time may come when she may repent her folly. The present friendship of America may be of but little moment to her; but the future destinies of that country do not admit of a doubt: over those of England there lour 28 some shadows of uncertainty. Should, then, a day of gloom arrive; should those reverses overtake her, from which the proudest empires have not been exempt; she may look back with regret at her infatuation, in repulsing from her side a nation she might have grappled to her bosom, and thus destroying her only chance for real friendship beyond the boundaries of her own dominions. There is a general impression in England, that the people of the United States are inimical to the parent country. It is one of the errors which have been diligently propagated by designing 29 writers. There is, doubtless, considerable political hostility, and a general soreness at the illiberality of the English press; but, collectively speaking 30, the prepossessions of the people are strongly in favour of England. Indeed, at one time, they amounted, in many parts of the Union, to an absurd degree of bigotry. The bare name of Englishman was a passport to the confidence and hospitality of every family, and too often gave a transient currency to the worthless and the ungrateful. Throughout the country there was something of enthusiasm connected with the idea of England. We looked to it with a hallowed feeling of tenderness and veneration, as the land of our forefathers the august 31 repository of the monuments and antiquities of our race the birth-place and mausoleum verwandeln. Der Ausdruck ist hergenommen aus 2. Mose 15, 23, wo es von den Israeliten heisst: And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it is called Marah. = 28) to lour, gewöhnl. lower geschrieben trübe, dunkel werden, finster, düster blicken; altengl. louren, luren, niederd. lûren sich tückisch zurückhalten; mehr in der Bedeutung des heimlichen Aufpassens mhd. lûren, nhd. lauern. Der Begriff scheint auszugehen von dem starren, trüben, halboffenen, schlaftrunkenen Blicke des Auges. Es hat nichts zu thun mit to lower (spr. das o = dtsch. o) to bring low, to sink down. Shadows lower dtsch. etwa düstere Wolken hangen. 29) designing (mit scharf. s u. stumm. gn.) eigtl. Pläne machend, dann hinterlistig, falsch. 30) collectively speaking dtsch. etwa: im Ganzen genommen. Absolutes Particip mit nicht ausdrücklich bezeichnetem Subject: der Schriftsteller hat sich selber, aber auch etwa den Leser oder überhaupt ein unbestimmtes Subject (man) im Auge; vergl. generally speaking im Allgemeinen. 31) spr. augúst, vergl. S. 43, Anm. 59. Irving, The Sketch Book. 5 of the sages and heroes of our paternal history. After our own country, there was none in whose glory we more delighted none whose good opinion we were more anxious to possess none toward which our hearts yearned with such throbbings of warm consanguinity. Even during the late war 32, whenever there was the least opportunity for kind feelings to spring forth, it was the delight of the generous spirits of our country to show that, in the midst of hostilities, they still kept alive the sparks of future friendship. Is all this to be at an end? Is this golden band of kindred sympathies, so rare between nations, to be broken for ever? Perhaps it is for the best it may dispel an illusion which might have kept us in mental vassalage, interfered occasionally with our true interests, and prevented the growth of proper national pride. But it is hard to give up the kindred tie 2 a! and there are feelings dearer than interest closer to the heart than pride that will still make us cast back a look of regret, as we wander farther and farther from the paternal roof, and lament 33 the waywardness of the parent that would repel the affections of the child. Short-sighted and injudicious, however, as the conduct of England may be in this system of aspersion, recrimination, on our part would be equally ill-judged. I speak not of a prompt and spirited vindication of our country, or the keenest castigation of her slanderers — but I allude to a disposition to retaliate in kind 34; to retort sarcasm, and inspire prejudice; which seems to be spreading widely among our writers. Let us guard particularly against such a temper, for it would double the evil, instead of redressing the wrong 35. Nothing is so easy and inviting as the retort of abuse and sarcasm; but it is a paltry and unprofitable contest. It is the alternative of a morbid mind, fretted into petulance, rather than warmed 82) Der englisch - amerikanische Krieg, vom 18. Juni 1812 bis 24. Dec. 1814. 32a) the kindred tie dtsch. etwa: das Band der Verwandtschaft. 38) lament ist coordiniert dem vorangehenden cast back, also: will make us lament. = 34) kind Art, Natur (zu d. Stamme des altengl. kennen, kinnen, ags. cennan, ahd. kichennan erzeugen, gebären); in kind in produce, or some kind of commodity, as distinguished from the general representative of value, that is money; to retaliate in kind in Natura zurückgeben, mit gleichem Masse vergelten. 35) evil (german. Urspr.) das Uebel, franz. mal; wrong v. to wring drehen, ringen, das Unrecht, franz. tort v. lat. tortus zu torquere drehen. into indignation. If England is willing to permit the mean jealousies of trade, or the rancorous animosities of politics, to deprave the integrity of her press 36, and poison the fountain of public opinion, let us beware of following her example. She may deem it her interest to diffuse error, and engender antipathy, for the purpose of checking emigration; we have no purpose of the kind to serve. Neither have we any spirit of national jealousy to gratify; for as yet, in all our rivalships with England, we are the rising and the gaining party. There can be no end to answer 87, therefore, but the gratification of resentment a mere spirit of retaliation; and even that is impotent. Our retorts are never republished in England; they fall short, therefore, of their aim 88; but they foster a querulous and peevish temper among our writers; they sour the sweet flow of our early literature, and sow thorns and brambles 39 among its blossoms. What is still worse, they circulate through our own country, and, as far as they have effect, excite virulent national prejudices. This last is the evil most especially to be deprecated. Governed, as we are, entirely by public opinion, the utmost care should be taken to preserve the purity of the public mind. Knowledge is power, and truth is knowledge 4o; 40 36) Von to permit hängt ab der acc. c. inf.: the mean jealousies... to deprave and poison Wenn England willens ist zuzugeben, dass kleinliche Handelseifersucht oder erbitterte politische Leidenschaftlichkeit die Lauterkeit seiner Presse befleckt. 