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本文是一篇法庭辩护词，作者乔治·格雷厄姆曾是美国密苏里州的一个议员，是一位杰出的演讲家和辩论家。本篇是他早年从事法律工作时在法庭上所作的，当时他为一位因狗被杀而起诉的人作辩护。辩护时，他没有要求任何证词，只是凭借其辩论就赢得了官司。他辩词的撼人之处在于：拿出人类兽性的一面与狗人性的一面作对比，引起法官们对狗的感激和同情，以及对杀狗人的强烈憎恶。这不仅仅是一篇辩护词，也是一篇优秀的讲演稿，更是对人性的呼唤……
Gentlemen of the Jury:
The best friend a man has in the world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared1 with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name may become traitors2 to their faith.
The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it most. A man’s reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone3 to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us, may be the first to throw the stone of malice4 when failure settles its cloud upon our heads.
The one absolutely unselfish that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous5 is his dog. A man’s dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry6 winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer.
He will lick the wounds and sores that encounter the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper7 master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings, and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens.
If fortune drives the master forth, an outcast8 in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him, to guard him against danger, to fight against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes his master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by the graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad, but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even in death.
陪审团的先生们：
一个人在世上的最好的朋友，有时候也会反目成为敌人。呕心沥血抚养成人的儿女并不知道感激；那些和我们最亲近的人、那些我们信任的可以托付幸福和名望的人却背信弃义。
拥有万贯家产的人，也会变得一贫如洗。或许在他最需要钱的时候，却身无分文。好名声可能会因为一个欠考虑的行为顷刻间毁于一旦。当我们取得成功时，一些人就会卑躬屈膝地向我们献媚；当我们遭遇失败时，那些人却会最先落井下石。
在这个充满私欲的世界里，一个人可以拥有一个毫不自私的朋友、一个永不会背叛他的朋友、一个知恩图报的朋友，这个朋友就是他的狗。狗在任何时候都对主人忠心耿耿，无论其贫富、身体健康与否。只要能靠近它的主人，哪怕是睡在冰凉的地上、任由寒风侵袭，狗都无怨无悔。即使主人手中并无食物，狗也会舔他的手。
尽管处境凄凉，狗也会舔着伤口疗伤。再贫穷的主人熟睡时，狗也像守候王子一样守候他。当所有的朋友离他而去时，狗却一直陪伴在他身边。当主人钱财散尽，功名不再时，狗还是满怀爱意陪伴在主人左右，直至生命的尽头。
当主人遭遇厄运、被世人抛弃、无亲无故、无家可归时，忠实的狗别无所求，仍然陪伴在主人身旁，保卫他的安全，反击他的敌人。当一切尘埃落定时，主人魂归故里，人们各奔前程，守候在坟墓边的只有他的高贵的狗，头埋在爪子中，满眼凄凉，即使已经死去，还警觉、忠实地守候在主人身旁。
听海摘译自 English Speech
Gentlemen of the Jury:
The best friend a man has in the world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared1 with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name may become traitors2 to their faith.
The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it most. A man’s reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone3 to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us, may be the first to throw the stone of malice4 when failure settles its cloud upon our heads.
The one absolutely unselfish that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous5 is his dog. A man’s dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry6 winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer.
He will lick the wounds and sores that encounter the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper7 master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings, and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens.
If fortune drives the master forth, an outcast8 in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him, to guard him against danger, to fight against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes his master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by the graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad, but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even in death.
陪审团的先生们：
一个人在世上的最好的朋友，有时候也会反目成为敌人。呕心沥血抚养成人的儿女并不知道感激；那些和我们最亲近的人、那些我们信任的可以托付幸福和名望的人却背信弃义。
拥有万贯家产的人，也会变得一贫如洗。或许在他最需要钱的时候，却身无分文。好名声可能会因为一个欠考虑的行为顷刻间毁于一旦。当我们取得成功时，一些人就会卑躬屈膝地向我们献媚；当我们遭遇失败时，那些人却会最先落井下石。
在这个充满私欲的世界里，一个人可以拥有一个毫不自私的朋友、一个永不会背叛他的朋友、一个知恩图报的朋友，这个朋友就是他的狗。狗在任何时候都对主人忠心耿耿，无论其贫富、身体健康与否。只要能靠近它的主人，哪怕是睡在冰凉的地上、任由寒风侵袭，狗都无怨无悔。即使主人手中并无食物，狗也会舔他的手。
尽管处境凄凉，狗也会舔着伤口疗伤。再贫穷的主人熟睡时，狗也像守候王子一样守候他。当所有的朋友离他而去时，狗却一直陪伴在他身边。当主人钱财散尽，功名不再时，狗还是满怀爱意陪伴在主人左右，直至生命的尽头。
当主人遭遇厄运、被世人抛弃、无亲无故、无家可归时，忠实的狗别无所求，仍然陪伴在主人身旁，保卫他的安全，反击他的敌人。当一切尘埃落定时，主人魂归故里，人们各奔前程，守候在坟墓边的只有他的高贵的狗，头埋在爪子中，满眼凄凉，即使已经死去，还警觉、忠实地守候在主人身旁。
听海摘译自 English Speech