1861年3月4日，星期一
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I take the official oath today with no mental reservations and with no purpose to construe the Constitution or laws by any hypercritical rules；and while I do not choose now to specify particular acts of Congress as proper to be enforced，I do suggest that it will be much safer for all，both in official and private stations，to conform to and abide by all those acts which stand unrepealed than to violate any of them trusting to find impunity in having them held to be unconstitutional．
我今天正式宣誓时，并没有保留意见，也无意以任何苛刻的标准来解释宪法和法律，尽管我不想具体指明国会通过的哪些法案是适合施行的。但我确实要建议，所有的人。不论处于官方还是私人的地位，都得遵守那些未被废止的法令，这比泰然自若地认为其中某个法案是违背宪法的而去触犯它，要稳当得多。
It is seventy－two years since the first inauguration of a President under our National Constitution．During that period fifteen different and greatly distinguished citizens have in succession administered the executive branch of the Government．They have conducted it through many perils，and generally with great success．Yet，with all this scope of precedent，I now enter upon the same task for the brief constitutional term of four years under great and peculiar difficulty．A disruption of the Federal Union，heretofore only menaced，is now formidably attempted．
自从第一任总统根据我国宪法就职以来已经72年了。在此期间，有15位十分杰出的公民相继主持了政府的行政部门。他们在许多艰难险阻中履行职责，大致说来都很成功。然而，虽有这样的先例，我现在开始担任这个按宪法规定任期只有短暂4年的同一职务时，却处在巨大而特殊的困难之下。联邦的分裂，在此以前只是一种威胁，现在却已成为可怕的行动。
I hold that in contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution the Union of these States is perpetual．Perpetuity is implied，if not expressed，in the fundamental law of all national governments．It is safe to assert that no government proper ever had a provision in its organic law for its own termination．Continue to execute all the express provisions of our National Constitution，and the Union will endure forever，it being impossible to destroy it except by some action not provided for in the instrument itself．
从一般法律和宪法角度来考虑，我认为由各州组成的联邦是永久性的。在各国政府的根本法中，永久性即使没有明确规定，也是不言而喻的。我们有把握说，从来没有哪个正规政府在自己的组织法中列入一项要结束自己执政的条款。继续执行我国宪法明文规定的条款，联邦就将永远存在，毁灭联邦是办不到的，除非采取宪法本身未予规定的某种行动。
Again：If the United States be not a government proper，but an association of States in the nature of contract merely，can it，as a contract，be peaceably unmade by less than all the parties who made it？One party to a contract may violate it－break it，so to speak－but does it not require all to lawfully rescind it？
再者：假如合众国不是名副其实的政府，而只是具有契约性质的各州的联盟，那么，作为一种契约，这个联盟能够毫无争议地由违约各方中的少数加以取消吗？缔约的一方可以违约——也可以说毁约——但是，合法地废止契约难道不需要缔约各方全都同意吗？
Descending from these general principles，we find the proposition that in legal contemplation the Union is perpetual confirmed by the history of the Union itself．The Union is much older than the Constitution．It was formed，in fact，by the Articles of Association in 1774．It was matured and continued by the Declaration of Independence in 1776．It was further matured，and the faith of all the then thirteen States expressly plighted and engaged that it should be perpetual，by the Articles of Confederation in 1778．And finally，in 1787，one of the declared objects for ordaining and establishing the Constitution was “to form a more perfect Union．”
从这些一般原则往下推，我们认为，从法律上来说，联邦是永久性的这一主张已经为联邦本身的历史所证实。联邦的历史比宪法长久得多。事实上，它在1774年就根据《联合条款》组成了。1776年，《独立宣言》使它臻于成熟并持续下来。1778年《邦联条款》使联邦愈趋成熟，当时的13个州都信誓旦旦地明确保证联邦应该永存，最后，1787年制定宪法时所宣布的目标之一就是“建设更完善的联邦”。
But if destruction of the Union by one or by a part only of the States be lawfully possible，the Union is less perfect than before the Constitution，having lost the vital element of perpetuity．
但是，如果联邦竟能由一个州或几个州按照法律加以取消的话，那么联邦就不如制宪前完善了，因为它丧失了永久性这个重要因素。
It follows from these views that no State upon its own mere motion can lawfully get out of the Union；that resolves and ordinances to that effect are legally void，and that acts of violence within any State or States against the authority of the United States are insurrectionary or revolutionary，according to circumstances．
根据这些观点，任何一个州都不能只凭自己的动议就能合法地脱离联邦；凡为此目的而作出的决议和法令在法律上都是无效的，任何一个州或几个州反对合众国当局的暴力行动都应根据情况视为叛乱或革命。
I therefore consider that in view of the Constitution and the laws the Union is unbroken，and to the extent of my ability，I shall take care，as the Constitution itself expressly enjoins upon me，that the laws of the Union be faithfully executed in all the States．Doing this I deem to be only a simple duty on my part，and I shall perform it so far as practicable unless my rightful masters，the American people，shall withhold the requisite means or in some authoritative manner direct the contrary．I trust this will not be regarded as a menace，but only as the declared purpose of the Union that it will constitutionally defend and maintain itself．
因此，我认为，根据宪法和法律，联邦是不容分裂的；我将按宪法本身明确授予我的权限，就自己能力所及，使联邦法律得以在各州忠实执行。我认为这仅仅是我分内的职责，我将以可行的方法去完成，除非我的合法主人——美国人民，不给予我必要的手段，或以权威的方式作出相反的指示，我相信大家不会把这看作是一种威胁，而只看作是联邦已宣布过的目标：它将按照宪法保卫和维护它自身。
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