John Brown (Chamberlin)/Preface
To present a picture of the man, separating him as much as possible from the controversies and hatreds which commonly rise up at the mention of his name, and to tell the story of his life plainly, without inquiry into the effect of his work, or any further estimate and comparison, would be quite enough to attempt in a biography of John Brown of Osawatomie as brief as this one must be. Brown's sacrifice has been classed sometimes with that of Jesus of Nazareth; he has often been called murderer, brigand, and traitor. He has been written about much and well, and for the most part fiercely. It would seem that the time has come for a calmer account of him, given with no heat or bitterness. Both sides of the controversy with which he concerned himself so actively should have learned much in forty years.
Yet the story of Brown is so strongly simple, so utterly governed by an ideal, so glowing and tragical, that any one who follows it closely is likely to find himself kindling before he is aware of it.
JOSEPH EDGAR CHAMBERLIN.
Boston, October 15, 1899.