登陆注册
5697000000039

第39章 THE STRANGE NEW MAN(1)

There is a period of sixteen months--from February,1861,to a day in June,1862,--when Lincoln is the most singular,the most problematic of statesmen.Out of this period he issues with apparent abruptness,the final Lincoln,with a place among the few consummate masters of state-craft.During the sixteen months,his genius comes and goes.His confidence,whether in himself or in others,is an uncertain quantity.At times he is bold,even rash;at others,irresolute.The constant factor in his mood all this while is his amazing humility.He seems to have forgotten his own existence.As a person with likes and dislikes,with personal hopes and fears,he has vanished.He is but an afflicted and perplexed mind,struggling desperately to save his country.A selfless man,he may be truly called through months of torment which made him over from a theoretical to a practical statesman.He entered this period a literary man who had been elevated almost by accident to the position of a leader in politics.After many blunders,after doubt,hesitation and pain,he came forth from this stern ordeal a powerful man of action.

The impression which he made on the country at the opening of this period was unfortunate.The very power that had hitherto been the making of him--the literary power,revealing to men in wonderfully convincing form the ideas which they felt within them but could not utter--this had deserted him.Explain the psychology of it any way you will,there is the fact!The speeches Lincoln made on the way to Washington during the latter part of February were appallingly unlike himself.His mind had suddenly fallen dumb.He had nothing to say.The gloom,the desolation that had penetrated his soul,somehow,for the moment,made him commonplace.When he talked--as convention required him to do at all his stopping places--his words were but faint echoes of the great political exponent he once had been.His utterances were fatuous;mere exhortations to the country not to worry."There is no crisis but an artificial one,"he said.[1]And the country stood aghast!

Amazement,bewilderment,indignation,was the course of the reaction in many minds of his own party.Their verdict was expressed in the angry language of Samuel Bowles,"Lincoln is a Simple Susan."[2]

In private talk,Lincoln admitted that he was "more troubled about the outlook than he thought it discreet to show."This remark was made to a "Public Man,"whose diary has been published but whose identity is still secret.Though keenly alert for any touch of weakness or absurdity in the new President,calling him "the most ill-favored son of Adam Iever saw,"the Public Man found him "crafty and sensible."In conversation,the old Lincoln,the matchless phrase-maker,could still express himself.At New York he was told of a wild scheme that was on foot to separate the city from the North,form a city state such as Hamburg then was,and set up a commercial alliance with the Confederacy."As to the free city business,"said Lincoln,"well,I reckon it will be some time before the front door sets up bookkeeping on its own account."[3]

The formal round of entertainment on his way to Washington wearied Lincoln intensely.Harassed and preoccupied,he was generally ill at ease.And he was totally unused to sumptuous living.Failures in social usage were inevitable.New York was convulsed with amusement because at the opera he wore a pair of huge black kid gloves which attracted the attention of the whole house,"hanging as they did over the red velvet box front."At an informal reception,between acts in the director's room,he looked terribly bored and sat on the sofa at the end of the room with his hat pushed back on his head.

Caricatures filled the opposition papers.He was spoken of as the "Illinois ape"and the "gorilla."Every rash remark,every "break"in social form,every gaucherie was seized upon and ridiculed with-out mercy.

There is no denying that the oddities of Lincoln's manner though quickly dismissed from thought by men of genius,seriously troubled even generous men who lacked the intuitions of genius.And he never overcame these oddities.During the period of his novitiate as a ruler,the critical sixteen months,they were carried awkwardly,with embarrassment.Later when he had found himself as a ruler,when his self-confidence had reached its ultimate form and he knew what he really was,he forgot their existence.None the less,they were always a part of him,his indelible envelope.At the height of his power,he received visitors with his feet in leather slippers.[4]

He discussed great affairs of state with one of those slippered feet flung up on to a corner of his desk.A favorite attitude,even when debating vital matters with the great ones of the nation,is described by his secretaries as "sitting on his shoulders"--he would slide far down into his chair and stick up both slippers so high above his head that they could rest with ease upon his mantelpiece.[5]No wonder that his enemies made unlimited fun.And they professed to believe that there was an issue here.When the elegant McClellan was moving heaven and earth,as he fancied,to get the army out of its shirt-sleeves,the President's manner was a cause of endless irritation.

