Page:Speeches and addresses by the late Thomas E Ellis M P.pdf/14

 Ruskin teaches us that we cannot have a noble nation or a perfect man, any more than a pyramid or a church, but by sacrifice of much contributed life. This is true of the most favoured nations, of those who enjoy genial climates, who inherit great capacities and traditions, who command the instruments of government and possess the springs of prosperity and industry. How much more true is this of a nationality like our own which for countless generations has had to contend with adversities, to live through tides of conquest and to do battle against all the resources of hostile statecraft, and which, after being stripped of every instrument and every emblem of power, has had to survive studied neglect and that, perhaps, deadliest form of oppression the absence of educational and other agencies of national initiative and life. As we survey this chequered history, it is natural we should ask ourselves how far we respect the memory of the noble dead of Wales who kept alive our name and fame among the nations, who have made possible the revival and