晨读英语美文 How to Win Friends and Influence People

How to Win Friends and Influence People
[00:08.07]On Saturday morning, April 15, 1865, 
[00:13.33]Abraham Lincoln lay dying 
[00:16.11]in a hall bedroom of a cheap lodging house 
[00:18.14]directly across the street from Fords Theater, 
[00:20.43]where Booth had shot him.
[00:22.18]As Lincoln lay dying, people said, 
[00:25.14]There lies the most perfect ruler of men 
[00:29.28]that the world has ever seen.
[00:30.50]What was the secret of Lincoln's success in dealing with men? 
[00:35.75]I studied the life of Abraham Lincoln for ten years, 
[00:40.45]and devoted all of three years to writing 
[00:42.97]and rewriting a book entitled Lincoln the Unknown. 
[00:47.34]I believe I have made as detailed and exhaustive 
[00:51.93]a study of Lincoln's personality and home life 
[00:54.23]as it is possible for any human being to make. 
[00:57.19]I made a special study of Lincoln's method of dealing with men. 
[01:01.67]Did he indulge in criticism? 
[01:04.30]Oh, yes. He not only criticized 
[01:07.91]but he wrote letters and poems ridiculing people 
[01:11.19]and dropped these letters on the country roads
[01:14.33] where they were sure to be found. 
[01:15.35]One of these letters aroused resentments that burned for a lifetime.
[01:20.16]In the autumn of 1842, 
[01:24.10]he ridiculed a vain Irish politician
[01:27.37] by the name of James Shields. 
[01:28.36]Shields, sensitive and proud, boiled with indignation. 
[01:33.28]He challenged Lincoln to fight a duel. 
[01:36.45]Lincoln didn't want to fight, 
[01:38.93]but he couldn't get out of it and save his honor. 
[01:41.55]On the appointed day, 
[01:43.96]he and Shields prepared to fight to the death, 
[01:47.01]but at the last minute, 
[01:48.76]their seconds interrupted and stopped the duel.
[01:51.16]This accident taught Lincoln an invaluable lesson 
[01:56.01]in the art of dealing with people. 
[01:57.29]Never again did he write an insulting letter. 
[02:00.90]Never again did he ridicule anyone. 
[02:03.64]And from that time on, 
[02:05.82]he almost never criticized anybody for anything.
[02:09.22]Any fool can criticize, condemn, 
[02:13.93]and complain  and most fools do.