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Show Henry D. Thoreau. '11 ·1 ' 'lt' i' •t rr•tin. 'J' l H' que:-; t't Oll i·"~' not al>o1tl the plc Oti('C WI < (' ll ' " ' • wenpon, out tlI C, Sp·l l·t· t 1·1 1 whi('h you usc t.t . , No man has nppl'at·<·d 1.1 1 A mct,.t <.., 1, ,n ., )' <' I who Jov ·<1 . l11 ::i fe• llow.- man so well and trcn.te<l 11 ·1 1n ~· o tcml<-rly. Ue lt. ved for htm. lie took up lu:.- ; l'f 1 1 c hid it down for lttm. 'Vbat sort of 1 e an< 1 ' . • , . , . · 1, •I · ·I 1· vwlence IS t t,lt '' uc 1 8, cncouraror cd ' not by soldte. t s. but by. p!'at·eal>le c1· t·t.z u,1 ., no t 50 much by layme. n a.· by mtnt:-;t<' rs ot 1 t .0 much by the Jirrht111g sects a:-; by the tlH~ fTO:-ipc , no s a Quak<h •r:-<, nn<1 no t 0 much by Quaker men as by quaker W011H' J1? Thi:'l ycnt ad,·crti es me that there is . uch a f:t~·~ as d a.th _the possibility of a man's dying. . It seems as. 1f no man had ever died in America. before, for m order to dtc you mnst first have lived. I don't beli eve in the h ear:<':-~ and pall~, and fun eral · that they have hat1.. There was 110 death in the cnse, been usc there had been no ltfe; they merely rotted or sloughed off, pretty much as they had rotted or sloughed n1 o ng. No tetnr)le'.' vail was r ent, only a hole dug. t-'Ome-where. L et the clc:td uury tlt it· deatl. The b ·st of them fairly ran down liko a clock. Franklin -,Va~h.in?t on- they were let ofl' without dying; tlwy were m r ely mt:;;stng one day. I hear a good many pretend that th y arc going to di'; or that they lw.vc (lied, for aught that I know. Nons n:c! I'll defy them to do it. They hnvcn't got ] ife enough in th~m. They'll dcliquc-ce like fun gi, and keep a hundred. culogtsts mopping the Qpot where they lef't oif. Only lmlf a d.ozcn or so have J.ied since the world b('gan. Do you 1 hink that you arc goin rr to die, . ir? No! there's no hope of you. You haven't cr~t vour les on yet. You've got to . tay after sehool. b ol 1. 'Ve make a needle s ado about capital punishment- ta ong liYcs when there is no life to take. llfemento mori I '\Ve ' don't undcr 'tand that ublime sent nee which . ome worthy got sculptured on his grave tone once. W e'vc interpreted it in a grovelling and snivelling sense ; we've wholly for~tten how to die. 1-Icnry D. rfhorcau. 39 TI11t. be sure you clo diP, nrvcrtlt •less. Do your work, nnd fini :·dt iL. lf you know huw to u •giu, you will k11ow when to end. • Tltese men, in tr achi11;; Wi Itow to die, hav€' at tlte 1'nme tim<' taught us how to li\'P. lf this rn:Ul':-i aets ntHl wonls do 11ot <·n·a tc a rcviYal, it will be the seve re. L po:;:' il>le satire on th<~ :l <'fs :utd words that do. lt is the b ·st news tltat Atn<·rica l1 :1s ev<'r heard. It has already qttit'kcned tlw {{·ci>le pulse of tit<• North, :w<l inf'1t sed mor' and 11101'<' g<• ttcrotts blood into Iter \'1• ins :ll l<l lt<'art titan any nuntbcr of' ye:trS of 'rl1at is t•alJ <•d eontllH' tTial and politi<':tl pro:-; pPrity <'<>u ld. ] low mnny a man who w:t..; 1atc•ly contemplating suit'ide l ta~ now sonwthing to li vc J(n· ! One wril<'l' ~ays that Drown's JH'C'tllinr monomania madr him to be " dreaded by tlte 1\li::-;ottrians a · a su p<• rnatu r:d hC'ing." S ure enough, a hero in the mid:-.t of' us cow:mh; is alwayH so dreadt•(l. lie is jttst that tlti11g. ll<! shows l1imsc lf' supcrjor to nature. H e hns a spark ol' di,·inity in ltim. " UnlcRs above himsclr he <loth erect him.-clf, How poor n. thing- is man!" N w:=;paper ed itor" argue also that it i. a. proof of lti ·insau/ ty that he thought he wa:-; appoi nt<•<l to do tltis worl which lH· did - tha t he did not. :su~JH.!<'L hilllsc lf' fc>r a moment! They t:tlk as if' jt were impossible tlt:lL a man <'ould be" divin 'ly appoinl<\<l " in these day!-i to do any work wlt:d cver; u. if' vows and religion were out of' date ns ·ormc'cted with any man's daily work,- as if the agent to aboli~h Sla\'cry couhl only be somebody appointed by the Pre. id •nt, or by :some political party. They talk a~ if a man'H tleath were a failure, and Jtjs continued life, be it of whatever character, were a snccc'sH. vVhcn I r eflect to what a ('au ·e this man ucvote<l him. lf, nnd how rcligiou:-.ly, an<l then r •fleet to what ca.usc his judges ancl all who condemn ltim so ang rily and fluently devote tlH•m selves, I sec that they arc as Iitr aparl as tho heavens and earth arc u.·under. |