Steve Farrell
Nil desperandum
By Steve Farrell
Liberty Letters, Samuel Adams, 1772
Human nature being what it is, patriotic fervor tends to come and go.
In 1772, when it seemed to be more going than coming, James Warren reported to Samuel Adams from Plymouth about the towns he had been canvassing: "They are dead," he lamented, "and the dead can't be raised without a miracle."
"Nil desperandum" (Never despair), Adams reminded his friend. "That is a motto for you and me. All are not dead. And where there is a spark of patriotic fire, we will rekindle it." (1)
This must be our resolution as well, today, now. Wherever we see the light flickering out in a neighbor, neighborhood, organization, legislature, or even an Internet community, we must be wise enough, faithful enough, enduring enough to never despair but rather do all in our power to rekindle flames, here and there, that not a one is snuffed out ... not a one, not for a moment.
The work is too vital; the cause Heavenly. No faithless slacking for me and thee. On to victory fellow Tea Partiers on!
Footnote: Langguth, A.J. "Patriots: The Men Who Started the Revolution," p. 170.
© Steve Farrell
July 16, 2010
Liberty Letters, Samuel Adams, 1772
Human nature being what it is, patriotic fervor tends to come and go.
In 1772, when it seemed to be more going than coming, James Warren reported to Samuel Adams from Plymouth about the towns he had been canvassing: "They are dead," he lamented, "and the dead can't be raised without a miracle."
"Nil desperandum" (Never despair), Adams reminded his friend. "That is a motto for you and me. All are not dead. And where there is a spark of patriotic fire, we will rekindle it." (1)
This must be our resolution as well, today, now. Wherever we see the light flickering out in a neighbor, neighborhood, organization, legislature, or even an Internet community, we must be wise enough, faithful enough, enduring enough to never despair but rather do all in our power to rekindle flames, here and there, that not a one is snuffed out ... not a one, not for a moment.
The work is too vital; the cause Heavenly. No faithless slacking for me and thee. On to victory fellow Tea Partiers on!
Footnote: Langguth, A.J. "Patriots: The Men Who Started the Revolution," p. 170.
© Steve Farrell
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