1.On the morning of April 15,1865,Abraham Lincoln lay dying in a hall bedroom of a cheap lodging house directly across the street from Ford's Theater,where John Wilkes Booth had shot him. Lincoln's long body lay stretched diagonally across a sagging bed that was too short for him. A cheap reproduction of Rosa Bonheur's famous painting The Horse Fair hung above the bed,and a dismal gas jet flickered yellow light.
1、1865年4月15日清晨,亞伯拉罕.林肯奄奄一息地躺在福特戲院對(duì)面一家廉價(jià)客棧的臥房里。約翰。威爾克斯。布斯槍殺了他。那張下陷的床對(duì)身材修長(zhǎng)的林肯而言實(shí)在太短了。床的上方，掛著一件羅莎。邦赫的名畫《馬市》的廉價(jià)仿制品，一盞陰暗的煤氣燈發(fā)出慘淡的黃暈。
2.As Lincoln lay dying,Secretary of War Stanton said,"There lies the most perfect ruler of men that the world has ever seen."
2、當(dāng)林肯奄奄一息地躺著時(shí)，陸軍部長(zhǎng)斯坦頓說：“躺在這里的，是世界上有史以來完美的元首�！�
3.What was the secret of Lincoln's success in dealing with people? I studied the life of Abraham Lincoln for ten years and devoted all of three years to writing and rewriting a book entitled Lincoln the Unknown. I believe I have made as detailed and exhaustive a study of Lincoln's personality and home life as it is possible for any being to make. I made a special study of Lincoln's method of dealing with people. Did he indulge in criticism? Oh,yes. As a young man in the Pigeon Creek Valley of Indiana,he not only criticized but he wrote letters and poems ridiculing people and dropped these letters on the country roads where they were sure to be found. One of these letters aroused resentments that burned for a lifetime.
3、林肯待人方面成功的秘訣是什么?我花了十年的時(shí)間研究亞伯拉罕。林肯的一生，并投入了整整三年的時(shí)間寫作和潤(rùn)色一本叫做《林肯不為人知的一面》的書。我相信我已經(jīng)盡了人類一切的可能，對(duì)林肯的個(gè)性和他的家庭生活，做了詳盡和透徹的研究。關(guān)于林肯待人的方法我還做了特別的研究。林肯熱衷于批評(píng)嗎?是的，年輕時(shí)，他住在印第安納州的鴿溪谷;他不但批評(píng)他人，還寫信作詩揶揄別人，他把寫好的信扔到鄉(xiāng)間街道上故意讓人看到，其中有一封信所引起的反感，延續(xù)了一輩子。
4.Even after Lincoln had become a practicing lawyer in Springfield,Illinois,he attacked his opponents openly in letters published in the newspapers. But he did this just once too often.
4、林肯在伊利諾斯州的春田鎮(zhèn)，掛牌做了律師后，甚至投書給報(bào)社，公開攻擊他的對(duì)手，但是像這樣的事他只做了。
5.In the autumn of 1842 he ridiculed a vain,pugnacious politician by the name of James Shields. Lincoln damned him through an anonymous letter published in Springfield Journal. The town roared with laughter. Shields,sensitive and proud,boiled with indignation. He found out who wrote the letter,leaped on his horse,started after Lincoln,and challenged him to fight a duel. Lincoln didn't want to fight. He was opposed to dueling,but he couldn't get out of it and save his honor. He was given the choice of weapons. Since he had very long arms,he chose cavalry broadswords and took lessons in sword fighting from a West Point graduate; and,on the appointed day,he and Shields met on a sandbar in the Mississippi River,prepared to fight to the death; but,at the last minute,their seconds interrupted and stopped the duel.
5、1842年秋季，林肯譏笑一個(gè)自大好斗的政客，這人叫詹姆斯。西爾滋。林肯在春田的報(bào)上，刊登出一封匿名的信諷刺他，令鎮(zhèn)上的人都捧腹大笑起來。西爾滋是個(gè)敏感和驕傲的人，怒火中燒。他查出寫這封信的人是誰，跳上了馬，去找林肯，要和他作決斗。林肯不想打架，反對(duì)決斗，可是為了自己的面子又不能退出。對(duì)方給他選擇武器的只有。林肯手臂特別長(zhǎng)，就選了騎兵用的大砍刀，他向一位西點(diǎn)軍校畢業(yè)生學(xué)習(xí)刀術(shù)。到了指定的日期，他和西爾滋在密西西比河的河灘上碰頭，準(zhǔn)備決一死戰(zhàn)，就在后一刻，他們雙方的助陣者介入并阻止了決斗。
6.That was the most lurid personal incident in Lincoln's life. It taught him an invaluable lesson in the art of dealing with people. Never again did he write an insulting letter. Never again did he ridicule anyone. And from that time on,he almost never criticized anybody for anything.
