From his mother he inherited a rigid17 honesty which was demanded by public opinion in early days and was the safeguard of the frontier. There were no locks upon371 the cabin doors nor upon the stables. A man who committed a theft would not be tolerated in a community, and if he took a horse or a cow or any article which was necessary for the sustenance18 of a family he was outlawed19, if he escaped with his life. Merchants never thought of locking up their stores, and often left them entirely unprotected for days at a time while they went to the nearest source of supply to replenish20 their stock or were absent for other reasons. If their patrons found no one to serve them, they helped themselves, and, as prices varied21 little from year to year, they were able to judge for themselves of the value of the goods, and reported the purchase and paid the bill the next time they found the merchant at home.
When Abraham Lincoln was clerking for Denton Offutt, he walked three miles one evening after the store was closed to return a sixpence which had been overpaid. On another occasion he gave four ounces for half a pound of tea and delivered the difference before he slept. For this and other acts of the same sort he became known as "Honest Old Abe," but he was no more conspicuous22 for that quality than many of his neighbors. He was the type and representative of a community which not only respected but required honesty, and were extremely critical and intolerant towards moral delinquencies. Accustomed all their lives to face danger and grapple with the mysterious forces of nature, their personal and moral courage were qualities without which no man could be a leader or have influence. A liar24, a coward, a swindler, and an insincere man were detected and branded with public contempt. Courage and truth were commonplace and recognized as essential to manhood.
Abraham Lincoln's originality25, fearlessness, and self-confidence, his unerring perceptions of right and wrong, made him a leader and gave him an influence which other men did not have. He was born in the same poverty372 and ignorance, he grew up in the same environment, and his muscles were developed by the same labor28 as his neighbors', but his mental powers were much keener and acute, his ambition was much higher, and a consciousness of intellectual superiority sustained him in his efforts to rise above his surroundings and take the place his genius warranted. Throughout his entire life he adhered to the code of the frontier. As a lawyer he would not undertake a case unless it was a good one. He often said he was a very poor man on a poor case. His sense of justice had to be aroused before he could do his best. If his client were wrong, he endeavored to settle the dispute the best way he could without going into court; if the evidence had been misrepresented to him, he would throw up the case in the midst of the trial and return the fee. The public knowledge of that fact gave him great influence with the courts and kept bad clients away from him.
To a man who once offered him a case the merits of which he did not appreciate, he made, according to his partner, Mr. Herndon, the following response:
"Yes, there is no reasonable doubt that I can gain your case for you. I can set a whole neighborhood at loggerheads; I can distress29 a widowed mother and her six fatherless children, and thereby30 get for you six hundred dollars which rightly belong, it appears to me, as much to them as it does to you. I shall not take your case, but I will give you a little advice for nothing. You seem a sprightly31, energetic man. I would advise you to try your hand at making six hundred dollars in some other way."
He carried this code of morals into the Legislature, and there are several current anecdotes32 of his refusal to engage in schemes that were not creditable. On one occasion a caucus33 was held for consultation34 over a proposition Lincoln did not approve. The discussion lasted until midnight, but he took no part in it. Finally,373 an appeal was made to him by his colleagues, who argued that the end would justify35 the means. Lincoln closed the debate and defined his own position by saying,—
"You may burn my body to ashes and scatter36 them to the winds of heaven; you may drag my soul down to the regions of darkness and despair to be tormented37 forever; but you will never get me to support a measure which I believe to be wrong, although by doing so I may accomplish that which I believe to be right."
Lincoln did not often indulge in hysterical38 declamation39, but that sentence is worth quoting because it contains his moral code.
As President he was called upon to deliver a reprimand to an officer who had been tried by court-martial for quarrelling. It was probably the "gentlest," say his biographers, Nicolay and Hay, "ever recorded in the annals of penal40 discourses41." It was as follows:
"The advice of a father to his son, 'Beware of entrance to a quarrel, but, being in, bear it that the opposed may beware of thee!' is good, but not the best. Quarrel not at all. No man resolved to make the most of himself can spare time for personal contention42. Still less can he afford to take all the consequences, including the vitiating of his temper and the loss of self-control. Yield larger things to which you can show no more than equal right, and yield lesser43 ones, though clearly your own. Better give your path to a dog than be bitten by him in contesting for the right. Even killing44 the dog would not cure the bite."
Even as a boy in Indiana he acquired a reputation for gentleness, kindness, and good-nature. He was appealed to by people in trouble, and his great physical strength and quick intelligence made him a valuable aid on all occasions. Once he saved the life of the town drunkard, whom he found freezing by the roadside on a winter night. Picking him up in his arms, he carried374 him to the nearest tavern45 and worked over him until he revived. The people who lived in the neighborhood of Gentryville, Indiana, and New Salem, Illinois, where his early life was spent, have many traditions of his unselfishness and helpful disposition46. He chopped wood for poor widows and sat up all night with the sick; if a wagon47 stuck in the mud, he was always the first to offer assistance, and his powerful arms were equal to those of any three men in the town. When he was living at the Rutledge tavern at New Salem he was always willing to give up his bed to a traveller when the house was full, and to sleep on a counter in his store. He never failed to be present at a "moving," and would neglect his own business to help a neighbor out of difficulty. His sympathetic disposition and tender tact48 enabled him to enter the lives of the people and give them assistance without offence, and he was never so happy as when he was doing good.
His religious training was limited. His father and mother, while in Kentucky, belonged to the sect49 known as Free-will Baptists, and when they went to Indiana they became members of the Predestinarian Church, as it was called; not from any change in belief, but because it was the only denomination in the neighborhood. Public worship was very rare, being held only when an itinerant50 preacher visited that section. Notice of his approach would be sent throughout the neighborhood for twenty miles around, and the date would be fixed51 as far in advance as possible. When the preacher appeared he would find the entire population gathered in camp at the place of meeting, which was usually at cross-roads where there were fodder52 for the horses and water for man and beast. After morning preaching people from the same neighborhood or intimate acquaintances would gather in groups, open their lunch-baskets, and picnic together. At the afternoon service children and "confessors" would be baptized, and towards night the party375 would separate for their homes, refreshed in faith and uplifted in spirit.
