By the side of this wild race for armaments goes on a terrible struggle for existence, and discontent reigns in all lands. This condition of things, which fills the world with unrest and fear, must in the near future have an end. It will either come in the form of a social revolution, which will embrace the whole of our continent, or it may come by the introduction of an established condition of international law.
It is the last named outcome that active friends of peace labour for. They strive to enlighten the nations as to the means of removing and preventing these calamities; and they hope that the so-called educated classes will cease to be inactive spectators of these efforts. While they do not feel called upon to oppose the nonsense of folly, they listen respectfully to objections dictated by a sincere patriotism. In that feeling we ought all to be able to join. It depends upon the way in which this is expressed whether we can work together or must go on separate lines.
Commonly, we commend an action as virtuous when it does not oppose our interests, but brand it as blameworthy when it in some way threatens our position.
Thus we read, with glad appreciation, the deeds of our own warriors; but our admiration is changed into resentment when the exploits are achieved against ourselves by the heroes of other nations. When one says in Sweden, "I am not a Russian, indeed"; they say in Russia, "You behave yourself like a Swede." It needs an independent third party to give an impartial judgment. Right must be right.
If our so-called enemy is really in the right, he does not become wrong because he is called our enemy; and if we conquer and kill him, we only thereby increase a hundredfold our terrible guilt. It is in the long run a loss to both sides. Here, at any rate at least, a compromise is needed, for it is seldom the fault of one when two quarrel.
But the endeavour to get a permanent arbitration tribunal established cannot, in any way, be reasonably opposed to efforts for the welfare of one's own country. The very consciousness of the existence of such a tribunal would little by little, as a matter of course, bring about the reign of law. It would indeed be a marvellous perversion of ideas which esteemed it dishonourable to feel bound, in case of disputes with other countries, to appeal to law and justice; inasmuch as this very unwillingness to seek the path of justice must excite a serious suspicion as to the cause you maintain.
To lay hold on the sword under the influence of passion is like taking a knife when intoxicated; and it is a crying absurdity to expect people, who soberly know what they are doing, to go to homicide with a light heart. That is to say, that a good man in severe conflict as to his duty, may possibly be forced to do a bad action to escape participation in a still worse. If he forbears to kill his brother, this last will murder his father. When warriors are led out to battle, the brilliant uniform ought to be laid aside, and the troops clad in sombre mourning, which would better accord with the naked reality. When they have slain many and come back in triumph, decorated with honourable Cain-badges, they are wont in their homes to point with pride to their brothers who lie silent in their blood. They earn a character for having done something great; they are received with exultation and honourable distinctions, and praised as gods in popular story. But the whole spirit and conception is false IF Christ's teaching of love is true; and we should long since have grown out of this heathenish religion if there had not been incorporated with it so much patriotism, both true and false—the false wrapped in those high sounding words and phrases of self-love and vanity which still exercise so great a power over the easily excited spirit of the nations.
But if we set our thoughts free, confined as they are by warm devotion to our hereditary soil, and now and then venture to look out over the wide world, we shall see points of contact in the progressive effort of humanity; and it is our highest honour to be able to take an active part in this. Barriers are crumbling away one after the other. They do not go down with violence; they vanish as new ideas smooth the way for a higher conception of human dignity. Inquiry dissipates prejudice, and continually shows us new phases of the inner cohesion of the life of nations.
The inhabitants of Europe, says Draper, show a constantly increasing disposition towards the complete levelling of their mutual dissimilarities. Climatic and meteorological differences are more and more dissolved by artificial means and new inventions; and thence arises a similarity, not only in habits of life, but in physical conformation. Such inventions soften the influences to which men are subjected, and bring them nearer to an average type. With this greater affinity one to the other in bodily form, follows also a greater similarity in feeling, habit and thought.
Day by day, too, the economic fellowship of Europe increases. Communications by ship, railroad, post and telegraph are developed; by means of State loans, share and exchange connections, interests are knit together. Therefore we see the Bourse, the barometer of economic life, fluctuate when serious rumours of war are afloat; an evidence that common economic interests and war are at variance one with the other.