The following answer to this letter was sent by my husband to the Richmond Whig, and puts him on record before the world at a time when such opinions were decidedly adverse13 to the feelings of many of his own personal friends. It required courage to write this letter. Since that time the prophetic words have been fully1 justified14 by subsequent events, and the unwelcome sentiments are to-day fully indorsed by the South. They are pregnant with wisdom, 326perhaps as much needed now as at the time they were uttered.
"New York, October 5, 1867.
"My dear Sir: I was apprised15 before the receipt of your letter that a certain paper of Virginia had stigmatized16 me as a 'Radical17' and had otherwise imputed18 to me sentiments inimical to the interests of the South. But the silly story I disdained19 to contradict, while it rested on the authority of the irresponsible person who propagated it. Since you say that my silence is construed20 into a sort of acquiescence in the reproach, I empower you to repel21 the accusation22 with the utmost energy of indignant denial. I have not the vanity to imagine that my opinions are of the least consequence to any one; but, because they have been brought into controversy23, and have been the occasion of subjecting me to some unmerited animadversion, I will tell you very frankly24 and freely in what relation I stand to the politics of the day.
"In the first place, then, neither with politics nor parties have I the least concern or connection. On the downfall of the Confederacy I renounced25 forever every political aspiration26, and resolved henceforth to address myself to the care of my family and the pursuit of my profession. But for all that I have not repudiated27 the obligations of good citizenship28. When I renewed my oath of allegiance to the union, I did so in good faith and without reservation; and as I understand that oath, it not only restrains me from acts of positive hostility29 to the government, but pledges me to do my utmost for its welfare and stability. Hence, while I am more immediately concerned to see the South restored to its former prosperity, I am anxious that the whole country, and all classes, may be reunited on the basis of common interest and fraternal regard. And this object, it appears to me, can only be attained31 by conceding to all classes the 327unrestricted rights guaranteed them by the laws and by obliterating32 as speedily and as entirely33 as possible the distinctions which have separated the North and the South into hostile sections.
"With this conviction, while I pretend to no part in politics, I have not hesitated, in private discourse34, to advise my friends in the South frankly to 'accept the situation'; to adjust their ideas to the altered state of affairs; to recognize and respect the rights of the colored race; to cultivate relations of confidence and good-will toward the people of the North; to abstain35 from the profitless agitations36 of political debate; and to employ their energies in the far more exigent and useful work of material reparation and development. Striving out of regard to the South to inculcate that lesson of prudent37 conduct, I have urged such arguments as these: That the negro is, in no sense, responsible for the calamities38 we endure; that towards us he has ever conducted himself with kindness and subordination; that he is entitled to our compassion39, and to the assistance of our superior intelligence in the effort to attain30 a higher state of moral and intellectual development; that to assume he was placed on this theatre as a reproach to humanity and a stumbling-block to the progress of civilization would be to impeach40 the wisdom and goodness of Providence41; that, considering the comparative numbers of the two races in the South, it would be the merest madness to provoke a collision of caste; in a word, that it is absolutely essential to the peace, repose42, and prosperity of the South that the emancipated43 class should be undisturbed in the enjoyment44 of their rights under the law, and should be enlightened to understand the duties and interests of social order and well-being45. But it has appeared to me that the chief obstacle to a complete and cordial reunion between the North and the South is found in the suspicion and resentment with which the people of these sections 328regard each other. Hence, while on the one hand assuring the Northern people of the good faith with which the South resumes its obligations in the union, I have thought it not amiss, on the other, to protest to my Southern friends that the mass of the Northern community are animated46 by far more just and liberal sentiments toward us than we are apt to suspect.
"And thus, leaving to others the ostensible47 part in the work of reconstruction, and abstaining48 studiously from all political connection and activity, I have hoped in some measure, and in a quiet way, to repair the evil I contributed to bring upon the South by availing myself of every appropriate private opportunity to suggest these counsels of moderation and magnanimity. Passion, to which in truth we had abundant provocation49, precipitated50 us into secession; reason must conduct us back into the path of peace and prosperity.
