Live: U.S. Secretary of State Rubio Delivers Important Remarks in Athens, Greece (Simultaneous Interpretation)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered an important speech in Athens, Greece, elaborating on the profound influence of ancient Greek civilization on the Western world, the U.S. Constitution, and modern values. He called on Western nations to rediscover the spirit of exploration and national strength, to oppose mediocrity and the sense of guilt over success, and emphasized that the United States should strengthen cooperation with Europe and exemplary allies like Greece, rebuild defense supply chains, and defend shared values to address current global geopolitical challenges.

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In fact, there are many great ruins throughout the world, and in many places, we see that history has receded; the sites we see remind us of some great civilizations of the past, and the remnants of these great civilizations have been left behind. For thousands of years, the ruins behind me have particularly fascinated the Western world. Many generations of our politicians, artists, and philosophers have looked upon these sites with longing and admiration. As time passes, we may think of the victories and defeats of the past; they have gradually become cornerstones in our historical narrative, but Greece and its historical artifacts remain very important to our collective memory, and they continue to call out to us.

In 480 B.C., a group of people traveled by ship to distant lands, but there were also those who were unwilling to leave; they stayed here at the Acropolis to defend against foreign threats. They built stone walls, fortified the city under the attack of the Persians, and managed to defend themselves for many days. In the end, they were paralyzed; the Persians entered and burned the Acropolis. But when they returned, these people gathered the old stones together again and built the Parthenon. So many years later, the Parthenon still exists. Many empires have risen and fallen, and the descendants of those who built this empire have continued to pass down this civilization and this culture.

So, 250 years after the founding of the United States, I have come here today. I stand here in my capacity as the US Secretary of State, and I am also a descendant of the early Spanish pioneers who arrived in America. Standing here and recalling various histories, I feel that the history of the United States, the history of my country, is full of the traces of history. Greece is actually embedded in our governmental system, in the city where our Constitution was established, and the shadows of Greece are also present in this ruined city. Back then, the American Founding Fathers were particularly fascinated by and admired Greece; they had a deep understanding of its special status in history. Among all civilizations, Greek civilization is the most important one to Americans. In our federal documents, the most frequently cited author is actually not some Enlightenment thinker, but Plato, one of the most important figures in history. In fact, there are many academic papers on the influence of ancient Greece on the American Founding Fathers, and for the political figures before the founding of the United States, Greek civilization was also extremely important, including Aristotle, Thucydides, and others. They all inspired us to understand clear thinking, civic virtue, opposition to tyrants, and politics, all of which can be traced back to Greek civilization.

And we actually have even deeper origins with Greece as a Western nation, which all stem from Greece. These ideals have actually been embedded in all civilizations beyond Greece, far surpassing politics and governmental systems. Here in Athens, we see the various values that ultimately define the civilization of the Western world, including the courage to explore, the spirit of taking risks, and an insatiable curiosity about the world to understand the mysteries of nature and the universe, as well as the patience to break through all limitations and understand these unknown worlds. These are not just the beliefs of a certain philosophical school, but the character of the people, expressed through their traditions, their stories, and their imagination. Then they place such demands on their citizens, and what they defend and pursue, the understanding of their lives and what they pursue, means that to understand them is to understand ourselves. What is thriving here is our rejection of ignorance and darkness.

The Greeks did not just shape history; they are the ones who gave us history. Our understanding of many ancient civilizations comes almost entirely from the explorers and historians of ancient Greece. What they studied was not only the history of their own people, but they also recorded the stories of other ethnic groups and cultures. Their footprints covered the globe. While others only looked at themselves and looked inward, the Greeks cast their gaze outward, wanting to see everything that appeared strange and novel. It is precisely this attribute that has enabled the Western world to have a creativity that others could not achieve, setting us apart from many other cultures and civilizations. We have perseverance and the spirit of exploration. What we have inherited from the Greeks is not only the spirit of exploration, but also the belief that the unknown can be explored and understood. We have the confidence to say that the world can be mapped by us, and that we can understand it. We follow certain laws in nature that we can observe, and our minds can comprehend them, and this is precisely the spirit of Western civilization.

