一．man’s dearest possession is life. it is given to him but once, and he must live it so as to feel no torturing regrets for wasted years, never know the burning shame of a mean and petty past; so live that, dying, he might say: all my life, all my strength were given to the finest cause in all the world—the fight for the liberation of mankind.
人生最寶貴的是生命。生命對於人來說只有一次。一個人的生命應該這樣度過：當他回首往事時，不因虛度年華而悔恨；也不會因為碌碌無為而羞恥。在臨死的時候他能夠說：我的整個生命和全部精力都已經獻給了世界上最壯麗的事業――為人類的解放事業而鬥爭！
二．happiness lies not in the mere possession of money, it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative efforts, the joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. these dark days, my friends, will be worth all they cost us, if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered on to , but to minister to ourselves, to our fellow men.
幸福並不在於單純的占有金錢，幸福還在於取得成功後的喜悅，在於創造努力時的激情。務必不能再忘記勞動帶來的喜悅和激勵，而去瘋狂追逐那轉瞬即逝的利潤。如果這些黯淡的日子能使我們認識到，我們真正的使命不是要別人侍奉，而是要為自己和同胞們服務的話，那么，我們付出的代價是完全值得的。
三．i have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed-we hold theses truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. i have a dream that one day on the red hills of georgia, sons of former slaves and sons of former slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood. i have a dream my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. i have a dream today! when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and hamlet, from every state and city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of god’s children-black men and white men , jews and gentiles, catholics and protestants-will be able to join hands and to sing in the words of the old negro spiritual, “free at least ,free at last . thank god almighty, we are free at last.”
我有一個夢：有一天，這個國家將站起來，並實現他的信條的真正含義：我們將捍衛這些不言而喻的真理，即所有人生來平等。我有一個夢：有一天在喬治亞洲紅色的山丘上，從前的奴隸的子孫們能和奴隸主的子孫們像兄弟一樣坐在同一張桌旁；我有一個夢我的四個孩子有一天將生活在這樣一個國度，在那裡，人們不以膚色，而是以品格來評價他們。當自由的鐘聲響起的時候，當我們讓它從每一個村莊，每一個州，每一個城市響起的時候，我們將能夠加速這一天的到來。那是，上帝所有的孩子，無論黑人白人還是猶太人，異教徒。天主教徒，還是新教徒，他們都能夠手挽手歌唱那古老的黑人聖歌：“終於自由了，終於自由了，感謝上帝，我們終於自由了！”
四．i have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. we have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. we have before us many, many months of struggle and suffering. you ask, what is our aim? i can answer in one word, it is victory. victory at all costs—victory in spite of all terrors—victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival. let that be realized, no survival for the british empire, no survival for all that british empire has stood for , no survival for the urge, the impulse of the ages, that mankind shall more forward toward his goal. i take up my task in buoyancy and hope. i feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men. i feel entitled at this juncture, at this time, to claim the aid of all and to say, “come then, let us go forward together with our united strength.”