When Thomas Lincoln removed to Illinois he united with the Christian church commonly called "Campbellites," and in that faith he died.
Abraham Lincoln's belief was clear and fixed so far as it went, but he rejected important dogmas which are considered essential to salvation53 by some of the evangelistic denominations54. "Whenever any church will inscribe55 over its altar as a qualification for membership the Saviour's statement of the substance of the law and Gospel, 'Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbour as thyself,' that church will I join with all my heart and soul."
He was an habitual reader of the Bible. He was more familiar with its contents than most clergymen, and considered it the highest example of literature in existence as well as the highest code of morals. His study of the Bible and familiarity with its pages are shown in his literary style and frequent quotations57. In 1864 he wrote his old friend, Joshua Speed, "I am profitably engaged reading the Bible. Take all of this book upon reason that you can and the balance upon faith and you will live and die a better man."
He had no sympathy with theologians. He frequently declared that it was blasphemy58 for a preacher to "twist the words of Christ around so as to sustain his own doctrine5," and often remarked that "the more a man knew of theology the farther he got away from the true spirit of Christ."
"John," he one day said to a friend, "it depends a great deal how you state a case. When Daniel Webster did it, it was half argument. Now, you take the subject of predestination, for example. You may state it one way and you cannot make much out of it; you state it another and it seems quite reasonable."
376 When he was a young man at New Salem in 1834 Thomas Paine's "Age of Reason" and Volney's "Ruines" made a great impression upon him, and he prepared a review of these books, which it is supposed he intended to read before a literary society that had been organized in the neighborhood. His friend, Samuel Hill, with his old-fashioned notions of atheism59, got hold of the manuscript and burned it. Lincoln was quite indignant at the time, but afterwards admitted that Hill had done him a service. This incident has often been cited as evidence that Lincoln was an agnostic, just as other incidents in his life have been used to prove that he was a spiritualist, and still others that he was a Freemason; but he was none of them. He commended Masonry60, but never joined that order; his inquisitive61 mind led him to investigate certain spiritualistic phenomena62, and his essay at New Salem was nothing more than a presentation of the views of two famous unbelievers without personal endorsement63.
Like Napoleon, Wellington, Bismarck, and other famous men, Lincoln was very superstitious64. That peculiarity65 appeared frequently during his life. Even to the very day of his death, as related in Chapter VII., he told his Cabinet and General Grant of a dream which he was accustomed to have before important events in the war. A curious incident is related in his own language:
"A very singular occurrence took place the day I was nominated at Chicago, four years ago, of which I am reminded to-night. In the afternoon of the day, returning home from down town, I went upstairs to Mrs. Lincoln's reading-room. Feeling somewhat tired, I lay down upon a couch in the room, directly opposite a bureau, upon which was a looking-glass. As I reclined, my eye fell upon the glass, and I saw distinctly two images of myself, exactly alike, except that one was a little paler than the other. I arose, and lay down again377 with the same result. It made me quite uncomfortable for a few moments, but, some friends coming in, the matter passed out of my mind. The next day, while walking on the street, I was suddenly reminded of the circumstance, and the disagreeable sensation produced by it returned. I had never seen anything of the kind before, and did not know what to make of it. I determined66 to go home and place myself in the same position, and if the same effect was produced, I would make up my mind that it was the natural result of some principle of refraction of optics which I did not understand, and dismiss it. I tried the experiment, with a like result; and, as I had said to myself, accounting67 for it on some principle unknown to me, it ceased to trouble me. But some time ago I tried to produce the same effect here by arranging a glass and couch in the same position, without success."
He did not say, at this time, that either he or Mrs. Lincoln attached any significance to the phenomenon, but it is known that Mrs. Lincoln regarded it as a sign that the President would be re-elected.
President Lincoln once invited a famous medium to display his alleged68 supernatural powers at the White House, several members of the Cabinet being present. For the first half-hour the demonstrations69 were of a physical character. At length rappings were heard beneath the President's feet, and the medium stated that an Indian desired to communicate with him.
"I shall be happy to hear what his Indian majesty70 has to say," replied the President, "for I have very recently received a deputation of our red brethren, and it was the only delegation71, black, white, or blue, which did not volunteer some advice about the conduct of the war."
The medium then called for a pencil and paper, which were laid upon the table and afterwards covered with a handkerchief. Presently knocks were heard and the378 paper was uncovered. To the surprise of all present, it read as follows:
"Haste makes waste, but delays cause vexations. Give vitality72 by energy. Use every means to subdue73. Proclamations are useless. Make a bold front and fight the enemy; leave traitors74 at home to the care of loyal men. Less note of preparation, less parade and policy talk, and more action.—Henry Knox."
"That is not Indian talk," said the President. "Who is Henry Knox?"
The medium, speaking in a strange voice, replied, "The first Secretary of War."
"Oh, yes; General Knox," said the President. "Stanton, that message is for you; it is from your predecessor75. I should like to ask General Knox when this rebellion will be put down."
The answer was oracularly indefinite. The medium then called up Napoleon, who thought one thing, Lafayette another, and Franklin differed from both.
"Ah!" exclaimed the President; "opinions differ among the saints as well as among the sinners. Their talk is very much like the talk of my Cabinet. I should like, if possible, to hear what Judge Douglas says about this war," said the President.
After an interval76, the medium rose from his chair and, resting his left hand on the back, his right into his bosom77, spoke78 in a voice no one could mistake who had ever heard Mr. Douglas. He urged the President to throw aside all advisers79 who hesitated about the policy to be pursued, and said that, if victory were followed up by energetic action, all would be well.
