1940年5月8日,由于前首相张伯伦遭到不信任质疑动议,被迫辞职。5月10日下午6时,国王召见丘吉尔,令其组阁;一小时后丘吉尔会见工党领袖艾德礼,邀请工党加入内阁并获得支持。3天后丘吉尔首次以首相身份出席下议院会议,发表了著名的讲话:“我没有别的,只有热血、辛劳、眼泪和汗水献给大家……你们问:我们的目的是什么?我可以用一个词来答复:胜利,不惜一切代价去争取胜利,无论多么恐怖也要争取胜利,无论道路多么遥远艰难,也要争取胜利,因为没有胜利就无法生存。”下议院最终以381票对0票的绝对优势表明了对丘吉尔政府的支持。
正文:
On Friday evenin g last I receiv ed from His Majest y the missio n to form a new admini strat ion.
上星期五晚上,我奉陛下之命,组织新的一届政府。
It was the eviden t will of Parlia mentand the nation that this should be concei ved on the broade st possib le basisand that it should includ e all partie s.
按国会和国民的意愿,新政府显然应该考虑建立在尽可能广泛的基础上,应该兼容所有的党派。
I have alread y comple ted the most import ant part of this task. A war cabine t has been formed of five member s, repres entin g, with the Labor, Opposi tionand Libera ls, the unityof the nation.
我已经完成了这项任务的最主要的部分。战时内阁已由五人组成,包括工党、反对党和自由党,这体现了举国团结一致。
It was necess ary that this should be done in one single day on accoun t of the extrem e urgenc y and rigorof events. Otherkey positi ons were filled yester day. I am submit tinga furthe r list to the King tonigh t. I hope to comple te the appoin tment of princi pal Minist ers during tomorr ow.
由于事态的极端紧急和严峻,新阁政府须于一天之内组成,其他的关键岗位也于昨日安排就绪。今晚还要向国王呈报一份名单。我希望明天就能完成几位主要大臣的任命。
The appoin tment of otherMinist ers usuall y takesa little longer. I trustwhen Parlia mentmeetsagainthis part of my task will be comple ted and that the admini strat ion will be comple te in all respec ts.
就职演讲其余大臣们的任命照例得晚一些。我相信,在国会下一次召开时,任命将告完成,臻于完善。
I consid eredit in the public intere st to sugges t to the Speake r that the Houseshould be summon ed today.At the end of today''s procee dings, the adjour nment of the Housewill be propos ed untilMay 2l with provis ion for earlie r meetin g if need be. Busine ss for that will be notifi ed to M. P. ''s at the earlie st opport unity.
为公众利益着想,我建议议长今天就召开国会。今天的议程结束时,建议休会到5月21日,并准备在必要时提前开会。有关事项当会及早通知各位议员。
I now invite the Houseby a resolu tionto record its approv al of the stepstakenand declar e its confid encein the new govern ment. The resolu tion:
现在我请求国会作出决议,批准我所采取的各项步骤,启示记录在案,并且声明信任新政府。决议如下:
"That this Housewelcom es the format ion of a govern mentrepres entin g the united and inflex ibleresolv e of the nation to prosec ute the war with German y to a victor iousconclu sion."
“本国会欢迎新政府的组成,她体现了举国一致的坚定不移的决心:对德作战,直到最后胜利。”
To form an admini strat ion of this scaleand comple xityis a seriou s undert aking in itself. But we are in the prelim inary Phaseof one of the greate st battle s in histor y. We are in action at any otherpoints-in Norway and in Hollan d-and we have to be prepar ed in the Medite rrane an. The air battle is contin uing, and many prepar ation s have to be made here at home.
组织如此规模和如此复杂的政府原本是一项重大的任务。但是我们正处于历史上罕见的一场大战的初
始阶段。我们在其他许多地点作战--在挪威,在荷兰,我们还必须在地中海做好准备。空战正在继续,而且在本土也必须做好许多准备工作。
In this crisis I thinkI may be pardon ed if I do not addres s the Houseat any length today, and I hope that any of my friend s and collea guesor for mer collea gueswho are affect ed by the politi cal recons truct ion will make all allowa ncesfor any lack of ceremo ny with whichit has been necess ary to act.
值此危急关头,我想,即使我今天向国会的报告过于简略,也当能见谅。我还希望所有在这次改组中受到影响的朋友、同僚和旧日的同僚们对必要的礼仪方面的任何不周之处能毫不介意。
I say to the Houseas I said to Minist ers who have joined this govern ment, I have nothin g to offerbut blood, toil, tearsand sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievo us kind. We have before us many, many months of strugg le and suffer ing.
我向国会表明,一如我向入阁的大臣们所表明的,我所能奉献的唯有热血、辛劳、眼泪和汗水我们所面临的将是一场极其严酷的考验,将是旷日持久的斗争和苦难。
You ask, what is our policy? I say it is to wage(作战) war by land, sea and air. War with all our mightand with all the streng th God has givenus, and to wage war agains t a monstr ous tyrann y neversurpas sed in the dark and lament ablecatalo gue of humancrime. That is our policy.
若问我们的政策是什么?我的回答是:在陆上、海上、空中作战。尽我们的全力,尽上帝赋予我们的全部力量去作战,对人类黑暗、可悲的罪恶史上空前凶残的暴政作战。这就是我们的政策。
You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word, It is victor y. Victor y at all costs-victor y in spiteof all terror s-victor y, howeve r long and hard the road may be, for withou t victor y thereis no surviv al.
若问我们的目标是什么?我可以用一个词来回答,那就是胜利。不惜一切代价,去夺取胜利--不惧一切恐怖,去夺取胜利--不论前路如何漫长、如何艰苦,去夺取胜利。因为没有胜利就不能生存。
Let that be realiz ed. No surviv al for the Britis h Empire, no surviv al for all that the Britis h Empire has stoodfor, no surviv al for the urge, the impuls e of the ages, that mankin d shallmove forwar d toward his goal.
我们务必认识到,没有胜利就不复有大英帝国,没有胜利就不复有大英帝国所象征的一切,没有胜利就不复有多少世纪以来的强烈要求和冲动:人类应当向自己的目标迈进。
I take up my task in buoyan cy and hope. I feel sure that our causewill not be suffer ed to fail amongmen.
我精神振奋、满怀信心地承担起我的任务。我确信,大家联合起来,我们的事业就不会遭到挫败。
I feel entitl ed at this junctu re, at this time, to claimthe aid of all and to say, "Come then, let us go forwar d togeth er with our united streng th."
在此时此刻的危急关头,我觉得我有权要求各方面的支持。我要说:“来吧,让我们策力,并肩前进!”
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