爱思英语编者按：玛格丽特·希尔达·撒切尔（Margaret Hilda Thatcher) 1979年5月出任首相，成为英国历史上第一位女首相。此篇离职演说既总结了英国过去的成就，又展望了未来，极且鼓舞力。

Mrs. Thatcher＇s Farewell Speech
撒切尔夫人离职演讲

Blackpool 1985
布莱克浦 1985年

Government apart，the strength of a civilized nation depends on the natural authority of the family，the school，the church and our great institutions. Who is to answer the child crying for help？Who is to protect the elderly couple？Who can win back the youngster hooked on drugs？Police，social workers，the voluntary organizations all must do respond. But that is not enough. We are the neighbors of that child，of that elderly couple，of that youngster. Upholding the law can't be left to the police and the courts alone. We are all involved. We can not pass by on the other side．
一个文明国家，其力量不仅在于政府，还在于家庭、学校、教会和我们优越制度的天赋权威。谁来回应无助哭泣的儿童？谁来保护年迈体衰的夫妇？谁能挽救沉溺毒品的青年？警察、社工、志愿组织责无旁贷，但不能仅此而已。我们与孩子、老人、青年比邻而居。维护法制，不只是警察和法庭的责任。我们人人休戚相关。我们不能置身其外。

Come with us then towards the next decade. Let us together set our sights on a Britain that three out of four families own their homes，that owning shares is as common as having a car，where families have a degree of independence their forefathers could only dream about：a Britain where there is a resurgence of enterprise，of more people selfemployed，more businesses and therefore more jobs；a Britain where there is a standard health care far better than anything we have ever known.
共赴未来10年，让我们共同展望：在英国，四分之三的家庭拥有住房，股票像轿车一样遍及大众，先人梦寐以求的独立在一定程度上得以实现；在英国，企业重振雄风，人们自主创业，商业繁荣，就业增加；在英国，医疗保健规范完善，前所未闻。

Yes！We have set our sights high，but these goals are within our reach. Let us ensure that we'll bring them within our grasp.
诚然！我们雄心勃勃，但目标并非遥不可及。让我们确信，我们必将使之近在身边、得以实现。

In the past eight years something has changed in Britain，perhaps the most important change for a generation. Quite simply，it is a change of the spirit. People all over Britain are finding a new confidence and a new pride．The Conservative Government didn't create that spirit. It's the true spirit of the British people. What we did was just set it free．We were determined to give people back the incentive to work and the confidence to save．That’s why we have to cut inflations：that’s why we would determine to take power from the trade union bosses and give it back to Union members；and that's why we abolished a whole mass of controls，and we stopped government trying to run businesses，which is something politicians have never been much good at. So we privatised them. The manager is managed，the workers shared in the ownership and the industries turned from losses into profit. As a result of all this，the living standards in this country are the highest there have ever been. Britain really is a country again and his prosperity is spreading steadily through the Community.
过去8年，英国发生了变迁，这一变迁对于当代或许尤为重要。简而言之，这一变迁即精神的革新。英国举国上下正致力探寻一种新的自信、自豪的精神。这种精神不是保守党政府的发明创造，而是英国人民的真正思想。我们所做的只是使其释放。我们坚定不移地将工作动力和储蓄信心归还民众。所以，我们要降低通货膨胀；所以，我们让工会老板还权于民；所以，我们革除诸多桎桎梏，制止政府经商，因为这非其所长。所以，我们进行私有改造，使经理接受管理，工人分享所有权，企业扭亏为盈。其结果是，人民生活水平得以空前提高。英国再次真正成为一个国家，其繁荣向整个欧共体稳步延伸。

Thirty years ago only thirty people in a hundred owned their own homes. Today it's sixty-five in every hundred.
30年前，有房者只占30%，如今这一数字达到65％。

