評論
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But this taught Lincoln an invaluable lesson. Never again did he write an insulting letter. Never again did he ridicule anyone.
但是，這件事情給了林肯一個極其珍貴的教訓。從那以后，他再也沒有寫過侮辱人的信，再也沒嘲弄過別人。
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 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."
在南北戰爭期間，林肯一次一次地任命一些新的將領率領波托馬克軍團，而每次那些將軍都會犯一些極其可悲的錯誤，使得林肯絕望地在辦公室里踱來踱去。全國半數的人都憤怒地譴責這些不稱職的將軍，但是“對任何人都不怨恨，對所有人都慈悲為懷”的林肯仍然保持緘默。他有一句經常引用的話是：“不要給人妄下斷語，免得遭人妄加評論。”
Yet if any man ever had occasion to criticize, surely it was Lincoln. Let's take just one illustration.
然而，假如真的有人有理由批評別人的話，那就是林肯。這里我們只需舉一個例子。
The Battle of Gettysburg was fought during the first three days of July 1863. During the night of July 4, Lee began to retreat southward while storm clouds deluged the country with rain. When Lee reached the Potomac with his defeated army, he found a swollen, impassable river in front of him, and a victorious Union Army behind him. Lee was in a trap. He couldn't escape. Lincoln saw that. Here was a golden, heaven-sent opportunity to capture Lee's army and end the war immediately. So, with a surge of high hope, Lincoln ordered Meade to attack Lee immediately. Lincoln telegraphed his orders and then sent a special messenger to Meade demanding immediate action.
葛底斯堡戰役是在1863年7月的頭三天進行的。到了第四天的夜里，烏云密布，暴雨就要來臨，李將軍開始向南撤退。當李將軍帶著敗兵到達波托馬克河時，他發現眼前河水暴漲，渡河已不可能，而后面是得勝的聯邦軍隊。李將軍陷入絕境，他已無法逃脫。林肯看到了這一點。他知道這是抓住李將軍的部隊、一舉結束戰爭的天賜良機。于是，他滿懷希望，發電報給米德將軍下令，同時還派遣特使前往要求立刻采取行動。