同类推荐
  • 用耳朵听最优美的散文

    用耳朵听最优美的散文

    这本《用耳朵听最优美的散文》以“用耳听”为学习理念,精选了130多篇精致散文,均用词精准简洁,语句流畅优美,将引领学习者进入趣、情、爱与理的博大世界,使其更加充满信心地去追求梦想。每篇文章并配有导读语、词汇注释、长难句解析、背诵指数及外教精心录制的录音。本书将为学习者展现一个美丽新世界并使其英语学习更上层楼。
  • 365天日常口语放口袋

    365天日常口语放口袋

    《365天日常口语放口袋》以简单、实用作为选材标准,内容取材十分广泛,均以生活中真实发生的实景为蓝本。以句型为基础,将各个单元主题中常见的句型进行归纳和讲解。
  • 在哈佛听演讲

    在哈佛听演讲

    哈佛大学是美国最早的私立大学之一。迄今为止,哈佛大学的毕业生中共有8位曾当选为美国总统。哈佛大学的教授团中总共产生了34名诺贝尔奖得主。此外,还出了一大批知名的学术创始人、世界级的学术带头人、文学家、思想家。我国近代,也有许多科学家、作家和学者曾就读于哈佛大学。这个被莘莘学子所向往的教育殿堂也吸引·了众多有声望的名人前去演讲。对这些社会未来的栋梁之才一吐肺腑之言。本书精选了16篇各界名流在哈佛经典、励志的演讲,中英双语,让你体验双重震撼!
  • 2016新题型大学英语四级听力突破

    2016新题型大学英语四级听力突破

    全国大学英语四六级考试委员会于2016年1月发布通知,自2016年6月起四六级考试听力部分题型有所调整。为帮助即将参加四级考试的考生备考,使考生了解各个题型所占比例及命题要求,提高应试技巧,我们以考试大纲为依据,按照新的考试题型题量和难度要求,搜集和整理了大量的素材,编写了针对六级听力新题型突破的考试用书。全书包含四个部分:命题要求及趋势分析、新题型样题解析及技巧、听力实战演练和附录。本书适用于大学英语四级考试的考生,也可供辅导教师及其他相关人员参考使用。
  • 那些妙趣横生的故事(每天读一点英文)

    那些妙趣横生的故事(每天读一点英文)

    《每天读一点英文·那些妙趣横生的故事》是一套与美国人同步阅读的中英双语丛书。特点有三:内文篇目收录了最精彩、最新鲜的笑话;“实战提升”部分,包括单词和词组、知道不知道,让你捧腹大笑的同时,丰富知识面; 附赠地道美语朗读MP3光盘。 本书幽默逗趣,文字浅显易懂,让你笑着学英文!
热门推荐
  • 王者荣耀之军师你别跑

    王者荣耀之军师你别跑

    司羽:我知道他就是诸葛亮。我又不傻,怎么可能不知道?诸葛亮:我要的人一直都是她。之前,现在……还有将来。——————顾安:你说我现在去跟他认个错,他将来打我的时候会不会轻一点儿?许攸:这个我倒是不知道,我只知道你现在要过去的话肯定会挨打。顾安(看着前面的两人若有所思):那我还是不去了吧。许攸(摸头):知道就好。——————————刘子良:好久不见……你特么越来越智障了呢?张欣宇:……给我留点面子啊!
  • 穿越秦朝之祖龙的管事

    穿越秦朝之祖龙的管事

    嫪隘,一名与大秦始皇母亲身边宦官名字相像的学生,因为一场梦境开启了一场历史的征程。嫪毐之乱,车裂极刑能否重新改写。
  • 生存与安然

    生存与安然

    从海拉尔起,大约过了整整三天,我才适应了原有生活中的一切。估计一头来自草原上的羊要适应城市,从慌张到安详也需要三天。火车开始向南开,尘世在南,我觉得我又在钻回那个厚闷而熟悉的口袋。过去的半个月里我意外地得到了呼伦贝尔大地的慈爱从容宽厚安逸,我是个享受到了幸福的人。
  • 大清棋情录

