passages from an old volume of life-第18部分

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mity　of　the　South　will　some　day　or　other　prove　to　have　been　a　part　of　the　machinery　of　deception　which　the　plotters　have　managed　with　such　consummate　skill。　　It　is　hardly　to　be　doubted　that　in　every　part　of　the　South；　as　in　New　Orleans；　in　Charleston；　in　Richmond；　there　are　multitudes　who　wait　for　the　day　of　deliverance；　and　for　whom　the　coming　of　〃our　good　friends；　the　enemies；〃　as　Beranger　has　it；　will　be　like　the　advent　of　the　angels　to　the　prison…cells　of　Paul　and　Silas。　　But　there　is　no　need　of　depending　on　the　aid　of　our　white　Southern　friends；　be　they　many　or　be　they　few；　there　is　material　power　enough　in　the　North；　if　there　be　the　will　to　use　it；　to　overrun　and　by　degrees　to　recolonize　the　South；　and　it　is　far　from　impossible　that　some　such　process　may　be　a　part　of　the　mechanism　of　its　new　birth；　spreading　from　various　centres　of　organization；　on　the　plan　which　Nature　follows　when　she　would　fill　a　half…finished　tissue　with　blood…vessels　or　change　a　temporary　cartilage　into　bone。

Suppose；　however；　that　the　prospects　of　the　war　were；　we　need　not　say　absolutely　hopeless；because　that　is　the　unfounded　hypothesis　of　those　whose　wish　is　father　to　their　thought；but　full　of　discouragement。　　Can　we　make　a　safe　and　honorable　peace　as　the　quarrel　now　stands？　　As　honor　comes　before　safety；　let　us　look　at　that　first。　　We　have　undertaken　to　resent　a　supreme　insult；　and　have　had　to　bear　new　insults　and　aggressions；　even　to　the　direct　menace　of　our　national　capital。　　The　blood　which　our　best　and　bravest　have　shed　will　never　sink　into　the　ground　until　our　wrongs　are　righted；　or　the　power　to　right　them　is　shown　to　be　insufficient。　　If　we　stop　now；　all　the　loss　of　life　has　been　butchery；　if　we　carry　out　the　intention　with　which　we　first　resented　the　outrage；　the　earth　drinks　up　the　blood　of　our　martyrs；　and　the　rose　of　honor　blooms　forever　where　it　was　shed。　　To　accept　less　than　indemnity　for　the　past；　so　far　as　the　wretched　kingdom　of　the　conspirators　can　afford　it；　and　security　for　the　future；　would　discredit　us　in　our　own　eyes　and　in　the　eyes　of　those　who　hate　and　long　to　be　able　to　despise　us。　　But　to　reward　the　insults　and　the　robberies　we　have　suffered；　by　the　surrender　of　our　fortresses　along　the　coast；　in　the　national　gulf；　and　on　the　banks　of　the　national　river；and　this　and　much　more　would　surely　be　demanded　of　us；would　place　the　United　Fraction　of　America　on　a　level　with　the　Peruvian　guano…islands；　whose　ignoble　but　coveted　soil　is　open　to　be　plundered　by　all　comers！

If　we　could　make　a　peace　without　dishonor；　could　we　make　one　that　would　be　safe　and　lasting？　　We　could　have　an　armistice；　no　doubt；　long　enough　for　the　flesh　of　our　wounded　men　to　heal　and　their　broken　bones　to　knit　together。　　But　could　we　expect　a　solid；　substantial；　enduring　peace；　in　which　the　grass　would　have　time　to　grow　in　the　war…paths；　and　the　bruised　arms　to　rust；　as　the　old　G。　R。　cannon　rusted　in　our　State　arsenal；　sleeping　with　their　tompions　in　their　mouths；　like　so　many　sucking　lambs？　　It　is　not　the　question　whether　the　same　set　of　soldiers　would　be　again　summoned　to　the　field。　　Let　us　take　it　for　granted　that　we　have　seen　enough　of　the　miseries　of　warfare　to　last　us　for　a　while；　and　keep　us　contented　with　militia　musters　and　sham…fights。　　The　question　is　whether　we　could　leave　our　children　and　our　children's　children　with　any　secure　trust　that　they　would　not　have　to　go　through　the　very　trials　we　are　enduring；　probably　on　a　more　extended　scale　and　in　a　more　aggravated　form。

