I have often been asked to write my life, as those who know me know that it has been an eventful one. At last I have acceded to the importunities of my friends, and have hastily sketched some of the striking incidents that go to make up my history. My life, so full of romance, may sound like a dream to the matter–of–fact reader, nevertheless everything I have written is strictly true; much has been omitted, but nothing has been exaggerated. In writing as I have done, I am well aware that I have invited criticism; but before the critic judges harshly, let my explanation be carefully read and weighed. If I have portrayed the dark side of slavery, I also have painted the bright side. The good that I have said of human servitude should be thrown into the scales with the evil that I have said of it. I have kind, true–hearted friends in the South as well as in the North, and I would not wound those Southern friends by sweeping condemnation, simply because I was once a slave. They were not so much responsible for the curse under which I was born, as the God of nature and the fathers who framed the Constitution for the United States. The law descended to them, and it was but natural that they should recognize it, since it manifestly was their interest to do so. And yet a wrong was inflicted upon me; a cruel custom deprived me of my liberty, and since I was robbed of my dearest right, I would not have been human had I not rebelled against the robbery. God rules the Universe. I was a feeble instrument in His hands, and through me and the enslaved millions of my race, one of the problems was solved that belongs to the great problem of human destiny; and the solution was developed so gradually that there was no great convulsion of the harmonies of natural laws. A solemn truth was thrown to the surface, and what is better still, it was recognized as a truth by those who give force to moral laws. An act may be wrong, but unless the ruling power recognizes the wrong, it is useless to hope for a correction of it. Principles may be right, but they are not established within an hour. The masses are slow to reason, and each principle, to acquire moral force, must come to us from the fire of the crucible; the fire may inflict unjust punishment, but then it purifies and renders stronger the principle, not in itself, but in the eyes of those who arrogate judgment to themselves. When the war of the Revolution established the independence of the American colonies, an evil was perpetuated, slavery was more firmly established; and since the evil had been planted, it must pass through certain stages before it could be eradicated. In fact, we give but little thought to the plant of evil until it grows to such monstrous proportions that it overshadows important interests; then the efforts to destroy it become earnest. As one of the victims of slavery I drank of the bitter water; but then, since destiny willed it so, and since I aided in bringing a solemn truth to the surface as a truth, perhaps I have no right to complain. Here, as in all things pertaining to life, I can afford to be charitable.
It may be charged that I have written too freely on some questions, especially in regard to Mrs. Lincoln. I do not think so; at least I have been prompted by the purest motive. Mrs. Lincoln, by her own acts, forced herself into notoriety. She stepped beyond the formal lines which hedge about a private life, and invited public criticism. The people have judged her harshly, and no woman was ever more traduced in the public prints of the country. The people knew nothing of the secret history of her transactions, therefore they judged her by what was thrown to the surface. For an act may be wrong judged purely by itself, but when the motive that prompted the act is understood, it is construed differently. I lay it down as an axiom, that only that is criminal in the sight of God where crime is meditated. Mrs. Lincoln may have been imprudent, but since her intentions were good, she should be judged more kindly than she has been. But the world do not know what her intentions were; they have only been made acquainted with her acts without knowing what feeling guided her actions. If the world are to judge her as I have judged her, they must be introduced to the secret history of her transactions. The veil of mystery must be drawn aside; the origin of a fact must be brought to light with the naked fact itself. If I have betrayed confidence in anything I have published, it has been to place Mrs. Lincoln in a better light before the world. A breach of trust—if breach it can be called—of this kind is always excusable. My own character, as well as the character of Mrs. Lincoln, is at stake, since I have been intimately associated with that lady in the most eventful periods of her life. I have been her confidante, and if evil charges are laid at her door, they also must be laid at mine, since I have been a party to all her movements. To defend myself I must defend the lady that I have served. The world have judged Mrs. Lincoln by the facts which float upon the surface, and through her have partially judged me, and the only way to convince them that wrong was not meditated is to explain the motives that actuated us. I have written nothing that can place Mrs. Lincoln in a worse light before the world than the light in which she now stands, therefore the secret history that I publish can do her no harm. I have excluded everything of a personal character from her letters; the extracts introduced only refer to public men, and are such as to throw light upon her unfortunate adventure in New York. These letters were not written for publication, for which reason they are all the more valuable; they are the frank overflowings of the heart, the outcropping of impulse, the key to genuine motives. They prove the motive to have been pure, and if they shall help to stifle the voice of calumny, I am content. I do not forget, before the public journals vilified Mrs. Lincoln, that ladies who moved in the Washington circle in which she moved, freely canvassed her character among themselves. They gloated over many a tale of scandal that grew out of gossip in their own circle. If these ladies, could say everything bad of the wife of the President, why should I not be permitted to lay her secret history bare, especially when that history plainly shows that her life, like all lives, has its good side as well as its bad side! None of us are perfect, for which reason we should heed the voice of charity when it whispers in our ears, "Do not magnify the imperfections of others." Had Mrs. Lincoln's acts never become public property, I should not have published to the world the secret chapters of her life. I am not the special champion of the widow of our lamented President; the reader of the pages which follow will discover that I have written with the utmost frankness in regard to her—have exposed her faults as well as given her credit for honest motives. I wish the world to judge her as she is, free from the exaggerations of praise or scandal, since I have been associated with her in so many things that have provoked hostile criticism; and the judgment that the world may pass upon her, I flatter myself, will present my own actions in a better light.
