１８６９年１０月２８日美国密苏里州小镇沃伦斯堡发生了一件事，引发了一场旷日持久的官司。一位枪手射杀了邻居一条无辜的猎犬老鼓。这位邻居一气之下把这位枪手­告上法庭。双方都雇用了著名的律师对薄公堂，官司持续一年，一直打到密苏里最高法院。邻居雇用的律师之一，也是后来的美国参议员乔治•韦斯特曾誓言，"不赢此官­司，将向全密苏里州的狗谢罪。"

韦斯特果然不负众望，在法庭上慷慨陈词，最终赢得了这场官司。韦斯特１８７０年９月２３日在法庭上的结案呈词，最终以"狗赞"
之名传世，成为史上最著名的演说之一。幸运的是，这篇演说的第一部分被保留下来。今天人们只要来到沃伦斯堡法院前，就能看到老鼓的雕像和刻在座基上的这篇脍炙人­口的演说。

下面就是这篇演说第一部分的中文译文：

*狗赞*

配审团的先生们：

一个人在世上最好的朋友会和他反目，成为他的敌人。他悉心养育的儿女会不忠不孝。那些和我们最亲近的人，那些我们以幸福和美名信赖的人会背叛信义。一个人拥有的­金钱会失去，也许就在他最需要的时候不翼而飞。一个人的名誉会由于瞬间的不当之举而丧失贻尽。那些当我们功成名就时跪拜向我们致敬的人也许是第一个在失败的阴云­笼罩我们时对我们投石下井。在这个自私的世界里，一个人能有的最无私的，从不抛弃他，从不知恩不报，从不背信弃义的朋友是他的狗。

无论富有或贫穷，无论健康或是患病，一个人的狗总佇立在主人身旁。如果能和主人在一起，它愿意睡在冰冷的地上，任凭寒风凛冽，朔雪飘零。它愿意亲吻没有食物奉送­的手；它愿意舔抚艰难人世带来的创痕。它守卫着穷主人安睡如同守卫王子。当所有的朋友离去，它留驻。当财富不翼而飞，当名誉毁之贻尽，它仍然热爱着主人，如日当­空，亘古不变。如果在命运驱使下，主人被世人抛弃，众叛亲离，无家可归，忠诚的狗仅仅要求能陪伴主人，守卫他免遭危险，去和他的敌人搏斗。

当最后的时刻来临，死神拥抱着主人，他的驱体掩埋在冰冷的黄土之下，任凭所有的朋友风流云散，就在墓地旁你可以看见那高尚的狗，它的头伏在两爪之间，双眼神情悲­伤，却警觉注视着，忠诚至死。（卡拉译）

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 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 in an 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 journey 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 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.