14.A Speech By chief Seattle西雅图酋长的演说

ASpeech By Chief Seattle

ByChief Seattle

1．ThePresident in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land . But how canyou buy or sell the sky , the land ? The idea is strange to us . If we do notown the ptesence of the air and the sparkle of the water , how can you buy them? Every part of this earth is sacred to my people . Every shining pine needle .Every sandy shore . Every mist in the dark woods . Every meadow . Every humminginsect . All are holy in the memory and experience of my people .

2．Weknow the sap that courses through the trees as we know the blood that coursesthrough our veins . We are a part of the earth and it is part of us . Perfumedflowers are our sisters . The bear , the deer , the great eagle , these are ourbrothers . The rocky crests , the juices in the meadow , the boody heat of thepony , and man , all belong to the same family . The shining water that movesin the streams and rivers is not just water but the blood of our ancestors .

3．Ifwe sell you our land you must remember that it is sacred . Each ghostlyreflection in the clear water of the lakes tells of events and memories in thelife of my people . The waters ’ murmur is the voice of myfather ’s father . The rivers are ourbrothers . They quench our thirst . They carry our canoes and feed our children. So you must give to the rivers the kindness you would give any brother .

4．Ifwe sell you our land , remember that the air precious to us . That the airshares its spirit with all the life that it supports . The wind that gave ourgrandfather his first breath also receives his last sigh . The wind also givesour children the spirit of life . So if we sell you our land , you must keep itapart and sacred as a place where man can go to taste the wind that issweetened by the meadow flowers .

5．Willyou teach your children what we have taught our children , that the earth isour mother ? What befalls the earth befalls all the sons of the earth . This weknow . The earth does not belong man . Man belongs to the earth . All thingsare connected like the blood that unites us all . Man did not weave the web oflife , he is merely a strnd in it . whatever he does to the web he does tohimself .

6．Onething we know , our God is also your God . The earth is precious to him . Andto harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator . Your destiny is amystery to us . What will happen when the buffalo are all slaughtered ? Thewild horses tamed ? What will happen when the secrer corners of the forest areheavy with the scent of many men and the view of the ripe hills is blotted bytalking wires ? Where will the thicket be ? Gone . Where will the eagle be ?Gone .And what is it to say goodbye to the swift pony and the hunt , the end ofliving and the beginning of survival ? 

7．Whenthe last red man has vanished with his wilderness and his memory is only theshadow of a cloud moving across the prairie , will these shores and forestsstill be here ? Will there be any of the spirit of my people left ? We lovethis earth as a newborn loves its mother ’ s heartbeat . So if we sell you ourland , love it as we have loved it . Care for it as we have cared for it . Holsin your mind the memory of the land as it is when you receive it . Preserve theland for all children , and love it as God loves us all . As we are part of theland , you too are part of the land . This earth is precious to us , it is alsoprecious to you . One thing we know , there is only one God . No man be he redman or white , can be apart . We are brothers , after all . 

西雅图酋长的演说

本文是1852年印第安酋长西雅图写给美国政府的一篇演说。起因是美国总统想要购买印第安人世代居住的土地。文章以诗一般的语言陈述了印第安人对大地如同母亲一样的热爱之情，对周围的生物和自然环境的珍视，对即将失去这一切的无奈，以及对即将拥有这一切的美国总统和政府所提出的建议和忠告。

时间已经过去了一百多年，在对地球环境造成了严重的破坏之后，人们渐渐认识到了环境保护的重要。重读此文，会引起我们对许多问题加以反思。

1．总统自华盛顿传话来，说他想要买我们的土地。但您怎么能够买卖苍穹与土地的温馨！假如我们并不拥有空气的清新与流水的光彩，您怎能买下他们呢？对我们人民而言，大地的每一部分都是圣洁的。每一枝闪亮的松针，每一处沙州，每一片密林中的雾霭，每一只嗡嗡作响的昆虫，在我人民的记忆与经验中都是神圣的。

2．树中流动着的汁液，载负着红人们的记忆。我们属于大地，而大地也是我们的一部分。芬芳的花儿是我们的姐妹。熊儿、鹿儿和老鹰都是我们的兄弟。怪石嶙峋的山峰、草原上的露水、小马温暖的身体以及我们人类。都是一家人。小溪河川里波光粼粼的流水，对我们而言，不只是水，而是先祖们的血液。

3．倘若我们把土地卖给你们，你们必须记住，这是神圣的土地。每一片清彻湖水的朦脓倒影里，都埋藏着我们生活中的点点滴滴。河水喃喃的低徊，是我祖先的声音。河水就如同我们的兄弟，满足了我们的干渴。河水载运了我们的独木舟，并养育了我们的子孙。所以你们一定得像善待弟兄那样对待这些河流。

4．倘若我们把土地卖给你们，你们必须记得，大气对我们而言是珍贵的，它与它所养育的万物共享着这份灵气。风，送来了我们祖先的第一口气，也带走了他们最后一声的叹息。风也赋于我们下一代以生命的精神。因此，假如我们将土地卖给了你，你们必须维持它的独特于庄严，使它成为一块使人们品尝被花草所熏香的风的地方。

5．你们要让你们的孩子知道，大地是我们的母亲，我们向来如此教育着我们的子孙。任何发生在大地上的，必将同样地降临在它的子民身上，假如人们唾弃了大地，其实他们就是唾弃了自己。我们知道，大地不属于人类，而人类属于大地。每一件事物都是有关联的，就好像血缘紧紧结合着一家人。所有的一切都是相互有着关联的，现在发生在大地的事，必将应验到人类来。人类并不主宰着生命，他只不过是其中的一小部分而已。他对大地做了什么，都会回应到自己身上。

6．我们知道一件事：终有一天我们会看到，我们的上帝也是你们的上帝。大地对他是珍贵的，对大地的伤害，是对造物主的轻蔑。这样的命运对我们来说真是难解。尤其当野牛被屠杀了、野马被驯服。当森林中最隐秘的角落也充满了人味，原始的山林景观被电话所破坏时，我们真是不安明白啊！丛林哪儿去了？消失了！雄鹰哪儿去了？不见了。和神速的小马驹，和诸多猎物告别意味着什么？——是生命的结束，还是存活口的开始呢？

7．当最后一位红人连同他的荒野消失的时候，有关他们的记忆如同飘过草原的一片云影。这些海岸、这些幽林还会存在吗？我们民族的精神还在吗？我们热爱这片大地就像新生儿热爱母亲的心跳。所以，要我们出卖我们的土地，你们也得像我们这样热爱它，像我们这样关心它。你们在接受土地的同时也要接受这片土地的记忆，要为所有的子孙保管好这片土地，要像上帝爱我们一样爱惜这片土地。我们只是土地的一部分，你们也是这片土地的一部分。这片土地对我们说来无比珍贵，对你们说也是一样。我们只知道一件事：只有一位上帝。印第人也好，白种人也好，人类不能分开。

我们毕竟都是弟兄。