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Thank you so much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you. To Caroline and the Kennedy family, to all the members of Congress and distinguished guests here tonight，it is an extraordinary pleasure to join you to mark the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s inauguration. (Applause.) And I can’t think of a better place to do it than here, in a living memorial that reflects not only his love of the arts，but also his recognition of how the arts can help sustain our national strength. (Applause.)

非常感谢，谢谢大家，谢谢。卡罗琳和肯尼迪家族的各位成员、今晚在场的 各位国会议员和尊贵的客人们，非常高兴能和大家一起纪念约翰•肯尼迪就任总统 50周年。（掌声）我想不出一个更好的地方来举行这次纪念活动，这个纪念场所不 仅反映了他对艺术的热爱，而且还反映了他对艺术如何推动维持本国国力的认知。(掌声）

Now, we mark this anniversary with a measure of sadness, as we remember the extraordinary life of Sargent Shriver—(applause)—a man who embodied the spirit of the New Frontier as well as anybody. When a person passes away, there’s often an urge to define their legacy, and find a way in which it will endure. In the case of Sarge，that is not hard to do. His legacy is written in the villages around the world that have clean water or a new school through the Peace Corps. It’s written into the lives of all the children in our own country whose fortunes have been lifted through Head Start. And it will endure in the work of his children who are living out his legacy of service, and our thoughts and prayers are with them tonight.

现在，我们在缅怀萨金特•施莱弗不平凡的一生的同时纪念这个周年，令人不 免感到悲伤——（掌声）——他同任何一个人一样，身体力行新边疆精神。在一个 人逝去的时候，人们总希望对他遗留的东西作出定位，并试图将其继承传扬。对施 莱弗的一生来说，这并不困难。他的遗产就书写在世界各地的村庄和新的学校里， 那里的人们从美国和平部队那里获得了清洁用水；他的遗产写进了我国孩子们的生活中，那些孩子因为“起跑计划”而改变了命运。他的子女们继承了这份为人服务 的遗产，并将通过自己的努力使之永恒。今晚，我们的心和他们连在一起，我们为

One of the remarkable aspects in commemorating the JFK inauguration, in remembering those who were part of his team, like Sargent Shriver, who would help bring Kennedy’s soaring vision to life, is that none of it feels dated. Even now, one half century later, there is something about that day~January 20, 1961—that feels immediate, feels new and urgent and exciting, despite the graininess of the 16-millimeter news reels that recorded it for posterity.

在纪念约翰•肯尼迪就任总统50周年之时，在怀念萨金特•施莱弗等为实现肯 尼迪的宏大生活愿景而努力的队友之时，人们可以看到这一切都没有过时。即使是 半个世纪后的现在，那一天——1961年1月20日~仍然让人感到那么得贴近，那么 得新鲜，那么得紧迫和激动，尽管为后人记录这一天使用的16毫米新闻胶卷已经老

There he is，the handsome Bostonian, summoning a generation to service and a nation to greatness, in a speech that would become part of the American canon. And there，s the crowd, bundled up for the cold，making their way through streets white with snow, full of expectation. A nation, feeling young again, its mood brightened by the promise of a new decade.

就在那里，一位英俊的波士顿人通过一篇演讲，号召一代人为国服务，号召着 整个国家奋发图强。这则演讲后来成为美国准则的一部分。当时那一群人穿着厚厚 的冬衣，充满期待地在白雪覆盖的街道上行进。一个国家，青春焕发，它的精神照 亮了希望满满的新的十年。

A quick wit with a light touch, he was dealt, in many ways, a fortunate hand at birth. Attending one event, early in his career, where every speaker before him pompously claimed humble roots~things haven’t changed that much—(laughter)— John Kennedy confessed, when he took the podium, that he was—and I quote一“the only fellow here who didn’t come up the hard way.” (Laughter.)

