He invents a
national psychology for Germany. Germany, he invents, loves us and wants
to be our dearest friend. Germany has always loved us. The Germans are
a loving, unenvious people. They have been a little mislead--but nice
people do not insist upon that fact. But beware of beating Germany,
beware of humiliating Germany; then indeed trouble will come. Germany
will begin to dislike us. She will plan a revenge. Turning aside from
her erstwhile innocent career, she may even think of hate. What are our
obligations to France, Italy, Serbia and Russia, what is the happiness
of a few thousands of the Herero, a few millions of the Belgians--whose
numbers moreover are constantly diminishing--when we might weigh them
against the danger, the most terrible danger, of incurring _permanent
German hostility?..._
A Frenchman I talked to knew better than that. "What will happen to
Germany," I asked, "if we are able to do so to her and so; would she
take to dreams of a _Revanche?_"
"She will take to Anglomania," he said, and added after a flash of
reflection, "In the long run it will be the worse for you."
III. THE RELIGIOUS REVIVAL
1
One of the indisputable things about the war, so far as Britain and
France go--and I have reason to believe that on a lesser scale things
are similar in Italy--is that it has produced a very great volume of
religious thought and feeling.
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