"I believe that," said the President, "whether it comes from spirit or human. It needs not a ghost from the bourne from which no traveller returns to tell that."
His taint80 of superstition81, like his tendency to melancholy82, was doubtless inherited from his ancestors and was shared by all sensitive people whose lives were379 spent in the mysterious solitude83 and isolation84 of the Western frontier. It is manifested by the denizens85 of the forests, the mountains, and the plains, and wherever else sensitive natures are subjected to loneliness and the company of their own thoughts. Lincoln's mind was peculiarly sensitive to impressions; his nature was intensely sympathetic, his imagination was vivid, and his observation was keen and comprehensive. With all his candor86, he was reticent87 and secretive in matters that concerned himself, and the struggle of his early life, his dismal88 and depressing surroundings, the death of his mother, and the physical conditions in which he was born and bred were just the influences to develop the morbid89 tendency which was manifested on several occasions in such a manner as to cause anxiety and even alarm among his friends. He realized the danger of submitting to it, and the cure invented and prescribed by himself was to seek for the humorous side of every event and incident and to read all the humorous books he could find.
His poetic90 temperament91 was developed early and frequently manifested while he was in the White House. He loved melancholy as well as humorous poems. He could repeat hymns92 by the hundreds, and quoted Dr. Watts94' and John Wesley's verses as frequently as he did Shakespeare or Petroleum95 V. Nasby or Artemas Ward23. His favorite poem was "Oh! Why should the Spirit of Mortal be Proud."
Judge Weldon, of the Court of Claims, remembers the first time he heard him repeat it. "It was during a term of court, in the same year, at Lincoln, a little town named for Mr. Lincoln. We were all stopping at the hotel, which had a very big room with four beds, called the lawyers' room. Some of us thin fellows doubled up; but I remember that Judge Davis, who was as large then as he was afterwards, when a Justice of the Supreme96 Bench, always had a bed to himself. Mr. Lincoln380 was an early riser, and one morning, when up early, as usual, and dressed, he sat before the big old-fashioned fireplace and repeated aloud from memory that whole hymn93. Somebody asked him for the name of the author; but he said he had never been able to learn who wrote it, but wished he knew. There were a great many guesses, and some said that Shakespeare must have written it. But Mr. Lincoln, who was better read in Shakespeare than any of us, said that they were not Shakespeare's words. I made a persistent97 hunt for the author, and years after found the hymn was written by an Englishman, William Knox, who was born in 1789 and died in 1825."
All his life Lincoln was a temperance man. His first essay was a plea for temperance. His second was a eulogy98 of the Declaration of Independence. He belonged to the Sons of Temperance in Springfield, and frequently made temperance speeches. Judge Weldon remembers that he was once in Mr. Douglas's room at Springfield when Lincoln entered, and, following the custom, Mr. Douglas produced a bottle and some glasses and asked his callers to join him in a drink. Lincoln declined on the ground that for thirty years he had been a temperance man and was too old to change. Leonard Swett says,—
"He told me not more than a year before he was elected President that he had never tasted liquor in his life. 'What!' I said, 'Do you mean to say that you never tasted it?' 'Yes,' he replied, 'I never tasted it.'"
In one of his speeches is found this assertion: "Reasonable men have long since agreed that intemperance99 is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, of all evils of mankind."
Mr. C. C. Coffin100, a famous newspaper writer of that time, who accompanied the notification committee from the Chicago Convention to Springfield, related in his newspaper a few days later an incident that occurred on381 that occasion. He says that after the exchange of formalities Lincoln said,—
"'Mrs. Lincoln will be pleased to see you, gentlemen. You will find her in the other room. You must be thirsty after your long ride. You will find a pitcher101 of water in the library.'
"I crossed the hall and entered the library. There were miscellaneous books on the shelves, two globes, celestial102 and terrestrial, in the corners of the room, a plain table with writing materials upon it, a pitcher of cold water, and glasses, but no wines or liquors. There was humor in the invitation to take a glass of water, which was explained to me by a citizen, who said that when it was known that the committee was coming, several citizens called upon Mr. Lincoln and informed him that some entertainment must be provided.
"'Yes, that is so. What ought to be done? Just let me know and I will attend to it,' he said.
"'Oh, we will supply the needful liquors,' said his friends.
"'Gentlemen,' said Mr. Lincoln, 'I thank you for your kind intentions, but must respectfully decline your offer. I have no liquors in my house, and have never been in the habit of entertaining my friends in that way. I cannot permit my friends to do for me what I will not myself do. I shall provide cold water—nothing else.'"
Colonel John Hay, one of his secretaries and biographers, says, "Mr. Lincoln was a man of extremely temperate103 habits. He made no use of either whiskey or tobacco during all the years I knew him."
Mr. John G. Nicolay, his private secretary, says, "During all the five years of my service as his private secretary I never saw him drink a glass of whiskey and I never knew or heard of his taking one."
There is not the slightest doubt that Lincoln believed in a special Providence104. That conviction appears frequently in his speeches and in his private letters. In382 the correspondence which passed between him and Joshua Speed during a period of almost hopeless despondency and self-abasement, Lincoln frequently expressed the opinion that God had sent their sufferings for a special purpose. When Speed finally acknowledged his happiness after marriage, Lincoln wrote, "I always was superstitious. I believe God made me one of the instruments of bringing your Fanny and you together, and which union I have no doubt He had foreordained. Whatever He designs He will do for me yet. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord is my text just now."
Later in life, writing to Thurlow Weed, he said, "Men are not flattered by being shown that there is a difference of purpose between the Almighty105 and themselves. To deny it, however, in this case, is to deny that there is a God governing the world."
In one of his speeches he said, "I know that the Lord is always on the side of the right; but it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and this nation should be on the Lord's side."
