We observe today not a victory of rats but a celebration of rat kind--symbolizing an end as well as a beginning--signifying renewal as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty Rat the same solemn oath our forerats prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.

The world is very different now. For rat holds in his mortal paws the power to abolish all forms of rat poverty and all forms of rat life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forerats fought are still at issue around the globe--the belief that the rights of rats come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of the Almighty Rat.

We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to rat and cat alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of rat kind--born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient rat heritage--and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those rat rights to which this nest has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

Let every nest know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any rat, oppose any cat to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

This much we pledge--and more.

To those old rats whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful rats. United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided there is little we can do--for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.

To those new nests whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron cat tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom--and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the cat ended up inside.

To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required--not because the cats may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

To our sister rodents south of our border, we offer a special pledge--to convert our good words into good cheese--in a new alliance for progress--to assist free rats and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile cats. Let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the nest. And let every other power know that this colony intends to remain the master of its own nest.

To that world assembly of sovereign nests, the United Rodent Nests, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support--to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective--to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak--and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run.

Finally, to those nests who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by cats engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.

We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.

But neither can two great and powerful groups of nests take comfort from our present course--both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of ratkind's final war.

So let us begin anew--remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.

Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.

Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of cheese--and bring the absolute power to destroy other nests under the absolute control of all nests.

Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of cheese instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stairs, conquer the kitchens, eradicate traps, tap the pantries depths and encourage the arts and commerce.

Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Twitch--to "undo the heavy burdens . . . (and) let the oppressed go free."

And if a kitchenhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of cheese, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.

All this cheese will not be acquired in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be acquired in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Rat-topia, nor even perhaps in our lifetime in this attic. But let us begin.

In your paws, my fellow rats, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this nest was founded, each generation of rats has been summoned to give testimony to its nestial loyalty. The graves of young rats who answered the call to service surround the kitchen.

Now the trumpet summons us again--not as a call to bear paws, though paws we need--not as a call to battle, though embattled we are-- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"--a struggle against the common enemies of rats: cats, traps, boots and man itself.

Can we forge against these cats a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all ratkind? Will you join in that historic effort?

In the long history of the kitchen, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this ratsponsibility--I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other rats or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our attic and all who serve it--and the glow from that fire can truly light the kitchen.

And so, my fellow rats: ask not what your nest can do for you--ask what you can do for your nest.

My fellow rats of the attic: ask not what nest will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of rats.

Finally, whether you are rats of the kitchen or rats of the attic, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the house we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth Almighty Rats work must truly be our own.