《责任 荣誉 国家》

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责任 荣誉 国家- 第3节


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o master others; to have a heart th at is clean; a goal that is high; to learn to laugh; yet never forget how to wee p; to reach into the future yet never neglect the past; to be serious yet never  to take yourself too seriously; to be modest so that you will remember the simpl icity of true greatness; the open mind of true wisdom; the meekness of true stre ngth。 They give you a temper of the will; a quality of the imagination; a vigor  of the emotions; a freshness of the deep springs of life; a temperamental predom inance of courage over timidity; of an appetite for adventure over love of ease。  They create in your heart the sense of wonder; the unfailing hope of what next;  and the joy and inspiration of life。 They teach you in this way to be an office r and a gentleman。
  And what sort of soldiers are those you are to lead? Are they reliable? Are  they brave? Are they capable of victory? Their story is known to all of you。 It  is the story of the American manatarms。 My estimate of him was formed on the  battlefield many; many years ago; and has never changed。 I regarded him then as  I regard him now — as one of the world's noblest figures; not only as one of t he finest military characters; but also as one of the most stainless。 His name a nd fame are the birthright of every American citizen。 In his youth and strength;  his love and loyalty; he gave all that mortality can give。
  He needs no eulogy from me or from any other man。 He has written his own his tory and written it in red on his enemy's breast。 But when I think of his patien ce under adversity; of his courage under fire; and of his modesty in victory; I  am filled with an emotion of admiration I cannot put into words。 He belongs to h istory as furnishing one of the greatest examples of successful patriotism。 He b elongs to posterity as the instructor of future generations in the principles of  liberty and freedom。 He belongs to the present; to us; by his virtues and by hi s achievements。 In 20 campaigns; on a hundred battlefields; around a thousand ca mpfires; I have witnessed that enduring fortitude; that patriotic selfabnegati on; and that invincible determination which have carved his statue in the hearts  of his people。 From one end of the world to the other he has drained deep the c halice of courage。

序 言(6)
As I listened to those songs the glee club; in memory's eye I could see thos e staggering columns of the First World War; bending under soggy packs; on many  a weary march from dripping dusk to drizzling dawn; slogging ankledeep through  the mire of shellshocked roads; to form grimly for the attack; bluelipped;  covered with sludge and mud; chilled by the wind and rain; driving home to their  objective; and for many; to the judgment seat of  God。
  I do not know the dignity of their birth; but I do know the glory of their d eath。
  They died unquestioning; unplaining; with faith in their hearts; and on t heir lips the hope that we would go on to victory。
  Always; for them: Duty; Honor; Country; always their blood and sweat and tea rs; as we sought the way and the light and the truth。
  And 20 years after; on the other side of the globe; again the filth of murky  foxholes; the stench of ghostly trenches; the slime of dripping dugouts; those  boiling suns of relentless heat; those torrential rains of devastating storms; t he loneliness and utter desolation of jungle trails; the bitterness of long sepa ration from those they loved and cherished; the deadly pestilence of tropical di sease; the horror of stricken areas of war; their resolute and determined defens e; their swift and sure attack; their indomitable purpose; their plete and de cisive victory — always victory。 Always through the bloody haze of their last r everberating shot; the vision of gaunt; ghastly men reverently following your pa ssword of: Duty; Honor; Country。
  The code which those words perpetuate embraces the highest moral laws and wi ll stand the test of any ethics or philosophies ever promulgated for the uplift  of mankind。 Its requirements are for the things that are right; and its restrain ts are from the things that are wrong。
  The soldier; above all other men; is required to practice the greatest act o f religious training: sacrifice。  In battle and in the face of danger and deat h; he discloses those divine attributes which his Maker gave when he created man  in his own image。 No physical courage and no brute instinct can take the place  of the Divine help which alone can sustain him。
  However horrible the incidents of war may be; the soldier who is called upon  to offer and to give his life for his country is the noblest development of man kind。
  You now face a new world — a world of change。 The thrust into outer space o f the satellite; spheres; and missiles mark the beginning of another epoch in th e long story of mankind。 In the five or more billions of years the scientists te ll us it has taken to form the earth; in the three or more billion years of deve lopment of the human race; there has never been a more abrupt or staggering evol ution。 We deal now not with things of this world alone; but with the illimitable  distances and as yet unfathomed mysteries of the universe。 We are reaching out  for a new and boundless frontier。

序 言(7)
We speak in strange terms: of harnessing the cosmic energy; of making winds  and tides work for us; of creating unheard synthetic materials to supplement or  even replace our old standard basics; to purify sea water for our drink; of mini ng ocean floors for new fields of wealth and food; of disease preventatives to e xpand life into the hundreds of years; of controlling the weather for a more equ itable distribution of heat and cold; of rain and shine; of space ships to the m oon; of the primary target in war; no longer limited to the armed forces of an e nemy; but instead to include his civil populations; of ultimate conflict between  a united human race and the sinister forces of some other planetary galaxy; of  such dreams and fantasies as to make life the most exciting of all time。
  And through all this welter of change and development; your mission remains  fixed; determined,inviolable: it is to win our wars。
  Everything else in your professional career is but corollary to this vital d edication。 All other public purposes; all other public projects; all other publi c needs; great or small; will find others for their acplishment。 But you are  the ones who are trained to fight。 Yours is the profession of arms;  the will to  win; the sure knowledge that in war there is no substitute for victory; that if  you lose; the nation will be destroyed; that the very obsession of your public  service must be: Duty; Honor; Country。
  Others will debate the controversial issues; national and international; whi ch divide men's minds; but serene; calm; aloof; you stand as the Nation's warg uardian; as its lifeguard from the raging tides of international conflict; as it s gladiator in the arena of battle。 For a century and a half you have defended;  guarded; and protected its hallowed traditions of liberty and freedom; of right  and justice。
  Let civilian voices argue the meri
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