关于林肯的五个流言

Four generations of biographers attest that Lincoln was often morose, but Washington College's Joshua Wolf Shenk made the case in his recent book, "Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled his Greatness," that the 16th president was clinically depressed. Lincoln certainly had moments of what he called the "hypo," most notably when his first serious crush, Ann Rutledge, died in 1835, and again when he broke up with fianc??e Mary Todd on the eve of their nuptials in 1841. (They reconciled the next year.)
整整四代传记作家都认为林肯常常忧郁，然而，华盛顿大学的约书亚·沃尔夫·沈克在近期出版的《林肯的伤感：忧郁症如何挑战总统、激励他的伟大》中列出证据，说第十六届总统已被诊断患有忧郁症。林肯自己也说有过不少“抓狂”的时候，特别是遭受了第一次严重打击：安妮·鲁特雷吉死于1836年；随后1841年，在婚礼前夕，他与未婚妻玛丽·托德分手。（第二年，两人复合。）

Though I co-edited a collection of Lincoln papers with Shenk, we disagree on this point. Genuine depression was untreatable in the 19th century, and its victims often descended into madness or took their own lives. It is impossible to reconcile this debilitating disease with the Lincoln who labored tirelessly and effectively during his demanding presidency. Clinically depressed people often can't get out of bed, let alone command an army.
尽管我与沈克一起编撰林肯资料，但对该问题，我们意见不同。在19世纪，真正的忧郁症是不治之症，患者经常发疯或自杀。总统的责任繁重，林肯不知疲倦地工作，并且效率很高。将令人崩溃的疾病和林肯联系起来，真的不可能。确诊得了忧郁症的人，几乎不能下床，遑论指挥军队了。

Was Lincoln sad? Sure - his son Willie died of fever in the White House in 1862, while the president himself led a war that would take the lives of 600,000 other young men. It would be far more remarkable had Lincoln remained perennially jolly.
林肯郁闷吗？当然——1862年，他的儿子发高烧，死在了白宫；当时，他是总统，指挥一场战争,这场战争还夺走了60万年轻男子的性命。如果这样还要林肯保持开朗，未免太强人所难了。

4. Lincoln was too compassionate.
4、林肯很仁慈

Much has been made by poet and Lincoln biographer Carl Sandburg and other historians over the notion that Lincoln was a serial pardoner. This is untrue - Lincoln not only approved the execution of deserters, but 38 alleged Indian raiders were hanged by his order in Mankato, Minn. on Dec. 26, 1862, still the largest mass execution on U.S. soil.
这个说法很大程度来自卡尔·桑伯格（诗人、林肯传记作家）和其他一些历史学家，他们认为林肯一直慈悲为怀。这不是真的——林肯不仅同意处决背弃者；而且签署了——1862年12月26日在明尼苏达州曼卡托绞死38名印第安袭击者——的命令，迄今为止，是在美国大地上发生的最大屠杀。（“最大”是指美国建国后，不包括殖民时代。——译者注。）

Meanwhile, Lincoln conducted the bloodiest war in American history to preserve the Union, authorized the deployment of deadly new weaponry such as mines, ironclad warships and niter (a 19th-century version of napalm), and accepted uNPRecedented casualties for his chosen cause.
同时，林肯为保卫联邦，进行了美国历史上最血腥的战争，批准使用了一些致命武器，如水雷、装甲战舰和硝石（19世纪的凝固汽油弹）；而且为了他信仰的理由，不顾伤亡如何惨重。

The recent scandal over an altered National Archives pardon - a document allegedly changed by historian Thomas P. Lowry in 1998 to make it appear that Lincoln spent his final hours pardoning a soldier for desertion - gives us the opportunity to reconsider the chronic oversimplification of Lincoln's soft touch. In light of the Archives melee, historians should re-examine the thousands of pardons Lincoln issued to weigh their authenticity and balance them against the death sentences he did allow.
近来，出现了一个丑闻：国家档案馆内的特赦令被扭曲了——1998年，历史学家托马斯·P·罗瑞有意扭曲了文件的内容，使其表现出林肯在最后时刻特赦了一名逃兵。这件丑闻让人有机会反思：长期以来，过于简化林肯柔软的一面。随着各类纷杂档案的公布，历史学家应该重新审视林肯签署的上万份特赦，有多少是真实的；而且，还要对比他签署的死刑令。

5. Lincoln was mortally ill.
5、林肯身患重疾

No shortage of armchair physicians are ready to diagnose Lincoln 150 years after his death. He had cardiovascular disease, some say. Or he had the rare genetic disorder Marfan's Syndrome. Or he had the fatal cancer MEN2B. Had Lincoln not been assassinated on April 14, 1865, medical historians like John Sotos imply, he would have died soon enough without John Wilkes Booth's help.
他死后的150年，不少想入非非的内科医生准备给林肯诊断。有人说，林肯有心脏病。还有人说，他患有罕见的马凡氏综合症（一种先天性、遗传性结缔组织疾病。——译者注）。还有些人说，他患有致命的MEN2B癌症 (MEN2B为甲状腺髓样癌，粘膜神经纤维瘤和嗜铬细胞瘤。——译者注) 。医疗历史学家，如约翰·所托斯推论，如果1865年4月14日，他不死于暗杀，不用约翰·威克斯·布斯帮忙，他也快死了。（约翰·威克斯·布斯：刺杀林肯的凶手。——译者注）

If any of these illnesses wracked Lincoln's body during his presidency, how do we explain his inexhaustible physical constitution? Or the rarity of his wartime illnesses, limited to a mild bout of smallpox which killed his valet? How do we explain the ease with which the 56-year-old demonstrated his favorite frontier feat of strength - holding a heavy ax at arm's length between his fingers - just a few days before his death?
如果任职总统期间，林肯真患有这类疾病，那如何解释他力量无穷无尽的体质？如何解释战争期间，除了出过一次温和的天花外，他极少生病?而那次天花，要了身边男仆的命。在死前的几天，56岁的他，用最爱的边疆方式展示力量——用手指夹着一把重重的斧头，伸出一臂的距离。他轻而易举做到，该如何解释？

Like many presidents, Lincoln grew visibly haggard during his presidency. He also lost weight. But the physicians who attended him on his deathbed marveled at his muscular arms and chest. A weaker man, they concluded, would have died the minute he was shot. Lincoln fought off death for nine hours - hardly within the ability of a man with a pre-existing condition.
林肯和很多总统一样，在任职期间日益憔悴。他也变得消瘦。但临终前，来到他床前的医生们，都对他健壮的胳膊和胸膛感到惊讶。他们说，体格稍微弱一些的人，挨枪子的几分钟后就会死亡。林肯和死亡搏斗了九个小时——如果人以前患病的话，根本做不到。