丘吉爾鐵幕演說(shuō)

1、The Sinews of Peace（丘吉爾的鐵幕演說(shuō)）Westminster College, Fulton,MissouriI am glad to come to Westminster College this afternoon, and am complimented that you should give me a degree. The name "Westminster" is somehow familiar to me. I seem to have heard of it before. Indeed, it was at Westminster

2、 that I receiveda very large part of my education in politics, dialectic, rhetoric, and one or twoother things. In fact we have both been educated at the same, or similar, or, atany rate, kindred establishments.It is also an honour, perhaps almost unique, for a private visitor to beintroducedto anac

3、ademic audience by thePresident of the UnitedStates. Amid hisheavy burdens,duties,and responsibilities- unsought but not recoiledfrom - thePresident has travelled a thousand miles to dignify and magnify our meeting hereto-day and to give me an opportunity of addressing this kindred nation, as well a

4、smy own countrymen across the ocean, and perhaps some other countries too. ThePresident has told you that it is his wish, as I am sure it is yours, that I shouldhave fulllibertyto givemy trueand faithfulcounselin theseanxiousand bafflingtimes. I shall certainly avail myself of this freedom, and feel

5、 the more right todo so because any private ambitions I may have cherished in my younger days havebeen satisfiedbeyond my wildestdreams.Let me, however,make itclearthatI haveno official mission or status of any kind, and that I speak only for myself. Thereis nothing here but what you see.I can there

6、fore allow my mind, with the experience of a lifetime, to playover the problems which besetus on the morrow of our absolutevictoryinarms, andto trytomake sure withwhat strengthI have thatwhat has been gainedwithso muchsacrifice and suffering shall be preserved for the future glory and safety ofmanki

7、nd.The United States stands at this time at the pinnacle of world power. Itis a solemn moment for the American Democracy. For with primacy in power is alsojoined an awe-inspiring accountability to the future. If you look around you, youmust feel not only the sense of duty done but also you must feel

8、 anxiety lest youfallbelowthelevelof achievement.Opportunityisherenow, clearand shiningforboth our countries. To reject it or ignore it or fritter it away will bring uponus allthelongreproachesofthe after-time.Itisnecessarythatconstancyofmind,persistency of purpose, and the grand simplicity of decis

9、ion shall guide and rulethe conduct of the English-speaking peoples in peace as they did in war. We must,and I believe we shall, prove ourselves equal to this severe requirement. WhenAmericanmilitarymen approach some serioussituationtheyarewonttowrite at thehead oftheirdirectivethewords "over-a

10、llstrategicconcept."Thereiswisdom inthis,as itleadsto clarityof thought.What thenistheover-allstrategicconceptwhich we should inscribe today It is nothing less than the safety and welfare, thefreedomand progress,ofallthe homes and familiesof allthemen and womenin allthe lands. And here I speak

11、particularly of the myriad cottage or apartment homeswhere the wage-earnerstrivesamidtheaccidentsand difficultiesof lifetoguardhis wifeand childrenfromprivationand bringthefamilyup in thefearoftheLord,or upon ethical conceptions which often play their potentpart.To give security to these countless h

12、omes, they must be shielded from thetwo giant marauders, war and tyranny. Weall know the frightful disturbances in which the ordinary family is plunged when the curse of war swoops down upon the bread-winnerand those for whom he works and contrives. The awful ruin of Europe, with all itsvanishedglor

13、ies,and of largepartsofAsia glares us in theeyes.When the designsof wickedmen orthe aggressiveurgeofmighty Statesdissolveoverlarge areas theframeofcivilisedsociety, humble folkare confrontedwithdifficultieswithwhichthey cannot cope. For them all is distorted, all is broken, even ground to pulp.When

14、I stand here this quiet afternoon I shudder to visualise what is actuallyhappening to millions now and what is going to happen in this period when faminestalksthe earth.None can compute what has been called"theunestimatedsum ofhumanpain." Our supreme task and duty is to guard the homes of

15、the common people fromthe horrors and miseries of another war. We are all agreed onthat.Our American military colleagues,after having proclaimed their "over-allstrategicconcept"and computed availableresources,alwaysproceed to the next step- namely, themethod. Here againthereiswidespreadagr

16、eement.A worldorganisationhas already been erectedfortheprimepurpose of preventingwar, UNO, the successorof the League of Nations, with the decisive addition of the United States and allthat that means, is already at work. We must make sure that its work is fruitful,that it is a reality and not a sh

17、am, that it is a force for action, and not merelya frothing of words,that itis a true temple of peace in which the shields of manynationscan some day be hung up,and notmerely a cockpitina Tower ofBabel.Beforewe cast away the solid assurances of national armaments for self-preservation wemust be cert

