我们文明的传承和维护 (1882 排华法案段落)
- 但这【排华法案】并不仅仅是一个劳工，种族或政治问题。它牵扯到我们的文明，也涉及到全世界的人民。赞助商、学者、士兵、政治家—所有的爱国者和先烈们—奠定了我们今天宗教、法律、科学、艺术的基础。这个结构是从与野蛮的冲突中脱颖而出，保留下来的。欧洲的文明屡屡受到来自亚洲野蛮部落的威胁和攻击。当时要不是那一小股希腊马拉松的勇士们击败十倍于他们的亚洲野蛮人，谁能估算我们文明接下来将会遭受到的损失。当我们反思两个世纪以来我们从古希腊学习到的文明和自由思想，我们就会发现防止亚洲人入侵欧洲有多么重要。当匈奴威胁到欧洲，高卢人成功地将他们击溃。一股股亚洲的野蛮浪潮被挡住了，使文明得到拯救。在维也纳由于我们击退了蒙古族后裔的土耳其人，文明才发展壮大了，能够自强不息；来自亚洲的军事入侵及其对我们的完全摧毁才已经不再是一个可能。然而和平的入侵却比武力打击更危险。对公开的敌人我们能够实行自卫，但一个阴险狡诈的敌人可以利用我们仁慈宽大的法律在我们毫无警觉时一举拿下我们的城池。中国人自由移民实际上就是被欧洲文明屡屡击败的亚洲野蛮人对我们的又一次入侵。我们的文化遗产要求我们保持纯洁，不被玷污，因为我们最终的目的是要将其发扬光大。我们是人类的受托人。
THE PRESERVATION OF OUR CIVILIZATION
But this is not alone a race, labor, and political question. It is one which involves our civilization and appeals to the people of the world. The benefactors, scholars, soldiers, and statesmen–the patriots and martyrs of mankind–have built our modern fabric firmly upon the foundation of religion, law, science and art. It has been rescued from barbarism and protected against the incursions of barbarians. Civilization in Europe has been frequently attacked and imperiled by the barbaric hordes of Asia. If the little band of Greeks at Marathon had not beaten back ten times their number of Asiatic invaders, it is impossible to estimate the loss to civilization that would have-ensued. When we contemplate what modern civilization owes to the two centuries of Athenian life, from which we first learned our lessons of civil and intellectual freedom, we can see how necessary it was to keep the Asiatic from breaking into Europe. Attila and his Asiatic hordes threatened Central Europe, when the Gauls made their successful stand against them. The wave of Asiatic barbarism rolled back, and civilization was again saved. The repulse of the Turks, who are of the Mongolian race, before Vienna, finally made our civilization strong enough to take care of itself, and the danger of extinction by a military invasion from Asia had passed away. But a peaceful invasion is more dangerous than a warlike attack. We can meet and defend ourselves against an open foe, but an insidious foe, under our generous laws, would be in possession of the citadel before we were aware. The free immigration of Chinese would be for all purposes an invasion by Asiatic barbarians against whom civilization in Europe, fortunately forus, has been frequently defended. It is our inheritance to keep it pure and uncontaminated, as it is our purpose and destiny to broaden and enlarge it. We are trustees for mankind.