林肯总统的幽默故事

1、Abraham Lincoln Stories and Humor林肯总统的幽默故事The Gilder Lehrman Collection, New YorkWhen Ohio Congressman James Ashley disapproved of a story Abraham Lincoln had just told, the Preside nt resp on ded:扌酋 shley, I have great con fide nee in you and great respect for you, and I know how sin cere you are.

2、But if I couldn 挾 tell these stories, I would die.? On ano ther occasi on the Preside nt prefaced a discussion of the draft Ema ncipati on Proclamation by reading aloud from a favorite humorist. In response to the disapproval of some members of his cabinet, Mr. Lincoln said:根 entlemen, why don 扌央 yo

3、u laugh? With the fearful strain that is upon me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die, and you need this medicine as much as I do?The Civil War presented a dark background for Mr. Lincoln 111 stories. Ohio journalist David R. Locke, himself one of Mr. Lincoln 担 favorite humorists, recalled

4、: is flow of humor was a sparkling spring gushing out of a rock ?the flashing water had a somber background which made it all the brighter. Whenever merriment came over that wonderful countenance it was like a gleam of sun shine upon a cloud ?it illumi nated, but did not dissipate.?2 An In dianaCon

5、gressma n, George W. Julia n, recalled that Preside nt Lincol n 揺 n tered into the enjoyme nt of his stories with all his heart, and completely lived over again the delight he had experieneed in telling them on previous occasions. When he told a particularly good story, and the time came to laugh, h

6、e would sometimes throw his left foot across his right knee, and clenching his foot with both hands and bending forward, his whole frame seemed to be convulsed with the effort to give expression to his sensationsI believe his anecdotes were his great solace and safeguard in seasons of severe mental

7、depress!on.?Historian Allen C. Guelzo wrote:捉 e knew that the jokes and stories put people off, and he also grew aware over time that he was acquiring a public reputation as a jokester. But he needed 恨 hese stories ?jokes?jests?as the 忧 he vents of my moods and gloom? and he assured oniookers that h

8、is 恵 oods and gloom?were matters of temperament, not signs of despair tig ou flaxen men with broad faces are born with cheer, and don 挾 know a cloud from a star,?Lincoln explained to the anti-slavery congressman Josiah Grinnell.懒 am of another temperament择 4Stories and humor were nearly as important

9、 to Lincoln as oxygen and water. They were part of his life blood. Humor helped offset his n atural sadness .It was literally an escape from the internal and external pressures and events of his life. Journalist Henry Villard noted that Lincoln could find a story 捕 o explain a meaning or enforce a p

10、oint, the aptness of which was always perfect.?5 Treasury Secretary Hugh McCullough wrote:持 he habit of story-telling.became part of his nature, and he gave free rein to it, even when the fate of the nation seemed to be trembling in the balanee. Some eight or ten days after the first battle of Bull

11、Run, when Washington was utterly demoralized by its result, I called upon him at the White House, in company with a few friends, and was amazed when, referring to something which had been said by one of the company about the battle which was so disastrous to the Union forces, he remarked, in his usu

12、al quiet manner,慣 hat reminds me of a story,?which he told in a manner so humorous as to indicate that he was free from care and apprehe nsion. This to me was surprisi ng. I could not the n un dersta nd how the Preside nt could feel like telli ng a story when Washingt on was in dan ger of being capt

13、ured, and the whole North was dismayed; and I left the White House with the feeling that I had been mistaken in Mr. Lincoln 扌 11 character, and that his election might prove to have been a fatal mistake. This feeling was changed from day to day as the war went on; but it was not entirely overcome un

14、til I went to Washington in the spring of 1863, and as an officer of the govemment was permitted to have free in tercourse with him. I then perceived that my estimate of him before his electio n was well grounded, and that he possessed even higher qualities than I had given him credit for; that he w

15、as a man of sound judgment, great singleness and tenacity of purpose, and extraordinary sagacity; that story-telling was to him a safety-valve, and that he indulged in it, not only for the pleasure it afforded him, but for a temporary relief from oppressing cares; that the habit had bee n so cultiva