Our mathematics, science, medicine, our philosophy, ethics, and religion—all of these also led to the birth of our Judeo-Christian tradition. This is a foundation upon which rich Christian ethics and the exploration of natural laws were built. It has given us a civilization that is not only based on a shared culture and a common anthropological origin, but our descendants share not only a common understanding of natural laws, but we also understand our virtues, knowing our destiny, truth, goodness, and beauty. We know the way human beings should live, and we pursue those perfect ideals. For the ancient Greeks, the pursuit of excellence is in fact a principle of human existence. All our ambitions, our competitions, our philosophy, sculpture, drama, as well as sports and warfare, are characteristics of the ancient Greek city-states. The arenas of ancient Greece were meant to test human capabilities, to undergo continuous training, and to become the best, the most robust, the most beautiful, and the closest to perfection.

I know that what I have just said may sound strange, and even cruel, to modern people. Our era has many, many of our ethics that may be about complete safety, where there is no so-called glory of success or shame of failure. In fact, I think today we can say we are moving downward; our standards are to ensure that no one loses, and what we worry about every day is the comfort of those at the very bottom, rather than the potential of the most excellent. We may just be willing to be mediocre, to accept mediocrity. The people who built the Parthenon were pursuing a spirit of upward striving; they wanted a spirit where our most noble people could transcend everything. In our ancient Greek city-states, there was passion, competition, and constant struggle, with the hope of standing out. But it is precisely all this struggle that brought us beautiful art, philosophy, and the improvement of our intellect, which in turn allowed many Mediterranean cities to be transformed into the birthplaces of the world's greatest civilizations.

Ancient Greeks spoke of fire and power; these forces are at the core of great civilizations. Without these things, the will to struggle will be lost, and the will to survive will also be lost. Today, many Western countries have forgotten these attributes. As time passes, we in the West feel ashamed of the things that made us outstanding. We feel that our own success and our wealth make us feel embarrassed, sometimes even guilty. We no longer believe that our own excellence is something we deserve. Now, the nation seems to have become a dirty word, so we destroy our monuments, we make our children feel ashamed of their own country, and we open our borders, export our industries, and let our military power decline. Every year, I feel that our sovereignty is outsourced; we have a global bureaucratic system that has left us out of control. In fact, the vacuum we have created is one that many are willing to fill. As Western confidence declines, our adversaries are building their own confidence and forging their national strength. So today, we find ourselves standing at a crossroads, because the next decade and the decisions we make will write the story of the next century. The path we take will determine whether our West continues to maintain its leading position in the world, or whether it will willingly accept a future of atrophy, enslavement, and decline. We must either choose to take action now, or we may completely lose the option to take action at all.

America and President Trump have made this choice. We choose to openly pursue our national strength, we want to regain control of our critical supply chains, re-advance the re-industrialization of our economy, and rebuild our national defense. And we choose to have new frontiers: our super-intelligence, drones, chips, minerals, networks, and so on—every level that human capability can reach—to unleash our energy, let our astronauts return to space, and embark on a new exploration. We are not naive people; just as the ancient Greeks knew, they knew that every nation has its own interests, they knew that patience and diplomatic means are needed, and at the same time, they understood that when diplomacy and caution fail, we must have the willingness to use our strength. National power requires not only the ability to defend, but also the credibility to let others know that you have the will, that you are willing to use that strength. This is a very classic diplomatic philosophy, and this is what the Trump administration wants to re-establish, not only for our country but for our entire civilization.

We believe that Europe can also wake up from its slumber, that we can rekindle the flames of thousands of years ago, and throughout Europe, we are seeing what may be a generational transformation. We hope for more partnerships, we hope to see their industrial manufacturing continue to expand, and since the Hague last year, we have also seen an increase in defense spending. Greece is actually doing just this; the people of this country show us that they are a very important partner for the United States and Europe, including in the fields of energy, immigration, and others. Greece is a model ally for us, and we also hope that other European countries will follow Greece's example. By strengthening our friendship and partnership with Europe, we must ensure that our alliance can withstand any danger and risk, and we are doing so because we believe that the transatlantic partnership should not be a zero-sum relationship; our alliance can strengthen the bonds between us. For example, last month we saw the United States, Denmark, and Greenland just sign a new defense agreement, which can reshape Arctic security and affect all NATO member states. This is a victory for all NATO countries, Europe, and the United States, making us stronger and safer. We hope to win together, and we must win together.

