原句：
Never when controversy avoided the subjects which are large and important enough to kindle enthusiasm was the mind of a people stirred up from its foundations and the impulse given which raised even persons of the most ordinary intellect to something of  the dignity of thinking beings.

我的想法：
1.主干：Never 引导倒装，正常语序是：
The mind of a people was never stirred up from its foundations and the impulse was never given which raised even persons of the most ordinary intellect to something of  the dignity of thinking beings.

2.when controversy avoided the subjects which are large and important enough to kindle enthusiasm 做句子状语

3.which are large and important enough to kindle enthusiasm 修饰subjects

4.我不明白的：
which raised even persons of the most ordinary intellect to something of  the dignity of thinking beings
这里which 从句是修饰？请教大家：）

Never when controversy avoided the subjects which are large and important enough to kindle enthusiasm, was the mind of a people stirred up from its foundations, and the impulse given which raised even persons of the most ordinary intellect to something of the dignity of thinking beings.

Never  was the mind of a people stirredup  and the impulse given which raised evenpersons of the most ordinary intellect to something of the dignity ofthinking beings.

1. 你的理解123是对的.
2 句子主干就是划线部分(包含倒装省略等，你已经理解)
3.which raised evenpersons of the most ordinary intellect to something of the dignity ofthinking beings. 作为定语从句，修饰划线的这句话。

谢谢斑马的帮助：）
the impluse was never given
                                              ↑ which raised even persons of the most ordinary intellect to something of the dignity of thinking beings.

有没有全句翻译

当一个重大的以致能点燃激情的议题缺少争议时，一个民族的思想就不会被激励，甚至作为能思考的具有尊严的正常智力的人们不会被给与动力。

觉得很不顺，尤其后半句。

Never when controversy avoided the subjects which are large and important enough to kindle enthusiasm, was the mind of a people stirred up from its foundations and the impulse given which raised even persons of the most ordinary intellect to something of the dignity of thinking beings.

有一点异议，提出来和大家探讨一下：
个人认为，如果说which修饰的是前面的那句话：“Never  was the mind of a people stirredup  and the impulse given” 那么which后面引导的定语从句在表意上与前面修饰的句子在表意上似乎有些冲突（后面似乎是肯定的意义，而前面修饰的是一个否定的意义）。个人觉得“which”修饰的应该是“its foundations and the impulse”其中的given应该是过去分词做定语修饰“its foundations and the impulse”，因为如果说这个句子中的and连接的是两个并列的分句，即“The mind of a people was never stirred up from its foundations ”和“the impulse was never given ” 如果否定词提前谓语动词倒装的话，后面的那个"the impulse was never given"中的“was”也应该提前，但是句子中没有，另外，我个人觉得前面倒装的“was”不太可能同时充当后面“the impulse was never given”的谓语。
由此可见，个人觉得and连接的应该是“its foundations” 和“ the impulse”而given为过去分词作定语修饰这两个并列的成分。当然，这个句子没有上下文，只能从语法的角度来分析和理解，所以这些都是个人见解，仅供参考。

个人觉得后面的主干应该是：
the mind of a people was never stirred up from( its foundations and the impulse ) given which raised even persons of the most ordinary intellect to something of the dignity of thinking beings.
后面的given是过去分词做定语修饰"its foundations and the impulse", which 也应该是修饰“its foundations and the impulse”