The twelfth of February, 1909, was the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. In New York, as in other cities and towns throughout the union, the day was devoted¹ to commemoration exercises, and even in the South, in centres like Atlanta (the capture of which in 1864 had indicated the collapse² of the cause of the Confederacy), representative Southerners gave their testimony³ to the life and character of the great American.

The Committee in charge of the commemoration in New York arranged for a series of addresses to be given to the people of the city and it was my privilege to be selected as one of the speakers. It was an indication of the rapid passing away of the generation which had had to do with the events of the War, that the list of orators⁴, forty-six in all, included only four men who had ever seen the hero whose life and character they were describing.

In writing out later, primarily for the information of children and grandchildren, my own address (which had been delivered without notes), I found myself so far absorbed in the interest of the subject and in the recollections of the War period, that I was impelled⁵ to expand the paper so that it should present a more comprehensive study of the career and character of Lincoln than it had been possible to attempt within the compass of an hour's talk, and should include also references, in outline, to the constitutional struggle that had preceded the contest and to the chief events of the War itself with which the great War President had been most directly concerned. The monograph⁶, therefore, while in the form of an essay or historical sketch⁷, retains in certain portions the character of the spoken address with which it originated.

It is now brought into print in the hope that it may be found of interest for certain readers of the younger generation and may serve as an incentive

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1 devoted
adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的
参考例句：
He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。 We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

2 collapse
vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷
参考例句：
The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。 The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 testimony
n.证词；见证，证明
参考例句：
The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。 He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

4 orators
n.演说者，演讲家( orator的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The hired orators continued to pour forth their streams of eloquence. 那些雇来的演说家继续滔滔不绝地施展辩才。 来自辞典例句 Their ears are too full of bugles and drums and the fine words from stay-at-home orators. 人们的耳朵被军号声和战声以及呆在这的演说家们的漂亮言辞塞得太满了。 来自飘（部分）

5 impelled
v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He felt impelled to investigate further. 他觉得有必要作进一步调查。 I feel impelled to express grave doubts about the project. 我觉得不得不对这项计划深表怀疑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 monograph
n.专题文章，专题著作
参考例句：
This monograph belongs to the category of serious popular books.这本专著是一本较高深的普及读物。 It's a monograph you wrote six years ago.这是你六年前写的的专论。

7 sketch
n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述
参考例句：
My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。 I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

8 incentive
n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机
参考例句：
Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。 He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

9 annotations
n.注释( annotation的名词复数 )；附注
参考例句：
I wrote annotations in the margin of the book. 我在书的边缘作注。 来自《简明英汉词典》 My annotations appear in square brackets. 在方括号里有我给的注解。 来自辞典例句

10 distinguished
adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的
参考例句：
Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。 A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

11 regiment
n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制
参考例句：
As he hated army life,he decide to desert his regiment.因为他嫌恶军队生活，所以他决心背弃自己所在的那个团。 They reformed a division into a regiment.他们将一个师整编成为一个团。

12 contentions
n.竞争( contention的名词复数 )；争夺；争论；论点
参考例句：
Direct tests on individual particles do not support these contentions. 对单个粒子所作的直接试验并不支持这些论点。 来自辞典例句 His contentions cannot be laughed out of court. 对他的争辩不能一笑置之。 来自辞典例句

13 survivors
幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。 survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

14 preservation
n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持
参考例句：
The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。 The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。