Excerpt from Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death
Patrick Henry
3) I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future
but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten
years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House. Is it that insidious
smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to
be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations
which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we
shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir.
What is the meaning of the term insidious in the third paragraph?
A)
deceitful
B)
friendly
loving
D)
sad
