FROM ABRAHAM
LINCOLN TO MH’S ‘HERMON KNIGHTS’
(I’m posting this in the light of the proposed
ashes of our Principal, Rev. J. Johnston, to be laid to rest at Kalimpong’s Dr.
Graham’s Homes next month (Sept 30, 2018). Mt. Hermon School in Darjeeling is
where the Johnstons lived and served. It is a hallowed ground. “The brave men,
living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor
power to add or detract.” Therefore,
the ashes should also be laid to rest in MH)
“Lincoln delivered this speech during the
American Civil War, on Thursday, November 19, 1863, during the afternoon, at
the dedication of the Soldier's National Cemetery in Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania. The address was made four and a half months after the defeat of
the Confederate armies by those of the Union at the Battle of Gettysburg.
To consecrate means to declare something
holy and hallow is its synonym. Lincoln is saying that the ground cannot be
declared holy, because:
“The brave
men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our
poor power to add or detract.”
Lincoln means that the extreme sacrifice the
men who had fought and died on that battlefield have made was in itself a
greater act than any other could now, or ever, perform in ordaining the soil on
which they died. Their deed was more than enough for the ground to be
consecrated. The blood that was spilt there blessed the soil. It would, he
suggests, be presumptuous of him or any other to believe that they could do
those who gave their lives greater honor by declaring the ground hallowed.
These words
indicate the great respect Lincoln had for those who gave up their lives to
fight for a noble cause. He wanted them to be honored through more than
symbolic gestures such as this one—he felt they should be held in esteem in the
hearts and minds of all Americans. That should be how a nation conveys its
greatest gratitude.
“But, in a
larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow
this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have
consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.”
The Gettysburg Address remains one of the
more poignant examples of written and oratory skill in the history of the
Republic. Lincoln is in Gettysburg to dedicate a cemetery at the site of
a key battle during the Civil War. Since the speech was delivered a mere
four months after the actual showdown, the emotions of the battle are still
fresh.
Abraham Lincoln states that the grounds of
Gettysburg are sacred and no human can bless or consecrate this land. He believes that the soldiers that have
fought and died for the Union cause have already consecrated and dedicated
these memorial grounds. In the next lines, Lincoln states, somewhat
ironically, that history will not remember the words spoken on this day, but
will forever remember the sacrifices that soldiers have made in dying for the
Union.”
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