[Boutique] Lincoln's inaugural speech

Sunday, July 15, 2007 12:10 PM The Gettysburg Address

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

November 19, 1863

Fourscore and seven years ago, my fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation,conceived and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are egaged in a great civil war,testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and dedicated can long endure.We are met on the battelfield of that war.We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final-resting Place for those who gave their lives that the nation might live. It is altogether and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense,we can not dedicate,we can not consecrate,we can not hallow this ground.The brave men,living and dead,have consecrated it far above our power to add or detract.The world will little note what We say here,but it can never forget what they did here.It is for us,the living,rather to be dedicated to the great task remaining before us,that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave The last full measure of devotion,that the nation shall have a new birth of freedom,that the goverment of the people by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth.

Speaker: Abraham Lincoln

Time: November 19, 1863

Location: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA

Eighty-seven years ago, our ancestors founded a new country on this continent. It was born in freedom and pursued the principle of equality in all life.

We are engaged in a great civil war to test the country, or whether any country that is bred in freedom and pursues the above principles can survive for a long time. We gathered in a great battlefield in this war. The martyrs sacrificed their lives to make this country alive. We came here to dedicate a part of this battlefield to them as the last resting place. It is entirely appropriate and very appropriate for us to do so.

However, in a broader sense, we cannot sacrifice this land, we cannot sanctify it, and we cannot deify it. The warriors who have fought here, the alive and the dead, have sanctified the land, which is far from being able to increase or decrease by our meager strength. What we are saying here today, the world does not pay attention, and will not remember for a long time, but the things the warriors have done here, the world will never forget. Rather, it is that those of us who are still alive should dedicate themselves to the cause that the warriors have advanced so lofty but not yet completed. But we should dedicate ourselves to the great task that still remains before us - we must draw more dedication from these glorious deceased to complete the cause they have completely dedicated to; we are here We must make the greatest determination not to let these dead people sacrifice in vain; we must make the country a free new life under the blessing of God, and let this government of the people, the people, and the people live forever.