1989年1月20日，星期五
Mr．Chief Justice，Mr．President，Vice President Quayle，Senator Mitchell，Speaker Wright，Senator Dole，Congressman Michel，and fellow citizens，neighbors，and friends：
首席法官先生，总统先生，奎尔副总统，米切尔参议员，赖特议长，多尔参议员，米歇尔众议员，同胞们、邻居们、朋友们：
There is a man here who has earned a lasting place in our hearts and in our history．President Reagan，on behalf of our Nation，I thank you for the wonderful things that you have done for America．
这里有一位在我们心中和我国历史上都赢得了永久性地位的人。里根总统，我代表全国人民，感谢您为美国做出了伟大的业绩。
I have just repeated word for word the oath taken by George Washington 200years ago，and the Bible on which I placed my hand is the Bible on which he placed his．It is right that the memory of Washington be with us today，not only because this is our Bicentennial Inauguration，but because Washington remains the Father of our Country．And he would，I think，be gladdened by this day；for today is the concrete expression of a stunning fact：our continuity these 200years since our government began．
我刚才逐字逐句复述了乔治·华盛顿在200年前宣读过的誓言，我用手按过的《圣经》，就是他按过的那一本。我们今天怀念华盛顿是恰当的，不仅因为这是我们在建国二百周年时举行的总统就职典礼，而且因为华盛顿始终是我们的国父，我想，他会为这个日子感到高兴的。因为这个日子具体说明了一个惊人的事实：我们的政府自创建以来已经延续200年了。
We meet on democracys front porch，a good place to talk as neighbors and as friends．For this is a day when our nation is made whole，when our differences，for a moment，are suspended．
我们相聚在象征着民主政治的正门门廊，这是我们作为邻居、作为朋友交谈的好地方，因为今天是我国成为一个整体的日子，是我们的分歧暂时中止的日子。
And my first act as President is a prayer．I ask you to bow your heads：
我作为总统要做的第一件事是进行祈祷——请大家低下头：
Heavenly Father，we bow our heads and thank You for Your love．Accept our thanks for the peace that yields this day and the shared faith that makes its continuance likely．Make us strong to do Your work，willing to heed and hear Your will，and write on our hearts these words：“Use power to help people．”For we are given power not to advance our own purposes，nor to make a great show in the world，nor a name．There is but one just use of power，and it is to serve people．Help us to remember it，Lord．Amen．
天父，我们垂首感谢您的恩爱。您赐给我们和平，使我们得有今天，您赐给我们共同的信念，使和平得以持久。请您使我们坚强起来以完成您的工作，使我们甘愿聆听和服从您的旨意，并在我们心中写下这样的话：“运用权力帮助人民。”因为我们被授予权力不是为了实现个人意图，不是为了炫耀于世，也不是为了追逐名声。权力只有一个正当用途，那就是为人民办事。主啊，帮助我们铭记这一点吧。阿门。
I come before you and assume the Presidency at a moment rich with promise．We live in a peaceful，prosperous time，but we can make it better．For a new breeze is blowing，and a world refreshed by freedom seems reborn；for in mans heart，if not in fact，the day of the dictator is over．The totalitarian era is passing，its old ideas blown away like leaves from an ancient，lifeless tree．
我是在一个充满希望的时刻来到你们面前就任总统的。我们生活在和平、繁荣的时代，我们能够使它更加美好。因为现在吹拂着一阵清新的和风，一个为自由所振奋的世界似乎已经重新降生；因为即使不是在事实上，也是在人们心里，独裁者称雄的日子已经过去。极权主义时代正在消逝，它那陈旧的观念就像一株衰老枯萎的树上的叶子已经被风吹走。
A new breeze is blowing，and a nation refreshed by freedom stands ready to push on．There is new ground to be broken，and new action to be taken．There are times when the future seems thick as a fog；you sit and wait，hoping the mists will lift and reveal the right path．But this is a time when the future seems a door you can walk right through into a room called tomorrow．
一阵清新的和风正在吹拂——一个为自由所振奋的国家准备继续奋进。新的天地有待开辟，新的行动有待采取。有时候浓雾沉沉，前途迷茫：大家坐着等待，希望云开雾散，显露出正确的道路。但在目前这个时刻，未来就像你可以立即跨入的大门——走进一个叫作明天的房间。
Great nations of the world are moving toward democracy through the door to freedom．Men and women of the world move toward free markets through the door to prosperity．The people of the world agitate for free expression and free thought through the door to the moral and intellectual satisfactions that only liberty allows．
世界上的伟大国家正在走向民主——经过这道大门，走向自由。世界上的男男女女正在走向自由市场——经过这道大门，走向繁荣。世界各国人民正在宣扬言论自由和思想自由——经过这道大门，走向只有在自由时才能得到的道德上和理智上的满足。
We know what works：Freedom works．We know whats right：Freedom is right．We know how to secure a more just and prosperous life for man on Earth：through free markets，free speech，free elections，and the exercise of free will unhampered by the state．
我们知道什么能起作用：自由能起作用。我们知道什么是正确的：自由是正确的，我们知道如何为地球上的人类争得更合理、更富裕的生活：通过自由市场，自由言论，自由选举，和不受国家阻挠地行使自由意志。
For the first time in this century，for the first time in perhaps all history，man does not have to invent a system by which to live．We dont have to talk late into the night about which form of government is better．We dont have to wrest justice from the kings．We only have to summon it from within ourselves．
本世纪第一次——也许是有史以来第一次——人类不必发明一种赖以生存的制度了。我们不必为哪种政体较好而讨论到深夜了。我们不必从国王手里夺取公正了——我们只需从自身内部唤起公正。
We must act on what we know．I take as my guide the hope of a saint：In crucial things，unity；in important things，diversity；in all things，generosity．
我们必须按照自己所懂得的道理去行动。我把一位圣人的期望当做行动的指南：对严重问题，要有一致性；对巨大问题，要有多样性；对一切问题，要有宽容性。
……
We need a new engagement，too，between the Executive and the Congress．The challenges before us will be thrashed out with the House and the Senate．We must bring the Federal budget into balance．And we must ensure that America stands before the world united，strong，at peace，and fiscally sound．But，of course，things may be difficult．
在总统和国会之间，我们同样需要承担一种新的义务。我们面临的各种挑战将由总统会同众议院和参议院研究解决。我们必须使联邦预算达到平衡。我们必须确保美国以团结的姿态屹立于世界，强大，和睦，财政状况良好。当然，工作有可能是艰巨的。
We need compromise；we have had dissension．We need harmony；we have had a chorus of discordant voices．For Congress，too，has changed in our time．There has grown a certain divisiveness．We have seen the hard looks and heard the statements in which not each others ideas are challenged，but each others motives．And our great parties have too often been far apart and untrusting of each other．