【独立宣言原文及译文】《独立宣言》是美国历史上具有里程碑意义的文件,由托马斯·杰斐逊起草,于1776年7月4日由大陆会议正式通过。这份宣言标志着北美13个殖民地正式脱离英国统治,宣告了美利坚合众国的诞生。它不仅是一份政治文件,更是一部体现自由、平等和人民主权理念的经典文献。
以下是对《独立宣言》原文及其中文译文的总结与对比,帮助读者更好地理解其内容与精神。
一、《独立宣言》简介
- 发布时间:1776年7月4日
- 起草人:托马斯·杰斐逊
- 签署人:56位代表(包括乔治·华盛顿、本杰明·富兰克林等)
- 主要宣布独立、列举英国暴政、阐述人民权利与政府合法性
二、原文与译文对照表
原文段落 | 中文译文 |
When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. | 当人类事务的发展使一个民族必须解除与另一个民族之间的政治联系,并在地球上的地位上取得独立和平等时,为了尊重人类的意见,他们应当公开说明促使他们采取这一行动的原因。 |
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. | 我们认为这些真理是不言而喻的:人人生而平等,造物主赋予他们若干不可剥夺的权利,其中包括生命权、自由权和追求幸福的权利。为了保障这些权利,人类才在他们之间建立政府,而政府的正当权力来自被统治者的同意。 |
Whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. | 任何一种政府,一旦损害这些目标,人民就有权改变或废除它,并建立新的政府,以这些原则为基础,以最可能保障他们的安全和幸福的方式组织其权力。 |
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. | 慎重考虑之下,人们会认为长期建立的政府不应因轻微和短暂的原因而被改变;因此,经验表明,人们更倾向于忍受可忍受的苦难,而不是废除他们习惯的制度。 |
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their duty to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security. | 但是,如果一系列的压迫和专制行为持续不断地指向同一个目标,显示出要将他们置于绝对专制之下的意图,那么他们就有责任推翻这种政府,并为未来的安全建立新的保障。 |
三、总结
《独立宣言》不仅是美国独立的象征,更是现代民主思想的重要基石。它强调了人民的主权、自然权利以及政府的合法性来源于人民的同意。尽管当时的社会背景限制了“所有人”的真正平等,但其核心理念——自由、平等与人权——至今仍对全球民主进程产生深远影响。
通过对比原文与译文,我们可以更清晰地理解其语言风格与思想内涵,也为进一步研究美国历史和政治哲学提供了重要参考。