A
vigorous Mr. Thoreau,--who has formed himself a good deal upon
one Emerson, but does not want abundant fire and stamina of his
own;--recognizes us, and various other things, in a most admiring
great-hearted manner; for which, as for _part_ of the confused
voice from the jury bog (not yet summed into a verdict, nor
likely to be summed till Doomsday, nor needful to sum), the poor
prisoner at the bar may justly express himself thankful! In
plain prose, I like Mr. Thoreau very well; and hope yet to hear
good and better news of him:--only let him not "turn to
foolishness"; which seems to me to be terribly easy, at present,
both in New England and Old! May the Lord deliver us all from
_Cant;_ may the Lord, whatever else he do or forbear, teach us
to look Facts honestly in the face, and to beware (with a kind of
shudder) of smearing _them_ over with our despicable and damnable
palaver, into irrecognizability, and so _falsifying_ the Lord's
own Gospels to his unhappy blockheads of children, all staggering
down to Gehenna and the everlasting Swine's-trough for _want_ of
Gospels.
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