87) there can be no end to answer but... wörtl.: Es kann keinen Zweck geben zu antworten als die Befriedigung; freier: Eine (unsere) Erwiderung kann also nur zum Zweck haben die Befriedigung . . 38) to fall short of something etwas nicht erreichen; short ist Adjectiv als Ergänzung des intransit. Verbs to fall, wie denn auch andere Verba der Bewegung gehen, laufen etc. öfter in Verbindung mit Nominibus fast zu dem abstracteren werden oder sein herabsinken, vergl. to go idle, to run mad etc. Die Construction mit of nach short beruht auf der Vorstellung des Mangelhaften, nicht Ausreichenden, Verkürzten, vergl. void of, scant of. = 89) bramble Brombeere, Dornstrauch, Gebüsch, Gestrüpp (ags. brêmel, brêmbel, niederd. Brummel Dornstrauch; von demselben Stamme wie unser nhd. brombeere, brambeere); thorns and brambles also eigentl. Dornen und Gestrüpp; deutsch in der allitterierten Zusammenstellung: Dornen und Disteln. 40) deutsch etwa: Wissen ist eine Macht und Wahrheit ist ein Wissen; wer daher wissentlich ein Vorurtheil verbreitet, untergräbt damit absichtlich die Grundlage der Stärke seines Vaterlandes (die in der Wahrheit liegt; denn Das Wissen ist eine Macht, also ist die Wahrheit eine Macht). whoever, therefore, knowingly propagates a prejudice, wilfully saps the foundation of his country's strength. The members of a republic, above all other men, should be candid and dispassionate. They are, individually, portions of the sovereign mind and sovereign will, and should be enabled to come to all questions of national concern 11 with calm and unbiassed judgments. From the peculiar nature of our relations with England, we must have more frequent questions of a different and delicate character with her than with any other nation; questions that affect the most acute and excitable feelings; and as, in the adjusting of these, our national measures must ultimately be determined by popular sentiment, we cannot be too anxiously attentive to purify it 12 from all latent passion or prepossession. Opening, too, as we do, an asylum for strangers from every portion of the earth, we should receive all with impartiality. It should be our pride to exhibit an example of one nation, at least, destitute of national antipathies, and exercising not merely the overt acts of hospitality, but those more rare and noble 13 courtesies which spring from liberality of opinion. What have we to do with national prejudices? They are the inveterate diseases of old countries, contracted in rude and ignorant ages, when nations knew but little of each other, and looked beyond their own boundaries with distrust and hostility. We, on the contrary, have sprung into national existence in an enlightened and philosophic age, when the different parts of the habitable world, and the various branches of the human family, have been indefatigably studied, and made known to each other; and we forego the advantages of our birth, if we do not shake off the national prejudices, as we would the local superstitions of the old world. But, above all, let us not be influenced by any angry feelings, so far as to shut our eyes to the perception of what is really excellent and amiable in the English character. We are a young people, necessarily an imitative one, and must take our examples and models, in a great degree, from the existing nations of Europe. There is no country more worthy of our 41) questions of national concérn Volkes betreffen. = Fragen, welche das Wohl des 42) it viz. popular sentiment das Volksgefühl. 48) Man beachte die umschreibende Steigerung von rare u. noble. 44) to forego seiner Etymologie aus fore u. go entsprechend deutsch zu übersetzen durch: sich entgehen lassen. study than England. The spirit of her constitution is most analogous to ours. The manners of her people their intellectual activity their freedom of opinion their habits of thinking on those subjects which concern the dearest interests and most sacred charities 45 of private life, are all congenial to the American character; and, in fact, are all intrinsically excellent; for it is in the moral feeling of the people that the deep foundations of British prosperity are laid; and however the superstructure may be time-worn, or over-run by abuses, there must be something solid in the basis, admirable in the materials, and stable in the structure of an edifice, that so long has towered unshaken amidst the tempests of the world. Let it be the pride of our writers, therefore, discarding all feelings of irritation, and disdaining to retaliate the illiberality of British authors, to speak of the English nation without prejudice, and with determined candour. While they rebuke the indiscriminating bigotry with which some of our countrymen admire and imitate everything English, merely because it is English, let them frankly point out what is really worthy of approbation. We may thus place England before us as a perpetual volume of reference 46 wherein are recorded sound deductions from ages of experience; and while we avoid the errors and absurdities which may have crept into the page, we may draw thence golden maxims of practical wisdom, wherewith to strengthen and to embellish our national character. 45) charity hier = any act of kindness or benevolence; as, the charities of life (Webster), dtsch. etwa durch den allgemeineren Ausdruck,,Beziehungen“ zu übersetzen. 46) vólume of réference = Auskunftsbuch. |