The statesmen who still used reason as the guiding principle of life hadno use for him. Henry Wilson, the new Senator from Massachusetts, methim and was repelled1 by the something that drew others. Governor Andrewwas puzzled by his strange personality.
The secret of his power lay in a mystic appeal to the Puritanconscience. He had been from childhood afflicted2 with this conscience inits most malignant3 form. He knew instinctively4 its process of action.
The Puritan had settled New England and fixed5 the principles both ofeconomic and political life. The civilization he set up was compact andcommercial. He organized it in towns and townships. The Meeting Housewas the center, the source of all power and authority. No dwelling6 couldbe built further than two miles from a church and attendance on worshipwas made compulsory7 by law.
The South, against whose life Brown was organizing his militant8 crusade,was agricultural, scattered9, individual. Individualism was a passionwith the Southerner, liberty his battle cry. He scorned the "authority"of the church and worshipped God according to the dictates10 of his ownconscience. The Court House, not the Meeting House, was his forum11,and he rode there through miles of virgin12 forests to dispute with hisneighbor.
The mental processes of the Puritan, therefore, were distinctlydifferent from that of the Southerner. The Puritan mind was given tohours of grim repression13 which he called "Conviction of Sin." Resistancebecame the prime law of life. The world was a thing of evil. A morass14 ofSin to be attacked, to be reformed, to be "abolished." The Southernerperceived the evils of Slavery long before the Puritan, but he made apoor Abolitionist. The Puritan was born an Abolitionist. He should notonly resist and attack the world; he should _hate_ it. He early learnedto love the pleasure of hating. He hated himself if no more promisingvictim loomed15 on the horizon. He early became the foremost Persecutorand Vice16-Crusader of the new world. He made witch-hunting one of thesports of New England.
When not busy with some form of the witch hunt, the Puritan found anoutlet for his repressed instincts in the ferocity with which he foughtthe Indians or worked to achieve the conquest of Nature and lay upworldly goods for himself and his children. Prosperity, therefore,became the second principle of his religion, next to vice crusading.
When he succeeded in business, he praised God for his tender mercies.
His goods and chattels17 became the visible evidence of His love. The onlyholiday he established or permitted was the day on which he publiclythanked God for the goods which He had delivered. Through him the NewEngland Puritan Thanksgiving Day became a national festival and throughhim a religious reverence18 for worldly success has become a nationalideal.
The inner life of the Puritan was soul-fear. Driven by fear andrepression he attacked his rock-ribbed country, its thin soil, itssavage enemies and his own fellow competitors with fury.
And he succeeded.
The odds20 against him sharpened his powers, made keen his mind, toughenedhis muscles.
The Southern planter, on the other hand, represented the sharpestcontrast to this mental and physical attitude toward life. He came ofthe stock of the English Squire21. And if he came from Scotland he foundthis English ideal already established and accepted it as his own.
The joy of living, not the horror of life, was the mainspring of hisaction and the secret of his character. The Puritan hated play. TheSoutherner loved to play. He dreamed of a life rich and full ofspiritual and physical leisure. He enjoyed his religion. He did notagonize over it. His character was genial22. He hated fear and drove itfrom his soul. He loved a fiddle23 and a banjo. He was brave. He was loyalto his friends. He loved his home and his kin24. He despised trade. Hedisliked hard work.
To this hour in the country's life his ideal had dominated the nation.
The Puritan Abolitionists now challenged this ideal for a fight to thefinish. Slavery was protected by the Constitution. All right, they burnthe Constitution and denounce it as a Covenant25 with Death, an agreementwith Hell. They begin a propaganda to incite26 servile insurrection inthe South. They denounce the Southern Slave owner as a fiend. Eventhe greatest writers of the North caught the contagion27 of this mania28.
Longfellow, Lowell, Whittier and Emerson used their pens to blacken thename of the Southern people. From platform, pulpit and forum, throughpamphlet, magazine, weekly and daily newspapers the stream of abusepoured forth29 in ever-increasing volume.
