1940年5月19日，英国首相丘吉尔首次发表全国讲话，为英国人民讲述战争形势，他承认德军击穿了盟军防线，在盟军后方穿插，致使盟军陷入险境，同时他也鼓舞英国人民不要丧失勇气和信心，盟军一定会取得胜利。

Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision. —— Winston Churchill

恐惧是人本能的反应。勇气是人做出的决定。 —— 温斯顿·丘吉尔

I speak to you for the first time as Prime Minister in a solemn hour for the life of our country, of our empire, of our allies, and, above all, of the cause of Freedom. 

这是我第一次以首相身份对你们讲话，在这一生死攸关的时刻，我想同你谈及我们国家、我们的大英帝国、我们的盟国，以及我们最关键的自由事业。

A tremendous battle is raging in France and Flanders. The Germans, by a remarkable combination of air bombing and heavily armored tanks, have broken through the French defenses north of the Maginot Line, and strong columns of their armored vehicles are ravaging the open country, which for the first day or two was without defenders. They have penetrated deeply and spread alarm and confusion in their track. Behind them there are now appearing infantry in lorries, and behind them, again, the large masses are moving forward. The regroupment of the French armies to make head against, and also to strike at, this intruding wedge has been proceeding for several days, largely assisted by the magnificent efforts of the Royal Air Force.

法国和比利时境内爆发了激烈的战斗。德军凭借重装甲部队和空军部队的杰出配合，已突破了马奇诺防线以北的法军防线，德军强大的装甲部队正在法国开阔的国土上肆虐，在战斗开始的头一两天，他们几乎没有遭遇抵抗。德军已经深深刺穿了法军防线，一路造成巨大的恐慌与混乱。德军装甲部队突破防线后，摩托化步兵迅速跟进，大量步兵又紧跟其后。这几日，法军正在重新集结，准备在皇家空军的大力协助下，阻挡并击退敌人的锥形战术。　　

We must not allow ourselves to be intimidated by the presence of these armored vehicles in unexpected places behind our lines. If they are behind our Front, the French are also at many points fighting actively behind theirs. Both sides are therefore in an extremely dangerous position. And if the French Army, and our own Army, are well handled, as I believe they will be； if the French retain that genius for recovery and counter-attack for which they have so long been famous； and if the British Army shows the dogged endurance and solid fighting power of which there have been so many examples in the past —— then a sudden transformation of the scene might spring into being.

我们绝不要被这些突然出现在我军阵地后方的装甲部队吓到。如果他们攻击我军后侧，那么各地的法军也会从他们的后侧发起猛烈进攻。因此，战争形势对于敌我双方都十分危险。只要法军和我军能妥善处理好当前的战况；只要法军能发挥出自己一直以来闻名于世的重组反击特长；只要英军像过去几天那样，继续发挥出顽强的耐力和强大的战斗力，那么我们就可以顷刻间扭转战局，我相信我们可以做到。

It would be foolish, however, to disguise the gravity of the hour. It would be still more foolish to lose heart and courage or to suppose that well-trained, well-equipped armies numbering three or four millions of men can be overcome in the space of a few weeks, or even months, by a scoop, or raid of mechanized vehicles, however formidable. We may look with confidence to the stabilization of the Front in France, and to the general engagement of the masses, which will enable the qualities of the French and British soldiers to be matched squarely against those of their adversaries. For myself, I have invincible confidence in the French Army and its leaders. Only a very small part of that splendid Army has yet been heavily engaged； and only a very small part of France has yet been invaded. There is a good evidence to show that practically the whole of the specialized and mechanized forces of the enemy have been already thrown into the battle; and we know that very heavy losses have been inflict upon them. No officer or man, no brigade or division, which grapples at close quarters with the enemy, wherever encountered, can fail to make a worthy contribution to the general result. The Armies must cast away the idea of resisting behind concrete lines or natural obstacles, and must realize that mastery can only be regained by furious and unrelenting assault. And this spirit must not only animate the High Command, but must inspire every fighting man.

