八、殖民地反抗精神之最后原因。力亦不弱於他者。以其非仅起於人心。实又基於天然也。诸君与彼辈远隔重洋三千英里。相去既窵远。则政府威力之减弱。实无策可以救止之。苍波渺渺无际。一命之传。一令之行。其间常费数月。一条文之不能迅得解释。全法典足因之而坏。诸君诚有发巨炮之军舰。能至海之极边。然更来一大权力。足以制人暴慢之情。平人愤激之气。彼曰。“君可行至此而止。不得更进”呜乎。一怒而断自然之链锁者谁耶。恐虽贲育亦不得不受其制也。凡疆宇过广之国所示种种先例。吾国亦无可逃。大国威权难及荒服。天然之公例示我矣。突厥之统制埃及、亚喇伯、喀的斯但。不能如其统制特雷斯。其在克里米亚、亚尔几、之权力。不能如在布鲁萨与斯木尔拿。压制之力常不得不此消彼长。终归涣散。消灭无余。突厥撒但不得不安於其力所能致之服从。彼欲君临其全境。不得不用宽典。其中央之威权。由其四境之弛缓所分出而已。西班牙所领绪州。殆尚不若吾英属之恭顺。彼亦唯有诺之忍之以俟时耳。此广漠散漫国之通则。不易之常经也。
九、先生。以此六大原因。(即血统、政体、北部之宗教,南部之习惯、教育、及出政之门过远等)而强烈之自由精神遂发生滋长。此精神与殖民地共发皇。与其富力共增长。英之权力纵甚合法。与自由观念实不相容。与彼辈之观念尤为相。二者不幸相值。两相搏击。遂至火炎昆岗。吾徒玉石俱碎矣。
TheSpiritofLibertyinTheAmericancolonies。
1。These,sir,aremyreasons[注:There,sir,are
myreasons。—Burke氏前曾举四大理由。力言以兵力强迫美人之不当。此其结论。紧承上文者也。]fornotentertaining
thathighopinionofuntriedforce[注:Untriedforce。—未曾一试之力。即前所未用之武力也。]bywhich
manygentlemen,forwhosesentimentsinotherparticularsIhavegreatrespect,seemto
besogreatlycaptivated。Butthereisstillbehindathirdconsiderationconcerning
thisobject,whichservestodeterminemyopiniononthesortofpolicywhichought
tobepursuedinthemanagementofAmerica,evenmorethanitspopulationand
itscommerce,—Imenitstemperandcharacter。
2。InthischaracteroftheAmericans,aloveoffreedomisthepredominatingfeature
whichmarksanddistinguishesthewhole?[注:Thewhole=Thewholecharacterofthe
Americans。]andasanardentisalwaysajealousaffection,yourcoloniesbecome
suspicious,restive,anduntractablewhenevertheyseethe
leastattempttowrestfromthembyforce,orshufflefromthemby
chicanewhattheythinktheonlyadvantageworthlivingfor。[注:Whattheythinkliving
for使彼等有乐生之心之唯一利益。for者adventageforwhich之义也。]Thisfiercespiritoflibertyis
strongerintheEnglishcoloniesprobablythaninanyotherpeopleoftheearth;and
thisfromagreatvarietyofpowerfulcauses;whichtounderstandthetruetemper
oftheirminds,andthedirectionwhichthisspirittakes,itwillnotbeamissto
layopen[注:Tolayopen=Toexpose。]somewhatmorelargely。
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