Inaugural Address
(January 20,1961)
By John F. Kennedy
We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom, symbolizing an end as well as a beginning, signifying renewal as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.
The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary belief for which our forebears fought is still at issue around the globe, the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.
We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new g
eneration of Americans, born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of these human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
This much we pledge—and more.
To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United, there is little we cannot do in a host of co-operative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do, for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.
To those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that o
ne form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom, and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.
T
o those peoples in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required, not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.
To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge: to convert our good words into good deeds, in a new alliance for progress, to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. Let all our neighbors know that we shall join wit
h them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas. And let every other power know that this hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.
To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective, to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak, and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run.
就职演说Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.
讲评“肯尼迪总统就职演说词”
■北京外国语大学 李品伟 选评
美国总统就职演说词独具一格，而肯尼迪的讲演更是其中一篇为人们注目的代表作，字字句句经过刻意雕琢，有许多值得品味推敲之处。
它讲的是美国人为之骄傲的美国历史传统，讲的是美国的外交政策。
半个世纪以前的国际形势与今天大不相同：势不两立的两大阵营、激烈的军备竞赛、持续的冷战局面。这些在文章中可见端倪。
可是，在肯尼迪的全篇演说中，没有直截了当地对国际形势进行分析，更没有一处提到一个国家的名字或具体事例，一切都隐晦、委婉、模糊不清，用的只是to friend and foe alike, to those 等，没有经历或不熟悉那一段时期历史的人也许会摸不着头脑。不奇怪，这些在一定程度上代表了西方政治家的风格。
21世纪的今天，全球化(globali-zation)成了全世界所关注的问题，也成了人们天天在重复的一个词语，从形势上与此篇讲演的背景很有可比较之处，但这里我们主要是就此篇讲演中如何沿袭古希腊、罗马的修辞、文风，如何精心选用圣经语言句式，讲演稿如何注意音韵效果等问题分别举例讨论而已。因篇幅有限，只选用了前11段，未选全文。inaugural address 指
就职演说词。一般来说，演说词在英语里是speech,用address这个词是比较少的。如果要说两者有什么差别的话，无非是风格上及使用场合上的区别。前者是一个普通的词，而address从风格上来说更为庄重，指正式的致辞，除了总统演说词之外，也用于学校毕业典礼上校长的演说词等。
第一段第一个动词observe一般作“观察”解，但这里“观察”一看就说不通，说不通就可以试着通过上下文来推断或查一下词典。如果你的词典里observe有三个释义，那么你就要注意第二或第三个释义了，你的推断如果是“庆祝”，那就对了，此时它的英语等同语应该是celebrate,其宾语可以是这篇文章中的victory, (a celebration of) freedom。其他常见的搭配还有什么呢？有节日（festivals），有生日（birthdays），有周年纪念（anniversaries）等。这几个宾语中的birthday因为太普通了，可能用得少些。用得多的应该是anniversaries，因为它较之其他两个更为庄重。