On the record
Mariners might as well blame you for the swing and toss of their craft when tides troop in or march out of your harbor, as us, for heaving to that tide which God swells under us.
Said by
Henry Ward Beecher
Source
gutenberg.orgHenry Ward Beecher: “Mariners might as well blame you for the swing and toss of their craft when tides troop in or march out of your harbor…”
Editor's note · Context
This metaphor illustrates the futility of blaming individuals for the larger forces at play in society, akin to mariners blaming the tides.
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But New-England was not raised up by Divine Providence to play a mean part in the world's affairs.
They did not know enough of his origin, his nature, or his destiny, to bring these into account, in estimating man.
THAT is the ONLY question, in our day and in our community, full of vital struggles turning upon fundamental principles.
Having given to America its ideas and its institutions, I think the North is bound to stand by them.