6、在林肯的一生中，這是件可怕的個(gè)人事件。在做人的藝術(shù)方面，林肯學(xué)到了無價(jià)的一課。他再?zèng)]有寫過侮辱人的信，也沒有取笑過任何人。從那時(shí)起，他幾乎沒有因任何事而批評(píng)任何人。
7.Time after time,during the Civil War,Lincoln put a new general at the head of the Army of the Potomac,and each one in turn-McClellan,Pope,Burnside,Hooker,Meade-blundered tragically and drove Lincoln to pacing the floor in despair. Half the nation savagely condemned these incompetent generals,but Lincoln,"with malice toward none,with charity for all," held his peace. One of his favorite quotations was "Judge not,that ye be not judged." And when Mrs. Lincoln and others spoke harshly of the southern people,Lincoln replied: "Don't criticize them; they are just what we would be under similar circumstances." He had learned by bitter experience that sharp criticisms and rebukes almost invariably end in futility.
7、美國(guó)內(nèi)戰(zhàn)的時(shí)候，林肯屢次委派新將領(lǐng)(依次有柯克林、波伯、伯恩賽德、胡克、米德)，統(tǒng)帥“波多馬克”軍隊(duì)，可是他們都相繼慘敗而歸，使林肯絕望地在地板上踱步。有一半的國(guó)人都在痛罵這些差勁的將領(lǐng)，可是林肯因?yàn)椤安辉购奕魏稳�，�?duì)所有人寬容”，一聲也不吭。他喜歡引用的一句格言是，“不要批評(píng)別人，別人才不會(huì)評(píng)議你”。當(dāng)林肯太太和其他人非議南方人士時(shí)，林肯總是這樣回答：”不要批評(píng)他們，我們?cè)谙嗤那樾蜗�，也�?huì)像他們一樣�！彼呀�(jīng)從他的痛苦經(jīng)驗(yàn)中明白，尖銳的批評(píng)、指責(zé)從來都是無果而終。
8.Theodore Roosevelt said that when he,as President,was confronted with a perplexing problem,he used to lean back and look up at a large painting of Lincoln which hung above his desk in the White House and ask himself,"What would Lincoln do if he were in my shoes? How would he solve this problem? " The next time we are tempted to admonish somebody,let's pull a five-dollar bill out of our pocket,look at Lincoln's picture on the bill,-and ask,"How would Lincoln handle this problem if he had it? "
8、西奧多。羅斯福說過，他任總統(tǒng)時(shí)，每逢遇到棘手的問題，他常會(huì)往后一靠，抬頭望望他白宮辦公桌墻上那張林肯的巨幅畫像，并自問：“如果林肯處在我目前的情形，他會(huì)怎么辦?他將怎樣解決這個(gè)問題?”下次我們?nèi)绻滩蛔∫?xùn)誡某人時(shí)，不妨從口袋拿出一張五元的鈔票，看看鈔票上林肯的像問自己：“如果林肯遇到這種事，他會(huì)如何解決這個(gè)問題呢?”
9.Do you know someone you would like to change and regulate and improve? Good! That is fine. I am all in favor of it. But why not begin on yourself? From a purely selfish standpoint,that is a lot more profitable than trying to improve others-yes,and a lot less dangerous. "Don't complain about the snow on your neighbor's roof," said Confucius,"when your own doorstep is unclean."
9、你愿意你認(rèn)識(shí)的人有所改變、調(diào)整和改進(jìn)嗎?如果是，那很好。我完全贊同。但為何不從你自己開始呢?站到純自私的立場(chǎng)上，這要比改進(jìn)別人獲益更多--沒錯(cuò)，而且風(fēng)險(xiǎn)更小。孔夫子說過：“如果你的門階不干凈，就不要對(duì)你鄰居家屋頂上的雪大發(fā)牢騷�！�(“不能正其身，如正人何?”)
10.When dealing with people,let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion,creatures bristling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity. If you and I want to stir up a resentment tomorrow that may rankle across the decades and endure until death,just let us indulge in a little stinging criticism-no matter how certain we are that it is justified.
10、當(dāng)我們與人相處時(shí)，應(yīng)該記住，我們所接觸的不是邏輯生物，而是情感生物，會(huì)因?yàn)槠姸l(fā)沖冠，也會(huì)被驕傲與虛榮心所激勵(lì)。如果你我明天要造成一種歷經(jīng)數(shù)十年，直至死亡才會(huì)消失的反感，只要輕輕吐出一句惡毒的評(píng)語就得了--不論你多么肯定自己那樣做事理所當(dāng)然的。
11.Any fool can criticize,condemn and complain-and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.
11、任何一個(gè)愚蠢的人，都會(huì)批評(píng)人、斥責(zé)人、抱怨人，絕大多數(shù)蠢人都是這樣。若要做到了解和寬恕別人，那就需在性格、自制力上下功夫。
12."A great man shows his greatness," said Carlyle,"by the way he treats little men." And Dr. Johnson said: "God himself,sir,does not propose to judge man until the end of his days." Why should you and I?
12、卡萊爾曾經(jīng)說：”看一個(gè)偉人的偉大之處，就是看他如何對(duì)待卑微之人�！奔s翰遜博士也說過：“上帝在一個(gè)人的末日之前是不會(huì)給他下結(jié)論的。“那么你我又為什么要批評(píng)人呢?
