评论
打印
In the French Revolution, the revolutionaries started out with the best of intentions, and before everybody knew it, they were guillotining the opposition, and they were guillotining each other. Before everybody knew it, violence engulfed all of a continent.
法国大革命时期，革命者怀着极好的目的发动这场革命，但人们尚未弄清楚这一点，他们就将对手送上了断头台，并相互残杀。人们还没弄清楚这一点，暴力活动就席卷了整个欧洲大陆。
In effect, what Lincoln said was, "There must be no French Revolution here." It was prescient, and it was visionary and it was one of Lincoln's finest acts and finest moments. And Grant would carry it out brilliantly at Appomattox during the surrender, where rather than treating Lee like a defeated, dishonored foe, he treated him with great dignity and grace. It was one of the most poignant scenes in our history.
林肯这番话的实质就是：“这里决不允许发生法国大革命。”这是一个有卓识有远见的决策，这是林肯最好的举措之一，是他人生中最美妙的时刻之一。之后在阿波马托克斯受降过程中，格兰特完美地执行了这一决策，他没有把李当成被打败的、应该蒙受耻辱的敌人来对待，而是给予了极大的尊严与体谅。那是我们历史上最感人的场景之一。
Just think about it, the morning that Lee had made this fateful decision that he's going to surrender. At that point, he straightened himself up, and he said, "Now I must go meet General Grant, and I would rather die a thousand deaths than do that." History has, more often than not, telescoped and simplified what happened, said that Lee was vain and quixotic in retreat, and then said there was the dignity of Appomattox, the end of war, end of history.
想想李做出重大的投降决定的那个上午的情况。在那一刻，他挺直身躯说道现在我必须去见格兰特将军，我宁愿死一千次也不愿这么做。”历史记载往往压缩并简化所发生的事，把李的投降说成是无望的、堂吉诃德式的撤退。但之后又说，阿波马托克斯一事体现了尊严，标志着战争的结束、那段历史的结束。
In truth, it's far richer. Let's ask the first question. How would Lee be treated when he went to meet U. S. Grant? He didn't know. What we do know is that Lee, that morning, was actually quite nervous, uncharacteristically so. He was speaking in mumbled half sentences.
实际上发生在阿波马托克斯的事件，其内涵要丰富得多。第一个问题是：当李去会见U.S.格兰特时，格兰特会怎样对待他？李自己并不知道。我们所了解的是，那天早晨李其实非常紧张，出乎寻常地紧张。他说话含含糊糊、语无伦次。