16、ted that he could make a story illustrate a sentime nt and give point to an argument？6According to McCulloch,措 tory-telling with him was something more than a habit. He was so accustomed to it in social life and in the practice of his profession that it became a part of his n ature, and so accurate

17、was his recollecti on, and so great a fund had he at comma nd, that he had always anecdotes and stories to illustrate his arguments and delight those whose tastes were similar to his own; but those who judged from this trait that he had lacked deep feeling, or sound judgment, or a proper sense of th

18、e responsibility of his position, had no just appreciation of his character. He possessed all these qualities in an emin ent degree.?7As President, Mr. Lincoln had a new forum for stories he had been telling and retelling for years. Keith W. Jenn ison wrote in The Humorous Mr. Lincoln:拥 r. Lin coin

19、use of humor changed. During the wilderness years he told jokes and stories without trying to prove anything at all; he told them simply because it was natural for him to do so. After he became a lawyer he found that his wit and his acute sense of the ridiculous were effective courtroom tools. As a

20、politician he handed the weapon of satire as a stiletto or a broadax as the occasion demanded. During the first few months of his Presidency he used humor many times as a roundabout way of saying 憂 o.? As his responsibility grew and became almost unendurable he took to telling jokes again, trying to

21、 lessen the tensions in himself and those around him.?8Jokes were a weapon in a different war. Stories were an evasive tactic for Mr. Lincoln in dealing with people or topics he preferred to avoid. Henry Clay Whitney related about a self-important individual who called on Preside nt Lincol n to give

22、 him unsolicited advice.扌酋 s soon as he broached his subject, Lincoln interrupted him by the most silly, grotesque and in applicable an ecdote ?as far away from the subject of con versation as possible. The visitor was shocked and indignant; he had thoroughly matured a plan to expedite the return of

23、 peace and save thousands of human lives, as well as the nation, and had traveled a thousand miles at his own expe nse to impart it to the Preside nt and to make it pers on ally certai n that it would be adopted; and the n, in that solem n crisis of the nation 拟 fate, to behold the Preside nt assume

24、 the role of a clown and turn grotesque somersaults; why, it was worse than Nero fiddling at the conflagration of Rome! The result was that he retired, utterly astounded and discomfited, from the presenee of the jester who sat in the presidential chair, and went to one of the secretaries, who was a

25、n eighbor, and narrated the in cident. But instead of receiving condolence, his neighbor burst into a long and boisterous fit of merriment. The astonished and discomfited patriot exclaimed:惓 ow, you say that Lincoln stories always have some object or moral; please tell me what object or moral such a

26、n absurd, irrelevant, clownish story could possibly have?憋 hat object?exclaimed the cabinet minister.慣 he most necessary object in the world at that time: to get rid of you and get to his business, and, according to your own story, he did it.?/i9Poet Walt Whitma n wrote:扌酋 s is well known, story-tel

27、li ng was often with Preside nt Lin coin a weapon which he employ 坛 with great skill. Very often he could not give a point-blank reply or comment 桂 nd these in directi ons, (sometimes funny, but not always so,) were probably the best resp on ses possible .In the gloomiest period of the war, he had a

28、 call from a large delegation of bank presidents. In the talk after business was settled, one of the big Dons asked Mr. Lincol n if his confide nee in the perma nency of the Union was not begi nning to be shake n fl hereup on the homely Preside nt told a little story:扌帝 hen I was a young man in Illi

29、nois,?said he,揑 boarded for a time with a deacon of the Presbyterian church. One night I was roused from my sleep by a rap at the door, and I heard the deacon voice exclaiming,懾 rise, Abraham! the day of judgment has come!?l sprang from my bed and rushed to the window, and saw the stars falling in g

30、reat showers; but looking back of them in the heavens I saw the grand old constellations, with which I was so well acquainted, fixed and true in their places Gentlemen, the world did not come to an end then, nor will the Union now.?10Preside nt Lin coin also used stories to change the mood of those

