英語背誦文選第二冊(陳冠商)25．Letter to Mrs. Bixby(1)
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25．Letter to Mrs. Bixby(1)
Mrs. Bixby,
Boston, Massachusetts,
Dear Madam,
I have been shown in the files of the War Department(3) a statement of
the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons
who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and
fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you
from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from
tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the
Republic they died to save. I pray that our heavenly Father may assuage
the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory
of the loved and lost(4), and the solemn pride that must be yours to have
laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.
Yours very sincerely and respectfully,
Abraham Lincoln
致比克斯比夫人的信
華盛頓
總統(tǒng)府
一八六四年十一月二十一日
馬薩諸塞州，波士頓
比克斯比夫人
親愛的夫人：
在送我披閱的陸軍部檔案中，我看到一份馬薩諸塞州陸軍副官長寫的報(bào)告，
說您便是有五個(gè)兒子光榮犧牲在戰(zhàn)場上的那位母親。我深深感到，無論我用什么
言詞，企圖來排遣如此巨大的損失給您帶來的悲痛，都一定是無力和徒勞的。但
我還是抑制不住要向您表示慰問，這種慰問體現(xiàn)在您的兒子們獻(xiàn)身拯救的共和國
對您的感謝之中。我祈求我們的天父減輕您的喪子之痛，使您只懷有對于已故親
人的美好回憶和莊嚴(yán)的自豪感，您有這種自豪感是理所當(dāng)然的，因?yàn)槟谧杂傻?/span>
祭壇上獻(xiàn)出了代價(jià)如此昂貴的犧牲。
您的最誠摯的亞伯拉罕·林肯敬啟
亞伯拉罕·林肯
(1)Mrs. Bixby: 一位美國婦女。她的五個(gè)兒子都在南北戰(zhàn)爭中光榮犧牲，
林肯總統(tǒng)知道這事后，就寫了這封信去慰問她
(2)Executive Mansion：美國總統(tǒng)府，現(xiàn)在叫白宮(White House )。
(3)War Department：陸軍部。也可以說 Department of War;相當(dāng)于英國的
War Office。
(4)the loved and lost:失去了的親人。
