The war in Europe, its causes and consequences; an authentic narrative of the immediate and remote causes of the war, with a descriptive account of the countries involved, including statistics of armies, navies, aeroplanes, dirigibles, &c., &c . for a hun-dred and fifty years—has by the mere fact of her growth andstrengthening been bringing on the struggle of to-day; and it isGermany, the German people and nation, that for better or for worsewill have to bear the responsibility. On one side Germany is currently represented as fired by lustof conquest and a boundless ambition utterly disregardf
The war in Europe, its causes and consequences; an authentic narrative of the immediate and remote causes of the war, with a descriptive account of the countries involved, including statistics of armies, navies, aeroplanes, dirigibles, &c., &c . for a hun-dred and fifty years—has by the mere fact of her growth andstrengthening been bringing on the struggle of to-day; and it isGermany, the German people and nation, that for better or for worsewill have to bear the responsibility. On one side Germany is currently represented as fired by lustof conquest and a boundless ambition utterly disregardful of obliga-tions or the rights of others; and the sentiment of most of the civilizedworld seems to sustain the verdict. On the other hand, Germansexalt the conduct of their country as influenced only by motives ofself-preservation against the Russian desire for brutal world-do-minion, British cold-blooded calculation of profit, and the long-nur-tured, revengeful hatred of France. Neither side is at fault. Germany has for years been hated byRussia, feared by France, hated and feared by England, as a men-ace is always hated and feared. No one, individual or nation, can lovea winning or even a gaining rival. Germany has been well aware. 26 THE IMMEDIATE CAUSES OF THE WAR 27 of these national sentiments, and, conscious of her own strength, hasnot sought the vain task of dissipating them, but has fortified her-self against them. In their own power, the German people havebelieved, lay their salvation, and not in false friendships with dis-tanced competitors. Assured in their minds of the unavoidable illwill of their neighbors, they have come to disregard totally the opinionof these neighbors. Self-satisfaction to the point of arrogance andself-confidence amounting almost to insult have been the naturalresult, When Athens was at the very summit of her unparalleled civiliza-tion, when she was producing Sophocles and Phidias and Socrates, theattitude of the Greek Morld toward her wa
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectworldwar19141918