31、arou nd him British jour nalist William Howard Russell wrote after attending a White House state dinner in 1861 that he 扌苜 as amused to observe the manner in which Mr. Lincoln used the anecdotes for which he is famous. Where men bred in courts, accustomed to the world, or versed in diplomacy would u

32、se some subterfuge, or would make a polite speech, or give a shrug of the shoulders as the means of getting out of an embarrassing position, Mr. Lincoln raises a laugh by some bold west-country anecdote, and moves off in the cloud of merriment produced by this joke.?11Longtime friend Joshua Speed re

33、called being present when a delegation of midwestern leaders called upon Preside nt Lincoln:壻 he committee was composed of able and distinguished men. Senator Lane opened for Indiana, Garrett Davis followed for Kentucky, and other gen tleme n for Ohio and Illinois. They all had complaints to make of

34、 the con duct of the war in the West. Like the expression in the prayer-book, the Government was doing every thing it ought no t to do, and leavi ng undone every thing it ought to do. The Preside nt sat on a revolving chair, looking at every one till they were all done. I never saw him exhibit more

35、tact or talent than he did on this occasion. He said,傩 ow, gentlemen, I am going to make you a curious kind of speech. I announce to you that I am not going to do one single thing that any one of you have asked me to do. But it is due to myself and to you that I should give my reasons.? He then, fro

36、m his seat, answered each man, taking them in the order in which they spoke, never forgetting a point that any one had made. When he was done, he rose from his chair and said,愁 udge List, this remi nds me of an an ecdote which I heard a son of yours tell in Burlington, Iowa. He was trying to enforce

37、 upon his hearers the truth of the old adage that 慷 hree removes are worse than a fire.? As an illustration, he gave an account of a family who started from Western Pennsylvania, pretty well off in this world 扌1 goods when they started. But they moved and moved, having less and less every time they

38、moved, till after a while they could carry everything in one wagon. He said that the chickens of the family got so used to being moved, that when ever they saw the wagon sheets brought they laid themselves on their backs and crossed their legs, ready to be tied. Now, gentlemen, if I were to be guide

39、d by every committee that comes in at that door, I might just as well cross my hands and let you tie me. Nevertheless, I am glad to see you桎 12Mr. Lincoln never claimed to originate his stories. Henry C. Whitney recalled that Judge Samuel 持 reat told me that he once lent Lincoln a copy of 憋 oe Mille

40、r,?a nd Lin coin kept it for a while and evidently learned its entire contents, for he found Lincoln narrating the storiescontained therein around the circuit, but very much embellished and changed, evidently by Lincoln himself.?13 Such stories were internalized and Lincolnized to fit the occasion.I

41、B incoln always insisted he was aetailer,?not a O holesaler,?of the stories that made him famous.I don*t make the stories mine by telling them；* he modestly maintained. But such confessions did not stop publishers from issuing books like Old Abe*s Jokester and The Humors of Old Abe while he was serv

42、ing in the White House Lincoln thus became the first preside nt ever to inspire a joke book poetic justice for a man who listed at least one joke collection among the favorite books of his youth,?wrote Harold Holzer in Civil War Times.扌甚 incoins jesting ultimately did him as much harm as good. Write

43、rs twitted him with volumes like Abraham Africanus I, a raw satire accusing him of radical policies on race and tyrannical practices such as arbitrary arrests.*14Mr. Uncoln 111 stories often fell into predictable categories ?rural family life, rural travel, the Bible and clergy, the courtroom, gener

44、als and soldier life. Journalist Noah Brooks wrote:措 cripture stories and incidents were also used by Lincoln to illustrate his argument or to enforce a point. Judge Ehad been concerned in a certain secret organization of 憧 adical?Republicans, whose design was to defeat Lincoln 扌H renomination. When

45、 this futile opposition had died out, the judge was pressed by his friends for a profitable office. Lincoln appointed him, and to one who remonstrated against such a display of magnanimity, he replied,愁 ell, I supposed Judge E，having been disappointed before, did behave pretty ugly; but that wouldn

