of mankind. We shall no longer be defending what we
possess, but struggling for something which we never did
possess, and which we have solemnly and uniformly disclaimed all intention of pursuing, from the very outset of the
troubles. Abandoning thus our old ground, of resistance
only to arbitrary acts of oppression, the nations will believe
the whole to have been mere pretence, and they will look
on us, not as injured, but as ambitious subjects. I shudder
before this responsibility. It will be on us, if, relinquishing
the ground on which we have stood so long, and stood so
safely, we now proclaim Independence, and carry on the war
for that object, while these cities burn, these pleasant fields
whiten and bleach with the bones of their owners, and
these streams run blood. It will be upon us, it will be upon
us, if, failing to maintain this unseasonable and ill-judged
declaration, a sterner despotism, maintained by military
power, shall be established over our posterity, when we ourselves, given up by an exhausted, a harassed, a misled people, shall have expiated our rashness and atoned for our presumption on the scaffold."
It was for Mr. Adams to reply to arguments like these. We know his opinions, and we know his character. He would commence with his accustomed directness and earnestness.
43. "Sink or swim,[1] live or die, survive or perish, I give my hand and my heart to this vote. It is true, indeed, that in the beginning we aimed not at Independence. But there's a Divinity which shapes our ends. The injustice of
- ↑ Sink or swim, etc.—This famous imaginary speech of John Adams is probably the best known and most hackneyed passage in any of Webster's orations. The opening lines have even risen to the dignity of a familiar quotation. The general belief at the time was that the passage was an extract from a speech actually delivered by John Adams. It is the best example of the power of Webster's historical imagination. No doubt many people believe even to this day that Mr. Adams really uttered the words the orator puts into his mouth. It put Mr. Webster and the Adams family to some trouble to answer the many curious inquiries. See Curtis' Life of Webster, Vol. II. p. 294. "The speech was written by me," wrote Mr. Webster, in 1846, "in my house, in Boston, the day before the delivery of the discourse in Faneuil Hall; a poor substitute, I am sure, if we could now see the speech actually made by Mr. Adams on that transcendantly important occasion."
