轻易被攻击；要从身边小事做起，为我们的国家效力。我希望你们成为真正的公民，而不是旁观者，更不是臣民，是有责任心的公民，共同来建设一个人人奉献的社会和一个独具特色的国家。
Americans are generous and strong and decent, not because we believe in ourselves, but because we hold beliefs beyond ourselves. When this spirit of citizenship is missing, no government program can replace it. When this spirit is present, no wrong can stand against it.
美国人民慷慨的、坚强的、正派的，这并不是因为我们信任自己，而是因为我们拥有超越自我的信念。这种公民精神一旦丧失了，任何政府计划都无法弥补。而只要这种精神出现了，也没有任何错误可与之抗衡。
After the Declaration of Independence was signed, Virginia statesman John Page wrote to Thomas Jefferson: "We know the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong. Do you not think an angel rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm?"
在《独立宣言》签署之后，弗吉尼亚州的政治家约翰·佩齐曾给托马斯·杰弗逊写信说："我们知道，行动敏捷、力量强大不一定就能赢得战争。难道你们不认为这一切都是上帝安排的吗？"
Much time has passed since Jefferson arrived for his inauguration. The years and changes accumulate. But the themes of this day he would know: our nation's grand story of courage and its simple dream of dignity.
杰斐逊就任总统的那个年代离我们已经很远了。岁月荏苒，美国发生了翻天覆地的变化。但他肯定能够预知我们这个时代的主题仍然是：我们国家英勇无畏的恢宏故事和它追求尊严的纯朴梦想。
We are not this story's author, who fills time and eternity with his purpose. Yet his purpose is achieved in our duty, and our duty is fulfilled in service to one another.
我们不是这个故事的作者，是上帝用时间和不朽实现了他的目标。但我们每一个人通过履行各自的职责使得这一目标得以实现。
Never tiring, never yielding, never finishing, we renew that purpose today, to make our country more just and generous, to affirm the dignity of our lives and every life.
永不疲惫、永不气馁、永不完竭，今天我们重树这样的目标：使我们的国家变得更加公正、更加慷慨，保证我们每个人和所有人生命的尊严。
This work continues. This story goes on. And an angel still rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm.
这项工作必须继续下去。这个故事必须延续下去。上帝会引领我们前进。
God bless you all, and God bless America.
愿上帝保佑大家！愿上帝保佑美国！