When he learned that his father was very ill and likely to die, he wrote his step-brother, John Johnston, regretting his inability to come to his bedside because of illness in his own family, and added,—
"I sincerely hope that father may yet recover his health; but, at all events, tell him to remember to call upon and confide26 in our great and good and merciful Maker106, who will not turn away from him in any extremity107. He notes the fall of a sparrow, and numbers the hairs of our heads, and He will not forget the dying man who puts his trust in Him. Say to him that if we could meet now it is doubtful whether it would not be more painful than pleasant; but that if it be his lot to go now, he will soon have a joyous108 meeting with the many loved ones gone before, and where the rest of us, through the help of God, hope ere long to join them."
383 At Columbus, Ohio, he said to the Legislature of that State, convened109 in joint110 session in the hall of the Assembly, "I turn, then, and look to the American people, and to that God who has never forsaken111 them."
In the capital of New Jersey112, to the Senate, he said, "I am exceedingly anxious that this union, the Constitution, and the liberties of the people shall be perpetuated113 in accordance with the original idea for which the struggle was made, and I shall be most happy indeed if I shall be an humble114 instrument in the hands of the Almighty, and of this, His almost chosen people, for perpetuating115 the object of that great struggle."
That he believed in the efficacy of prayer there is no doubt. "I have been driven many times to my knees," he once remarked, "by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient116 for that day."
A clergyman came to Washington from a little village in Central New York to recover the body of a gallant117 young captain who had been killed at the second battle of Bull Run. Having accomplished118 his errand, he was presented at the White House by the representative from his district. The Congressman119 at once retired120, leaving him alone with Lincoln, who asked in a pleasant tone what he could do for his visitor.
"I have not come to ask any favors of you, Mr. President," the latter replied. "I have only come to say that the loyal people of the North are sustaining you and will continue to do so. We are giving you all that we have,—the lives of our sons as well as our confidence and our prayers. You must know that no pious121 father or mother ever kneels in prayer these days without asking God to give you strength and wisdom."
The tears filled Lincoln's eyes as he thanked his visitor and said, "But for those prayers I should have faltered122 and perhaps failed long ago. Tell every father384 and mother you know to keep on praying and I will keep on fighting, for I am sure that God is on our side."
As the clergyman started to leave the room, Lincoln held him by the hand and said, "I suppose I may consider this a sort of pastoral call."
"Yes," replied the clergyman.
"Out in our country," continued Lincoln, "when a parson made a pastoral call it was always the custom for the folks to ask him to lead in prayer, and I should like to ask you to pray with me to-day; pray that I may have strength and wisdom." The two men knelt side by side before a settee and the clergyman offered the most fervent123 appeal to the Almighty Power that ever fell from his lips. As they rose, Lincoln grasped his visitor's hand and remarked in a satisfied sort of way,—
"I feel better."
In July, 1863, in Washington, D. C., on the Sunday after the battle of Gettysburg, General Sickles124, who had lost a leg, was brought to Washington. Lincoln called upon him at the hospital, with his son Tad, and remained an hour or more. He greeted Sickles heartily125 and complimented him on his stout126 fight at Gettysburg. Sickles asked whether he was not anxious during the Gettysburg campaign. Lincoln gravely replied that he was not; that some of his Cabinet and many others in Washington were, but that he himself had had no fears. General Sickles inquired his reasons. Lincoln hesitated, but finally replied,—
"Well, I will tell you how it was. In the pinch of your campaign up there, when everybody seemed panic-stricken and nobody could tell what was going to happen, I went into my room one day and locked the door, and got down on my knees before Almighty God and prayed to Him mightily127 for a victory at Gettysburg. I told God that if we were to win the battle He must do it, for I had done all I could. I told Him this was His war, and our cause was His cause, but that we385 couldn't stand another Fredericksburg or Chancellorsville. And then and there made a solemn vow128 to Almighty God that if He would stand by our boys at Gettysburg I would stand by Him. And He did, and I will. And after that—I don't know how it was, and I can't explain it, but soon—a sweet comfort crept into my soul that things would go all right at Gettysburg, and that is why I had no fears about you."
Presently General Sickles asked what news he had from Vicksburg. The President answered that he had none worth mentioning, but that Grant was still "pegging129 away" down there. He said he thought a good deal of him as a general and was not going to remove him, although urged to do so. "Besides," he added, "I have been praying over Vicksburg also, and believe our Heavenly Father is going to give us victory there, too, because we need it to bisect the Confederacy and have the Mississippi flow unvexed to the sea."
John G. Nicolay, who probably knew Lincoln as thoroughly130 and was as familiar with his opinions as any one, said,—
"I do not remember ever having discussed religion with Mr. Lincoln, nor do I know of any authorized131 statement of his views in existence. He sometimes talked freely, and never made any concealment132 of his belief or unbelief in any dogma or doctrine, but never provoked religious controversies133. I speak more from his disposition and habits than from any positive declaration on his part. He frequently made remarks about sermons he had heard, books he had read, or doctrines that had been advanced, and my opinion as to his religious belief is based upon such casual evidences. There is not the slightest doubt that he believed in a Supreme Being of omnipotent134 power and omniscient135 watchfulness136 over the children of men, and that this great Being could be reached by prayer. Mr. Lincoln was a praying man; I know that to be a fact. And I386 have heard him request people to pray for him, which he would not have done had he not believed that prayer is answered. Many a time have I heard Mr. Lincoln ask ministers and Christian women to pray for him, and he did not do this for effect. He was no hypocrite, and had such reverence137 for sacred things that he would not trifle with them. I have heard him say that he prayed for this or that, and remember one occasion on which he remarked that if a certain thing did not occur he would lose his faith in prayer.
