“And the English here. Have they worked?”
“Not so much.”
“Isn’t that an argument against you? It tells just the other way. Work is often one of the most degrading things in the world. All work that gives no rapture of creation is degrading. That is why the merchant is poor company, and the professional a conservative. The Dutch built Batavia; but their system has ruined the spice trade. The Spaniards built San Domingo; but their system ruined the island. They’ve built Panama and Lima; but they’ve destroyed both Costa Rica and Peru. A city can only be the growth of a civilization. You can only build a colonial city by agreeing to ruin the colony. So here. There may be a time when all the trees in sight will have sailed out to sea. This harbour may be crowded with ships. Who knows? This place may be another Athens some day.”
“There’s not much Athens here now. The colonials aren’t much like Athenians.”
“I think they’re very like, Edward. They’re fond of liberty. They take a beautiful pride in their bodies. They are attached to the country. They’re very like Athenians. The world doesn’t alter much.”
“How about Plato and Sophocles?”
“They were not the world. They had wrought themselves to something finer than the world.”
“The Governor’s got a devil of a lot of letters,” said Stukeley. “There goes his secretary to him.”
“Yes.”
“Well, I pity the man who tries it,” Stukeley muttered, thinking of an arrest.