他机智敏捷，从他出生，在很多方面他都很幸运。在从政早期，他曾参加过 一次活动，当时，他前面的所有发言人都大谈自己卑微的身世——现在的情况和那他们祈祷时也差不多——（笑声）——约翰•肯尼迪走上讲台时坦白道，他是——我引用原 话^ “这里唯一一个不是穷苦出身的人” 6 (笑声）

And yet, it cannot be said that John F. Kennedy lived an easy life. He lost an older brother in the war； a sister shortly thereafter. He nearly lost his own life, too, when a Japanese gunship cut his PT boat in half, casting him into the water, from which he swam a crewmate to safety. Another sister struggled with a severe mental handicap. His own health was so poor that priests pronounced his last rites on several different occasions. And he endured the personal prejudice and political poison of anti-Catholic fervor.

然而，我们并不能说约翰•肯尼迪一生都是一帆风顺的。他在战争中失去了哥 哥；之后又失去了一个妹妹。他自己也险些丧命，当时一架日本战机把他的鱼雷艇 截成了两半，他被拋人水中，但他却从水里救起一名船员。他的另一个妹妹患有严 重的心理障碍。他自己的健康令人忧心，牧师曾经几次为他作过临终祷告。他还忍 受了因反天主教狂热而引发的个人偏见和政治毒害。

And there is surely a possibility, under such circumstances, that a person will retreat from the world; that a person, particularly one born to wealth, will seek a life of luxury and ease; that a person, confronted by the coldness of chance, will become bitter or cynical or small. It has happened to others.

在这种情况下，一个人遁世隐居的可能性很大，特别是一个天生富贵的人， 可能会追求奢华安逸的生活；一个机会渺茫的人，可能会变得尖刻、愤世嫉俗或狭 隘。这种情况非常普遍。

But that is not the life that John F. Kennedy chose. As he famously said at a press conference, “life is unfair.” We can’t choose the lots we are given in life, but we can choose how to live that life, John ¥• Kennedy chose a life in the arena, full of confidence that our country could surmount any obstacle, as he’d seen it do himself. He chose a life of leadership, fired not by naive optimism, but committed realism; “idealism,” as his wife Jackie put it, “without illusions.” That is the idealism~soaring but sober~that inspired the country and the world one half century ago.

但是，这种人生并不是约翰•肯尼迪选择的。在一次新闻发布会上，他说得 极好：“生活是不公平的。”我们不能选择生活给予我们的一切，但我们可以选择 如何度过一生。约翰•肯尼迪选择生活在公众舞台上，坚信我们的国家能够扫除任何障碍，就像他亲眼看到的那样。他选择了做领导的生活，并不是由天真的乐观主 义所激发的，而是受到坚定的现实主义、即他的夫人杰基所提到的“不抱任何幻想 的理想主义”的鼓舞。正是这种理想主义——热血沸腾却又认真冷静——半个世纪 前，这种精神鼓舞了整个国家乃至整个世界。

I can only imagine how he must have felt, entering the Oval Office in turbulent times. (Laughter and applause.) The Soviet Premier, Khrushchev, had threatened to “bury” America just a few years before. Wars of Liberation, as they were called, were being waged around the globe—from Laos and Vietnam to Congo and Cuba, just 90 miles from our shore. At home, a young preacher’s cause was gaining traction across a segregated land.

我只能想象在那个动荡的年代，当走入椭圆形办公室时，他会有什么样的感 觉。（笑声和掌声）苏联总理赫鲁晓夫，几年前曾威胁说要“埋葬”美国。他们所 说的“解放战争”在世界各地蔓延开来——从老挝和越南，再到刚果以及距我国海 岸仅有90英里的古巴。而在国内，一位年轻牧师致力于摆脱种族隔离制度的事业臝 得了人心。

In this volatile America, this tinderbox of a world, President Kennedy led with a steadying hand, defusing the most perilous crisis of the Cold War without firing a single shot. Enforcing the rights of young black men and women to attend the university of their choice. Launching a corps of volunteers as ambassadors for peace in distant centers of the globe. Setting America’s sights on the moon, unwilling to lose the Space Race in the wake of Sputnik,

在这个动荡的美国，在那个随即爆发战争的地区，肯尼迪总统以坚定的领导， 不用一枪一炮化解了冷战时期最棘手的危机。他强制使黑人男女青年获得了选择大 学的权利。他发动志愿者队伍，前往遥远的世界各地担任和平大使。他让美国放眼 月球，在“斯普特尼克”升空后，不愿意在太空竞赛中落于人后。