That the proud Southerner would resent the injustice30 of this wholesaleindictment was inevitable31. Their habit of mind, their born instinct ofleadership, their love of independence, their hatred32 of dictation, theirsense of historic achievement in the building of the republic wouldresent it. Their critics had not only been Slave holders33 themselves aslong as it paid commercially, but their skippers were now sailing theseas in violation34 of Southern laws prohibiting the slave trade. Ourearly Slave traders were nearly all Puritans. When one of their shipscame into port, the minister met her at the wharf35, knelt in prayer andthanked Almighty36 God for one more cargo37 of heathen saved from hell.
Brown's whole plan of attack was based on the certainty of resentmentfrom the South. He set out to provoke his opponents. This purpose wasnow the inspiration of every act of his life.
A group of six typical Northern minds had fallen completely under hispower: Dr. Samuel G. Howe, Rev19. Theodore Parker, Rev. Thomas WentworthHigginson, Frank B. Sanborn, George L. Stearns and the Rev. Hon. GerritSmith.
Gerrit Smith was many times a millionaire, one of the great land ownersof the country, a former partner in business with John Jacob Astor, theelder, and at this time a philanthropist by profession. He had built achurch at Peterboro, New York, and had preached a number of years. Inhis growing zeal38 as an Abolitionist he had entered politics and had justbeen elected to Congress from his district.
He was a man of gentle, humane39 impulses and looked out upon the worldwith the kindliest fatherly eyes. It was one of the curious freaks offate that he should fall under the influence of Brown. The stern oldPuritan was his antithesis40 in every line of face and mental make-up.
Smith was the preacher, the theorist, and the dreamer.
Brown had become the man of Action.
And by Action he meant exactly what the modern Social anarchist41 meansby _direct action_. The plan he had developed was to come to "closequarters" with Slavery. He had organized the Band of Gileadites to killevery officer of the law who attempted to enforce the provisions of theConstitution of the United States relating to Slavery. His eyes were nowfixed on the Territory of Kansas.
There could be no doubt about the abnormality of the mind of the man whohad constituted himself the Chosen Instrument of Almighty God to destroychattel Slavery in the South.
He was pacing the floor of the parlor42 of the New Astor House awaitingthe arrival of his friend, Congressman43 Gerrit Smith, for a conferencebefore the meeting scheduled for eight o'clock. It was a characteristicof Brown that he couldn't sit still. He paced the floor.
The way he walked marked him with distinction, if not eccentricity44. Hewalked always with a quick, springing step. He didn't swing his foot. Itworked on springs. And the spring in it had a furtive45 action not unlikethe movement of a leopard46. His muscles, in spite of his fifty-fouryears, were strong and sinewy47. He was five feet ten inches in height.
His head was remarkable48 for its small size. The brain space was limitedand the hair grew low on his forehead, as if a hark back to theprimitive man out of which humanity grew. His chin protruded49 into anaggressive threat. His mouth was not only stern, it was as inexorable asan oath.
His hair was turning gray and he wore it trimmed close to his smallskull. His nose was an aggressive Roman type. The expression of his facewas shrewd and serious, with a touch always of cunning.
A visitor at his house at North Elba whispered one day to one of hissons:
"Your father looks like an eagle."The boy hesitated and replied in deep seriousness:
"Yes, or some other carnivorous bird."The thing above all others that gave him the look of a bird of prey50 washis bluish-gray eye. An eye that was never still and always shone with aglitter. The only time this strange light was not noticeable was duringthe moments when he drew the lids down half-way. He was in the habit ofholding his eyes half shut in times of deep thinking. At these momentsif he raised his head, his eyes glowed two pin points of light.
No matter what the impression he made, either of attraction orrepulsion, his personality was a serious proposition. No man looked onceonly. And no man ever attempted undue51 familiarity or ridicule52. His lifeto this time had been a series of tragic53 failures in everything he hadundertaken. A study of his intense Puritan face revealed at once hisfundamental character. A soul at war with the world. A soul at war withhimself. He was the incarnation of repressed emotions and desires. Hehad married twice and his fierce passions had made him the father oftwenty children before fifty years of age. His first wife had givenbirth to seven in ten years and died a raving54 maniac55 during the birth ofher last. Two of his children had already shown the signs of unbalancedmentality.
