“Our dead brothers still live for us,”
by BeijingIrish (2024-02-25 10:30:04)
Edited on 2024-02-25 10:56:15

“and bid us think of life, not death…”. These lines are taken from a speech delivered by Oliver Wendell Holmes. Jr. on Memorial Day, 1884, commemorating the Civil War dead. The passage is summoned by the author of book review in yesterday’s WSJ (“Review” section, page C8). The book, entitled The World Will Never See the Like (John L. Hopkins, Savas Beatie, 2024) is an account of the reunion in 1913 of veterans, men from both sides, who fought at Gettysburg. The reviewer suggests that in view of the polarization that characterizes our lives in these days, Hopkins’ account is topical. It sounds interesting, and I’ll try to find the book (Savas Beatie is a small California-based publisher that specializes in military history).

The review prompted me to read the Holmes speech. I had not read it in years. Among other things I was reminded how the Civil War inspired soaring eloquence on the part of late-19th century American writers—Holmes and Walt Whitman among others. Eloquence—now there’s a skill that’s been lost. Yesterday’s Journal also contains an editorial piece by Peggy Noonan who points out that the SOTU address is only days away. She exhorts Biden, one not known for eloquence, to keep it short. He won’t heed her advice, of course. Last year, he droned on for 73 minutes, and no one remembers a word he said.



Replies: