How This Book Was Written—and
Why
本书的写作过程和原因
Part One From Birth to
Marriage
第一部分 从出生到婚姻
一
二
三
四
五
六
七
八
Part Two From Lawyer to President
第二部分 从律师到总统
九
十
十一
十二
十三
十四
十五
十六
十七
Part Three From Civil War to Assassination
第三部分 从内战到暗杀
十八
十九
二十
二十一
二十二
二十三
二十四
二十五
二十六
二十七
二十八
Part Four From Funeral to Eternal Glory
第四部分 从葬礼到不朽
二十九
三十
三十一
三十二
三十三
內容試閱:
How This Book Was Written—and Why
本书的写作过程和原因
One spring day, some years ago, I was breakfasting in the Hotel
Dysart, London; and, as usual, I was trying to winnow① a bit of
American news from the columns of the “Morning Post”. Ordinarily I
found none, but on that fortunate morning I made a strike② rich and
unexpected.
The late T.P. O’Connor, reputed “Father of the House of Commons,”
conducted in those days a column in the “Morning Post” entitled
“Men and Memories”. On that particular morning, and for several
mornings following, “Tay Pay’s” column was devoted to Abraham
Lincoln—not to his political activities but to the personal side of
his career: to his sorrows, his repeated failures, his poverty, his
great love for Anne Rutledge, and his tragic marriage to Mary
Todd.
I read the series with profound interest—and surprise. I had
spent the first twenty years of my life in the Middle West, not far
from the Lincoln country; and, in addition to that, I had always
been keenly interested in the United States history. I should have
said that of course I knew Lincoln’s life story; but I soon
discovered that I didn’t. The fact is that I, an American, had to
come to London and read a series of articles written by an
Irishman, in an English newspaper, before I realized that the story
of Lincoln’s career was one of the most fascinating tales in all
the annals of mankind."
多年前的一个春日,我在伦敦戴萨特宾馆吃早餐。像往常一样,我想从《晨报》的各个栏目中挑点美国新闻。通常,我都是一无所获,但是那天早晨,我运气不错,有了意外的发现。
已故的T?P?奥康纳被誉为“下议院之父”。他当时在《晨报》主办了一个栏目叫“男人与记忆”。那个特别的早晨,还有此后的几个早晨,“泰?派伊”的栏目讲的都是亚伯拉罕?林肯——不是他的政治活动,而是他生涯中的私人一面:他的悲伤,他的屡次失败,他的贫穷,他对安妮?拉特利奇伟大的爱,他与玛丽?托德的婚姻悲剧。
我饶有兴趣地阅读了这一系列文章——结果让我大感意外。我的前20年都是在美国中西部度过的,距离林肯的故乡不远;而且,我一直对美国历史抱有浓厚的兴趣。应该说,我当然了解林肯的生平,但是我很快发现并非如此。实际情况是,我这个美国人来到伦敦,阅读了由一位爱尔兰人撰写的刊登在一份英国报纸上的系列文章,才认识到在人类的所有史书中,林肯的一生,最为神奇,也最为迷人。
……