"It is a matter of history that he told the Cabinet he had promised his Maker to issue an emancipation138 proclamation, and it was not an idle remark. At the same time he did not believe in some of the dogmas of the orthodox churches. I have heard him argue against the doctrine of atonement, for example. He considered it illogical and unjust and a premium139 upon evil-doing if a man who had been wicked all his life could make up for it by a few words or prayers at the hour of death; and he had no faith in death-bed repentances. He did not believe in several other articles of the creeds140 of the orthodox churches. He believed in the Bible, however. He was a constant reader of the Bible and had great faith in it, but he did not believe that its entire contents were inspired. He used to consider it the greatest of all text-books of morals and ethics141, and that there was nothing to compare with it in literature; but, at the same time, I have heard him say that God had too much to do and more important things to attend to than to inspire such insignificant142 writers as had written some passages in the good book.
"Nor did he believe in miracles. He believed in inexorable laws of nature, and I have heard him say that the wisdom and glory and greatness of the Almighty were demonstrated by order and method and not by the violation143 of nature's laws.
"It would be difficult for any one to define Mr. Lincoln's387 position or to classify him among the sects144. I should say that he believed in a good many articles in the creeds of the orthodox churches and rejected a good many that did not appeal to his reason.
"He praised the simplicity145 of the Gospels. He often declared that the Sermon on the Mount contained the essence of all law and justice, and that the Lord's Prayer was the sublimest147 composition in human language. He was a constant reader of the Bible, but had no sympathy with theology, and often said that in matters affecting a man's relations with his Maker he couldn't give a power of attorney.
"Yes, there is a story, and it is probably true, that when he was very young and very ignorant he wrote an essay that might be called atheistical148. It was after he had been reading a couple of atheistic149 books which made a great impression on his mind, and the essay is supposed to have expressed his views on those books,—a sort of review of them, containing both approval and disapproval,—and one of his friends burned it. He was very indignant at the time, but was afterwards glad of it.
"The opposition150 of the Springfield clergy56 to his election was chiefly due to remarks he made about them. One careless remark, I remember, was widely quoted. An eminent151 clergyman was delivering a series of doctrinal discourses that attracted considerable local attention. Although Lincoln was frequently invited, he would not be induced to attend them. He remarked that he wouldn't trust Brother —— to construe152 the statutes153 of Illinois and much less the laws of God; that people who knew him wouldn't trust his advice on an ordinary business transaction because they didn't consider him competent; hence he didn't see why they did so in the most important of all human affairs, the salvation of their souls.
"These remarks were quoted widely and misrepresented388 to Lincoln's injury. In those days people were not so liberal as now, and any one who criticised a parson was considered a sceptic."
The refusal of the Springfield clergy to support him for President, to which Mr. Nicolay refers, gave him great concern, and he expressed himself on that subject quite freely to Mr. Newton Bateman, Superintendent154 of Public Instruction for the State of Illinois, who occupied a room adjoining and opening into the Executive Chamber155 at Springfield, which Lincoln used as an office during the Presidential campaign.
"Here are twenty-three ministers of different denominations," he said to Mr. Bateman, showing a polling list, "and all of them are against me but three, and here are a great many prominent members of churches; a very large majority are against me. Mr. Bateman, I am not a Christian,—God knows I would be one,—but I have carefully read the Bible and I do not so understand this book," and he drew forth156 a pocket New Testament157. "These men well know," he continued, "that I am for freedom in the Territories, freedom everywhere as free as the Constitution and the laws will permit, and that my opponents are for slavery. They know this, and yet, with this book in their hands, in the light of which human bondage158 cannot live a moment, they are going to vote against me; I do not understand it at all.
"I know there is a God, and that He hates injustice159 and slavery. I see the storm coming, and I know that His hand is in it. If He has a place and work for me, and I think He has, I believe I am ready. I am nothing, but Truth is everything; I know I am right, because I know that liberty is right, for Christ teaches it, and Christ is God. I have told them that a house divided against itself cannot stand, and Christ and reason say the same, and they will find it so.
"Douglas don't care whether slavery is voted up or down, but God cares, and humanity cares, and I care,389 and with God's help I shall not fail. I may not see the end; but it will come, and I shall be vindicated160, and these men will find they have not read their Bible right."
The influence of the Springfield clergy was, however, scarcely noticeable. Here and there throughout the country some religious newspaper, minister, or bigoted161 layman162 opposed his election on that pretext163, but the numerical strength of this class of his opponents was very small; and after the inauguration164 and the development of the secession conspiracy165 the Springfield preachers, like other Christian people from one end of the North to the other, displayed their patriotism166. As the war progressed the influence of the entire church, Protestant and Catholic, was given to the support of the President, except occasionally when some extreme antislavery community would condemn167 what they considered the procrastination168 of the President concerning the emancipation of the slaves. Scarcely a religious body ever met without adopting resolutions of sympathy and support, and no manifestations169 of loyalty170 and approval throughout the entire war gave him greater gratification. His response in each case was a confession171 of human weakness and his reliance upon Divine Power.
In 1863, when the New School Presbyterians embodied172 their sentiments of loyalty to the union in an eloquent173 memorial to the President, he replied, "From the beginning I saw that the issues of our great struggle depended upon Divine interposition and favor.... Relying as I do upon the Almighty power, and encouraged as I am by these resolutions that you have just read," etc.
To a committee of the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church in 1864 he said, "It is no fault in others that the Methodist Church sends more soldiers to the field, more nurses to the hospitals, more prayers to heaven than any other. God bless the Methodist390 Church! Bless all the churches; blessed be God who in this great trial giveth us the churches."
To the Quakers of Iowa, who had sent him an address through Senator Harlan, he wrote, "It is most cheering and encouraging for me to know that, in the efforts which I have made, and am making, for the restoration of a righteous peace to our country, I am upheld and sustained by the good wishes and prayers of God's people. No one is more deeply aware than myself that without His favor our highest wisdom is but as foolishness, and that our most strenuous174 efforts would avail nothing in the shadow of His displeasure."
