FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134  
135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   >>   >|  
People are always quoting Napoleon's saying that men are nothing, a man is everything, which I never believed before, but which I'm beginning to believe now." Then the talk veered away from battle and back to social, literary and artistic affairs, to all of which Harry and Dalton listened eagerly. Both had minds that responded to the more delicate things of life, and they were glad to hear something besides war discussed. It was hard for them to think that everything was going on as usual in Europe, that new books and operas and songs were being written, and that men and women were going about their daily affairs in peace. Yet both were destined to live to see the case reversed, the people of the States setting the world an example in moderation and restraint, while the governments of Europe were deluging that continent with blood. "If this war should result in our defeat," said Bagby, "we won't get a fair trial before the world for two or three generations, and maybe never." "Why?" asked Dalton. "Because we're not a writing people. Oh, yes, there's Poe, I know, the nation's greatest literary genius, but even Europe honored him before the South did. We've devoted our industry and talents to politics, oratory and war. We don't write books, and we don't have any newspapers that amount to much. Why, as sure as I'm sitting here, the moment this war is over New England and New York and Pennsylvania, particularly New England, will begin to pour out books, telling how the wicked Southerners brought on the war, what a cruel and low people we are, the way in which we taught our boys, when they were strong enough, how to beat slaves to death, and the whole world will believe them. Maybe the next generation of Southerners will believe them too." "Why?" asked Harry. "Why? Why? Because we don't have any writers, and won't have any for a long time! The writer has not been honored among us. Any fellow with a roaring voice who can get up on the stump and tell his audience that they're the bravest and best and smartest people on earth is the man for them. You know that old story of Andy Jackson. Somebody taunted him with being an uneducated man, so at the close of his next speech he thundered out: _E pluribus unum! Multum in parvo! Sic semper tyrannis!_ So it was all over. Old Andy to that audience, and all the others that heard of it, was the greatest Latin scholar in the world." "But that may apply to
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134  
135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
people
 

Europe

 

Because

 

audience

 

Southerners

 
England
 
honored
 

literary

 
affairs
 

Dalton


greatest

 

strong

 
slaves
 

sitting

 
brought
 

wicked

 
telling
 
Pennsylvania
 

moment

 

taught


thundered

 

pluribus

 

speech

 

taunted

 

Somebody

 

uneducated

 

Multum

 

scholar

 

semper

 

tyrannis


Jackson

 
fellow
 

writer

 

writers

 

roaring

 
smartest
 

bravest

 
amount
 

generation

 
discussed

delicate
 

things

 
written
 
operas
 

responded

 

believed

 
beginning
 

People

 
quoting
 

Napoleon