Our Family Creed
约翰·洛克菲勒 / John Rockefelter
They are the principles on which my wife and I have tried to bring up our family. They are the principles in which my father believed and by! Which he governed his life. They are the principles, many of them, which I learned at my mother’s knee.
They point the way to usefulness and happiness in life, to courage and peace in death.
If they mean to you what they mean to me, they may perhaps be helpful also to our sons for their guidance and inspiration.
Let me state them:
I believe it the supreme worth of the individual and in his right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty.
I believe that the law was made for man and not man for the law; that government is the servant of the people and not their master.
I believe in the dignity of labor, whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man a living but that it owes every man an opportunity to make a living.
I believe that thrift is essential to well-ordered living and that economy is a prime requisite of a sound financial structure, whether in government, business or personal affairs.
I believe that truth and justice are fundamental to an enduring social order.
I believe in the sacredness of a promise, that a man’s word should be as good as his bond, that character — not wealth or power or position — is of supreme worth.
I believe that the rendering of useful service is the common duty of mankind and that only in the purifying fire of sacrifice is the dross of selfishness consumed and the greatness of the human soul set free.
I believe in an all-wise and all-loving God, named by whatever name, and that the individual’s highest fulfillment, greatest happiness and widest usefulness are to be found in living in harmony with His will.
I believe that love is the greatest thing in the world; that it alone can overcome hate; that right can and will triumph over might.
These are the principles, however formulated, for which all good men and women throughout the world, irrespective of race or creed, education, social position or occupation, are standing, and for which many of them are suffering and dying.
These are the principles upon which alone a new world recognizing the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God can be established.
这些是我和太太在教育子女时尽力倚仗的信条，是我父亲所深信并以之为人生律条的信条，这些信条中的大部分是我从母亲的膝下秉承而来的。
这些信条告诉人们如何快乐而有所作为地活着，也告诉人们如何勇敢而安详地面对死亡。
假如这些信条于诸位的意义如同它们于我的意义，那么也许它们可以有效地指导和鼓舞我们的儿女。
让我说出这些信条：
我相信，人人拥有无上的价值，拥有生存、自由和追求幸福的权利。
我相信，每一项权利都必然包含着责任，每一个机遇都必然包含着义务，每一种获得都必然包含着职责。
我相信，法律为人而制，而非人为法律而生，政府是人民的公仆，而非人民的主人。
我相信，无论体力劳动还是脑力劳动都是高尚的，世界不会让人不劳而获，而会给人一次谋生的机会。
我相信，无论在政府、商业还是个人事务中，勤俭节约都是合理安排生活之基本要素，而经济适用是健全的金融机制之必需。
我相信，真理和正义是任何一个长治久安的社会秩序之基础。
我相信，承诺是神圣的；我也相信，假如人的言语能和契约同样可靠，那么这种品质——而非财富、权势与身份地位——就具有至高无上的价值。
我相信，人类共同的职责是有效地服务社会，只有在自我牺牲的炼火中，自私的沉渣才会被焚为灰烬，人类灵魂中的伟大情操才会显现。
我相信，有—位无所不知、大慈大悲的上帝存在——尽管人们对他的称呼各不相同——人们能在与他的意志和谐生活的过程中得到最高的满足感、最大的幸福感，以及最广博的成就感。
我相信，世界上最伟大的事物就是爱，只有爱能够战胜仇恨，而真理能够而且必定击败强权。
无论怎样表达，以上就是那些信条——世界上所有不计种族、信仰、宗教、地位或职业的善良的人们所代表的信条——而且正是为了这些信条，他们中许多人正在忍受折磨，甚至正在死去。
只有凭借这些信条，人类才能建立起人人如手足、上帝如慈父的新世界。
记忆填空
1. They are the principles on my wife and I have tried to bring up our . They are the principles in which my father and by! Which he governed his . They are the principles, many of them, which I at my mother’s knee.
2. I believe that every implies a responsibility; opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a .
3. I believe that is the greatest thing in the world; that it can overcome hate; that right can and will triumph might.
佳句翻译
1. 这些信条告诉人们如何快乐而有所作为地活着，也告诉人们如何勇敢而安详地面对死亡。
2. 我相信，真理和正义是任何一个长治久安的社会秩序之基础。
3. 人们能在与他的意志和谐生活的过程中得到最高的满足感、最大的幸福感，以及最广博的成就感。
短语应用
1. They are the principles on which my wife and I have tried to bring up our family.
bring up：教育，培养，使成长
2. I believe that thrift is essential to well-ordered living and that economy is a prime requisite of a sound financial structure, whether in government, business or personal affairs.
be essential to：对……不可缺少