林肯就是喜欢这种言谈举止的人：像他一样注重行动，勇于承担责任，蔑视虚荣和浮夸。
我记忆中的林肯是一个胡子拉碴的中年大叔，满脸胡子，眼窝深陷，坐在总统宝座上注视着美国人民。他最大的功绩是带领北方联盟打赢了南北战争，解放了黑奴，然而，戏剧性的是在刚取得胜利的时候就被暗杀，令人十分惋惜。这是上学时在历史书上学到的。
然而，这本书中所记载的林肯，更为真实。他出身贫穷，是私生女的儿子，开过一个杂货店却负债累累，爱过一个女人却无缘厮守，结过婚却不是爱的人，当过律师但每天早出晚归不想回家。如果不是最后成为总统打赢了南北战争，他也就是一个普普通通的美国凤凰男。谁也想不到几年前还默默无闻的小律师，几年后就问鼎了总统宝座。命运难料！除此之外，令人意外的是，林肯的功劳之一解放黑奴，并不是他的出发点，他的出发点是为了避免美国的分裂，签署《解放黑奴宣言》也是为了避免英法援助南方联盟。所以千秋大业也是要看时运的，所谓时势造英雄绝不是一句空话！
总的来说，人这一生的命运实在难以预料，只要还活着，就有希望，往一个方向坚持不懈地努力，就还有成功的机会，一时的失利和失败并不能代表一切。这便是林肯的一生写照，即使穷困潦倒，即使心痛到精神失常，即使所有的失败和死亡来临，他也不会放弃一颗正直善良的心。
从历史长河来看，美国才成立几百年，他的故事也才过了两个世纪，现在的美国无人能敌，现在的他是伟人，受万人敬仰。然而他一生都生活在债务、蔑视、不幸的婚姻和各种辱骂中。他的压力、痛苦和忧郁，已经被淹没在浩瀚的时间中被人遗忘，而他的故事则成为了人们茶余饭后的谈资。
我想他很乐意见到如今美国的统一和繁荣，但也会痛苦一些人对异种族的歧视与压迫吧！
最后记录一首林肯最喜欢的诗。<Mortality>（《死亡》）又名<Oh, Why Should the Spirit of Mortal be Proud?>（《噢，必死之人何必心高气傲？》）或者<Immortality>（《永生》），作者是William Knox (1789-1825)，附翻译。
Mortality
By William Knox
O why should the spirit of mortal be proud?
噢，必死之人何必心高气傲？
Like a fast-flitting meteor, a fast-flying cloud,
就像一颗飞快的流星，一朵飞舞的云，
A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave,
一道闪电，一波巨浪，
He passes from life to his rest in the grave.
他从生命转入坟墓中的安息。
The leaves of the oak and the willow shall fade,
橡树和柳树的叶子会凋谢，
Be scattered around, and together be laid;
散落四方，又堆积在一起；
And the young and the old, and the low and the high,
无论是年轻人还是老年人，无论高低贵贱，
Shall moulder to dust, and together shall lie.
将化为灰烬，并埋在一起。
The child that a mother attended and loved,
被母亲照顾和爱护的孩子，
The mother that infant's affection that proved;
被婴儿依赖的母亲；
The husband that mother and infant that blessed,
被母亲和婴儿祝福的丈夫，
Each, all, are away to their dwelling of rest.
每个人，所有的人，都去了他们休息的地方。
The maid on whose cheek, on whose brow, in whose eye,
那少女的面颊，眉梢，和眼睛，
Shone beauty and pleasure, —her triumphs are by;
闪耀着美丽和欢乐， -她的荣光不再；
And the memory of those that beloved her and praised
那些对她爱慕和称赞的记忆，
Are alike from the minds of the living erased.
都从活着的心头抹除消逝。
The hand of the king that the scepter hath borne,
君王那曾握过权杖的手；
The brow of the priest that the miter hath worn,
祭司那戴过圣冠的眉头；
The eye of the sage, and the heart of the brave,
圣人之眼，勇者之心，
Are hidden and lost in the depths of the grave.
都被埋藏在墓地深处无处可寻。
The peasant whose lot was to sow and to reap,
命运是播种和收获的农民 ，
The herdsman who climbed with his goats to the steep,
带着他的山羊爬上陡峭山坡的牧民 ，
The beggar that wandered in search of his bread,
在寻找面包中流浪的乞丐，
Have faded away like the grass that we tread.
就像我们踩过的青草一样凋零了。
The saint that enjoyed the communion of heaven,
享受天堂圣餐的圣人，
The sinner that dared to remain unforgiven,
敢于不受宽恕的罪人，
The wise and the foolish, the guilty and just,
聪明和愚蠢，罪恶和正义，
Have quietly mingled their bones in the dust.
他们的骨头静静地混在尘土里。
So the multitude goes, like the flower and the weed
就这样，人们就像花朵和野草一样消失了。
That wither away to let others succeed;
枯萎而死去以让后人继承；
So the multitude comes, even those we behold,
所以又一群人来了，即使是我们所看见的那些，
To repeat every tale that hath often been told.
重复着每一个经常被讲述的故事。
For we are the same that our fathers have been;
因为我们和我们的祖宗一样。
We see the same sights that our fathers have seen,
我们看到的景象和我们的父辈看到的一样，
—We drink the same stream, and we feel the same sun,
-我们喝同样的水，感受同样的阳光，
And we run the same course that our fathers have run.
我们的路线和我们的父辈一样。
The thoughts we are thinking, our fathers would think;
我们正在思考的思想，我们的父辈也会这样想；
From the death we are shrinking, they too would shrink;
我们从死亡中退缩，他们也会退缩；
To the life we are clinging to, they too would cling;
我们执着的生命，他们也会执着；
But it speeds from the earth like a bird on the wing.
但生命从地球上飞逝的速度就像一只展翅飞翔的鸟儿。
They loved, but the story we cannot unfold;
他们爱过，但那些故事我们无法展开来讲；
They scorned, but the heart of the haughty is cold;
他们嗤之以鼻，但高傲之人的心已然冰凉；
They grieved, but no wail from their slumber may come;
他们忧伤，却不能从睡梦中哀号；
They enjoyed, but the voice of their gladness is dumb.
他们快乐，但声音已无从听闻。
They died, ay! they died! and we things that are now,
他们死去，唉！死了！而今天我们正活着，
Who walk on the turf that lies over their brow,
我们走在他们的墓地上头，
Who make in their dwellings a transient abode,
在他们的住所里做短暂的停留，
Meet the changes they met on their pilgrimage road.
在他们在朝圣路上经历他们已历经的改变。
Yea! hope and despondence, and pleasure and pain,
是啊！希望与沮丧，快乐与痛苦，
Are mingled together like sunshine and rain;
就像阳光和雨水交织在一起；
And the smile and the tear, and the song and the dirge,
微笑和泪水，歌声和挽歌，
Still follow each other, like surge upon surge.
仍跟随彼此，就像一浪接一浪。
'Tis the wink of an eye, 'tis the draught of a breath,
“这是一眨眼的时间，”这是一口气的呼吸，
From the blossom of health to the paleness of death,
从健康的盛开到死亡的苍白，
From the gilded saloon to the bier and the shroud,
从镀金的酒馆到棺材和裹尸布，
—O why should the spirit of mortal be proud?
噢，必死之人何必心高气傲？
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