I Have a Dream
我有一个梦想
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
马丁·路德·金
28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.
1963年8月28日,于华盛顿特区林肯纪念堂前
I am happy to join with you today
今天，我高兴地同大家一起，
in what will go down in history
参加这次将成为我国历史上
as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
为了争取自由而举行的最伟大的示威集会。
Five score years ago,
100年前，
a great American,
一位伟大的美国人
in whose symbolic shadow we stand today,
——今天我们就站在他象征性的身影下——
signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
签署了《解放宣言》。
This momentous decree came
这项重要法令的颁布，
as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves
who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.
对于千百万灼烤于非正义残焰中的黑奴，犹如带来希望之光的硕大灯塔，
It came as a joyous daybreak
to end the long night of their captivity.
恰似结束漫漫长夜禁锢的欢畅黎明。
But on
e hundred years later,
然而，100年后，
the Negro still is not free.
黑人依然没有获得自由。
On
e hundred years later,
100年后，
the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled
by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.
黑人依然悲惨地蹒跚于种族隔离和种族歧视的枷锁之下。
On
e hundred years later,
100年后，
the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty
in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.
黑人依然生活在物质繁荣翰海的贫困孤岛上。
On
e hundred years later,
100年后，
the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society
黑人依然在美国社会中间向隅而泣，
and finds himself an exile in his own land.
依然感到自己在国土家园中流离漂泊。
And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
所以，我们今天来到这里，要把这骇人听闻的情况公诸于众。
In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check.
从某种意义上说，我们来到国家的首都是为了兑现一张支票。
When the architects of our republic
wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence,
我们共和国的缔造者在拟写宪法和独立宣言的辉煌篇章时，
they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.
就签署了一张每一个美国人都能继承的期票。
This note was a promise that all men,
这张期票向所有人承诺
yes, black men as well as white men,
——不论白人还是黑人——
would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
都享有不可让渡的生存权、自由权和追求幸福权。
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note,
insofar as her citizens of color are concerned.
然而，今天美国显然对她的有色公民拖欠着这张期票。
Instead of honoring this sacred obligation,
相反，美国没有承兑这笔神圣的债务，
America has given the Negro people a bad check,
而是给黑人一张空头支票
a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds” .
——一张盖着“资金不足”的印戳被退回的支票。
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.
但是，我们决不相信正义的银行会破产。
We refuse to believe that
我们决不相信
there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.
这个国家巨大的机会宝库会资金不足。
So, we’ve come to cash this check,
因此，我们来兑现这张支票。这张支票将给我们以宝贵的自由和正义的保障。
a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
这张支票将给我们以宝贵的自由和正义的保障。
We have also come to this hallowed spot
我们来到这块圣地还为了提醒美国：
to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now.
现在正是万分紧急的时刻。
(This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off
现在不是从容不迫悠然行事
or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.
或服用渐进主义镇静剂的时候。）
Now is the time
to make real the promises of democracy.
现在是实现民主诺言的时候。
Now is the time
to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation
现在是走出幽暗荒凉的种族隔离深谷，
to the sunlit path of racial justice.
踏上种族平等的阳关大道的时候
Now is the time
to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice
现在是使我们国家走出种族不平等的流沙，
to the solid rock of brotherhood.
踏上充满手足之情的磐石的时候。
Now is the time
to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.
现在是使上帝所有孩子真正享有公正的时候。
It would be fatal for the nation
to overlook the urgency of the moment.
忽视这一时刻的紧迫性，对于国家将会是致命的。
This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent
will not pass
until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.
自由平等的朗朗秋日不到来，黑人顺情合理哀怨的酷暑就不会过去。
Nineteen sixty-three is not an end,
1963年不是一个结束，
but a beginning.
而是一个开端。
And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam
and will now be content
will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.
如果国家依然我行我素，那些希望黑人只需出出气就会心满意足的人将大失所望。
And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America
until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights.
在黑人得到公民权之前，美国既不会安宁，也不会平静。
The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation
反抗的旋风将继续震撼我们国家的基石，
until the bright day of justice emerges.