46、挾 make him any less fit for this place; and I have scriptural authority for appointing him. You remember that when the Lord was on Mount Sinai getting out a commissi on for Aaron, that same Aaron was at the foot of the mountai n maki ng a false god for the people to worship Yet Aaron got his commiss

47、i on, you kno w.?15Biographer Benjamin Thomas wrote:扌甚 incoln 担 return to the rass roots?for the gems of his wit is not without significance. For a sense of humor connotes an intimate acquaintance with human nature and life, a sense of proportion, and thus of disproportion, a realization of the pett

48、y conceits, the affectations, the foibles and weaknesses of men. It implies, in other words, the possession of the qualities of 懸 orse sense?and discernment. And Lincoln 扌U preference for the humor of the comm on people, evincing a recog nition of the fact that they possessed these qualities, was an

49、 attestati on of his con fide nee in the fun dame ntal soundn ess of their judgment.?16Mr. Lincoln was from the beginning of his circuit-riding the light and life of the court,?wrote frie nd Ward Hill Lam on.捋 he most trivial circumsta nee furnished a back-ground for his wit. The following in cident

50、, which illustrates his love of a joke, occurred in the early days of our acquaintance. I, being at the time on the infant side of twenty-one, took particularly pleasure in athletic sports One day when we were attending the circuit court which met at Bloomington, III. J was wrestling near the court

51、house with some one who had challenged me to a trial, and in the scuffle made a large rent in the rear of my trousers Before I had time to make any change, I was called into court to take up a case The evidenee was finished. I, being the Prosecuting Attorney at the time, got up to address the jury.

52、Having on a somewhat short coat, my misfortune was rather apparent. One of the lawyers, for a joke, started a subscription paper which was passed from one member of the bar to another as they sat by a long table fronting the ben ch, to buy a pair of pantaloons for Lam on 厂he being, the paper said, a

53、 poor but worthy young man.* Several put dow n their n ames with some ludicrous subscripti on, and fin ally the paper was laid by some one in front of Mr. Lincoln, he being engaged in writing at the time. He quietly glanced over the paper, and, immediately taking up his pen, wrote after his name, 1

54、can con tribute nothi ng to the end in view/?17Mr. Lincoln practiced his humorous repertoire in his semi-annual trips around the Eighth Judicial Circuit Lincoln scholar F. Lauriston Bullard wrote:扌甚 ife on the circuit was so ordered that storytelling tournaments were practically ordained for the nig

55、hts and week ends, as the trial of cases was the order for the intervening days. Into the little country seats the judge and the members of the bar came riding, and in the crowded taverns, with witnesses and local jurymen about them, all hands swapped stories. That Lincoln enjoyed the eminence accor

56、ded him as the best spinner of yams in the state is undeniable These stories he brought with him to Washington in 1861.?18Springfield attorney Milton Hay maintained thatincoln heard his stories; jokes &c., andnever forgot them and that the secret of L success in this line was in the active ?personif

57、ied telling of them (Lincoln always told his stories &c, acting a part of them in looks ?jestures ?acts &c.? William H. Herndon added that 扌甚 incoln & his story were in harmony ?were one & identical.?19 Friend Henry C. Whitney recalled:揑 n our walks about the little towns where courts were held, he

58、saw ludicrous elements in everything, and could either narrate some story from his storehouse of jokes, else he could improvise one; he saw the ludicrous in an assemblage of fowls, in a man spading his garden, in a clothes-line full of clothes, in a group of boys, in a lot of pigs rooting at a mill

59、door, in a mother duck learning her brood to swim; in anything and everything Lincoln saw some ludicrous incident.?2Mr. Lincoln 扌 11 incredible memory was central to his story-telling success. One Lincoln client, Herring Chrisman, testified to Mr. Lincoln 姐 abilities when the Springfield lawyer visited Chicago and exchanged stories one night with another lawyer, Murray McConnell:換 uite a little audie nee dropped in and they felt in spired to begi n. McC on nell was a good story-teller, but his repertoire was not