It　may　be　well　to　look　at　the　prospects　before　us；　if　a　peace　is　established　on　the　basis　of　Southern　independence；　the　only　peace　possible；　unless　we　choose　to　add　ourselves　to　the　four　millions　who　already　call　the　Southern　whites　their　masters。　　We　know　what　the　prevailingwe　do　not　mean　universalspirit　and　temper　of　those　people　have　been　for　generations；　and　what　they　are　like　to　be　after　a　long　and　bitter　warfare。　　We　know　what　their　tone　is　to　the　people　of　the　North；　if　we　do　not；　De　Bow　and　Governor　Hammond　are　schoolmasters　who　will　teach　us　to　our　heart's　content。　　We　see　how　easily　their　social　organization　adapts　itself　to　a　state　of　warfare。　They　breed　a　superior　order　of　men　for　leaders；　an　ignorant　commonalty　ready　to　follow　them　as　the　vassals　of　feudal　times　followed　their　lords；　and　a　race　of　bondsmen；　who；　unless　this　war　changes　them　from　chattels　to　human　beings；　will　continue　to　add　vastly　to　their　military　strength　in　raising　their　food；　in　building　their　fortifications；　in　all　the　mechanical　work　of　war；　in　fact；　except；　it　may　be；　the　handling　of　weapons。　　The　institution　proclaimed　as　the　corner…stone　of　their　government　does　violence　not　merely　to　the　precepts　of　religion；　but　to　many　of　the　best　human　instincts；　yet　their　fanaticism　for　it　is　as　sincere　as　any　tribe　of　the　desert　ever　manifested　for　the　faith　of　the　Prophet　of　Allah。　They　call　themselves　by　the　same　name　as　the　Christians　of　the　North；　yet　there　is　as　much　difference　between　their　Christianity　and　that　of　Wesley　or　of　Channing；　as　between　creeds　that　in　past　times　have　vowed　mutual　extermination。　　Still　we　must　not　call　them　barbarians　because　they　cherish　an　institution　hostile　to　civilization。　　Their　highest　culture　stands　out　all　the　more　brilliantly　from　the　dark　background　of　ignorance　against　which　it　is　seen；　but　it　would　be　injustice　to　deny　that　they　have　always　shone　in　political　science；　or　that　their　military　capacity　makes　them　most　formidable　antagonists；　and　that；　however　inferior　they　may　be　to　their　Northern　fellow…countrymen　in　most　branches　of　literature　and　science；　the　social　elegances　and　personal　graces　lend　their　outward　show　to　the　best　circles　among　their　dominant　class。

Whom　have　we　then　for　our　neighbors；　in　case　of　separation；our　neighbors　along　a　splintered　line　of　fracture　extending　for　thousands　of　miles；but　the　Saracens　of　the　Nineteenth　Century；　a　fierce；　intolerant；　fanatical　people；　the　males　of　which　will　be　a　perpetual　standing　army；　hating　us　worse　than　the　Southern　Hamilcar　taught　his　swarthy　boy　to　hate　the　Romans；　a　people　whose　existence　as　a　hostile　nation　on　our　frontier　is　incompatible　with　our　peaceful　development？　Their　wealth；　the　proceeds　of　enforced　labor；　multiplied　by　the　breaking　up　of　new　cottonfields；　and　in　due　time　by　the　reopening　of　the　slave…trade；　will　go　to　purchase　arms；　to　construct　fortresses；　to　fit　out　navies。　　The　old　Saracens；　fanatics　for　a　religion　which　professed　to　grow　by　conquest；　were　a　nation　of　predatory　and　migrating　warriors。　　The　Southern　people；　fanatics　for　a　system　essentially　aggressive；　conquering；　wasting；　which　cannot　remain　stationary；　but　must　grow　by　alternate　appropriations　of　labor　and　of　land；　will　come　to　resemble　their　earlier　prototypes。　　Already；　even；　the　insolence　of　their　language　to　the　people　of　the　North　is　a　close　imitation　of　the　style　which　those　proud　and　arrogant　Asiatics　affected　toward　all　the　nations　of　Europe。　　What　the　〃Christian　dogs〃　were　to　the　followers　of　Mahomet；　the　〃accursed　Yankees；〃　the　〃Northern　mud…sills〃　are　to　the　followers　of　the　Southern　Moloch。　The　accomplishments　which　we　find　in　their　choicer　circles　were　prefigured　in　the　court　of　the　chivalric　Saladin；　and　the　long　train　of　Painim　knights　who　rode　forth　to　conquest　under　the　Crescent。　　In　all　branches　of　culture；　their　heathen　predecessors　went　far　beyond　them。　　The　schools　of　mediaeval　learning　were　filled　with　Arabian　teachers。　　The　heavens　declare　the　glory　of　the　Oriental　astronomers；　as　Algorab　and　Aldebaran　repeat　their　Arabic　names　to　the　students　of　the　starry　firmament。　　The　sumptuous　edifice　erected　by　the　Art　of　the　nineteenth　century；　to　hold　the　treasures　of　its　Industry；　could　show　nothing　fairer　than　the　court　which　copies　the　Moorish　palace　that　crowns　the　summit　of　Granada。　　Yet　this　was　the　power　which　Charles　the　Hammer；　striking　for　Christianity　and　civilization；　had　to　break　like　a　potter's　vessel；　these　were　the　people　whom　Spain　had　to　utterly　extirpate　from　the　land　where　they　had　ruled　for　centuries