18、ainthatourtempleisbuilt,not upon shiftingsands or quagmires, butupon the rock. Anyone can see with his eyes open that our path will be difficultand alsolong,butifwe perseveretogether as we did inthetwoworldwars -thoughnot, alas, in the interval between them - I cannot doubt that we shall achieve our

19、common purpose in the end.Ihave, however, a definiteand practicalproposalto make foraction.Courtsand magistrates may be set up but they cannot function without sheriffs andconstables. The United Nations Organisation must immediately begin to be equippedwith an international armed force. In such a ma

20、tter we can only go step by step,butwe must beginnow. I proposethat each ofthePowers and Statesshouldbe invitedtodelegatea certain number of airsquadronsto the serviceof theworld organisation.These squadronswould be trainedand preparedintheir own countries,butwould movearound inrotationfrom one coun

21、tryto another.They would wear the uniformof theirown countries but with different badges. They would notbe required toact againsttheir own nation, but in other respects they would be directed by the worldorganisation. This might be startedon a modest scale and would grow as confidencegrew. I wished

22、to see this done after the first world war, and I devoutly trust itmay be done forthwith.Itwould neverthelessbe wrong and imprudentto entrustthe secretor experienceof the atomicbomb, which the UnitedStates,Great Britain,now share, to the world organisation, while it is still in its infancy. It would

23、be criminal madness to cast it adrift in this still agitated and un-united world.No one in any country has slept less well in their beds because this knowledge andthe method and the raw materials to apply it, are at present largely retained inAmerican hands. I do not believewe should allhave sleptso

24、 soundly had theknowledgeand Canadapositionsbeen reversed and if some Communist or neo-Fascist State monopolised for the timebeing these dread agencies. The fear of them alone might easily have been used toenforce totalitarian systems upon the free democratic world, with consequencesappalling to hum

25、an imagination. God has willed that this shall not be and we haveat least a breathing space to set our house in order before this peril has to beencountered: and even then, if no effort is spared, we should still possess soformidablea superiorityas to impose effectivedeterrentsupon itsemployment,ort

26、hreatof employment,by others.Ultimately,when the essentialbrotherhoodof manis truly embodied and expressed in a world organisation with all the necessarypracticalsafeguardsto make iteffective,these powers would naturallybe confidedto that world organisation.Now I come tothe second danger of these tw

27、o marauders which threatensthecottage, the home, and the ordinary people - namely, tyranny. We cannot be blindto the factthatthe libertiesenjoyed by individualcitizensthroughoutthe BritishEmpire are not valid in a considerable number of countries, some of which are verypowerful.In these Statescontro

28、lis enforcedupon the commonpeople by variouskindsof all-embracing police governments. The power of the State is exercised withoutrestraint, either by dictators or by compact oligarchies operating through aprivileged party and a political police. It is not our duty at this time whendifficulties are s

29、o numerous to interfere forcibly in the internal affairs ofcountries which we have not conquered in war. But we must never cease to proclaimin fearless tones the great principles of freedom and the rights of man which arethe jointinheritanceof the English-speakingworldand whichthroughMagna Carta,the

30、 Bill of Rights, the Habeas Corpus, trial by jury, and the English common lawfind their most famous expression in the American Declaration ofIndependence.All this means that the people of any country have the right, and shouldhave the power by constitutionalaction,by freeunfetteredelections,withsecr

31、etballot, to choose or change the character or form of government under which theydwell; that freedom of speech and thought should reign; that courts of justice,independent of the executive, unbiased by any party, should administer laws whichhave received the broad assent of large majorities or are

32、consecrated by time andcustom.Here are the titledeeds offreedom which shouldliein every cottagehome.Here is the message of the British and American peoples to mankind. Let us preachwhat we practise - let us practise what we preach.I have now statedthetwo greatdangers which menace the homes ofthe peo

33、ple:War and Tyranny. I have not yet spoken of poverty and privation which are in manycases the prevailing anxiety. But if the dangers of war and tyranny are removed,there is no doubt that science and co-operation can bring in the next few years tothe world, certainlyinthe next fewdecades newly taugh

34、t inthe sharpening schoolof war, an expansion of material well-being beyond anything that has yet occurredin human experience. Now, at this sad and breathless moment, we are plunged in thehunger and distress which are the aftermath of our stupendous struggle; but thiswillpass and may pass quickly,an

