He
had to win his spurs. He had contended with great force and brilliancy
that Jackson, in declaring martial law, had not committed a contempt of
court; that if Jackson had violated the Constitution in declaring
martial law the matter was not one of contempt or for a local court to
judge. "Do you see," said Aldington, "his mind runs in a channel of
pure legalism, and then it escapes between freer shores." Aldington
continued: "The trouble with Douglas is that he does not see that
idealism is as real as realism. Douglas is something of a sophist. I do
not mean to disparage his value to the country. But he is a genius in
making the course of Jackson consistent. He has applied the same art to
justify his own conduct. He will always prove an elusive debater; and
you see, after all, this makes against his candor. This is not the sort
of stuff of which a thinker is made. There are men who will not trifle
with facts. They are your Shelleys, your Emersons. These men make the
brain of a nation. Douglas may make its body, if you can make a body
without making a brain."
"That's exactly it," said Abigail. "But it is not possible to have a
statesman as clear in his logic as Emerson, though dealing with coarser
material than philosophy's. Surely there is a chance now for some mind
of deep integrity, of real spirituality, to do something for this
chaotic, vulgar mass of humanity that is grabbing, feeding, trying to
foment war with Mexico.
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