直至光辉灿烂的正义之日来临。
But there is something that I must say to my people,
who stand on the warm threshold
which leads into the palace of justice:
但是，对于站在通向正义之宫艰险门槛上的人们，有一些话我必须要说。
In the process of gaining our rightful place,
在我们争取合法地位的过程中，
we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds.
切不要错误行事导致犯罪。
Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
我们切不要吞饮仇恨辛酸的苦酒，来解除对于自由的饮渴。
We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline.
我们应该永远得体地、纪律严明地进行斗争。
We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.
我们不能容许我们富有创造性的抗议沦为暴力行动。
Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights
of meeting physical force with soul force.
我们应该不断升华到用灵魂力量对付肉体力量的崇高境界。
The marvelous new militancy
which has engulfed the Negro community
席卷黑人社会的新的奇迹般的战斗精神，
must not lead us to a distrust of all white people,
不应导致我们对所有白人的不信任，
for many of our white brothers,
as evidenced by their presence here today,
have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny.
因为许多白人兄弟已经认识到：
——他们今天来到这里参加集会就是明证，
他们的命运同我们的命运紧密相连，
And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
他们已经认识到他们的自由同我们的自由休戚相关。
We cannot walk alone.
我们不能单独行动。
And as we walk,
当我们行动时，
we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
我们必须保证勇往直前。
We cannot turn back.
我们不能后退。
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights,
有人问热心民权运动的人：
“When will you be satisfied?”
“你们什么时候会感到满意？”
We can never be satisfied
as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.
只要黑人依然是不堪形容的警察暴行恐怖的牺牲品，我们就决不会满意。
We can never be satisfied
as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel,
cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.
只要我们在旅途劳顿后，却被公路旁汽车游客旅社和城市旅馆拒之门外，我们就决不会满意。
(只要黑人的基本活动范围只限于从狭小的黑人居住区到较大的黑人居住区，我们就决不会满意。只要我们的孩子被“仅供白人”的牌子剥夺个性，损毁尊严，我们就决不会满意。)
We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote
and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.
只要密西西比州的黑人不能参加选举，纽约州的黑人认为他们与选举毫不相干，我们就决不会满意。
No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied
until “justice rolls down like waters,
and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
不，不，我们不会满意，直至“公正似水奔流，正义如泉喷涌”。
I am not unmindful
that some of you have come here
out of great trials and tribulations.
我并非没有注意到你们有些人历尽艰难困苦来到这里。
Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells.
你们有些人刚刚走出狭小的牢房。
And some of you have come from areas where your quest
— quest for freedom
left you battered by the storms of persecution
有些人来自因追求自由而遭受迫害风暴袭击
and staggered by the winds of police brutality.
和警察暴虐狂飙摧残的地区。
You have been the veterans of creative suffering.
你们饱经风霜，历尽苦难。
Continue to work with the faith
that unearned suffering is redemptive.
继续努力吧，要相信：无辜受苦终得拯救。
Go back to Mississippi,
回到密西西比去吧，
go back to Alabama,
回到亚拉巴马去吧，
go back to South Carolina,
回到南卡罗来纳去吧，
go back to Georgia,
回到佐治亚去吧，
go back to Louisiana,
回到路易斯安那去吧，
go back
to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities,
回到我们北方城市中的贫民窟和黑人居住区去吧。
knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
要知道，这种情况能够而且将会改变。
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair,
我们切不要在绝望的深渊里沉沦。
I say to you today, my friends,
朋友们，今天我要对你们说，
so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow,
尽管眼下困难重重，
I still have a dream.
但我依然怀有一个梦。
It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
这个梦深深植根于美国梦之中。
I have a dream
that on
e day
我梦想有一天，
this nation will rise up,
这个国家将会奋起，
live out the true meaning of its creed:
实现其立国信条的真谛：
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
“我们认为这些真理不言而喻：人人生而平等。”
I have a dream
that on
e day
我梦想有一天，
on the red hills of Georgia,
在佐治亚州的红色山岗上，
the sons of farmer slaves and the sons of farmer slave owners
昔日奴隶的儿子同昔日奴隶主的儿子
will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
能够同席而坐，亲如手足。
I have a dream
that on
e day
我梦想有一天，
even the state of Mississippi,
甚至连密西西比州
a state
sweltering with the heat of injustice,
sweltering with the heat of oppression,
——一个非正义和压迫的热浪逼人的荒漠之州，
will be transformed into
an oasis of freedom and justice.