如果说现在的战况无需担忧，那完全是自欺欺人。但是，如果我们觉得区区几支机械化部队发动突袭，就能在几周或几个月的时间内，击败我们三四百万训练有素、装备精良的大军，进而失去信心，丧失勇气，那才是愚不可及，无论敌人的装甲部队战斗力多么凶悍，也做不到。我们十分相信，盟军很快就能稳住法国的战线，而广大人民群众也会积极支持这场战争，届时法军士兵和英军士兵的战斗力便能与敌军不相上下。而我本人对法国军队和法军指挥官们抱有十足的信心。目前，所向披靡的法军才只出动了很小一部分军队；而法国也仅有一小部分领土被德军占领。而反观敌军，我们有信心认为，敌军战斗力最强的机械化部队已经全部投入战斗；而且我们还知道，这支部队损失惨重。无论是军官还是士兵，无论是一个旅还是一个师，无论在什么地方和敌军近距离遭遇，都要进行战斗，只要战斗，就能对整场战争做出贡献。英法联军必须摒弃依托钢筋混凝土防线，或者依托天然屏障进行防御的思想，我们必须不停地发动猛烈进攻，才能重夺战争的主动权。这种思想不仅要贯彻到最高司令部，还要贯彻到我们每一位战士的心中。

In the air —— often at serious odds, often at odds hitherto thought overwhelming —— we have been clawing down three or four to one of our enemies; and the relative balance of the British and German Air Forces is now considerably more favorable to us than at the beginning of the battle. In cutting down the German bombers, we are fighting our own battle as well as that of France. May confidence in our ability to fight it out to the finish with the German Air Force has been strengthened by the fierce encounters which have taken place and are taking place. At the same time, our heavy bombers are striking nightly at the tap-root of German mechanized power, and have already inflicted serious damage upon the oil refineries on which the Nazi effort to dominate the world directly depends.

在空中——敌我差距十分悬殊，可以说敌人具有压倒性的优势——我方空军经常打出一比三甚至以一比四的伤亡比；比起战役刚开始时，现在英德空军实力相对平衡了许多，这对我军有利。皇家空军在空中截杀德军轰炸机，这既是在帮助我们的军队，也是在帮助法军。我希望过去的现在发生的激烈空战，可以让我们对皇家空军的能力更有信心，相信他们能彻底战胜德国空军。与此同时，我军的重型轰炸机每夜都在对德军机械化部队的制造厂展开空袭，对纳粹征服世界有着直接影响的炼油厂也已被我军重创。

We must expect that as soon as stability is reached on the Western Front, the bulk of that hideous apparatus of aggression which gashed Holland into ruin and slavery in a few days will be turned upon us. I am sure I speak for all when I say we are ready to face it； to ensure it； and to retaliate against it —— to any extent that the unwritten laws of war permit. There will be many men and many women in the Island who when the ordeal comes upon them, as come it will, will feel comfort, and even a pride, that they are sharing the perils of our lads at the Front —— soldiers, sailors and airmen, God bless them —— and are drawing away from them a part at least of the onslaught they have to bear. Is not this the appointed time for all to make the utmost exertions in their power？ If the battle is to be won, we must provide our men with ever-increasing quantities of the weapons and ammunition they need. We must have, and have quickly, more aeroplanes, more tanks, more shells, more guns. There is imperious need for these vital munitions. They increase our strength against the powerfully armed enemy. They replace the wastage of the obstinate struggle； and the knowledge that wastage will speedily be replaced enables us to draw more readily upon our reserves and throw them in now that everything counts so much.

我们必须提前预料到，一旦西线战场陷入僵持，德军曾用于摧毁并征服荷兰的可怕战争武器，就会大量转而用于攻击英国。我相信，我的这句话可以代表全体英国人民，我们已经准备好面对敌人入侵；挫败敌人入侵；并对敌人的入侵施以回击——在不成文的战争法允许的前提下，展开最猛烈的回击。当战火席卷不列颠岛时，我国的许多男男女女甚至会感到欣慰自豪，因为他们帮我们前线的小伙子们分担了危险——前线的海陆空三军，愿上帝保佑他们——他们至少帮助前线的战士们吸引了一部分火力。难道现在不是全体人民竭尽全力的时候吗？如果我们想要赢得这场战争，就必须向我们的战士提供他们日益需要的武器弹药。我们必须尽快生产更多的飞机、坦克、炮弹、火炮。现在前线急需这些重要的武器装备。这些武器可以增强我军的实力，帮助他们对抗装备精良的敌军。这些武器可以帮助我军打破僵持不下的战斗局面；待到那时，我们又需要果断利用我军的武器弹药库存，将其源源不断投入战场，这就更凸显出军工生产的重要性。

Our task is not only to win the battle - but to win the war. After this battle in France abates its force, there will come the battle for our Island —— for all that Britain is, and all the Britain means. That will be the struggle. In that supreme emergency we shall not hesitate to take every step, even the most drastic, to call forth from our people the last ounce and the last inch of effort of which they are capable. The interests of property, the hours of labor, are nothing compared with the struggle of life and honor, for right and freedom, to which we have vowed ourselves.