Elizabeth Keckley. 14 Carroll Place, New York, March 14, 1868.
背景介紹與作者介紹
這段文字摘自 Elizabeth Keckley 的回憶錄，她是一位非凡的非裔美國女性，出生於奴隸制，但後來成為成功的裁縫、商人，也是瑪麗·托德·林肯（亞伯拉罕·林肯總統的妻子）的知己。Keckley 的回憶錄寫於 19 世紀末，提供了一個罕見而親密的視角，讓讀者得以一窺一位奴隸的生活，她親眼目睹了美國內戰的動盪時代，以及美國奴隸制、自由和種族關係的複雜性。
Elizabeth Keckley 於 1818 年出生於維吉尼亞州的奴隸制下。獲得自由後，她搬到了華盛頓特區，成為一名技術高超的裁縫。她的才華和品格使她進入了林肯家族的核心圈子，她在那里擔任瑪麗·林肯的私人裁縫和知己。Keckley 的回憶錄不僅是一部個人歷史，也是一部社會文獻，闡明了她那個時代的道德和政治問題。
詳細闡釋和意義
這段文字反映了 Keckley 在敘述她的人生故事時的勇氣和誠實。她承認奴隸制的艱辛和不公正，但也努力通過認識到衝突雙方的人性來呈現一個平衡的觀點。她強調，雖然奴隸制是一個殘酷的制度，但它深深地嵌入了當時的法律和社會結構中，使其根除成為一個緩慢而艱難的過程。
Keckley 還談到了公眾對瑪麗·托德·林肯的嚴厲評判，她通過揭示她公開行動背後的私人動機和掙扎來為她辯護。這種辯護突出了超越表面現象理解他人的主題，鼓勵讀者尋求更深層次的真相，而不是倉促的判斷。
這部回憶錄是對韌性、道德複雜性和對正義的追求的有力見證。它促使讀者反思歷史上的不公正以及個人對這些不公正的回應，通常是帶著勇氣和尊嚴。
給學生的教訓和見解
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通過個人故事理解歷史： Keckley 的回憶錄表明，歷史不僅僅是日期和事件，而是關於真實人物的生活和經歷。學生可以通過在情感上與個人的故事聯繫起來來欣賞歷史。
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同情心的重要性： 這段文字鼓勵讀者超越刻板印象和偏見。通過理解瑪麗·林肯的意圖和 Keckley 自己的掙扎，學生學會練習同情心，避免基於不完整信息的嚴厲判斷。
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韌性和勇氣： Keckley 的生活體現了韌性——克服逆境並保持希望的能力。學生可以受到啟發，以堅強和決心面對自己的挑戰。
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道德複雜性： 這部回憶錄教導我們，人和情況很少是簡單的好或壞。認識到道德複雜性有助於學生培養批判性思維和細微的觀點。
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聲音和講故事的力量： Keckley 決定寫回憶錄表明了講述自己故事的重要性。學生可以了解到他們的声音很重要，分享他們的經歷可以促進理解和改變。
在日常生活中應用這些教訓
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在學習中： 學生可以帶著好奇心去學習歷史和文學，尋求理解不同的觀點和事實背後的人類故事。
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在社交互動中： 練習同情心和克制判斷可以促進與同伴之間更友善、更支持的關係。
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在個人成長中： 擁抱韌性可以幫助學生應對學校、家庭和友誼中的困難。
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在社區意識中： 理解歷史和社會問題可以培養負責任的公民意識和對正義的承諾。
從故事中培養積極的價值觀
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仁愛與寬恕： Keckley 呼籲「不要放大他人的不完美」教導了善良和寬恕，這對於和平共處至關重要。
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誠實和正直： 她在寫回憶錄時的坦率，即使招致批評，也為真實性樹立了榜樣。
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敢於發聲的勇氣： Keckley 願意為了更大的利益分享敏感信息，鼓勵學生為正義而奮鬥。
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尊重多樣性： 認識到所有人的共同人性，無論其背景如何，都能促進包容性和尊重。
結論
Elizabeth Keckley 的回憶錄不僅是一份歷史文獻，也是年輕讀者的靈感和教育的來源。通過探索她的人生和反思，學生可以深入了解勇氣、同情心和對正義的持續鬥爭。這些教訓不僅與理解過去相關，而且對於今天建立一個富有同情心和公平的社會也至關重要。