I think today that prioritizing our allies rather than domestic affairs might be the view of some people, but I think I disagree. Your loyalty to your country also includes fighting for your nation's interests. In fact, the ancient Greeks understood very well that through one's actions, many victories can be achieved, but they also believed that glory and greatness must be earned through struggle, and for national interests that go beyond one's own interests, or for the interests that will benefit others. In fact, a hero is someone who is willing to fight for these great values, and Socrates was even willing to give up his life. We also saw the more than 300 Spartan warriors who, in the face of Persia's massive military might, were not afraid and were willing to fight one by one to the very last moment; they did not abandon their posts. In addition, in the battle of Achilles, we also see that he could actually go back to his hometown to retire in peace, but he chose to stay and fight to the death for ultimate glory. These values are the ones that shaped our Western civilization. We firmly will not betray our civilization and our country. From St. Thomas to the Battle of the Alamo, to the Declaration of Independence, we can all see this spirit, and we are going to dedicate our wealth, our glory, and our time to one another. From Greek civilization, our Western world has inherited this kind of loyalty, and we will help our country and our people. The reason our heroes are so loyal is precisely because of the influence of Greek culture, and they will choose the most difficult times—a warrior, a soldier will absolutely never leave his post, and the captain of a ship will not abandon his warship. This is very different from, for example, the fanatics of Iran, who promote terrorism and perhaps kill everywhere, hailing such people as heroes. This is different from us; our heroes do not glorify death, because we glorify life, and these heroes are those who will sacrifice their lives for values.

We often take these Western values for granted, thinking that everywhere and at all times, everyone will cherish such values, but in fact, these values are very unique, and they come from Greece, passed down from generation to generation. The values we want to protect today, the degree to which we protect them, will be the same as in the past. The builders of the Pantheon later influenced subsequent architects, building great structures in Milan, and the architects of ancient Greece also influenced figures like Michelangelo and others. The philosophy passed down from ancient Greece also influenced later scientists, and then further influenced Magellan to explore the divine world, and finally influenced us to take Apollo to explore the moon. In the United States, we constantly see this spirit emerge—for example, during the pioneering era, so many people had ambition and the spirit of adventure to carry out the westward expansion. Therefore, this expansive spirit of Greece has taken deep root in the United States, allowing us to grow from a colonized state into a great nation. Every generation of Americans, every generation of Westerners has actually inherited this spirit, which was passed from Athens to Rome, and left behind by medieval Europe, allowing us to continuously pursue freedom, and the spirit of this freedom has also taken root on the American continent, where we explore together on this continent.

We are now at a turning point, not only in the history of our country but in the history of humanity. This turning point is of great importance, just as the turning points were in ancient Greece. War does not simply disappear on its own, and many countries will continue to pursue more weapons, more power, energy, and market influence, and for this, they may go to war. Now, conflicts have emerged among major powers, along with terrorism and various threats and attacks, so we must also rebuild our systems and ensure our alliances are strong enough to counter these threats. We do not wish to destroy national sovereignty; we hope to protect the sovereignty and values of all nations, allowing each country to maintain its unique characteristics while simultaneously recognizing where their common interests lie. We hope to see this reflected in Greece, and in our cooperation with Greece, we must work together to address issues of mass migration and security. In fact, our cooperation with Greece can be traced back to the founding of the United States.

In the 19th century, the United States realized something. Daniel Webster delivered an important speech in Congress, introducing the rebirth and revival of Greece to America. In his speech, he mentioned that this form of government, which is upheld by the public opinion of its citizens, along with the various buildings and institutions we have constructed, serves as a reminder that Greece once existed, and that much of what we have comes from such a great civilization. These words are just as valid today as they were then. Not only Americans, but also Europeans and our friends throughout the Western world must remember the lessons our ancestors gave us here in history. The history of Greece does not just allow us to see our earliest political systems; it allows us to see our own image. It lets us see that we are, and our ancestors were, great heroes, and we should feel very, very proud. We should revere the architecture our predecessors left here, and the story of our civilization can be said to be the greatest story of humanity. These earliest humans of the West gave us all our virtues, our courage, and the strength to resist the forces of evil in our current era. Thank you, thank you all.