"Hard it may be to purge51 our hearts of the resentments52 and prejudices engendered53 by civil war; but until our minds be enlightened by a philosophic54 comprehension of the exigencies55 of our situation, we shall never recover the repose after which the wearied spirit of the South so eagerly pants.
"At whatever risk of personal obloquy56, and at whatever sacrifice of personal interest,—and you know it involves both obloquy and sacrifice to talk as I do,—I am resolved to employ all the energy and intellect I may command in the incessant57 endeavor to promote peace and good-will among the people of the lately belligerent58 states. What the country needs, what in a most especial manner the South needs, is repose; freedom from the throes of political agitation, and leisure to recruit its exhausted59 energies. The experience of the past six years should have impressed on the mind of the American nation this most salutary lesson,—a lesson sooner or later learnt by every nation in the development of its own history,—that civil war is the 329sum and consummation of all human woe60. Protesting solemnly the integrity of motive61 by which I was then actuated, yet I never recall the names of the noble men who fell in our conflict; I never look abroad upon our wasted fields and desolated62 homes; I never contemplate63 the all-embracing ruin in which we are involved, the sad eclipse of our liberties and the sinister64 aspect of the future, without inwardly resolving to dedicate all I possess of ability for the public service to the task of averting65 another such catastrophe66, and to that end of cultivating a spirit of forbearance and good feeling among all classes and all sections of the country.
"These, my dear sir, are the opinions, very briefly67 and dogmatically delivered, which I entertain touching68 the actual condition of the Southern states, and the policy proper for them to pursue in the present juncture69. They are the result of anxious and conscientious70 reflection, of much observation of the popular temper of the North, and of extreme and unabated solicitude71 for the welfare of the community to which I am attached by the strongest ties of filial devotion. With the utmost sincerity72 of conviction, I believe that, by a system of conduct in conformity73 to these suggestions, the Southern people may achieve a prosperity and happiness equal to any they ever enjoyed; while on the contrary, I am as firmly persuaded that, by a vain and impatient resistance to an order of things they cannot change, and to a destiny they cannot escape, they will infinitely74 aggravate75 the miseries76 of their present condition, and besides, bring down upon themselves calamities appalling77 to contemplate.
"I am not acquainted with the classification of parties, but if these opinions make me a 'Radical,' then I am a 'Radical'; for they are deliberately78 the opinions of
"Very truly yours,
"ROGER A. PRYOR."
点击收听单词发音
1 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 avowed | |
adj.公开声明的,承认的v.公开声明,承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 salvation | |
n.(尤指基督)救世,超度,拯救,解困 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 acquiescence | |
n.默许;顺从 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 inevitable | |
adj.不可避免的,必然发生的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 suffrage | |
n.投票,选举权,参政权 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 interval | |
n.间隔,间距;幕间休息,中场休息 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 reconstruction | |
n.重建,再现,复原 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 resentment | |
n.怨愤,忿恨 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 agitation | |
n.搅动;搅拌;鼓动,煽动 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 portended | |
v.预示( portend的过去式和过去分词 );预兆;给…以警告;预告 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 renewal | |
adj.(契约)延期,续订,更新,复活,重来 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 adverse | |
adj.不利的;有害的;敌对的,不友好的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 justified | |
a.正当的,有理的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 apprised | |
v.告知,通知( apprise的过去式和过去分词 );评价 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 stigmatized | |
v.使受耻辱,指责,污辱( stigmatize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 radical | |
n.激进份子,原子团,根号;adj.根本的,激进的,彻底的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 imputed | |
v.把(错误等)归咎于( impute的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 disdained | |
鄙视( disdain的过去式和过去分词 ); 不屑于做,不愿意做 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 construed | |
v.解释(陈述、行为等)( construe的过去式和过去分词 );翻译,作句法分析 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21 repel | |
v.击退,抵制,拒绝,排斥 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22 accusation | |
n.控告,指责,谴责 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23 controversy | |
n.争论,辩论,争吵 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
24 frankly | |
adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
25 renounced | |
