The World at War (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1917 Excerpt: ... DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW ON THE WAR (November, 1914) The English Point Of View In the summer of 1914 the British Lord Chancellor, Viscount Haldane de Cloan, lectured in Canada before an assembled body of American and Canadian jurists and the lecture was published by the International Conciliation. Lord Haldane, having pointed to the increasing harmony between English-speaking peoples, concluded that universal harmony and peaceful collaboration between nations was a future possibility. The Lord Chancellor quoted Renan, who, according to George Meredith, "had more ideas in his head than any other European," as saying that "humanity is not bounded by race nor language nor religion, nor by - rivers nor mountain ranges" and referred to Goethe, a still greater man, as having said: "We may look upon all civilised nations as forming one great alliance, united by mutual endeavour and working towards the same goal.," As a preface to Lord Haldane's lecture, Theodore Ruyssen, professor at the University of Bordeaux, wrote: "One thing, at least, is certain--war boss comes rarer.... Durable alliances creating new political groups neutralise the ambitions of individual states, and thereby war threats are minimised or silenced in a more or less satisfactory manner. The most excitable Powers' desire to strike first is fettered by countless threads spun from one part of the earth to another, binding the nations together and creating solidarity." This was said a few months before the outbreak of the world war. Some of the best men in Europe believed humanity had progressed so far. Now Viscount Haldane is Lord Chancellor of the Government which has declared war on Germany. I, for my part, did not share these optimistic views. In a lecture I gave in February, 1914, in Chri...