who paid him homage—thanked them in words which have never ceased to burn in the memories of those present. Though the wonderful fire of the speech must more or less be lost in translation, I think that even the poorest translation could not fail to convey some of its original poetry and power.
"Thanks for those torches!
"Thanks for lighting them. Thanks for carrying them. May they still blaze, still go on shining—fire in the minds, fire in the wills, blood-red fire burning through life.
"Thanks for those torches!
"Torches in the night mean hope in time of darkness. In the early Christian days they used to be carried on Easter Saturday as a symbol of the Resurrection. May the resurrection of our own time be not too far away.
"I take this fire as an omen. It is good, it is splendid to see workmen, artists, students, all carrying torches together. Let us go on like this, and we will get light.
"No element is so pure as fire. It cleanses the air. May it purify the foul air in this town.
"No element is so gay as fire. It stirs the nerves like music and like wine. May it brighten the minds in this country.
"The light of the torches is as the light of the mind. As rain cannot quench the one, mere words cannot kill the other; nay, not even a storm of words. The light of thought cannot be quenched, and liberty and justice are the two torches which set each other aflame.
"Thanks for those torches!
"May they shine and warm. May they burn up all lies and conventionalities. May they burn to ashes all the thought-corpses from times dead and gone.
"Are
