The Mechanism of Dissolution
words, "our ancestry," "our forefathers," there are implied the dearest and tenderest of human associations. The love of his forbears and of his posterity is all that man has of earthly immortality; the pride and affection which are the natural counterparts of these concepts are as narrow and as broad, as potent for good and evil, as sexual love, as life itself. Shall we come to you and share your ancestry? Shall we intrude on these exalted recollections, with a "we too"?
You cannot help resenting these claims. They savor at once of ingratiating humility and arrogant blasphemy. Try as you will you cannot make the concession. You are trapped by a vital paradox.
You may ask: What difference is there between a Jew claiming to be an American and an Italian claiming to be one? Is it more humiliating for one than for the other? Is the Italian of our ancestry more than you?
There is some similarity in the plight of all foreigners: and we Jews suffer all that foreigners suffer. But our case is unique because
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