名篇背诵：To the Unknown Hero (Ⅰ) 致无名英雄(一)

To the Unknown Hero (Ⅰ) 致无名英雄(一)

弗兰克·M. 奥布赖恩(Frank M. O'Brien)

This, of all monuments to the dead, is lasting and immutable . So long as men revere the finer things of life the tomb of the nameless hero will remain a shrine. Nor, with the shifts of time and mind, can there be a changing of values. No historian shall rise to modify the virtues or the faults of the Soldier. He has an immunity for which kings might pray. The years may bring erosion to the granite but not to the memory of the Unknown.

What were his dreams, his ambitions? Likely he shared those common to the millions: a life of peace and honest struggle, with such small success as comes to most who try; and at the end the place on the hillside among his fathers. Today to do honor at his last resting place come the greatest soldier of the age, famous statesmen from other continents, the president, the high judges and the legislators of his own country, and many men who, like himself fought for the flag. At his bier will gather the most remarkable group that America has seen. And the tomb which Fate reserved for him is, instead of the narrow cell on the village hillside, one as lasting and inspiring as Napoleon's.

- immutable [ɪˈmjuːtəbl] a. 永远不变的

- revere [vɪˈvɪə] vt. 敬畏，尊敬，崇敬

- modify [ˈmɒdɪfaɪ] v. 更改，修改

- inspiring [ɪnˈspaɪərɪŋ] a. 鼓舞人心的，启发灵感的

这块墓碑，与所有的死者墓碑相比，是不朽的，永恒的。只要人们尊敬生命中更美好的东西，这块无名英雄墓将永远是圣地。时间的推移，思想的变化，不会带来价值观的变化。没有历史学家会起来更改这位士兵的美德或缺陷。他有国王也会祈望的豁免权。岁月能侵蚀花岗岩，但不能模糊与无名英雄有关的记忆。

他曾有过什么梦想和抱负？兴许与千百万普通人相同。一生平安，诚实奋斗，像多数人那样经过努力获得小小的成功，最后挣得与先辈为邻的坡地一隅。今天，来到他最后的安息地向他致意的，有当代最伟大的战士，有来自别的大陆的著名政治家，有他本国的总统、高级法官和议会议员，还有许多像他一样为国旗战斗过的人。在他的棺木旁，将聚集着美国迄今最出类拔萃的一群人。命运为无名英雄保留的坟墓成了拿破仑的那种永久的、鼓舞人心的墓地，而不是山野村前的一穴小坟。

弗兰克·M. 奥布赖恩：有关资料待考，已知出版《伊利亚神父：启示录》(1998)及《太阳、纽约的故事》(2005)。