Prepare；　then；　if　you　unseal　the　vase　which　holds　this　dangerous　Afrit　of　Southern　nationality；　for　a　power　on　your　borders　that　will　be　to　you　what　the　Saracens　were　to　Europe　before　the　son　of　Pepin　shattered　their　armies；　and　flung　the　shards　and　shivers　of　their　broken　strength　upon　the　refuse　heap　of　extinguished　barbarisms。　Prepare　for　the　possible　fate　of　Christian　Spain；　for　a　slave…market　in　Philadelphia；　for　the　Alhambra　of　a　Southern　caliph　on　the　grounds　consecrated　by　the　domestic　virtues　of　a　long　line　of　Presidents　and　their　exemplary　families。　　Remember　the　ages　of　border　warfare　between　England　and　Scotland；　closed　at　last　by　the　union　of　the　two　kingdoms。　　Recollect　the　hunting　of　the　deer　on　the　Cheviot　hills；　and　all　that　it　led　to；　then　think　of　the　game　which　the　dogs　will　follow　open…mouthed　across　our　Southern　border；　and　all　that　is　like　to　follow　which　the　child　may　rue　that　is　unborn；　think　of　these　possibilities；　or　probabilities；　if　you　will；　and　say　whether　you　are　ready　to　make　a　peace　which　will　give　you　such　a　neighbor；　which　may　betray　your　civilization　as　that　of　half　the　Peninsula　was　given　up　to　the　Moors；　which　may　leave　your　fair　border　provinces　to　be　crushed　under　the　heel　of　a　tyrant；　as　Holland　was　left　to　be　trodden　down　by　the　Duke　of　Alva！

No！　　no！　　fellow…citizens！　　We　must　fight　in　this　quarrel　until　one　side　or　the　other　is　exhausted。　　Rather　than　suffer　all　that　we　have　poured　out　of　our　blood；　all　that　we　have　lavished　of　our　substance；　to　have　been　expended　in　vain；　and　to　bequeath　an　unsettled　question；　an　unfinished　conflict；　an　unavenged　insult；　an　unrighted　wrong；　a　stained　escutcheon；　a　tarnished　shield；　a　dishonored　flag；　an　unheroic　memory　to　the　descendants　of　those　who　have　always　claimed　that　their　fathers　were　heroes；　rather　than　do　all　this；　it　were　hardly　an　American　exaggeration　to　say；　better　that　the　last　man　and　the　last　dollar　should　be　followed　by　the　last　woman　and　the　last　dime；　the　last　child　and　the　last　copper！

There　are　those　who　profess　to　fear　that　our　government　is　becoming　a　mere　irresponsible　tyranny。　　If　there　are　any　who　really　believe　that　our　present　Chief　Magistrate　means　to　found　a　dynasty　for　h