| OCR Text |
Show Henry D. Thoreau. Th('y have tunne 11 ell l] ncl r the whole brc:u1th of tlw. . l:1nd. Such a croyernmen t i:-., lo~in<Cr" its power an<l re•~ pe<otahdtt y as surely ash wat et. . • out of 't leaky vco.;; ·cl, and ts h ·ld by one 1lll1~ ' that ean contain it. 0 I 1 Col1l1el11n thc;;;c men b ·cau~c they wer • ~o f<•w. tear many . . . . 'Vhen were tl te rfT OOd •·: tnd the' brave .e ver 111 a. m:l·).o l'l l)' ? '' rO ll 1l1 you 1H H. e h••t d him w'· tit till that tun c came?- ttll you 0 • l I , , . to him? The very fa<"t that h · !tad 110 ant came O\ Cl • . . . l ra l-} t of ltirelincr::; about him, woultl alone ll1:- tmgu1::;h lu e or roop b ' ' . 1u · m f rom 01· <1 ·u t..-.. 1·y heroes~ · IIi;-; company wa:; Rmall. . tn<lel'U, { 0 . beeausc ·w con 11 1,c found worthy to pas~ m u:-:. tcr. ha('h one l u I 1 1 'l (}0,,,11 }11'.;! life for th' J>OOr antl opprcss<"<l was W 10 t H'l'C :Ul ., a pt· e1 ( l'l1 man, culled out of many thousa1Hl ~, if' not. million..:;; apparen tl y 'a m·,m of J>rin cipl •' . of .r .a re oura;;e and ll<.· vote<l 11 11111 an '1t y ; J\". . '<<· ly to ·..; •·w rifice l11·:: ; l1f <~ at a11y mo. m. e11L for the benefit or hi · fellow-man. It m:ty b \ <loul>te(l It tlH're were 1101.<' t11 •1 ' ao rnanvi 1• equals in t!tc.;e re~JlCCts in all tl1e COlln- J (• • try-I speak of hi ' followc•rs onl!-for ~lt(•i r lt•m1Pr, n.o donut, scoured the Janel far and w1dc, s<•ek tng to :'iwell Ius troop. Thee alone \H'r<~ r ·:H1y to step bet ween the oppn·~~or aml the opprc~ eel. Surely th<'y were the very lF':-.t men you coulll select to be hung. That wa~ tl1 <> g ren test <oo mpliment whieh thi country could pay them. They were ripe for her ~allows. he has tried a long tinH', slH' lm:; hung a good rnany, but never found the right one b<· forc. \V!ten I think of him, and hi,' ·ix sons, and hi:-~ 1'0n-in-b w,not to enumerate the otlwr~,- cnlisteLl for tl1i=' fight, proccctling coolly, reverently, humanely to work, for months, if not yt'ars, slec·ping and waking upon it, . umnwring ancl wint ering the thought, without exp<•cting nny r eward but a good con. cicncc, while almo ·t all Anwriea Loo<l rank ·d on the other 0 id<·, I say again, that it afTects me a:; a ublime spectacle. If he had had any journal ~uhoenling ''his cause," any organ, as the phras<~ i:-~, monotonously and wearisomely playi ng the same old tune, and then passing round the hat, it woulu have I-Icnry D. Thoreau. 37 hcrn fi1tal to hi ;; C'!D<"ic·ncy. If he hncl acte<l in nny w:1y so as to be h·t alone by tlte governnH'IJI , he might. h:tve o<·e 11 51 1:-;SJ. H'C'tr· tl. It w~t s the f~tet that the tyrant. mu:-~t give pla<oe to l11m, or It 0 to the tyr:lllt, tl1at di~tin gu i:;lt ed him from <til the rcf(>t·m c• r:-~ of the day 1 hat I know. It wa~ lti ~ peculiar <loc:t rinc tl1at a man ha. a JH'rJ<·cL rirrl1t . f' r"'J to mtcr ere by for e with tl1e 0 Ia,·<·hold •r, in onl<"r to to<'scue tltc slave. l agr<·c with him. Th<·y who a.r • rontinually . ltoek e<l by slav •1·y have o'OIIIC right to be sho<"k<'<l by the Yiol<•nt <lc:tth of tltc sl:tve holdc·r, bttt no otltc·ro.;. Su('h will be more . lto<.:kecl by hi ~ ]if(~ than by hi ~ d<·nth. I ;-;l ln ll not be f()rwnnl to think l1im mistakc•n i11 hi:-; tll cth otl who (]tli<·k<·st surc·c(•cls to lihcrnt • the Jnv<·. I sp<'ak f(>r the slave " h<·n I sn.Y, that I pr<'f' 'r the plt ila11Lhropy of Captnin Brown to that philanthropy wltieh IH'it her shoots me nor liue ratcs me. At any rat<'. I clo not think it i:-~ fJuite ~an e f'or one to 0 JH' IHl his whole life in talking or writing about this matt ·r, unles.· It <• j · coni inuott!41y inspirc<l :tnd I lt:t\·e not done . o. A man may have other affitirs to att c•n tl to. I clo 11ot wish to kill nor to lw kill ·cl, but I can fo re~rc C"irctlrn,· taiiC'I'~ in which both th c':'C things woul (l be by me nnavoidttblc. 'Ve pre;-;en·' the soca lled JH'<tce of our rommn11ity by d(• d:> of petty vi olc•n(·c every clay. L ook at the policeman's billy and hand('ufT: ! L ook at the jail! Look at the ga llows! Look at th • chnplitin of the regiment! "\V e ~tre hoping only to Jive s:lf'l'ly on the out skirt:-~ or tht's provisional army. So we dc!lPnd Olll's(• lves nnd onr h •n-roo:-:ts, and maintain slct\'C' ry. I know that th<> mass of my cou ntrymen think that the on ly rightc·ous u :-~e that can br made of Sharpe':-; rifl •s ancl re volH·r~ i::; to fin·ht {"') d11 ('l...; wirh th •m, when we are in ~u ltc•d by other nation.;, or to hnnt Indians, OJ' shoot fugiti,·e slav<·s with tlwm, or tlte lik e•. I think th:tt for once the Shnrpe'o~ rifl ' .:; and th<• rc•,·olv<'l':' wc·rc employee! in a ri glt tc.•otls cau ·c•. The tools were in th(' hand ~ of' OtH' who eonl1l usc rlt<·m. The same indignation that is said to have cleared the tcm- 4 |