One of the most significant of the President's letters, in which he expresses himself with less than his usual reserve, was written to Mrs. Gurney, wife of an eminent preacher of the English Society of Friends, in the autumn of 1864: "I am much indebted to the good Christian people of the country for their constant prayers and consolations175, and to no one of them more than to yourself. The purposes of the Almighty are perfect, and must prevail, though we erring27 mortals may fail to accurately176 perceive them in advance. We hoped for a happy termination of this terrible war long before this; but God knows best, and has ruled otherwise. We shall yet acknowledge His wisdom and our own error therein. Meanwhile we must work earnestly in the best lights He gives us, trusting that so working still conduces to the great ends He ordains177."
Being requested to preside at a meeting of the Christian Commission held in Washington on February 22, 1863, he wrote, "Whatever shall tend to turn our thoughts from the unreasoning and uncharitable passions, prejudices, and jealousies178 incident to a great national trouble such as ours, and to fix them on the vast and long-enduring consequences, for weal or for woe179, which are to result from the struggle, and especially to strengthen our reliance on the Supreme Being391 for the final triumph of the right, cannot but be well for us all."
Mr. Herndon, his law partner, remembers that he often said that his creed was the same as that of an old man named Glenn, whom he heard speak at an experience meeting in Indiana: "When I do good, I feel good, and when I do bad, I feel bad; and that's my religion."
Hay and Nicolay, his secretaries, in their biography say, "Lincoln was a man of profound and intense religious feeling. We have no purpose of attempting to formulate180 his creed; we question if he himself ever did so. We only have to look at his authentic181 public and private utterances182 to see how deep and strong in all the latter part of his life was the current of his religious thought and emotion. He continually invited and appreciated at their highest value the prayers of good people. The pressure of the tremendous problems by which he was surrounded; the awful moral significance of the conflict in which he was the chief combatant; the overwhelming sense of personal responsibility, which never left him for an hour,—all contributed to produce, in a temperament naturally serious and predisposed to a spiritual view of life and conduct, a sense of reverent9 acceptance of the guidance of a Superior Power. From that morning when, standing183 amid the falling snow-flakes on the railway car at Springfield, he asked the prayers of his neighbors in those touching184 phrases whose echo rose that night in invocations from thousands of family altars, to the memorable185 hour when on the steps of the National Capitol he humbled186 himself before his Creator in the sublime146 words of the second inaugural187, there is not an expression known to have come from his lips or his pen but proves that he held himself answerable in every act of his career to a more august tribunal than any on earth. The fact that he was not a communicant of any church, and that he was singularly reserved in392 regard to his personal religious life, gives only the greater force to these striking proofs of his profound reverence and faith.
"In final substantiation188 of this assertion we publish two papers from the hand of the President, one official and the other private, which bear within themselves the imprint189 of a sincere devotion and a steadfast190 reliance upon the power and benignity191 of an overruling Providence. The first is an order which he issued on the 16th of November, 1862, on the observance of Sunday:
"'The President, Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, desires and enjoins192 the orderly observance of the Sabbath by the officers and men in the military and naval193 service. The importance for man and beast of the prescribed weekly rest, the sacred rights of Christian soldiers and sailors, a becoming deference194 to the best sentiment of a Christian people, and a due regard for the Divine will demand that Sunday labor in the army and navy be reduced to a measure of strict necessity. The discipline and character of the national forces should not suffer, nor the cause they defend be imperilled, by the profanation195 of the day or name of the Most High.'
"In September, 1862, while his mind was burdened with the weightiest question of his life, wearied with all the considerations of law and expediency196 with which he had been struggling for two years, he retired within himself and tried to bring some order into his thoughts by rising above the wrangling197 of men and of parties and pondering the relations of human government to the Divine. In this frame of mind, absolutely detached from any earthly considerations, he wrote this meditation198. It has never been published. It was not written to be seen of men. It was penned in the awful sincerity199 of a perfectly200 honest soul trying to bring itself into closer communion with its Maker:
"'The will of God prevails. In great contests each393 party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be and one must be wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time. In the present civil war it is quite possible that God's purpose is something different from the purpose of either party; and yet the human instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of the best adaptation to effect His purpose. I am almost ready to say that this is probably true; that God wills this contest, and wills that it shall not end yet. By His mere201 great power on the minds of the contestants202, He could have either saved or destroyed the union without a human contest. Yet the contest began, and, having begun, He could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds.'"
On September 22, 1862, at a Cabinet meeting, Lincoln submitted his determination to issue a proclamation of emancipation of the slaves. He said that his mind was fixed, his decision made, and therefore he did not ask the opinion of his advisers as to the act, but he wished his paper announcing his course to be as correct in terms as it could be made without any change in his determination. That is the recollection of Mr. Welles, the Secretary of the Navy, who in his diary refers to Lincoln's "Covenant203 with God," as follows:
"In the course of the discussion on this paper, which was long, earnest, and, on the general principle involved, harmonious204, he remarked that he had made a vow—a covenant—that if God gave us the victory in the approaching battle, he would consider it an indication of Divine will, and that it was his duty to move forward in the cause of emancipation. It might be thought strange, he said, that he had in this way submitted the disposal of matters when the way was not clear to his mind what he should do. God had decided205 this question in favor of the slaves. He was satisfied it was right,—was confirmed and strengthened in his action by the vow and the results."
394 The diary of Secretary Chase for the same day contains a similar account of the same discussion, and quotes the President as saying,—
"When the rebel army was at Frederick, I determined, as soon as it should be driven out of Maryland, to issue a proclamation of emancipation, such as I thought most likely to be useful. I said nothing to any one, but I made the promise to myself and [hesitating a little] to my Maker. The rebel army is now driven out, and I am going to fulfil that promise."
Mr. Usher206, the Secretary of the Interior, says that when the draft of the Emancipation Proclamation was submitted to the Cabinet, Mr. Chase remarked,—
"This paper is one of the utmost importance, greater than any state paper ever made by this government. A paper of so much importance, and involving the liberties of so many people, ought, I think, to make some reference to the Deity207. I do not observe anything of the kind in it."
