I feel no uneasiness either
in regard to my fate or to the success of the cause of Abolition.
Slavery must speedily be abolished; the blow that shall sever the chains
of the slaves may shake the nation to its center--may momentarily
disturb the pillars of the Union--but it shall redeem the character,
extend the influence, establish the security, and increase the
prosperity of our great republic." It was not the rage and malice of his
enemies which the brave soul minded, but the ever-present knowledge of
human beings in chains and slavery whom he must help. Nothing could
separate him from his duty to them, neither dangers present nor
persecutions to come. The uncertainty of life made him only the more
zealous in their behalf. The necessity of doing, doing, and yet ever
doing for the slave was plainly pressing deep like thorns into his
thoughts. "I am more and more impressed;" he wrote a friend a few weeks
later, "I am more and more impressed with the importance of 'working
whilst the day lasts.' If 'we all do fade as a leaf,' if we are 'as the
sparks that fly upward,' if the billows of time are swiftly removing the
sandy foundation of our life, what we intend to do for the captive, and
for our country, and for the subjugation of a hostile world, must be
done quickly. Happily 'our light afflictions are but for a moment.'"
This yearning of the leader for increased activity in the cause of
immediate emancipation was shared by friends and disciples in different
portions of the country.
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