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conflict at any price； even at the price of entire submission to
the German Will； grew more urgent as the necessity that everyone
should help against the German Thing grew more manifest。
Of all the strange freaks of distressed thinking that this war
has produced； the freaks of the Genteel Whig have been among the
most remarkable。 With an air of profound wisdom he returns
perpetually to his proposition that there are faults on both
sides。 To say that is his conception of impartiality。 I suppose
that if a bull gored his sister he would say that there were
faults on both sides； his sister ought not to have strayed into
the field； she was wearing a red hat of a highly provocative
type； she ought to have been a cow and then everything would have
been different。 In the face of the history of the last forty
years； the Genteel Whig struggles persistently to minimise the
German outrage upon civilisation and to find excuses for Germany。
He does this； not because he has any real passion for falsehood；
but because by training； circumstance； and disposition he is
passionately averse from action with the vulgar majority and from
self…sacrifice in a common cause； and because he finds in the
justification of Germany and； failing that； in the blackening of
the Allies to an equal blackness； one line of defence against the
wave of impulse that threatens to submerge his private self。 But
when at last that line is forced he is driven back upon others
equally extraordinary。 You can often find simultaneously in the
same Pacifist paper； and sometimes even in the utterances of the
same writer； two entirely incompatible statements。 The first is
that Germany is so invincible that it is useless to prolong the
war since no effort of the Allies is likely to produce any
material improvement in their position； and the second is that
Germany is so thoroughly beaten that she is now ready to abandon
militarism and make terms and compensations entirely acceptable
to the countries she has forced into war。 And when finally facts
are produced to establish the truth that Germany； though still
largely wicked and impenitent； is being slowly and conclusively
beaten by the sanity； courage and persistence of the Allied
common men； then the Genteel Whig retorts with his last defensive
absurdity。 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 misleadbut 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 Belgianswhose numbers moreover are constantly
diminishingwhen 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 goand I have reason to believe that on a lesser
scale things are similar in Italyis that it has produced a very
great volume of religious thought and feeling。 About Russia in
these matters we hear but little at the present time； but one
guesses at parallelism。 People habitually religious have been
stirred to new depths of reality and sincerity； and people are
thinking of religion who never thought of religion before。 But
as I have already pointed out； thinking and feeling about a
matter is of no permanent value unless something is /thought
out/； unless there is a change of boundary or relationship；
and it an altogether different question to ask whether any
definite change is resulting from this universal ferment。 If it
is not doing so； then the sleeper merely dreams a dream that he
will forget again。。。。
Now in no sort of general popular mental activity is there so
much froth and waste as in religious excitements。 This has been
the case in all periods of religious revival。 The number who are
rather impressed； who for a few days or weeks take to reading
their Bibles or going to a new place of worship or praying or
fasting or being kind and unselfish； is always enormous in
relation to the people whose lives are permanently changed。 The
effort needed if a contemporary is to blow off the froth； is
always very considerable。
Among the froth that I would blow off is I think most of the
tremendous efforts being made in England by the Anglican church
to attract favourable attention to itself /apropos/
of the war。 I came back from my visit to the Somme battlefields
to find the sylvan peace of Essex invaded by a number of ladies
in blue dresses adorned with large white crosses； who； regardless
of the present shortage of nurses； were visiting every home in
the place on some mission of invitation whose details remained
obscure。 So far as I was able to elucidate this project； it was
in the nature of a magic incantation； a satisfactory end of the
war was to be brought about by convergent prayer and religious
assiduities。 The mission was shy of dealing with me personally；
although as a lapsed communicant I should have thought myself a
particularly hopeful field for Anglican effort； and it came to my
wife and myself merely for our permission and countenance in an
appeal to our domestic servants。 My wife consulted the
household； it seemed very anxious to escape from that appeal； and
as I respect Christianity sufficiently to detest the
identification of its services with magic processes； the mission
retiredcivilly repulsed。 But the incident aroused an uneasy
curiosity in my mind with regard to the general trend of Anglican
teaching and Anglican activities at the present time。 The trend
of my enquiries is to discover the church much more incoherent
and much less religiousin any decent sense of the wordthan I
had supposed it to be。
Organisation is the life of material and the death of mental and
spiritual processes。 There could be no more melancholy
exemplification of this than the spectacle of the Anglican and
Catholic churches at the present time； one using the tragic
stresses of war mainly for pew…rent touting； and the other
paralysed by its Austrian and South German political connections
from any clear utterance upon the moral issues of the war。
Through the opening phases of the war the Established Church of
England was inconspicuous； this is no longer the case； but it may
be doubted whether the change is altogether to its advantage。 To
me this is a very great disappointment。 I have always had a very
high opinion of the intellectual values of the lead