And, in general, the fact that
England is at war at all is a fact on one side of the original quarrel
and its original motives, though it is a fact that will profoundly
affect the progress and the results of the war."
Such a statement would be no more than the plain truth as educated men
know and see it in Europe today. The entry of England into the field of
conflict was an entry from one side. It did not fall into line with the
general motives of the people. It was, among all English statesmen, a
matter of debate; it was decided by but a narrow majority of those
responsible for so enormous a decision.
When we have clearly grasped these two fundamental facts--first, that
the war is not on its mechanical side mainly a war between England and
Germany, but mainly a war between two contrasting European and
Continental ideals; secondly, the correlative fact that the entry of
England into the war was not certain until the last hour, and was, when
it was made, made only after doubtful consideration and after a division
among the politicians, responsible for the conduct of her affairs,
something almost accidental, as it were--we can proceed to consider the
three causes which converging were sufficiently strong in their
combination to produce that result, and when we know what those three
causes were, their strength and the accidents of their convergence, at
this moment we shall have answered the question, "Why is England at war
with Germany?"
These three causes are:
1.
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