The best friend a man has in the world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared 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 traitors 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 prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads.
The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, 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 wintry 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 come from encounter with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper 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 journeys through the heavens.
If fortune drives the master forth, an outcast 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 the 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 grave 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.
By George Graham Vest
［参考译文］
犬的礼赞
乔治·格雷厄姆·维斯特
在这个世界上，一个人的好友可能与他作对，变成敌人；他用慈爱培养长大的儿女可能变得不忠不孝；那些我们感觉最亲切和亲密的人，那些我们用全部幸福与名誉痴信的人，都可能会弃忠诚而叛逆。一个人所拥有的金钱可能会失去，可能在最需要它的时候它却插翅飞走；一个人的声誉也许会断送在考虑欠妥的一瞬间；那些会在我们成功时来屈膝奉承的人，很可能就是当失败的阴云笼罩在我们头上时第一个投掷阴毒之石的人。
在这个自私的世界上，一个人唯一毫不自私的朋友、唯一不抛弃他的朋友、唯一不忘恩负义的朋友，就是他的狗。不问主人是贫穷或富贵、健康或病弱，爱犬都会守在主人的身旁；只要能靠近主人，即使地面冰冷坚硬、寒风凛冽、大雪纷飞，爱犬也会全然不顾地躺在主人身边；哪怕主人无食喂养，爱犬仍会舔着主人的手和主人手上因抵御这个冷酷的世界所受的创伤。纵然主人是乞丐，爱犬也会像守护王子一样地伴随左右。当主人所有的朋友都掉头离去，爱犬却义无反顾。当主人的财富消失、声誉扫地时，爱犬对主人的爱仍如天空运行不息的太阳一样，永恒不变。
假如因命运的捉弄，主人变成了一个无家可归的流浪者，这只忠诚的犬只求陪伴主人，有难同当，对抗敌人，此外毫无奢求。当万物的结局来临，死神夺去了主人的生命、尸体埋葬在寒冷的地下时，即使所有的亲朋好友都已各奔前程，而这只高贵的犬却会独自守卫在墓旁，它仰首于两足之间，眼睛里虽然充满悲伤，却仍然机警地护卫着墓地，忠贞不渝，直到死亡……
［注释］
-tribute [ˈtrɪbjuːt] n. 赞颂 phrase
turn against ：反对；仇视 appose; become hostile to
-rear [rɪə(r)] v. 教养；养育 bring up
-ungrateful [ʌnˈɡreɪtfʊl] adj. 忘恩负义的 not thankful for favors
good name ：好名声 high reputation
become traitors to their faith ：背信 betray their trust
-ill-considered [ˈɪlkənˈsɪdəd] adj. 不智的；思虑不周的 unwise; not well considered
prone to ：易于…… inclined to; apt to
fall on their knees ：跪下 kneel down
do us honor ：尊敬我们 treat us with respect
throw the stone of malice ：投井下石；恶意中伤 do harm to a person, especially in the dark
when failure settles its clouds upon our heads ：当我们在患难时 when we are in adversity
-treacherous [ˈtreʧərəs] adj. 不忠的；背叛的；阴险的；奸诈的 disloyal; traitorous
stand by ：爱戴；扶助 love; support
-prosperity [prɒˈsperətɪ] n. 富裕 wealth
wintry winds ：寒风 cold winds
-lick [lɪk] v. 舔 pass the tongue over
-sore [sɔː(r)] n. 痛处 painful spot
-encounter [ɪnˈkaʊntə(r)] v. 抵挡；相遇 combat; meeting
-roughness [ˈrʌfnɪs] n. 粗暴行为 rudeness of behavior
pauper master ：穷主人 poor master
when riches take wings ：当财去时 when riches fly away
reputation falls to pieces ：名誉扫地 reputation is ruined
-outcast [ˈaʊtkɑːst] n. 被弃者；流浪者 one who is cast out; an exile
-privilege [ˈprɪvɪlɪʤ] n. 特权 special right enjoyed by a person
［作者简介］
乔治·格雷厄姆·维斯特（George Graham Vest, 1830-1904），美国密苏里州的议员，杰出的演讲家和辩论家。《犬的礼赞》是他早年从事法律工作时在法庭上为一位因狗被杀而起诉的人所做的辩护词。