v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 );宣布放弃;宣布与…决裂;宣布摒弃 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26 aspiration | |
n.志向,志趣抱负;渴望;(语)送气音;吸出 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27 repudiated | |
v.(正式地)否认( repudiate的过去式和过去分词 );拒绝接受;拒绝与…往来;拒不履行(法律义务) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
28 citizenship | |
n.市民权,公民权,国民的义务(身份) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
29 hostility | |
n.敌对,敌意;抵制[pl.]交战,战争 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
30 attain | |
vt.达到,获得,完成 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
31 attained | |
(通常经过努力)实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 ); 达到; 获得; 达到(某年龄、水平、状况) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
32 obliterating | |
v.除去( obliterate的现在分词 );涂去;擦掉;彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
33 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
34 discourse | |
n.论文,演说;谈话;话语;vi.讲述,著述 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
35 abstain | |
v.自制,戒绝,弃权,避免 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
36 agitations | |
(液体等的)摇动( agitation的名词复数 ); 鼓动; 激烈争论; (情绪等的)纷乱 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
37 prudent | |
adj.谨慎的,有远见的,精打细算的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
38 calamities | |
n.灾祸,灾难( calamity的名词复数 );不幸之事 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
39 compassion | |
n.同情,怜悯 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
40 impeach | |
v.弹劾;检举 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
41 providence | |
n.深谋远虑,天道,天意;远见;节约;上帝 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
42 repose | |
v.(使)休息;n.安息 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
43 emancipated | |
adj.被解放的,不受约束的v.解放某人(尤指摆脱政治、法律或社会的束缚)( emancipate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
44 enjoyment | |
n.乐趣;享有;享用 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
45 well-being | |
n.安康,安乐,幸福 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
46 animated | |
adj.生气勃勃的,活跃的,愉快的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
47 ostensible | |
adj.(指理由)表面的,假装的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
48 abstaining | |
戒(尤指酒),戒除( abstain的现在分词 ); 弃权(不投票) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
49 provocation | |
n.激怒,刺激,挑拨,挑衅的事物,激怒的原因 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
50 precipitated | |
v.(突如其来地)使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 );促成;猛然摔下;使沉淀 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
51 purge | |
n.整肃,清除,泻药,净化;vt.净化,清除,摆脱;vi.清除,通便,腹泻,变得清洁 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
52 resentments | |
(因受虐待而)愤恨,不满,怨恨( resentment的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
53 engendered | |
v.产生(某形势或状况),造成,引起( engender的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
54 philosophic | |
adj.哲学的,贤明的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
55 exigencies | |
n.急切需要 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
56 obloquy | |
n.斥责,大骂 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
57 incessant | |
adj.不停的,连续的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
58 belligerent | |
adj.好战的,挑起战争的;n.交战国,交战者 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
59 exhausted | |
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
60 woe | |
n.悲哀,苦痛,不幸,困难;int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
61 motive | |
n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
62 desolated | |
adj.荒凉的,荒废的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
63 contemplate | |
vt.盘算,计议;周密考虑;注视,凝视 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
64 sinister | |
adj.不吉利的,凶恶的,左边的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
65 averting | |
防止,避免( avert的现在分词 ); 转移 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
66 catastrophe | |
n.大灾难,大祸 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
67 briefly | |
adv.简单地,简短地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
68 touching | |
adj.动人的,使人感伤的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
69 juncture | |
n.时刻,关键时刻,紧要关头 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
70 conscientious | |
adj.审慎正直的,认真的,本着良心的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
71 solicitude | |
n.焦虑 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
72 sincerity | |
n.真诚,诚意;真实 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
73 conformity | |
n.一致,遵从,顺从 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
74 infinitely | |
adv.无限地,无穷地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
75 aggravate | |
vt.加重(剧),使恶化;激怒,使恼火 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
76 miseries | |
n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 );痛苦的事;穷困;常发牢骚的人 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
77 appalling | |
adj.骇人听闻的,令人震惊的,可怕的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
78 deliberately | |
adv.审慎地;蓄意地;故意地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |