Some of them come here with ideas that I find
hostile to my ambitions. I have to win them to the liberty of the
Democratic party, and keep them from stopping halfway, contented with
the fraudulent liberty of the Whigs. I take them in hand at political
gatherings; I love to persuade and shape them. I will fill this
population of Illinois with love of Democratic ideas. What have the
Whigs to offer? Look at the mixed blood of the Whigs, at their tainted
ancestors. I take the greatest pleasure in exposing them. It is my fun
and my work."
With all this intellectual activity, Douglas was not a reader. I had
found Emerson through Abigail; I read the _North American Review_, and
Cooper's novels as they appeared. But Douglas had contempt for the moral
idealism of New England. He thought it impractical. "You can't have a
brain without a body," said Douglas. "Let the country develop its bones,
its muscles, attain its stature. These men think the world is run by
righteousness, especially if you let them prescribe the righteousness.
But it isn't. It is run by interests. Roofs, clothing, and food must be
taken care of; then cities. These men get preconceived ideas of God, and
then want to force them on the great impulses of life. But they can't do
it."
I ventured to say that the two ran together.
Pages:
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204