托马斯·杰弗逊(Thomas Tefferson)
I think I knew General Washington intimately and thoroughly; and were I called on to delineate his character, it should be in terms like these.
His mind was great and powerful, without being of the very first order; his penetration strong, though not so acute as that of a Newton, Bacon, or Locke; and as far as he saw, no judgment was ever sounder. It was slow in operation, being little aided by invention or imagination, but sure in conclusion. Hence the common remark of his officers, of the advantage he derived from councils of war, where hearing all suggestions, he selected whatever was best; and certainly no general ever planned his battles more judiciously. But if deranged during the course of the action, if any member of his plan was dislocated by sudden circumstances, he was slow in re-adjustment. ...He was incapable of fear, meeting personal dangers with the calmest unconcern. Perhaps the strongest feature in his character was prudence , never acting until every circumstance, every consideration, was maturely weighed; refraining if he saw a doubt, but, when once decided, going through with his purpose, whatever obstacles opposed. His integrity was most pure, his justice the most inflexible I have ever known, no motives of interest or consanguinity , of friendship or hatred, being able to bias his decision. He was, indeed, in every sense of the words, a wise, a good, and a great man. His temper was naturally irritable and high toned; but reflection and resolution had obtained a firm and habitual ascendency over it. If ever, however, it broke its bonds, he was most tremendous in his wrath. In his expenses he was honorable, but exact; liberal in contributions to whatever promised utility; but frowning and unyielding on all visionary projects, and all unworthy calls on his charity. His heart was not warm in its affections; but he exactly calculated every man's value, and gave him a solid esteem proportioned to it. His person, you know, was fine, his stature exactly what one would wish, his deportment easy, erect and noble; the best horseman of his age, and the most graceful figure that could be seen on horseback. Although in the circle of his friends, where he might be unreserved with safety, he took a free share in conversation, his colloquial talents were not above mediocrity, possessing neither copiousness of ideas, nor fluency of words. In public, when called on for a sudden opinion, he was unready, short and embarrassed. Yet he wrote readily, rather diffusely, in an easy and correct style. This he had acquired by conversation with the world, for his education was merely reading, writing and common arithmetic, to which he added surveying at a later day. His time was employed in action chiefly, reading little, and that only in agriculture and English history. His correspondence became necessarily extensive, and, with journalizing his agricultural proceedings, occupied most of his leisure hours within doors. On the whole, his character was, in its mass, perfect, in nothing bad, in few points indifferent; and it may truly be said, that never did nature and fortune combine more perfectly to make a man great, and to place him in the same constellation with whatever worthies have merited from man an everlasting remembrance. For his was the singular destiny and merit, of leading the armies of his country successfully through an arduous war, for the establishment of its independence; of conducting its councils through the birth of a government, new in its forms and principles, until it had settled down into a quiet and orderly train; and of scrupulously obeying the laws through the whole of his career, civil and military, of which the history of the world furnishes no other example.
- delineate [dɪˈlɪnɪeɪt] v. 刻画，描绘
- derange [dɪˈreɪndʒ] v. 遭遇不测，打乱(计划)
- dislocate [ˈdɪsləkeɪt] vt. 使混乱
- prudence [ˈpruːdns] n. 审慎
- consanguinity [ˌkɒnsæŋˈɡwɪnətɪ] n. 亲缘关系
- bias [ˈbaɪəs] v. 对……有偏见
- ascendency [əˈsendənsɪ] n. 控制，优势
- deportment [dɪˈpɔːtmənt] n. 气度，气质
copiousness of ideas 满腹经纶
- constellation [ˌkɒnstəˈleɪʃən] n. 星座，荟萃，群星
我想我同华盛顿关系密切，十分了解他；如果要我描述他的性格的话，我会这样来写。
华盛顿不属于最最一流的，但他有了不起的头脑，思维能力极强。他非常敏锐，其程度虽不及牛顿、培根或洛克，但只要考虑过某件事，他的判断就完美得无以复加。他运筹帷幄，缜密细致，不急不躁，极少受虚构和想象的影响，但最后下的结论确凿可靠。因此，对于手下军官的言论计策，对于从战时会议得出的优势，他听取所有的建议，但选择最佳的。可以肯定地说，没有哪个将军规划的作战方案能比他的更有远见卓识了。不过，如果行动中计划被打乱，或者计划中的任何部分因突发的情况而混乱，他重新调整思路的过程就迟缓。他英勇无畏，面对危险，沉着冷静。也许他个性上最大的优点是审慎细致，在每一种情况、每一种因素没有深思熟虑、周密的权衡之前，决不采取行动。若有疑虑，便会止步，而一旦作出决定，不论有千难万险，也要实现自己的目的。就我所知，他有着最纯洁的人格，最刚正不阿，行事不带目的，不掺杂个人利益或亲情，不受友谊或仇恨的影响，从而保证了决定的公正。确实，从任何一种意义上说，他都是一位英明、善良的伟人。他的性格天生地急躁而自负，但他的深思熟虑和决心意志常常坚定地占了上风。然而，如果他的性情冲破了界线，他会极度狂怒。在费用开支上，他诚实而严格；对可能有用的事情，他非常慷慨；但是对所有不切实际的计划项目，对他的慈悲之心提出的任何不值得的要求，他都不会赞同，毫不让步。他并不滥施感情，而是仔细考量每个人的价值，给他以适当而实在的敬重。大家都知道，他相貌堂堂，风度优雅，身材适中，伟岸挺拔；他是那个时代最优秀的骑手，是在马背上能看到的最潇洒优美的身影。虽然在朋友圈子里，他可能会坦率直言，毫无顾忌，谈笑风生，但他的口才平平，既没有文思泉涌，也不是出口成章。在公共场合，在被突然要求发表看法时，他会很迟钝，表达欠佳，局促窘迫。可是，他写起来思维敏捷，洋洋洒洒，文体流畅、得体。这种能力，是他同世人广泛交谈获得的，因为他所受的教育，也仅仅是读写和一般的算术，后来又学了点测量。他的时间主要都用在了事务中，读书很少，所读也仅仅是农业和英国史。出于需要，他的通信联系很广泛，连同给农业项目做日志，这就占用了他在家时的大部分空闲时间。总的说来，他的品德总体上是完美的，没有什么不好的东西，也无差的地方。可以毫不夸张地说，自然和命运从来没有结合得这样完美，造就出这样的伟人，把他置于才华横溢的名人当中，值得人们永远缅怀。他有着非凡的命运和功绩，率领国家的军队打胜了一场艰苦卓绝的战争，实现了国家的独立，指导着议事会建立起了政府——一个在形式和原则上都崭新的政府——直到这个国家进入平静有序的状态；他整个生涯中一丝不苟地遵守着法律，包括民法和军法，这在世界历史上绝无仅有。
托马斯·杰弗逊(1743—1826)，美国第三届总统，起草《独立宣言》(1776年7月4日)，是位多才多艺的政治家。