"Violence is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding: it seeks to annihilate rather than convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends up defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers."
– in his Nobel Lecture delivered at the University of Oslo, Dec. 11, 1964
“暴力是不切实际的，因为它是一个螺旋式下降，最终导致所有人的毁灭。它是不道德的，因为它试图羞辱对手，而不是赢得他的理解;暴力是不道德的，因为它滋生于仇恨而不是爱。它破坏社区，使兄弟情谊成为不可能。它留给社会的是独白，而不是对话。暴力最终会弄巧成拙。它给幸存者带来痛苦，给毁灭者带来残忍。”
——1964年12月11日在奥斯陆大学发表诺贝尔演讲
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."
– from King's 1963 book Strength to Love
“黑暗不能驱逐黑暗;只有光能做到这一点。恨不能驱除恨，只有爱才能做到。”
——摘自1963年金的《爱的力量》
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
– during King's "I Have a Dream Speech" on Aug. 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
“我梦想有一天，我的四个孩子将生活在一个不是以他们的肤色，而是以他们的品格优劣来评价他们的国家里。”
1963年8月28日，在华盛顿特区的林肯纪念堂，金发表了“我有一个梦想”的演讲
"I must confess, my friends, the road ahead will not always be smooth. There will be still rocky places of frustration and meandering points of bewilderment. There will be inevitable setbacks here and there. There will be those moments when the buoyancy of hope will be transformed into the fatigue of despair. Our dreams will sometimes be shattered and our ethereal hopes blasted. We may again with tear-drenched eyes have to stand before the bier of some courageous civil rights worker whose life will be snuffed out by the dastardly acts of bloodthirsty mobs. Difficult and painful as it is, we must walk on in the days ahead with an audacious faith in the future."
– from his speech at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Aug. 16, 1967 in Atlanta, Georgia
“我必须承认，我的朋友们，前面的道路不会总是平坦的。仍然会有挫折和困惑的地方。难免会有一些挫折。总有那么一刻，希望的浮力会转化为绝望的疲惫。我们的梦想有时会破灭，我们空灵的希望有时会破灭。我们可能再次泪流满面地站在一些勇敢的民权工作者的灵柩前，他们的生命将被嗜血暴徒的卑鄙行径所扼*。尽管困难和痛苦，我们必须在未来的日子里怀着对未来的大胆信念继续前进。”
——摘自他1967年8月16日在佐治亚州亚特兰大举行的南方基督教领袖会议上的讲话
