And so the first question that the priest asked—the first question that the Levite asked was, "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?" That's the question before you tonight. Not, "If I stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to my job?" Not, "If I stop to help the sanitation workers what will happen to all of the hours that I usually spend in my office every day and every week as a pastor?" The question is not, "If I stop to help this man in need, what will happen to me?" The question is, "If I do not stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to them?" That's the question. Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation. And I want to thank God, once more, for allowing me to be here with you. You know, several years ago, I was in New York City autographing the first book that I had written. And while sitting there autographing books, a demented black woman came up. The only question I heard from her was, "Are you Martin Luther King?" And I was looking down writing, and I said, "Yes." And the next minute I felt something beating on my chest. Before I knew it I had been stabbed by this demented woman. I was rushed to Harlem Hospital. It was a dark Saturday afternoon. And that blade had gone through, and the X-rays revealed that the tip of the blade was on the edge of my aorta, the main artery. And once that's punctured, your drowned in your own blood—that's the end of you. It came out in the New York Times the next morning, that if I had merely sneezed, I would have died. Well, about four days later, they allowed me, after the operation, after my chest had been opened, and the blade had been taken out, to move around in the wheel chair in the hospital. They allowed me to read some of the mail that came in, and from all over the states and the world, kind letters came in. I read a few, but one of them I will never forget. I had received one from the President and the Vice-President. I've forgotten what those telegrams said. I'd received a visit and a letter from the Governor of New York, but I've forgotten what that letter said. But there was another letter that came from a little girl, a young girl who was a student at the White Plains High School. And I looked at that letter, and I'll never forget it. It said simply, "Dear Dr. King, I am a ninth-grade student at the White Plains High School." And she said, While it should not matter, I would like to mention that I'm a white girl. I read in the paper of your misfortune, and of your suffering. And I read that if you had sneezed, you would have died. And I'm simply writing you to say that I'm so happy that you didn't sneeze. 這個消息隔天早上被登在《紐約時報》上。那時候，我是連打個噴嚏都不可以的，因為那會要了我的命。在做完胸腔手術、取出刀子之後，大約過了四天，院方才允許我可以坐著輪椅在醫院裡四處活動。 他們也讓我看了一些從國內及世界各地所捎來的問候信件。我讀了其中的一些信，有一封信的內容尤其讓我永遠也忘不了。 那位祭司和那位利未人，他們第一個問的問題是：「如果我停下來幫助這個人，我會有什麼好處？」 然而，接下來經過的撒馬利亞人，他反過來問：「如果我沒有停下來幫助他，那他會發生什麼事？」 這也就是我們今晚所面對的問題，問題不在於「如果我停下來幫助這些清潔工人，我的工作會不保嗎？」問題也不在於「如果我停下來幫助他們，我每天每週在教堂裡擔任牧師工作時，會有什麼差別嗎？」問題更不在於「如果我停下來助了 這個需要幫助的人，我會有什麼好處？」 真正的問題在於「如果我不停下來幫助這些清潔工人，他們會發生什麼事？」這才是問題的癥結。 就是今晚，讓我們為抗爭做好準備，讓我們以莫大的決心堅定我們的立場，趁現在這種關鍵的時刻繼續往前邁進，這是讓美國成為「真正的美國」的時刻。現在我們有這個機會把美國變成一個更好的國家。我要感謝上帝，讓我又能在這裡跟你們站在一起。 誠如你們所知，多年前我在紐約舉辦我第一本新書的簽名會。當時，我正坐在那裡簽名的時候，來了一名精神錯亂的黑人婦女，我聽見她問我說：「你是馬丁•路德•金恩嗎？」 我一邊埋著頭簽名，一邊回答她說：「是的。」 結果在下一刻，我就感到有東西往我的胸口搥打下去。在我還來不及反應，那個精神錯亂的婦女已經把刀刺進我的胸口了。 我被緊急送往哈林醫院，那是在一個陰暗的星期六下午。刀子刺進了我的胸部，根據X 光顯示，刀尖就刺在主大動脈的旁邊。要是刺到了主大動脈，我就會被自己的鮮血給淹沒，一命嗚呼了。 我看過總統和副總統打來的電報，不過我已經忘記信的內容了。紐約州州長來看過我，也給我寫過信，但我也不記得信裡頭說了些什麼。然而，有一封紐約白原高中一位女學生寫來的信，卻讓我永遠也忘不了。信的內容很簡單，上面寫說，「親愛的金恩博士：我是白原高中一位九年級的學生。」接著她說： 這也許不重要，但我還是想告訴你，我是個白人女孩。我從報紙上得知你受傷的消息。我還看到報導說，你連打個噴嚏都不行，不然可能會死掉。我只是想寫信告訴你說，我好高興你沒有打噴嚏。 | 
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