我们的任务不仅是要赢得这场战役——还要赢得这场战争。敌人在法国战役受挫后，必定会迁怒于我们的家园——届时我们要保卫整个不列颠岛，保护全体英国人民。这将是一场硬仗。在这场关乎国家存亡的紧急战斗中，我们会毫不犹豫地采取一切手段动员人民为战争倾尽全力，哪怕是极端手段也在所不惜。比起我们为生存和荣誉而发起的伟大战争，比起我们誓死要捍卫的权利与自由，失去一些财产，多一些工作时间又能算什么。

I have received from the Chiefs of the French Republic,and in particular form its indomitable Prime Minister, M. Reynaud, the most sacred pledges that whatever happens they will fight to the end, be it bitter or be it glorious. Nay, if we fight to the end, it can only be glorious.

我已经从法兰西共和国的政府高层，特别是誓死不屈的法国总理雷诺先生口中得到了庄严保证，他们承诺，无论这场战争是胜利还是失败，法国都会战斗到底。不，只要我们能战斗到底，战争的结果就只有胜利。

Having received His Majesty's commission, I have formed an Administration of men and women of every Party and of almost every point of view. We have differed and quarreled in the past； but now one bond unites us all —— to wage war until victory is won, and never to surrender ourselves to servitude and shame, whatever the cost and the agony may be. This is one of the most awe-striking periods in the long history of France and Britain. It is also beyond doubt the most sublime. Side by side, unaided except by their kith and kin in the great Dominions and by the wide empires which rest beneath their shield - side by side, the British and French peoples have advanced to rescue not only Europe but mankind from the foulest and most soul-destroying tyranny which has ever darkened and stained the pages of history. Behind them - behind us- behind the Armies and Fleets of Britain and France - gather a group of shattered States and bludgeoned races： the Czechs, the Poles, the Norwegians, the Danes, the Dutch, the Belgians - upon all of whom the long night of barbarism will descend, unbroken even by a star of hope, unless we conquer, as conquer we must； as conquer we shall.

我受国王陛下委托，挑选了来自各个党派、持有各观点的男男女女，组建了新一届政府。我们之间过去有过分歧和矛盾；但是现在，一条纽带将我们团结联系到了一起——我们要继续战斗，直至取得胜利，无论要付出多大的代价，无论要承担多大的痛苦，我们也不会屈膝接受耻辱奴役。现在是英法两国悠久历史上最让人敬畏的时刻之一。现在也毫无疑问是我们最为崇高的时刻。英国人民和法国人民肩并肩，在只得到两帝国治下庞大领地内人民帮助的情况下——依然正在奋勇前进，我们不仅要拯救欧洲，还要保护全人类免遭这一罪孽深重、荼毒生灵的暴政危害，德国的暴政抹黑、玷污了人类的历史篇章。在英法身后——在英国和法国海军舰队的身后——还有一支军队，这支军队的成员来自各个山河破碎的国家，来自各个饱受压迫的民族：捷克人，波兰人，挪威人，丹麦人，荷兰人，比利时人——野蛮暴政带来的漫漫长夜即将笼罩在他们头顶，即便是希望之星也无法照亮这一黑夜，唯有胜利的曙光才能粉碎它，我们必须胜利；我们也注定会胜利。

Today is Trinity Sunday. Centuries ago words were written to be a call and a spur to the faithful servants of Truth and Justice： "Arm yourselves, and be ye men of valour, and be in readiness for the conflict； for it is better for us to perish in battle than to look upon the outrage of our nation and our altar. As the Will of God is in Heaven, even so let it be."

今天是三一主日。千百年前，有人写下这段文字，以召唤真理和正义的信徒：“拿起武器，鼓起勇气，准备战斗；与其眼睁睁看着国家与祭坛惨遭践踏，不如在战斗中献出生命。既然上帝执意将其仆人召入天国，那我们就坦然进入天国吧。”

声明：本人仅按照原文翻译内容，演讲内容不代表本人观点。此专栏仅供历史和英语交流学习使用，任何读者皆可引用本人的译本。

希望来学习英语的观众明白：我觉得这些专栏的主要精华在于英语原文，而并非我的译本，我的译本很大程度上只是供来学习历史的观众使用的。本人的英语水平一般，翻译得并不会多么精彩，只能在你看不懂时来帮助你了解这些演讲内容最基本的意思，而且翻译时难免会出现差错，切勿直接完全以我的译本为标准。如发现有翻译错误或者歧义内容，欢迎指正。

希望来学习历史的观众明白：任何历史人物都有一定的局限性，随着时代发展，很多观点看法可能已经不再适用今天的世界，西方的观点也不一定适用于我们。通过了解这些演讲，仅可给我们提供一个更全面了解过去和世界的渠道。我们可以从优秀的历史、当代人物身上学到很多，但是请保持独立思考，理性看待演讲内容，切勿全信或将其奉为真理。