35、d thereisno reason excepthuman follyofsub-humancrimewhich shoulddeny to allthenationsthe inaugurationand enjoymentof an ageof plenty. I have often used words which I learned fifty years ago from a greatIrish-American orator, a friend of mine, Mr. Bourke Cockran. "There is enough forall. The ear

36、th is a generous mother; she will provide in plentiful abundance foodfor all her children if they will but cultivate her soil in justice and in peace."So far I feel that we are in full agreement.Now, while still pursuing the method of realising our overall strategicconcept, I come to the crux o

37、f what I have travelled here to say. Neither the sureprevention of war, nor the continuous rise of world organisation will be gainedwithoutwhat I have calledthe fraternalassociationof the English-speakingpeoples.This means a special relationship between the British Commonwealth and Empire andthe Uni

38、tedStates.This is no time forgeneralities,and I willventureto be precise.Fraternal association requires not only the growing friendship and mutualunderstanding between our two vast but kindred systems of society, but thecontinuanceoftheintimaterelationshipbetweenourmilitaryadvisers, leading tocommon

39、 study of potential dangers, the similarity of weapons and manuals ofinstructions,and tothe interchangeofofficersandcadetsat technicalcolleges.Itshould carrywithitthe continuanceofthe presentfacilitiesformutualsecurityby the jointuse ofallNavaland Air Force bases in the possessionofeithercountryallo

40、ver theworld.This would perhaps double themobility of theAmericanNavy andAir Force. It would greatly expand that of the British Empire Forces and it mightwell lead, if andas the world calmsdown, to important financial savings. Alreadywe use together a large number of islands; more may well be entrus

41、ted to our jointcare in the near future.The United States has already a Permanent Defence Agreement with theDominion of Canada, whichis so devotedlyattachedtothe BritishCommonwealth andEmpire. This Agreement is more effective than many of those which have often beenmade under formal alliances. This

42、principle should be extended to all BritishCommonwealths with full reciprocity. Thus, whatever happens, and thus only, shallwe be secure ourselvesand able to work togetherforthe highand simplecauses thatare dear to us and bode no illto any.Eventuallytheremay come - I feeleventuallythere will come -

43、the principle of common citizenship, but that we may be contentto leave to destiny, whose outstretched arm many of us can already clearlysee.There is however an importantquestionwe must ask ourselves.Would a specialrelationshipbetween the UnitedStatesand the BritishCommonwealth be inconsistentwith o

44、ur over-riding loyalties to the World Organisation I reply that, on thecontrary,itisprobablythe onlymeans by which thatorganisationwillachieveitsfull stature and strength. There are already the special United States relationswithCanada which I have justmentioned,and thereare the specialrelationsbetw

45、eenthe UnitedStatesand theSouth American Republics.WeBritishhave ourtwentyyearsTreaty ofCollaborationand Mutual AssistancewithSovietRussia.IagreewithMr.Bevin, the Foreign Secretary of Great Britain, that it might well be a fifty yearsTreaty so far as we are concerned. We aim at nothing but mutual as

46、sistance andcollaboration.The Britishhave an alliancewith Portugalunbrokensince1384,andwhich produced fruitfulresults at critical moments in the late war. None of theseclash with the general interest of a world agreement, or a world organisation; onthe contrary they help it. "In my father's

47、 house are many mansions." Specialassociations between members of the United Nations which have no aggressive pointagainst any other country, which harbour no design incompatible with the Charterof the United Nations, far from being harmful, are beneficial and, as I believe,indispensable. I spo

48、ke earlier of the Temple of Peace. Workmen from all countriesmust buildthattemple.Iftwo of the workmen know each otherparticularlywellandare old friends, if their families are inter-mingled, and if they have "faith ineach other'spurpose,hope in each other'sfutureand charitytowardseach o

49、ther'sshortcomings"-toquote some good words Ireadhere theotherday -why cannottheywork togetheratthe commontask as friendsand partnersWhy cannottheysharetheirtools and thus increase each other's working powers Indeed they must do so or elsethe temple may not be built, or, being built, it

50、 may collapse, and we shall all beproved again unteachable and have to go and try to learn again for a third time ina school of war, incomparably more rigorous than that from which we have just beenreleased. The dark ages may return, the Stone Age may return on the gleaming wingsof science,and what

51、mightnow shower immeasurablematerialblessingsupon mankind,may even bring about its total destruction. Beware, I say; time may be short. Donot let us take the course of allowing events to drift along until it is too late.If there is to be a fraternal association of the kind I have described, with allthe extra strength and security which both our countries can derive from it, letus make surethat that greatin steadyingand stabilisingPrevention is better than cure.fact isknown to the world,and that itplays its partthe foundationsof peace. There is the path ofwisdom.A shadow has