Which, by the way, is dnconsequent. Human beings are in other affairs not in the habit of trusting to chance. They do not only wish to be creatures to whom something happens: in this idea lies the origin ion, and everything regress, technical ito basis the idea of limiting the sphere of accidental happenings. In conformity with this i in every there is no end to the directions for The intention is, of course, to preserve the peace, and it cannot with any reasonableness be said of any of the Powers that this or that one caused the world-war with deliberate intention. Not even can such things as passenger and goods transport. industrial undertakings, the public health,—all of them affairs which formerly were left entirely to their own devices, but' which man has now succeeded in this be said of Austria, who, in the first instance, ignited the match; for it was with the idea that the conflict with Servia might be localized, that she broke the peace. There were to be found, certainly, here and there, cliques with warlike ities; but among those who ide the course of events, among chiefs of state and leading ministers, there was no one, in the beginning, who did not prefer peace even although one might say that the desire for peace was dictated by various kinds of motives and was not equally strong or unconditional among them all. It is at any rate impossible for the neutral reader to get any other impression from the perusal of that collection of docu: ments which later has been issued [by the governments concerned. Every one of the belligerents dis claims responsibility for the war: it wae the other party who commenced. Rois snd her Allies bringing into order by rational methods. methodical tendency is characteristic of our modern times, of the spirit of the Occident But tt has not, as yet, found general acceptance. It is true, it prevails everywhere where action is taken to regulate the details of every-day life, ch as the care of the individual's security, hie possessions, life and limbs. But it fails when the matter involves great questions about the welfare of whole nations and states. Faced with great political happenings and certain historical incidents even the most progressive society feels itself often powerless. Here the rational self-consciousness generally gives way to resignation and fatalism, here the modern European train of thought ceases: the Westerner becomes transformed into an Oriental. the present falls back on medieval ideas
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.