It's always the dream and the ambition of the Conservative Party that what used to be the luxuries of the few should become the daily experience，indeed the necessity of the many．It's happening with homes：it’s happening with shares，and it is happening with savings. And the result has been a greater prosperity. It's not only our standard of living that has increased，it means we’ve been able to put greater resources into health and social security，but you can only do that when you first created the prosperity.And all this has been achieved by government and people together，the government running things well，like any good housekeeper and the people responding，and that partnership is even more vital in keeping the law.
昔日少数人的奢侈品真正成为多数人日常生活的必需品，这始终是保守党人的梦想与希望。无论是房产股票，还是银行储蓄，这一希望都正变为现实。我们的国家日益繁荣。而只有促进繁荣，我们才能提高生活水平，才能加大对卫生和社会保障事业的投人。我们所取得的一切成就得益于政府与人民的齐心协力，得益于政府如同娴熟管家般的良好治理，得益于民众的积极响应。这一配合精神在维护法制方面尤为重要。

Yes！This government has increased the numbers of police and we will increase them still further. There are more bobbies on the beat！taut crime is not a matter of the police alone. It never was. Police needs support from all of us. Indeed，the enemies of the British bobby are the enemies of liberty itself. The police served the rule of law impartially. They need our support. They deserve our trust.
的确，本届政府增加了警员编制，并将继续增加，包括a区警员数量。然而，打击犯罪从来都不只是警务部门的责任，他们需要公众的支持。毫无疑问，英国警察的敌人就是自由的敌人。警务人员秉公执法、大公无私，他们需要我们支持，他们值得我们信赖。

And there's one thing that only government can and must do. It must secure the country's defence，and in a nuclear age，that means we must have a nuclear deterrent. Winston Churchill，who knew so much about the dangers of weakness in appeasement，warned us thirty-five years ago. He said，be careful above all things，not to let go of the atomic weapon until you are sure and more than sure that other means of preserving peace are in your hands. For a government to surrender our nuclear deterrent will be an unprecedented act of folly that will put the nation in jeopardy. The nuclear deterrent has preserved peace in Europe for forty years.
政府所能做且必须做的事情只有一件，即确保国防安全。在核武器时代，这意味我们必须拥有核威慑力量。温斯顿·丘吉尔深谙绥靖政策的弊端与危害，早在35年前就曾告诫我们。他说，“要事事谨慎，除非确保并绝对确保手中握有其他维和的方法，否则绝不弃核。”作为政府，放弃核威慑将是空前的愚行，并将使国家陷于危难。这一威慑力量已经使欧洲和平维持了40年之久。

And I believe peace is the heart of what we in Britain ask our government to safeguard. Peace in industry has enabled people to honour living without fear of intimidation or been called out on strike against their will and without a ballot. Peace of mind，that comes with knowing that this will continue to be a safe country，a good place for us to live and for our children to grow up in. Peace that comes from being independent and being able to run your life and spend your own money in your own way，above all，the peace of a country that is properly defended against any adversary，that's what this government and this people in partnership have been building for the past eight years．Yet all of it will vanish unless we preserve the economic strength，the strong defence and spirit of enterprise that have made us prosperous at home and respected throughout the world. It is that which is at issue on Thursday. Of course，we feel passionately about it because for us it is about the very heat and soul of Britain.
我相信，捍卫和平是英国人民要求政府工作的核心任务。工业和平维护人生尊严，免受威言恫吓之忧与强迫罢工选举之苦。心境和平意指知晓无论对人民生活还是儿童成长，我们都将继续作为一个安全的国度和良好的居所而存在。和平来自独立，来自按自己的方式生活消费。总之，维护国家和平就要彻底防御外敌，这也正是本届政府与人民在过去8年同心同德所取得的成就。然而，只有继续保持经济实力、巩固国防力量、促进进取精神，这些成就才不会付诸东流，正是它们使我们赢得了国内的繁荣和世界的尊重。这也是本周四即将探讨的话题。的确，对这一话题我们深有感慨，因为它关乎英国真正的精神与灵魂。