【转帖】A Man’s Best Friend - The Story of Old Drum

Ever wonder where the old saying, "A man’s best friend is his dog," came from? Well, if you guessed Warrensburg, Missouri, you were right!

Senator George Graham Vest won a court battle and the ears of dog lovers everywhere when he paid his famous tribute to the dog during the 1870 Burden vs. Hornsby court case in Warrensburg. The speech included the line, "The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog."


The "eulogy to the dog" won the case for Charles Burden whose favorite hound, Old Drum, was shot by a neighbor, Leonidas Hornsby, who had sworn to kill the first dog that came onto his land. Although Hornsby had hunted with Drum and acknowledged him to be one of the best hunting dogs he had ever seen, he carried out his threat when one night a dog was found prowling in his yard. That dog was Old Drum.

Burden immediately sued Hornsby for damages and the trial quickly became one of the strangest in the history of this area of the country. Each man was determined to win the case. After several appeals, the case finally reached the Supreme Court of Missouri. Burden was awarded $50 in damages for the loss of his favorite hunting dog. Vest’s eulogy to the dog, which he made in his final appeal to the jury, won the case and became a classic speech.

Through the direction of the Warrensburg Chamber of Commerce and coordinated efforts by many dog lovers across the country, Old Drum was immortalized in a stature on the Johnson County Courthouse lawn in Warrensburg on September 23, 1958.

While no record was kept of the last half of Vest’s tribute to a dog, the first portion has fortunately been preserved. It was this speech that originated the saying, "A man’s best friend is his dog." George Graham Vest speaking:

Gentlemen of the Jury: "The best friend a man has in this world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it the most. A man’s reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads. The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog."

"Gentleman of the Jury, a man’s dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that encounters the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens."

"If fortune drives the master forth an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies. When the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by his graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even to death."

[青青方竹]

发现这句话也许是真的：对狗狗来说，主人就是它的全部

英文原版的没人看? 找个中文的来

1870年，居住在美国沃伦斯堡的波特宠养的一只名叫“老鼓”的猎犬在邻居家的后院被邻居开枪打死。因丧犬悲痛万分的波特向法院提起诉讼，官司从地方法院一直打到最高法院。终审时，美国参议员佛斯特代原告向陪审团朗读了名叫《犬的礼赞》的辩护词。陪审团全体被深深感动，原告最终胜诉
此案在当时引起哄动，成为美国名案。这篇辩护词从此也成为全世界养犬爱好者喜爱的经典文章，其影响力至今不衰。这篇文章被刻在遇难猎犬“波特”的纪念碑上。


在这个世界上，一个人的好友可能和他作对，变成敌人；他用慈爱培养起来的儿女，也可能变得不忠不孝、那些最为密切和亲近的人，那些用全部幸福和名誉所痴信的人，都可能会舍弃忠诚而成叛逆。 一个人所拥有的金钱可能在最需要的时候插翅飞走；一个人的声誉可能断送在考虑欠周的一瞬间；那些一贯在我们成功时屈膝奉承的人，很可能就是当失败的阴云笼罩在我们头上时，投掷第一块阴险恶毒之石的人。 在这个自私的世界上，一个人们唯一不自私的朋友，唯一不抛弃他的朋友，唯一不忘恩负义的朋友，就是他的狗。 不管主人贫困或富贵，健康或病弱，狗都会守在主人的身旁。只要能靠近主人，不管地面冰凉坚硬，寒风凛冽，大雪纷飞，它都会全然不顾地躺在主人身边。 哪怕主人无食喂养，它仍会舔主人的手，和主人手上因抵御这个冷酷的世界而受的创伤。 纵然主人是乞丐，它也象守护王子一样伴随着他。当他所有的朋友都调头而去，他的狗却义无反顾，形影相随。当财富消失，声誉扫地时，狗对主人的爱依然如天空运行不息的太阳一样永恒不变。 假若，因命运的捉弄，主人变成一个无家可归的流浪者，这只忠诚的狗也会依然陪伴主人，有难同当，对抗强敌，此外毫无奢求。 当万物共同的结局来临，死神夺去了主人的生命，尸体掩埋在冰冷的地下时，纵使所有的亲友都各奔前程，而这只高贵的狗却会独自守卫在墓旁。它仰首于两足之间，眼睛里充满悲伤，却仍机警地守护着主人，忠贞不渝，直到死亡。（美）佛斯特