VII.

Now[1] this was the sort of boy Channing was; and I was going[2] to tell you that (S. 66, N. 15) one day he heard of a big boy beating (S. 16, N. 4) a little one[3], like that bad boy[4] under my window. Channing was a little boy; he was a little man when he was full grown[5]; but _then_ he had a big soul. I was going[2] to say he had a soul as big as a church; but indeed[6] his soul was bigger than all _the_ churches in[7] the world;—and when he heard of that[8] cruel boy, who was ever[9] so much larger than himself, he went right up to him, and said: “Did[10] you strike that little boy?” “Yes, I did[11]; and what then?”—“Then,” said Channing, “you are a coward, because he was no match for you; and now I am going[2] to whip[12] you for _doing_ it.” Because he had a big soul, and though he was a small boy, he[13] went in, and fought for the right. That was the only time he[14] ever fought in his life. But[15] I, standing in[16] this pulpit, honour him more for it than if he had (App. § 36) never[17] fought at all.

[1] Say ‘This was (supply here the adv. +also+ = now) little Channing’s character’. Comp. S. 12, N. 2.

[2] The auxiliary verb of mood ‘+=wollen=+’ corresponds to the English ‘=to be going=’ or ‘=to be on the point=’, followed by the infinitive of another verb. Comp. S. 6, N. 4.

[3] ‘=One=’ following an adjective or a pronoun, and representing a noun understood, is not to be translated; as—Which pen shall I give you,—this _one_ or that _one_? +Welche Feder soll ich Ihnen geben,—diese oder jene?+

[4] +der böse Bube.+

[5] full grown, +ausgewachsen+.

[6] +in der That+, which place after the verb.

[7] Render ‘in the’ by the gen. of the def. art.

[8] Use the dat. of the demonstr. pron. +der+; ‘boy’, here +Bube+.

[9] ever so much, +ich weiß nicht wie viel+.

[10] Use the Perfect according to S. 48, N. 2.

[11] I did, +das habe ich gethan+.

[12] +züchtigen.+

[13] ‘to go in’, here +in den Kampf treten+.

[14] he — life, +in seinem Leben, daß er sich schlug+.

[15] Place the conj. ‘but’ after the subject, and, for the sake of emphasis, repeat the pron. ‘I’ after the rel. pron. ‘+der+’, which must introduce the next clause.

[16] ‘in’, here +auf+.

[17] never ... at all, +nie+.

_Section 68._

TENDER, TRUSTY, AND TRUE.