But before proceeding to answer the question directly, we must get rid
of certain misconceptions.
The question must be, as the French say, not only "put," but "put in its
due proportion." It is not enough to answer the question "Why is England
at war with Germany?" unless we know to begin with what that event means
to this gigantic war as a whole.
Let us begin, then, by saying that this great war is not primarily a war
between England and Germany at all. England and Germany are not the two
chief combatants. The issue is not a victory to be achieved by Germany
on the one side, or England upon the other. The victory of one of the
parties in the great struggle would not produce a much stronger England,
though it certainly would produce a much stronger Germany.
The struggle is primarily and essentially a struggle between two
conflicting theories of life and government, which have the Continent of
Europe for their theatre, and of which the Prussians upon the one hand,
the French upon the other, are the protagonists and have been the
protagonists for now more than three generations.
All human conflicts have spiritual roots, and the underlying spiritual
forces which by their contrast have led to this war are the forces of
the old Latin and Christian civilization, with its doctrines of human
equality and the rest, and the North German reaction against that
tradition.
Pages:
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335