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What you do is as important as anything government does. I ask you to seek a common good beyond your comfort; to defend needed reforms against easy attacks; to serve your nation, beginning with your neighbor. I ask you to be citizens: citizens, not spectators; citizens, not subjects; responsible citizens, building communities of service and a nation of character.
你們所做的一切和政府的工作同樣重要。我希望你們除了追求個人享受之外也要為我們的共同利益而努力；要捍衛必要的改革措施，使其不會輕易被攻擊；要從身邊小事做起，為我們的國家效力。我希望你們成為真正的公民，而不是旁觀者，更不是臣民，是有責任心的公民，共同來建設一個人人奉獻的社會和一個獨具特色的國家。
Americans are generous and strong and decent, not because we believe in ourselves, but because we hold beliefs beyond ourselves. When this spirit of citizenship is missing, no government program can replace it. When this spirit is present, no wrong can stand against it.
美國人民慷慨的、堅強的、正派的，這并不是因為我們信任自己，而是因為我們擁有超越自我的信念。這種公民精神一旦喪失了，任何政府計劃都無法彌補。而只要這種精神出現了，也沒有任何錯誤可與之抗衡。
After the Declaration of Independence was signed, Virginia statesman John Page wrote to Thomas Jefferson: "We know the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong. Do you not think an angel rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm?"
在《獨立宣言》簽署之后，弗吉尼亞州的政治家約翰·佩齊曾給托馬斯·杰弗遜寫信說："我們知道，行動敏捷、力量強大不一定就能贏得戰爭。難道你們不認為這一切都是上帝安排的嗎？"
Much time has passed since Jefferson arrived for his inauguration. The years and changes accumulate. But the themes of this day he would know: our nation's grand story of courage and its simple dream of dignity.
杰斐遜就任總統的那個年代離我們已經很遠了。歲月荏苒，美國發生了翻天覆地的變化。但他肯定能夠預知我們這個時代的主題仍然是：我們國家英勇無畏的恢宏故事和它追求尊嚴的純樸夢想。
We are not this story's author, who fills time and eternity with his purpose. Yet his purpose is achieved in our duty, and our duty is fulfilled in service to one another.
我們不是這個故事的作者，是上帝用時間和不朽實現了他的目標。但我們每一個人通過履行各自的職責使得這一目標得以實現。
Never tiring, never yielding, never finishing, we renew that purpose today, to make our country more just and generous, to affirm the dignity of our lives and every life.
永不疲憊、永不氣餒、永不完竭，今天我們重樹這樣的目標：使我們的國家變得更加公正、更加慷慨，保證我們每個人和所有人生命的尊嚴。
This work continues. This story goes on. And an angel still rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm.
這項工作必須繼續下去。這個故事必須延續下去。上帝會引領我們前進。
God bless you all, and God bless America.
愿上帝保佑大家！愿上帝保佑美國！
