Page:Back to the Republic.djvu/124

 If the people of the United States of America should begin at once to adhere strictly and literally to the republic as the standard form of government in nation, State, county and city, we would then be in a position to give a clear, definite and constructive message to all countries of the world as follows:

We recommend that you substitute a republic for the form of government that you now have; not in the spirit of force, or threat, or hate, or revenge, or dictation, but rather in the spirit of Christ upon the cross when he said: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," or in the spirit of Lincoln during the dark hours of the republic when he said to those who would destroy it: "We are not enemies, but friends; we must not be enemies; though passion may have strained, it must not break the bonds of affection.

. . . With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on. . . to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and a lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."

Alfred Tennyson had the great vision of a time when