Lincoln said, "No; I overlooked it. Some reference to the Deity must be inserted. Mr. Chase, won't you make a draft of what you think ought to be inserted?"
Mr. Chase promised to do so, and at the next meeting presented the following:
"And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity, I invoke208 the considerate judgment209 of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God."
When Lincoln read the paragraph, Mr. Chase said, "You may not approve it, but I thought this or something like it would be appropriate."
Lincoln replied, "I do approve it; it cannot be bettered, and I will adopt it in the very words you have written."
The reader has perceived from these pages the strength and the weakness of Abraham Lincoln. His errors were due to mercy and not to malice210; to prudence395 and not to thoughtlessness or pride; to deliberation and not to recklessness. Perhaps he might have shortened the war by removing McClellan and placing in command of the armies before Richmond a commander of greater force and energy; perhaps he might have abolished human bondage by earlier action, as demanded by the antislavery element in the North; but who can tell what disasters might have been caused by impetuous action? If Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan had been at his side at the beginning of the war, history might have been different.
But who is so perfect or so wise as to judge Abraham Lincoln?
His greatest fault was his inability to suppress his sympathies. He once said, "If I have one vice10, it is not being able to say 'No.' And I consider it a vice. Thank God for not making me a woman. I presume if He had He would have made me just as ugly as I am, and nobody would ever have tempted211 me."
On another occasion he said, "Some of our generals complain that I impair212 discipline and encourage insubordination in the army by my pardons and respites213; but it rests me after a hard day's work if I can find some good cause for saving a man's life; and I go to bed happy as I think how joyous the signing of my name will make him and his family and his friends."
And with a happy smile beaming upon his careworn214 face, he again signed his name that saved another life. It was his theory that when a man is sincerely penitent215 for his misdeeds and gives satisfactory evidence of it, he can safely be pardoned.
An old lady came to him with tears in her eyes to express her gratitude216 for the pardon of her son, a truant217 soldier.
"Good-by, Mr. Lincoln," she said; "I shall probably never see you again until we meet in heaven."
He was deeply moved. He took her right hand in396 both of his and said, "I am afraid with all my troubles I shall never get to that resting-place you speak of; but if I do, I am sure I shall find you. That you wish me to get there is, I believe, the best wish you could make for me. Good-by."
To his oldest and most intimate friend he said, "Speed, die when I may, I want it said of me by those who know me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower when I thought a flower would grow."
His greatness consisted not in his eloquence218 as an orator219, nor his shrewdness as a lawyer, nor his tact as a diplomatist, nor his genius in planning and directing military affairs, nor his executive ability, but in his absolute self-control, his unselfishness, the full maturity220 of his wisdom, the strength of his convictions, his sound judgment, his absolute integrity, his unwavering adherence221 to the principles of truth, justice, and honor, his humanity, his love of country, his sublime faith in the people and in Republican institutions. He was without malice or the spirit of resentment222, without envy or jealousy223, and he suppressed his passions to a degree beyond that of most men. He entered the Presidency224 with an inadequate225 conception of his own responsibilities, but when he saw his duty he did it with courage, endurance, magnanimity, and unselfish devotion. In his eulogy of Lincoln, uttered a few days after the assassination226, Ralph Waldo Emerson said,—
"He grew according to the need; his mind mastered the problem of the day; and as the problem grew so did his comprehension of it. Rarely was a man so fitted to the event.
"In four years—four years of battle days—his endurance, his fertility and resources, his magnanimity, were sorely tried and never found wanting. There, by his courage, his justice, his even temper, his fertile counsel, his humanity, he stood a heroic figure in the centre of an heroic epoch227."
The End
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testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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scruples
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| n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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denomination
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| n.命名，取名，(度量衡、货币等的)单位 | |
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reverent
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| adj.恭敬的，虔诚的 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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pastor
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| n.牧师，牧人 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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guile
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| n.诈术 | |
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pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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analytical
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| adj.分析的；用分析法的 | |
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rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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sustenance
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| n.食物，粮食；生活资料；生计 | |
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outlawed
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| 宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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replenish
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| vt.补充；(把…)装满；(再)填满 | |
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varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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liar
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originality
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confide
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| v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
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erring
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| 做错事的，错误的 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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distress
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thereby
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sprightly
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anecdotes
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caucus
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| n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议 | |
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consultation
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justify
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scatter
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tormented
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hysterical
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| adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的 | |
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declamation
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| n. 雄辩，高调 | |
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penal
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| adj.刑罚的；刑法上的 | |
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discourses
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| 论文( discourse的名词复数 )； 演说； 讲道； 话语 | |
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contention
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lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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killing
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tavern
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| n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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tact
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sect
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| n.派别，宗教，学派，派系 | |
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itinerant
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| adj.巡回的；流动的 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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fodder
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| n.草料；炮灰 | |
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salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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denominations
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| n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 )；教派；面额；名称 | |
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inscribe
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| v.刻；雕；题写；牢记 | |
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clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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quotations
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| n.引用( quotation的名词复数 )；[商业]行情（报告）；（货物或股票的）市价；时价 | |
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blasphemy
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| n.亵渎，渎神 | |
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atheism
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| n.无神论，不信神 | |
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masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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inquisitive
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| adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的 | |
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phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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endorsement
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| n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注 | |
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superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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peculiarity
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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accounting
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| n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表 | |
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alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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demonstrations
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| 证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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delegation
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| n.代表团；派遣 | |
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vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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subdue
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| vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制 | |
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traitors
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| 卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 )； 叛徒； 背叛者； 背信弃义的人 | |
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predecessor
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| n.前辈，前任 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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advisers
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taint
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| n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染 | |
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81
superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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82
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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83
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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84
isolation
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| n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离 | |
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85
denizens
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| n.居民，住户( denizen的名词复数 ) | |
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86
candor
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| n.坦白，率真 | |
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87
reticent
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| adj.沉默寡言的；言不如意的 | |
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88
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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89
morbid
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| adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的 | |
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90
poetic
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| adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的 | |
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91
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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92
hymns
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 ) | |
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93
hymn
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌 | |
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94
watts
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| （电力计量单位）瓦，瓦特( watt的名词复数 ) | |
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95
petroleum
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| n.原油，石油 | |
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96
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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97
persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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98
eulogy
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| n.颂词；颂扬 | |
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99
intemperance
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| n.放纵 | |
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100
coffin
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| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
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101
pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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102
celestial
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| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
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103
temperate
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| adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的 | |
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104
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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105
almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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106
maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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107
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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108
joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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109
convened
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| 召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合 | |
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110
joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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111
Forsaken
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| adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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112
jersey
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| n.运动衫 | |
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113
perpetuated
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| vt.使永存（perpetuate的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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114
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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115
perpetuating
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| perpetuate的现在进行式 | |
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116
insufficient
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| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
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117
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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118
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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119
Congressman
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| n.（美）国会议员 | |
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120
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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121
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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122
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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123
fervent
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| adj.热的，热烈的，热情的 | |
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124
sickles
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| n.镰刀( sickle的名词复数 ) | |
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125
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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127
mightily
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| ad.强烈地；非常地 | |
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128
vow
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| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
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129
pegging
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| n.外汇钉住，固定证券价格v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的现在分词 )；使固定在某水平 | |
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130
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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131
authorized
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| a.委任的，许可的 | |
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132
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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133
controversies
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| 争论 | |
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134
omnipotent
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| adj.全能的，万能的 | |
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135
omniscient
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| adj.无所不知的；博识的 | |
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136
watchfulness
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| 警惕，留心； 警觉（性） | |
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137
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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138
emancipation
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| n.（从束缚、支配下）解放 | |
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139
premium
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| n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的 | |
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140
creeds
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| （尤指宗教）信条，教条( creed的名词复数 ) | |
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141
ethics
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| n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准 | |
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142
insignificant
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|
| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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143
violation
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| n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯 | |
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144
sects
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| n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 ) | |
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145
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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146
sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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147
sublimest
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| 伟大的( sublime的最高级 )； 令人赞叹的； 极端的； 不顾后果的 | |
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148
atheistical
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| adj.无神论（者）的 | |
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149
atheistic
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| adj.无神论者的 | |
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150
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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151
eminent
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|
| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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152
construe
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| v.翻译，解释 | |
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153
statutes
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| 成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程 | |
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154
superintendent
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| n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长 | |
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155
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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156
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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157
testament
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| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
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158
bondage
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| n.奴役，束缚 | |
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159
injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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160
vindicated
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| v.澄清（某人/某事物）受到的责难或嫌疑( vindicate的过去式和过去分词 )；表明或证明（所争辩的事物）属实、正当、有效等；维护 | |
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161
bigoted
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| adj.固执己见的，心胸狭窄的 | |
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162
layman
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| n.俗人，门外汉，凡人 | |
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163
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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164
inauguration
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| n.开幕、就职典礼 | |
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165
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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166
patriotism
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| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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167
condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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168
procrastination
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| n.拖延，耽搁 | |
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169
manifestations
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| n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式） | |
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170
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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171
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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172
embodied
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| v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含 | |
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173
eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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174
strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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175
consolations
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| n.安慰，慰问( consolation的名词复数 )；起安慰作用的人（或事物） | |
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176
accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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177
ordains
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| v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的第三人称单数 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定 | |
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178
jealousies
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| n.妒忌( jealousy的名词复数 )；妒羡 | |
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179
woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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180
formulate
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| v.用公式表示；规划；设计；系统地阐述 | |
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181
authentic
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| a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的 | |
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182
utterances
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| n.发声( utterance的名词复数 )；说话方式；语调；言论 | |
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183
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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184
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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185
memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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186
humbled
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| adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低 | |
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187
inaugural
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| adj.就职的；n.就职典礼 | |
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188
substantiation
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| n. 实体化, 证实, 证明 | |
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189
imprint
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| n.印痕，痕迹；深刻的印象；vt.压印，牢记 | |
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190
steadfast
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| adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的 | |
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191
benignity
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| n.仁慈 | |
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192
enjoins
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| v.命令( enjoin的第三人称单数 ) | |
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193
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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194
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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195
profanation
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| n.亵渎 | |
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196
expediency
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| n.适宜；方便；合算；利己 | |
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197
wrangling
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| v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的现在分词 ) | |
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198
meditation
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| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
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199
sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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200
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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201
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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202
contestants
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| n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 ) | |
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203
covenant
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| n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约 | |
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204
harmonious
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| adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的 | |
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205
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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206
usher
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| n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员 | |
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207
deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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208
invoke
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| v.求助于(神、法律)；恳求，乞求 | |
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209
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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210
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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211
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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212
impair
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| v.损害，损伤；削弱，减少 | |
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213
respites
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| v.延期（respite的第三人称单数形式） | |
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214
careworn
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| adj.疲倦的，饱经忧患的 | |
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215
penitent
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| adj.后悔的；n.后悔者；忏悔者 | |
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216
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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217
truant
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| n.懒惰鬼，旷课者；adj.偷懒的，旷课的，游荡的；v.偷懒，旷课 | |
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218
eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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219
orator
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| n.演说者，演讲者，雄辩家 | |
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220
maturity
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| n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期 | |
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221
adherence
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| n.信奉，依附，坚持，固着 | |
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222
resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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223
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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224
presidency
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| n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期) | |
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225
inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
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226
assassination
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| n.暗杀；暗杀事件 | |
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epoch
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| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
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