Stormy Ben Butler

风雨如磐的本·巴特勒

· American Heritage · 原文

Nobody ever felt neutral about Ben Butler.

没有人对本·巴特勒持中立态度。

He was a great hero to some, and an unmitigated scoundrel to others, but he was always impressive.

对某些人来说，他是伟大的英雄，对另一些人来说，他是彻头彻尾的恶棍，但他总是给人留下深刻的印象。

His career extended from 1818 to 1893, and while he devoted himself chiefly to the personal advancement of Ben Butler he did play an important role, in war and in peace, during some of the most eventful years of American history.

他的职业生涯从 1818 年延续到 1893 年，虽然他主要致力于本·巴特勒的个人进步，但在美国历史上最重要的一些岁月中，无论是在战争还是和平时期，他都发挥了重要作用。

You can do everything with him but ignore him.

你可以对他做任何事，但不要理睬他。

He was a lawyer—one of the best; a soldier—one of the worst; and a politician, in which field he was at least one of the most active.

他是一名律师——最好的律师之一；一名士兵——最糟糕的人之一；他还是一名政治家，在该领域他至少是最活跃的之一。

Controversy hangs over almost everything he did, and much of it still unresolved.

他所做的几乎所有事情都充满争议，而且其中大部分仍未得到解决。

A modern life of Butler has been greatly overdue.

巴特勒的现代生活已经姗姗来迟。

There are weaknesses in this book.

这本书也有不足之处。

Parts of Butler’s career—especially his early years—are brushed over lightly, while other parts are minutely examined; the result is a feeling of imbalance.

巴特勒职业生涯的某些部分——尤其是他的早年——被轻描淡写，而其他部分则被仔细审视。结果就是一种不平衡的感觉。

Some basic questions (was Butler really as dishonest as he often seems to have been?) are not answered at all.

一些基本问题（巴特勒真的像他经常表现的那样不诚实吗？）根本没有得到回答。

There are lapses in historical technique, here and there, and this unfortunately is not the definitive life of Butler.

历史技术上到处都有失误，不幸的是，这并不是巴特勒的最终生活。

However, the book makes very interesting reading.

然而，这本书读起来非常有趣。

Professional historians might take note that one more gifted amateur has entered the field and has laid a valid claim to a share of their audience’s attention.

专业历史学家可能会注意到，又有一位才华横溢的业余爱好者进入了这个领域，并有效地吸引了观众的注意力。

For over 75 years, American Heritage has chronicled our nation's history like no other publication.

75 年来，《美国遗产》以无与伦比的方式记录了我们国家的历史。

Please support our trusted, non-partisan historical writing and the volunteers that sustain it by donating today.

请通过今天的捐赠来支持我们值得信赖的、无党派的历史写作以及维持它的志愿者。

We rely on contributions from readers like you to survive.

我们依靠像您这样的读者的贡献才能生存。

Donate

捐赠

For 75 years, American Heritage has been the leading magazine of U.S. history, politics, and culture.

75 年来，《美国遗产》一直是美国历史、政治和文化的领先杂志。