the text itself stays the same, but how people have interpreted it has changed dramatically since the end of the war. so how can we understand, how we recognize that text, says a lot about the transformation of culture. i should say, when i was asked to do this, one of the many reasons i decided to do it was that i remain curious about the wonderful title, a fire never extinguished. david white and a few others of us it was such a literary phrase, we tried to figure out, who said that? is that whitman, emerson? who said a fire never extinguished ? i have been doing a little research and have one possible source. one is edward everett hale, a well-known unitarian minister during the civil war in boston a writer especially of short stories. he is best known for his short story the man without a country, published in the atlantic monthly in 1863. it is about a man who goes on the ship, disavows his country and loses his whole sense of identity. it is designed as a story