也会改造成为自由和公正的青青绿洲。
I have a dream
that my four little children
我梦想有一天，我的四个小女儿
will on
e day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin
将生活在一个不是以皮肤的颜色，
but by the content of their character.
而是以品格的优劣作为评判标准的国家里。
I have a dream today!
我今天怀有一个梦。
I have a dream that on
e day,
我梦想有一天，
down in Alabama,
亚拉巴马州会有所改变
with its vicious racists,
——尽管该州仍有很多的种族主义者
with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of “interposition” and “nullification”
——尽管该州州长现在仍滔滔不绝地说什么要对联邦法令“提出异议”和“拒绝执行”
–on
e day right there in Alabama,
——在那里，
little black boys and black girls
will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls
as sisters and brothers.
黑人儿童能够和白人儿童兄弟姐妹般地携手并行。
I have a dream today!
我今天怀有一个梦。
I have a dream that on
e day
我梦想有一天，
every valley shall be exalted,
深谷弥合，
and every hill and mountain shall be made low,
高山夷平，
the rough places will be made plain,
歧路化坦途，
and the crooked places will be made straight;
曲径成通衢，
and “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.”
上帝的光华再现，普天下生灵共谒。
This is our hope,
这是我们的希望。
and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
这是我将带回南方去的信念。
With this faith,
有了这个信念，
we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair
a stone of hope.
我们就能从绝望之山开采出希望之石。
With this faith,
有了这个信念，
we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation
我们就能把这个国家的嘈杂刺耳的争吵声，
into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.
变为充满手足之情的悦耳交响曲。
With this faith,
有了这个信念，
we will be able to work together,
我们就能一同工作，
to pray together,
一同祈祷，
to struggle together,
一同斗争，
to go to jail together,
一同入狱，
to stand up for freedom together,
一同维护自由，
knowing that we will be free on
e day.
因为我们知道，我们终有一天会获得自由。
This will be the day
到了这一天，
— this will be the day when all of God’s children
will be able to sing with new meaning:
上帝的所有孩子都能以新的含义高唱这首歌：
“My country ’tis of thee,
我的祖国，
sweet land of liberty,
可爱的自由之邦，
of thee I sing.
我为您歌唱。
Land where my fathers died,
这是我祖先终老的地方，
land of the Pilgrim’s pride,
是早期移民自豪的地方，
From every mountainside, let freedom ring! ”
让自由之声，响彻每一座山岗！
And if America is to be a great nation,
如果美国要成为伟大的国家，
this must become true.
这一点必须实现。
And so let freedom ring
from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
因此，让自由之声响彻新罕布什尔州的巍峨高峰！
Let freedom ring
from the mighty mountains of New York.
让自由之声响彻纽约州的崇山峻岭！
Let freedom ring
from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
让自由之声响彻宾夕法尼亚州的阿勒格尼高峰！
Let freedom ring
from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
让自由之声响彻科罗拉多州冰雪皑皑的洛基山！
Let freedom ring
from the curvaceous slopes of California.
让自由之声响彻加利福尼亚州的婀娜群峰！
But not on
ly that:
不，不仅如此:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
让自由之声响彻佐治亚州的石山！
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
让自由之声响彻田纳西州的望山！
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
让自由之声响彻密西西比州的一座座山峰，一个个土丘！
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
让自由之声，响彻每一个山岗！
And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring,
当我们让自由之声轰响，
when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet,
当我们让自由之声响彻每一个大小村庄，
from every state and every city,
每一个州府和城镇，
we will be able to speed up that day
我们就能加速这一天的到来。
When all of God’s children,
那时，上帝的所有孩子，
black men and white men,
黑人和白人，
Jews and Gentiles,
犹太教徒和非犹太教徒，
Protestants and Catholics,
基督教徒和天主教徒，
will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
将能携手同唱那首古老的黑人灵歌：
“Free at last! Free at last!
“终于自由了！终于自由了！
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last! ”
感谢全能的上帝，我们终于自由了！”