| I now perceive why all men are the deadly
and uncompromising enemies of the rattlesnake: it is merely because the
rattlesnake has not speech. Monarchy has speech, and by it has been able
to persuade man that it differs somehow from the rattlesnake, has something
valuable about it somewhere, something worth preserving, something even
good and high and fine, when properly "modified," something entitling
it to protection from the club of the first comer who catches it out of
its hole. - Letter to Editor of Free Russia, "An unpublished letter on the Czar," 1 July 1890 |
 AI image created by Barbara Schmidt |
| India swarms with deadly snakes. At the
head of the list is the cobra, the deadliest known to the world, a snake
whose bite kills where the rattlesnake's bite merely entertains. - Following the Equator |
 AI image created by Barbara Schmidt |
|
"But mother, it is not so unreasonable when he explains it. He says this, to the credit of the rattlesnake: that he never takes advantage of any one, and has none of the instincts of an assassin; that he never strikes without first giving warning, and then does not strike if the enemy will keep his distance and not attack him. Isn't that true of the rattlesnake, papa?" "Well--yes it is. I had not thought of it before. The truth is,
it is better morals than some men have." |
Quotations | Newspaper Articles | Special Features | Links | Search