Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death
"Mr.President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful thruth, and listen to the song of the siren, till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst and to provide for it." What kind of beasts does he imagine when talking about our transformation? What thruths is he talking about that he wants to know? And how did he discover these terrible truths?
-will chambers
-will chambers
posted by Anonymous at 8/28/2006 09:48:00 PM
1 Comments:
The beasts Patrick Henry talks about is the hardships of true freedom. The easy path to freedom is where you don't walk the path, but rather you sit down and you let someone else tell you about it. In this case the King is the one who tells you what freedom is, but can never really give it to you. Henry says we,"Shut our eyes against a painful truth." The truth being that freedom isn't free. However he says, "I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that lamp is experience." He then breaks our image of the beasts of true freedom, saying that the only way to walk the path correctly is knowing where the path leads.It just so happens that at this time many men have figured out what they feel is true freedom and that they know the way. That is why so many men influence the Declartion of Independance, because they have walked the path before.
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