The science just wasn’t there. President Kennedy understood that. But he also knew something else. He knew that we，as a people, can do big things. We can reach great heights. We can rise to any challenge, so long as we’re willing to ask what we can do for our country; so long as we，re willing to take America’s destiny into our own hands. What President Kennedy understood was the character of the people he led: our resilience, our fearlessness, our distinctly American ability, revealed time and again throughout history, to defy the odds, to fashion our future, to make the world anew.

但是当时的科学水平还没有达到那个高度。肯尼迪总统理解这一点，但是他 也清楚另外一些事。他知道，作为一个民族，我们能成大事。我们能够攀登高峰。 我们能够应对任何挑战，只要我们愿意询问自己：我们能为我们的国家做些什么， 只要我们愿意将美国的命运把握在自己手中。肯尼迪总统懂得他所领导的人民的品 质：我们的坚韧；我们的无畏；我们与众不同的能力，这种能力久经历史考验，藐 视苦难，创造未来，使世界焕然一新。

The world is very different now than it was in 1961. We face new trials and new uncertainties, from our economy to our security. We have a politics that can often seem too small for the hardships at hand. So meeting these tests won’t be easy. But we cannot forget, we are the heirs of this President, who showed us what is possible. Because of his vision, more people prospered； more people served; our union was made more perfect. Because of that vision, I can stand here tonight as President of the United States. (Applause.)

当今世界与1961年相比已经大不相同。在从经济到安全的诸多领域，我们面 临新的考验、新的不确定因素。面对目前的困难，我们的政治运作能力有些不足。 所以，解决这些困难并非易事。然而，我们不能忘记，我们是这位总统的继承人， 他曾经教导我们，什么事情都是有可能的。由于他的远见卓识，更多的人走向了繁 荣；更多的人作出奉献；我们的国家变得更加完美。由于这一远见，今晚我才能够 以美国总统的身份来到这里。（掌声）

So John F. Kennedy captured that American spirit that not only put a man on the moon, but saved a continent from tyranny and overcame a Great Depression; that forged, from 13 colonies, the last best hope on Earth. And if we can hold onto that spirit today, I know that our generation will answer its call as ably as earlier ones did before us.

约翰•肯尼迪激发了美国精神，这一精神不仅使人类登上了月球，还把一个大 陆从暴政中解救出来，战胜了经济大萧条，在13块殖民地缔造了世界上最后、最大的希望。如果我们今天继续坚持这一精神，那么我们这一代人将会像前几代人那样 以非凡的能力响应这一召唤。

In December 1962，President Kennedy was asked by the Saturday Evening Post to submit his favorite quotation. A student not only of history，but also of literature, he chose a passage written by the poet Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr father of the Supreme Court justice. Mr. Holmes wrote：

1962年12月，《星期六晚报》邀请肯尼迪总统讲述他的座右铭。因为在大学时 他兼修了历史和文学，所以他挑选了诗人奥利弗•温德尔•霍姆斯，即最高法院大 法官霍姆斯的父亲的一段话。霍姆斯先生写道：

“I find the great things in this world—is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving: to reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it~but we must sail，and not drift, nor lie at anchor."

“我发现，这个世界上的伟大事业——并不在于我们身处何地，而在于我们前 进的方向：为了到达天堂之门，我们有时顺风顺水，有时逆海行舟——但我们必须 航行，不是随波逐流也不是停泊靠岸。”

That, I think, captures well the daring，graceful spirit of the unfinished life we celebrate today; a life that inspires us and lights our way, as we sail on to the new frontiers of our own time. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless this country that we love. Thank you. (Applause.)

我觉得，这段话确切地再现了我们今天所纪念的没有走完的人生中那种无畏 而高尚的精神，当我们驶向我们这个时代的新前沿时，这一生命激励着我们，照亮 我们的前进道路。多谢各位，愿主保佑你们，愿主保佑我们所挚爱的国家。谢谢。(掌声）