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林肯盖茨堡演说150周年

One hundred and fifty years ago this month (November 19), at the height of the U.S. Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln delivered a short address at a battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The bloody¹ battle that had taken place there several months earlier is now considered the turning point of the war. While dedicating a cemetery², Lincoln paid tribute to the soldiers who had fought at Gettysburg. He also laid stress on freedom and equality.

150年前的11月，在美国南北战争进行得最激烈的时候，美国总统在宾州的盖茨堡战场上发表了一篇简短的讲话。几个月前的血腥战斗现在成为战争的转捩点。在为一个墓园揭幕时，林肯向那些参加盖茨堡堡战役的士兵致敬，他也同时强调了自由和平等的重要。

In his two-minute speech, President Lincoln recalled the fighting in Gettysburg, which took the lives of tens of thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers. He honored “the brave men, living and dead who struggled here.” From 1861 to 1865, the Northern states - the Union, fought the South - the Confederacy, which had seceded³ from the nation over several issues, including slavery.

在两分钟演说中，林肯总统追忆盖茨堡战役，数以万计的北军和南军士兵在这场战役中丧生。林肯赞扬“在这里奋斗的活着和死去了的勇士们”。北方联邦各州与南方邦联从1861年打到1865年，南方各州因为包括蓄奴在内的一些问题而脱离了联邦。

Martin Johnson, history professor at Miami University in Ohio, has written a new book called Writing the Gettysburg Address. He says the president sought continuing support for the Union as the civil war dragged on.

俄亥俄州迈阿密大学历史教授马丁·约翰森写了一本新书，名为“撰写盖茨堡演说”。他说，林肯总统在内战还在持续时寻求对联邦的持续支持。

He said, “He knew he had to impress the nation with the importance of the cause, why this war was so important and so crucial."

“他知道他必须让国人深刻了解这个事业的重要性，为何这场战争如此重要、如此关键。”

Shortly before he went to Gettysburg, the president was at this cottage in Washington, where he would go to escape distractions⁴ at the White House. Callie Hawkins, program director at the renovated⁵ cottage, says this was no retreat, since a military cemetery was next door.

在前往盖茨堡前，林肯总统待在华盛顿这所小房子里，以躲避白宫的各种琐事。

“It gave him an opportunity to think and reflect, and think through his ideas of the civil war and emancipation⁶. Lincoln saw burials every day," she said.

林肯别墅游客卡莉·霍金斯说：“它给林肯一个机会去思考和反思，让他能够把他对内战和解放黑奴的想法想得更透彻。”

Those ideas, Hawkins says, would have influenced his writing of the Gettysburg Address, which borrowed the line that “all men are created equal” from the U.S. Declaration of Independence.  Lincoln also spoke⁷ about “a new nation, conceived in liberty” and “a new birth of freedom.”

霍金斯说，那些想法对他起草盖茨堡演说产生了影响，林肯借用了美国独立宣言中“人人生而平等”的词句。林肯也提到“一个在自由里孕育的新国家”，以及“自由的新生”

Lincoln's words resonate with 12-year-old Carrie Otal. She said, “He got us through the slavery, and freedom for everyone is very important. Slave owners thought they had the liberty of owning slaves, but slaves thought liberty meant freedom, and I think he gave everyone the liberty they deserve.”

林肯的言辞引起12岁加莉·欧塔的共鸣： “他引导我们走出了奴隶制，让所有人都拥有自由是非常重要的。奴隶主认为他们有拥有奴隶的自由，但黑奴认为自由权意味着他们应该享有自由，他让每个人都享有了他们应得的自由。”

Johnson says Lincoln wrote the address at the White House and then polished it at this home in Gettysburg. Word of the speech spread quickly.

约翰森说，林肯在白宫起草了那篇演说，然后在盖茨堡的这座房子里做了最后的修改。这篇演说很快传播开来。

“The speech became popular and important almost immediately because many people, especially editorialists in newspapers, and political figures, recognized that it condensed the lesson of the war in a very brief manner," he said. "Within months, it was used in political speeches. It became rooted very quickly in American memory about what the civil war meant."

“演说几乎立即大受欢迎，变得十分重要，因为很多人，尤其是报社里写评论的人和政治人物，他们认识到这篇演说言简意赅地总结了战争的教训。几个月内，它被许多政治演说所引用，美国人很快就在记忆中把这篇演说和南北战争紧密地联系在一起了。“

He says the Gettysburg Address also became known worldwide.

“It’s taught in schools in Japan, Nigeria, Argentina and elsewhere," he said.

约翰森说，盖茨堡演说也传遍世界各地： “日本、尼日利亚、阿根廷和其他地方的学校都会教这篇演说。”

In his address, President Lincoln said “the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here.” Little did he know that not only would the world note and remember, but the speech would become one the most famous in history.

林肯在演说中说，“世界很少会去注意，也不会在很久以后还记得我们在这里说的事情。”他没有想到，人们不仅注意和记得，而且这篇演说还成为历史上最有名的一篇演说。