What kind of a People do they think we are? - Winston Churchill

long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. Thewhole fury and might of the enemy must very soon beturned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break usin this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him,all Europe may be free and the life of the world maymove forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail,then the whole world, including the United States, includingall that we have known and cared for, will sinkinto the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister,and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of pervertedscience. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties,and so bear ourselves, that if the British Empire and itsCommonwealth last for a thousand years, men will stillsay, "This was their finest hour."The basic message was: "We are going to be attacked.For our own and everybody else's good we havegot to resist. So let's get on with it." This is not very inspiring;indeed it is more than a little unsettling. The wayChurchill conveys the message does not simply adorn it—it utterly transforms the content.Part of the power of the argument derives from itsstructure, which is complex. Formally, it makes constantuse of groups of three phrases and of contrastivepairs. These devices are the most frequently usedby speakers seeking to gain audience approval and are regularlyemployed by politicians today. 1 ' 7 Churchill's use ofthem is best shown visually. The threes are numbered andthe contrastive pairs lettered.The three battles: (1) What General Weygand calledthe Battle of France is over. (2) I expect that the battle ofBritain is about to begin. (3) Upon this battle dependsthe survival of Christian civilisation.The three threats: (1) Upon it depends our ownBritish life... (2) ...and the long continuity of our institutions...(3) ...and our Empire.The two contrasts, them and us: (A) The whole furyand might of the enemy (B) must very soon be turned onus. (A) Hitler knows that he will have to break us in thisisland (B) or lose the war.The alternatives before us: (A) If we can stand up tohim, (1) all Europe may be free and (2) the life of theworld may move forward (3) into broad, sunlit uplands.(B) But if we fail, (1) then the whole world, including theUnited States, including all that we have known and caredfor, (2) will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age mademore sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lightsof perverted science.The consequence: Let us therefore (1) brace ourselvesto our duties and (2) so bear ourselves that (3) if theBritish Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousandyears, (4) men will still say, "This was their finest hour."The triplets and pairs in the sentence structure aredeepened by the embedding of a further contrastas he lays out the alternatives, and the rhetoricalpattern is disrupted by an additional clause in the penultimate("and perhaps more protracted") and final sentences("if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for athousand years"). Both of these disruptions, which preventthe underlying pattern from becoming too regularand formulaic, are presented as interpolated reflectionsand as uncertainties ("perhaps" and "if"). In this way, theyadd strength to the certainties otherwise stated.If we look at the text semantically rather than structurally,we find a dense, self-referential system which isrendered compelling by the logic of its development. Sentencesrefer back to each other and describe an overallmovement of expansion and contraction 1^ (italics and underliningsare this writer's):The situation and the Cause: (la) What GeneralWeygand called the Battle of France is over, (lb) I expectthat the battle of Britain is about to begin, (lc) Upon thisbattle depends the survival of Christian civilisation. (Id)Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuityof our institutions and our Empire.What must now inevitably happen: (2a) The wholefury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned onus. (2b) Hitler knows that he will have to break us in thisisland or lose the war.What this implies about our behaviour and ourchoices: (3a) If we can stand up to him, all Europe may befree and the life of the world may move forward intobroad, sunlit uplands. (3b) But if we fail, then the wholeworld, including the United States, including all that wehave known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of anew Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted,by the lights of perverted science.The consequence: (3c) Let us, therefore, brace ourselvesto our duties and so bear ourselves that, if theBritish Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousandyears, men will still say, "This was their finest hour."The first three sentences are linked by their referenceto battles. The first is located in France in the immediatepast. The second, following on from it, is located inBritain in the immediate future. The third sentence is ashock, for it links this second battle to "Christian civilisation."This battle will not be simply for territory, but for aset of moral values. It will not only be for space, but >»17. In his study of political rhetoric, Our Masters'Voices (Methuen1984), 57-73, Max Atkinson identifies the most commonly used devicesfor gaining audience approval as the "list of three," "unfavourablereferences to them and favourable references to us," and the use of"contrastive pairs."18. In his brilliant Lincoln at Gettysburg (Simon & Schuster 1992),Garry Wills demonstrates that the Gettysburg Address is similarly interlocked.I have here followed the visual display technique used byWills on pp. 172-75. The parallels with the Gettysburg Address do notend here, nor are they fortuitous.FINEST HOUR 112/29