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Abraham Lincoln is the most celebrated figure in American history.
亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国历史上最为与世闻名的人物
His assassination almost 150 years ago transformed him from a mere politician into America's national saint.
发生在约150年前有关他的暗杀案 将这样一位单纯的政客升华成为美国的国家圣人
It's the original martyrdom. It's Lincoln dying for the nation's sins.
这是一场原始的殉难 林肯殉难于这个国家的罪孽
He dies in the moment of his triumph on Good Friday in a Christian country.
他死在自己辉煌的胜利时刻 死在耶稣受难日里 在这个基督教盛行之国
I mean, God, who wrote that script?
我想说 天啊 是谁编下如此巧合的剧本
To most Americans, he is the president who saved the Union,
对于大部分美国民众来说 他是拯救了整个联邦的总统先生
an everyman from the Kentucky backwoods who rose from poverty to become president,
是一位来自肯塔基州的边远蛮荒之地 一位从一贫如洗奋斗成为美国总统的普通人
living out the American dream.
他的人生就是美国梦的代表
He is all that Americans think the nation should be,
他的形象就是这个国家的模范
and so consequently we've become infatuated with him.
而且正因如此 我们美国民众才如此尊崇热爱他
To African Americans, Lincoln will always be the Great Emancipator,
对于非裔美国人来说 林肯永远都可被称为是伟大的解放者
the man who freed the slaves,
是解放了黑人奴隶的救星
thereby placing equality alongside liberty as one of those truths
也是从那时起 他让平等观念变得与自由同样重要
that Americans hold as self-evident.
让美国人把它们看作是不言而喻的真理
And for almost all Americans, particularly those in the North,
而对于绝大多数的美国人 尤其对于那些生活在北部地区的人们来说
he is the leader who guided the nation through the trauma of the Civil War,
是他 领导了整个国家走过了南北战争中的创伤苦难
perhaps the central event in the country's history.
也许这可以算是美国国家历史上的核心事件
But today, as America marks the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's presidency,
但是如今 当美国人开始纪念前总统林肯就职150周年时
an historic battle is being waged for the reputation of America's 16th president.
一场史学争论拉开了对美国第16任总统名誉质疑的序幕
