VI.
No one foresaw the duration or the magnitude of the conflict. Armageddon was a vision of poets and prophets. The 20th century, inspired by enthusiasts and instructed by economists, believed that the world had grown soft and “practical.” We were told that war lords were legendary figures of an evil past. It was a common belief that no nation could command the resources for a long struggle. It was said that finance and commerce, interlocked and internationalized, would compel a speedy cessation of hostilities by exhaustion of the combatants. We were assured that the industrial armies of the workshops could not be mobilized for mutual destruction. To the few who were wiser we would not listen. Possibly much of their wisdom was rooted in apprehension and suspicion. There never was so much of mercy and charity and goodwill and brotherhood among men as during the first years of the century. We had the Hague tribunal and treaties of arbitration. We had international law and worldwide organizations for the common protection and enrichment of mankind. It is not strange, therefore, if men believed that there was a happy prospect of enduring peace or if there was general impatience with those who spoke of war and preparation for war.