No! It belonged to
a lower, to a later, and I trust a shorter-lived race of statesmen, who
measure all facts by considerations of latitude and longitude.
I honor that sentiment which makes us oftentimes too confident, and to
despise too much the danger of that agitation which disturbs the peace
of the country. I respect that feeling which regards the Union as too
strong to be broken. But, at the same time, in sober judgment, it will
not do to treat too lightly the danger which has existed and still
exists. I have heard our Constitution and Union compared to the granite
shores which face the sea, and, dashing back the foam of the waves,
stand unmoved by their fury. Now I accept the simile: and I have stood
upon the shore, and I have seen the waves of the sea dash upon the
granite of your own shores which frowns over the ocean, have seen the
spray thrown back from the cliffs. But, when the tide had ebbed, I saw
that the rock was seamed and worn; and, when the tide was low, the
pieces that had been riven from the granite rock were lying at its base.
And thus the waves of sectional agitation are dashing themselves against
the granite patriotism of the land. But even that must show the seams
and scars of the conflict. Sectional hostility will follow. The danger
lies at your door, and it is time to arrest it. Too long have we allowed
this influence to progress. It is time that men should go back to the
first foundation of our institutions.
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