Dec. 24, 1848
Dear Johnston,
Your request for1 eighty dollars, I do not think it best to comply with2 now. At the various times when I have helped you a little, you have said to me, “We can get along very well now,” but in a very short time I find you in the same difficulty again. Now this can only happen by some defect in your conduct. What that defect is, I think I know. You are not lazy, and still you are an idler. I doubt whether since I saw you, you have done a good whole day’s work, in any one day. You do not very much dislike to work, and still you do not work much, merely because it does not seem to you that you could get much for it.
This habit of uselessly wasting time is the whole difficulty; it is vastly important to you, and still more so to your children, that you should break this habit. It is more important to them, because they have longer to live, and can keep out of an idle habit before they are in it, easier than they can get out after they are in.
You are now in need of some ready money; and what I propose is, that you shall go to work, “tooth and nail,”for somebody who will give you money for it.
Let father and your boys take charge of your things at home — prepare for a crop, and make the crop, and you go to work for the best money wages, or in discharge of any debt you owe, that you can get. And to secure you a fair reward for your labor, I now promise you that for every dollar you will, between this and the first of May, get for your own labor either in money or in your own indebtedness, I will then give you one other dollar.
By this, if you hire yourself at ten dollars a month, from me you will get ten more, making twenty dollars a month for your work. In this, I do not mean you shall go off to St. Louis, or the lead mines, or the gold mines, in California, but I mean for you to go at it for the best wages you can get close to home — in Coles County.
Now if you will do this, you will soon be out of debt,3 and what is better, you will have a habit that will keep you from getting in debt again. But if I should now clear you out, next year you will be just as deep in as ever. You say you would almost give your place in Heaven for 70 or 80. Then you value your place in Heaven very cheaply, for I am sure you can with the offer I make you get the seventy or eighty dollars for four or five months’ work. You say if I furnish you the money you will deed me the land, and if you don’t pay the money back, you will deliver possession —
143
Nonsense! If you can’t now live with the land, how will you then live without it? You have always been kind to me, and I do not now mean to be unkind to you. On the contrary,4 if you will but follow my advice, you will find it worth more than eight times eighty dollars to you.
Affectionately
Your brother
A. Lincoln
comply with 依从
idler n. 游手好闲的人
work tooth and nail 拼命地干
discharge n. 解除
indebtedness n. 负债
St. Louis 美国密苏里 (Missouri)
州东部大城
Coles County 在美国伊利诺斯
(Illinois) 州
furnish v. 提供
deliver v. 交出
中译 林肯致约翰斯顿书
1848年12月24日
亲爱的约翰斯顿：
你向我要八十块钱，我觉得眼下不应该给你。好几次我帮你忙之后，你都说“现在我们可以好好过日子了”，但是没有多久，你又陷入了同样的窘境。我看这完全是你为人有缺点，是什么缺点呢？我想我是知道的。你并不懒，但多少有点游手好闲。我怀疑，自从我见到你，你是否有哪一天好好地干过一整天活。你并不怎么厌恶劳动，但你不卖劲干活，唯一的原因是你觉得干活没有多大出息。
这种白白浪费时间的习惯是问题的症结所在。改掉这种习惯对你至关紧要，而对你的儿女来说，则更为重要。之所以如此，是因为他们生活的道路更长，在没有养成这种习惯之前，可以预加防范；这比养成之后再改来得容易。
你现在需要些现钱，我建议你去找个愿意花钱聘人的主顾，替他“卖命地”干活。
把家里的事（春播和秋收）交给爸爸和你的几个儿子去管吧，你自己去干点最挣钱的活儿，或是用你干的活儿抵债。为了使你的劳动得到较好的报酬，我现在答应你，从今天到五月一日，凡是你干活挣到一块钱或是偿还了一块钱的债，我另外再给你一块钱。
这样一来，如果你每月挣十块钱，你可以从我这儿再拿得十块钱，一共每月就可以挣到二十块钱。这并不是说，我叫你到圣路易或加利福尼亚州的铅矿、金矿去，而是叫你到附近去找点最挣钱的活儿干——就在柯尔斯县境内。
你看，如果你肯这样做，很快就能还清债务；更有好处的是，你会养成不再欠债的好习惯。然而，如果我现在帮你还清了债，明年你又会欠一身债。你说如果有人肯出七八十块钱，你愿意把你在天堂的席位卖给他。这么说，你把你在天堂的席位看得太不值钱了。其实，按照我的办法去做，保管你干四五个月活就能挣到那七八十块钱。你又说如果我给你这笔钱，你愿意把田地立契转让给我；若是日后你不还钱，就交出田产——
废话！如果说现在你有田地都活不了，将来没有田地又怎么活呢？你一向对我不错，现在我也没有亏待你的意思。相反，如果你肯听从我的劝告，你会发现对你来说，这比八个八十块钱还要值钱呢！
向你亲切致意，
你的哥哥
A. 林肯
原来如此
本信由八十块钱开始：林肯接到继母的儿子约翰斯顿来信要八十块钱。为能得到这八十块钱，约翰斯顿许愿说可以出卖他“在天堂的席位”，也可以“把田地立契转让”。林肯回信，劝导约翰斯顿改掉“懒”这个不良习惯，而要勤奋进取，更提“你赚一块钱，我另给一块钱”的方法，诱导约翰斯顿。这个鼓励性的方案至今看来犹有创意。
妙笔生花
林肯以很亲切的态度指出江斯顿的弱点，没有直接痛斥其非，信中用了 一些婉转言辞（euphemism－委婉语）：
“I do not think it best to comply with now...”代替直接拒绝，说“不！”
“You do not very much dislike to work, and still you do not work much...”代替直说“You hate to work and you work very little.”
“You are not lazy, and still you are an idler.”代替直说“You are lazy and an idler.”
增值英语
1 Your request for eighty dollars...
request 指要求，用法较 ask 正式。
句式 用作名词：request + for sth
Your request for special treatment is unreasonable. 你要求特别看待是不合理的。
句式 用作动词则无需加介词：request (v.) sth from sb
He requested promotion from his employer. 他要求雇主给他升职。
句式 request (v.) that-clause：
I request that you call him immediately. 我要求你立刻召唤他。
句式 request (v.) to-v.：
You are requested not to make any noise. 请你不要作声。
2 Your request...to comply with
句式 comply with 解作“依从”，多用于 rules, regulations, ordinance, law, instructions 等：
You must comply with our requirements. 你一定要遵守我们的规定。
句式 comply 的名词是 compliance，用于 in compliance with：
In compliance with regulation 123, you should respond to our letter within 14 days. 根据第123 项条例，你必须在收信后十四天内回复。
3 you will soon be out of debt...
句式 be out of (sth) 解作“缺乏，没有”；be out of debt 指还清债务：
They are out of love. 他们没爱情。
He is out of luck. 他没有运气。
句式 out of + n 也可解作“源自；因为”，这时不跟 be 动词：
Out of concern, she asked for the details and intervened in the matter. 出于关心，她询问详情并干预该事。
I do it out of love. 我因爱而这样做。
He built a business empire out of nothing. 他白手创立一个商业王国。
4 On the contrary, if you will follow my advice...
句式 on the contrary 解作“相反地”，常用在辩论性文章中 (= conversely)：
I don’t think this is a bad idea at all. On the contrary, I like this proposal. 我一点不觉得这是个很糟糕的想法。相反，我喜欢这个提案。
句式 contrary to sth 倒转来看(= opposite to sth)：
Contrary to my expectation, the results were very good. 与我的估计正相反，成绩非常好。