    大清棋情录

    倾力打造中国第一部长篇围棋文化言情小说。以江阴“抗清三公”的后人恩怨为线索,叙述大清乾隆年间,中国围棋最强时代的人文传奇故事,善解跨越两个地球的情爱纠缠。水墨江南,情迷棋中,小说家言,专家达人不必深究。
  • 波澜壮阔的世界近代史

    波澜壮阔的世界近代史

    世界近代史是资本主义产生和发展的历史,在200多年的时间洪流中逐步形成资本主义世界体系并向帝国主义过渡。从1640年英国资产阶级革命的爆发,到1917年俄国十月社会主义革命的结束。世界近代史可以说是一部改革史、一部战争史。以史为镜,在过去的经验和教训的基础上才能让我们更好的前行。
  • 狂狮部落2:王者归来

    狂狮部落2:王者归来

    瑞蒙家族沸腾了!一只雄性非洲红喉蜂虎——伯德带来的消息打破了瑞蒙家族的平静。伊恩即将被人类带走!情况紧急,一旦被带入人类居住地,回归卡布莱特的希望几乎为零。临时组建的救援小团队正式成立,并迅速踏上了救援之路。蹩脚的“向导”伯德几近迷路,辽阔的卡布莱特草原危机四伏!满怀仇意的野牛群、烈性刚强的鬣狗、神秘的沉睡沼泽……漫漫长路,何时能寻找到正确的方向,截住那通往人类居住地的车辆……
  • 青少年应该知道的军事知识

    青少年应该知道的军事知识

    《青少年应该知道的知识小百科》共12册,是专为中国青少年量身定做的一套全方位知识图书。《青少年应该知道的知识小百科》涵盖了青少年成长过程中不可或缺的历史、科技、军事、文化等不同领域知识精华。本丛书旨在启发青少年学习积极性,积极引领中国青少年朋友走向未来,使青少年朋友们能够在轻松与快乐中学习知识、健康成长,是广大青少年学习新知识的理想读物。而这本《青少年应该知道的影视艺术知识》更是系统全面讲解影视知识,使青少年轻松学会。
  • 食色攻略:唯有美食不可辜负

    食色攻略:唯有美食不可辜负

    民以食为天。从古至今,人们都把吃饭看做是繁衍生息的第一需要。美食不仅满足了人们的味觉感受,而且已然成为一副体现民族素养、人文地理、历史沿革、世事沧桑的画卷。现代人对于美食方面的要求,不仅要能满足自己的实用需要,亦对审美方面提出了相当的要求,他们不仅要品尝美味,还要感受文化和情趣方面的熏陶。
  • 开启中学生智慧的100个哲理故事

    开启中学生智慧的100个哲理故事

    本书为青少年朋友精心挑选了100个生动有趣、寓意深刻的故事,每则故事都浓缩了深刻的人生哲理,蕴藏着丰富的生活智慧,每则故事后都配有“精彩哲思”、“慧语箴言”,对故事的内涵进行挖掘和阐述,帮助青少年领悟生活真谛、人生哲理。
  • 品读季羡林的人生智慧

    品读季羡林的人生智慧

    他是享誉中外的知名学者,也是淳朴真诚的文学家,更是博古通今的国学大师。通过他,人们可以看到,“梵学、佛学、吐火罗文研究并举,中国文学、比较文学、文艺理论研究齐飞”的壮举,更能找到追求智慧人生的航向,他就是季羡林,一代学术宗师。季羡林大师一生风雨历程,其人如历史,其言如溪潺。品格、修身、名利、学习、家庭、人生困顿等,皆在季羡林大师的人生践行和讲解中,化为智慧的光芒,指引我们与幸福相近,与成功携手。本书给读者提供了一个了解季羡林大师人生智慧的平台,更为众人找到了一盏人生海洋上的灯塔,循着它,人们就可以辨别方向,驶出迷茫混沌,驶向豁然开朗。