The grip of his mind on the individuals who allowed themselves to bedrawn within the circle of his influence became absolute.
He was a man of earnest and constant prayer to his God. The God heworshipped was one whose face was not yet revealed to the crowd thathung on his strangely halting words. He spoke56 in mystic symbols. Hismysticism was always the source of his power over the religious leaderswho had gathered about him. They had not stopped to analyze57 the meaningof this appeal. They looked once into his shining blue-gray eyes andbecame his followers58. He never stopped to reason.
He spoke with authority.
He claimed a divine commission for action and they did not pause toexamine his credentials59. He had failed at every enterprise he hadundertaken. And then he suddenly discovered his power over the Puritanimagination.
To Brown's mind, from the day of his devotion to the fixed ideaof destroying Slavery in the South, "Action" had but onemeaning--bloodshed. He knew that revolutionary ideas are matters ofbelief. He asserted beliefs. The elect believed. The damned refused tobelieve.
Long before Smith had entered the room Brown had dropped into a seat bythe window, his eyes two pin points. His abstraction was so deep, hisabsorption in his dreams so complete that when Smith spoke, he leaped tohis feet and put himself in an attitude of defense60.
He gazed at his friend a moment and rubbed his eyes in a dazed waybefore he could come back to earth.
In a moment he had clasped hands with the philanthropist. Smith lookedinto his eyes and his will was one with the man of Action. He had notyet grasped the full meaning of the Action. He was to awake later toits tremendous import--primitive, barbaric, animal, linking man throughhundreds of thousands of years to the beast who was his jungle father.
Smith did not know that he was to preside at the meeting until Browntold him. He consented without a moment's hesitation61.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
repelled
|
|
| v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
afflicted
|
|
| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
malignant
|
|
| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
instinctively
|
|
| adv.本能地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
dwelling
|
|
| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
compulsory
|
|
| n.强制的，必修的；规定的，义务的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
militant
|
|
| adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
scattered
|
|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
dictates
|
|
| n.命令，规定，要求( dictate的名词复数 )v.大声讲或读( dictate的第三人称单数 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
forum
|
|
| n.论坛，讨论会 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
virgin
|
|
| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
repression
|
|
| n.镇压，抑制，抑压 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
morass
|
|
| n.沼泽，困境 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
loomed
|
|
| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
vice
|
|
| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
chattels
|
|
| n.动产，奴隶( chattel的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
reverence
|
|
| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
rev
|
|
| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
odds
|
|
| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
squire
|
|
| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
genial
|
|
| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
fiddle
|
|
| n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
kin
|
|
| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
covenant
|
|
| n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
incite
|
|
| v.引起，激动，煽动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
contagion
|
|
| n.(通过接触的疾病)传染；蔓延 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
mania
|
|
| n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
injustice
|
|
| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
inevitable
|
|
| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
hatred
|
|
| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
holders
|
|
| 支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
violation
|
|
| n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
wharf
|
|
| n.码头，停泊处 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
almighty
|
|
| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
cargo
|
|
| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
zeal
|
|
| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
humane
|
|
| adj.人道的，富有同情心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
antithesis
|
|
| n.对立；相对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
anarchist
|
|
| n.无政府主义者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
parlor
|
|
| n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
Congressman
|
|
| n.（美）国会议员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
eccentricity
|
|
| n.古怪，反常，怪癖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
furtive
|
|
| adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
leopard
|
|
| n.豹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
sinewy
|
|
| adj.多腱的，强壮有力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
protruded
|
|
| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
prey
|
|
| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
undue
|
|
| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
ridicule
|
|
| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
tragic
|
|
| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
raving
|
|
| adj.说胡话的；疯狂的，怒吼的；非常漂亮的；令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话；疯话adv.胡言乱语地；疯狂地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
maniac
|
|
| n.精神癫狂的人；疯子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
spoke
|
|
| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
analyze
|
|
| vt.分析，解析 (=analyse) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
followers
|
|
| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
credentials
|
|
| n.证明，资格，证明书，证件 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
defense
|
|
| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
hesitation
|
|
| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |