,,principles ,,of ,,freedom by ,,terence ,,macswiney ,late ,lord ,mayor of ,cork #aiba ,illustration3 ,,terence ,,macswiney 7,late ,lord ,mayor of ,cork7 ,illustration ,,to ,,the ,,soldiers ,,of ,,freedom ,,in ,,every ,,land ,,preface ,it was my intention to publish these articles in book form as soon as possible4 ,i had them typed for the purpose4 ,i had no time for revision save to insert in the typed copy words or lines omitted from the original printed matter4 ,i also made an occasional verbal alteration in the original4 ,one article1 however1 that on ,intellectual ,freedom1 though written in the series in the place in which it now stands1 was not printed with them4 ,it is now published for the first time4 ,,religion ,i wish to make a note on the article under this heading to avoid a possible misconception amongst people outside ,ireland4 ,in ,ireland there is no religious dissension1 but there is religious insincerity4 ,english politicians1 to serve the end of dividing ,ireland1 have worked on the religious feelings of the ,north1 suggesting the danger of ,catholic ascendancy4 ,there is not now1 and there never was1 any such danger1 but our enemies1 by raising the cry1 sowed discord in the ,north1 with the aim of destroying ,irish unity4 ,it should be borne in mind that when the ,republican ,standard was first raised in the field in ,ireland1 in the ,rising of #agih1 ,catholics and ,protestants in the ,north were united in the cause4 ,belfast was the first home of ,republicanism in ,ireland4 ,this is the truth of the matter4 ,the present-day cleavage is an unnatural thing created by ,ireland's enemies to hold her in subjection and will disappear entirely with political ,freedom4 ,it has had1 however1 in our day1 one unhappy effect1 only for a time fortunately1 and this is disappearing4 ,i refer to the rise of ,hibernianism4 ,the ,english ruling faction having1 for their own political designs1 corrupted the ,orangemen with power and flattery1 enabled them to establish an ascendancy not only over ,ulster1 but indirectly by their vote over the ,south4 ,this becoming intolerable1 some sincere but misguided ,catholics in the ,north joined the organisation known as ,,the ,,ancient ,,order ,,of ,,hibernians4 ,this was1 in effect1 a sort of ,catholic ,freemasonry to counter the ,orange ,freemasonry1 but like ,orangeism1 it was a political and not a religious weapon4 ,further1 as a political weapon1 it extended all through ,ireland during the last years of the ,irish ,parliamentary ,movement4 ,in ,cork1 for example1 it completely controlled the city life for some years1 but the rapid rise of the ,republican ,movement brought about the equally rapid fall of ,hibernianism4 ,at the present moment it has as little influence in the public life of ,cork as ,sir ,edward ,carson himself4 ,the great bulk of its one-time members have joined the ,republican ,movement4 ,this demonstrates clearly that anything in the nature of a sectarian movement is essentially repugnant to the ,irish people4 ,as ,i have pointed out1 the ,hibernian ,order1 when created1 became at once a political weapon1 but ,ireland has discarded that1 and other such weapons1 for those with which she is carving out the destinies of the ,republic4 ,for a time1 however1 ,hibernianism created an unnatural atmosphere of sectarian rivalry in ,ireland4 ,that has now happily passed away4 ,at the time1 however1 of the writing of the article on ,religion it was at its height1 and this fact coloured the writing of the article4 ,on re-reading it and considering the publication of the present work ,i was inclined to suppress it1 but decided that it ought to be included because it bears directly on the evil of materialism in religious bodies1 which is a matter of grave concern to every religious community in the world4 ,t4 ,mac,s4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,basis ,,of ,,freedom ,,ii4 ,,separation ,,iii4 ,,moral ,,force ,,iv4 ,,brothers ,,and ,,enemies ,v4 ,,the ,,secret ,,of ,,strength ,,vi4 ,,principle ,,in ,,action ,,vii4 ,,loyalty ,,viii4 ,,womanhood ,,ix4 ,,the ,,frontier ,x4 ,,literature ,,and ,,freedom--,,the ,,propagandist ,,playwright ,,xi4 ,,literature ,,and ,,freedom--,,art ,,for ,,art',s ,,sake ,,xii4 ,,religion ,,xiii4 ,,intellectual ,,freedom ,,xiv4 ,,militarism ,,xv4 ,,the ,,empire ,,xvi4 ,,resistance ,,in ,,arms--,,foreword ,,xvii4 ,,resistance ,,in ,,arms--,,the ,,true ,,meaning ,,of ,,law ,,xviii4 ,,resistance ,,in ,,arms--,,objections ,,xix4 ,,the ,,bearna ,,baoghail--,,conclusion ,,principles ,,of ,,freedom ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,basis ,,of ,,freedom ,i ,why should we fight for freedom8 ,is it not strange1 that it has become necessary to ask and answer this question8 ,we have fought our fight for centuries1 and contending parties still continue the struggle1 but the real significance of the struggle and its true motive force are hardly at all understood1 and there is a curious but logical result4 ,men technically on the same side are separated by differences wide and deep1 both of ideal and plan of action2 while1 conversely1 men technically opposed have perhaps more in common than we realise in a sense deeper than we understand4 ,,ii ,this is the question ,i would discuss4 ,i find in practice everywhere in ,ireland--it is worse out of ,ireland--the doctrine1 ,the end justifies the means4 ,one party will denounce another for the use of discreditable tactics1 but it will have no hesitation in using such itself if it can thereby snatch a discreditable victory4 ,so1 clear speaking is needed3 a fight that is not clean-handed will make victory more disgraceful than any defeat4 ,i make the point here because we stand for separation from the ,british ,empire1 and because ,i have heard it argued that we ought1 if we could1 make a foreign alliance to crush ,english power here1 even if our foreign allies were engaged in crushing freedom elsewhere4 ,when such a question can be proposed it should be answered1 though the time is not ripe to test it4 ,if ,ireland were to win freedom by helping directly or indirectly to crush another people she would earn the execration she has herself poured out on tyranny for ages4 ,i have come to see it is possible for ,ireland to win her independence by base methods4 ,it is imperative1 therefore1 that we should declare ourselves and know where we stand4 ,and ,i stand by this principle3 no physical victory can compensate for spiritual surrender4 ,whatever side denies that is not my side4 ,what1 then1 is the true basis to our claim to freedom8 ,there are two points of view4 ,the first we have when fresh from school1 still in our teens1 ready to tilt against everyone and everything1 delighting in saying smart things--and able sometimes to say them--talking much and boldly of freedom1 but satisfied if the thing sounds bravely4 ,there is the later point of view4 ,we are no longer boys2 we have come to review the situation1 and take a definite stand in life4 ,we have had years of experience1 keen struggles1 not a little bitterness1 and we are steadied4 ,we feel a heart-beat for deeper things4 ,it is no longer sufficient that they sound bravely2 they must ring true4 ,the schoolboy's dream is more of a ,roman triumph--tramping armies1 shouting multitudes1 waving banners--all good enough in their way4 ,but the dream of men is for something beyond all this show4 ,if it were not1 it could hardly claim a sacrifice4 ,,iii ,a spiritual necessity makes the true significance of our claim to freedom3 the material aspect is only a secondary consideration4 ,a man facing life is gifted with certain powers of soul and body4 ,it is of vital importance to himself and the community that he be given a full opportunity to develop his powers1 and to fill his place worthily4 ,in a free state he is in the natural environment for full self-development4 ,in an enslaved state it is the reverse4 ,when one country holds another in subjection that other suffers materially and morally4 ,it suffers materially1 being a prey for plunder4 ,it suffers morally because of the corrupt influences the bigger nation sets at work to maintain its ascendancy4 ,because of this moral corruption national subjection should be resisted1 as a state fostering vice2 and as in the case of vice1 when we understand it we have no option but to fight4 ,with it we can make no terms4 ,it is the duty of the rightful power to develop the best in its subjects3 it is the practice of the usurping power to develop the basest4 ,our history affords many examples4 ,when our rulers visit ,ireland they bestow favours and titles on the supporters of their regime--but it is always seen that the greatest favours and highest titles are not for the honest adherent of their power--but for him who has betrayed the national cause that he entered public life to support4 ,observe the men who might be respected are passed over for him who ought to be despised4 ,in the corrupt politician there was surely a better nature4 ,a free state would have encouraged and developed it4 ,the usurping state titled him for the use of his baser instincts4 ,such allurement must mean demoralisation4 ,we are none of us angels1 and under the best of circumstances find it hard to do worthy things2 when all the temptation is to do unworthy things we are demoralised4 ,most of us1 happily1 will not give ourselves over to the evil influence1 but we lose faith in the ideal4 ,we are apathetic4 ,we have powers and let them lie fallow4 ,our minds should be restless for noble and beautiful things2 they are hopeless in a land everywhere confined and wasted4 ,in the destruction of spirit entailed lies the deeper significance of our claim to freedom4 ,,iv ,it is a spiritual appeal1 then1 that primarily moves us4 ,we are urged to action by a beautiful ideal4 ,the motive force must be likewise true and beautiful4 ,it is love of country that inspires us2 not hate of the enemy and desire for full satisfaction for the past4 ,pause awhile4 ,we are all irritated now and then by some mawkish interpretation of our motive force that makes it seem a weakly thing1 invoked to help us in evading difficulties instead of conquering them4 ,love in any genuine form is strong1 vital and warm-blooded4 ,let it not be confused with any flabby substitute4 ,take a parallel case4 ,should we1 because of the mawkishness of a ,princess ,novelette1 deride the beautiful dream that keeps ages wondering and joyous1 that is occasionally caught up in the words of genius1 as when ,shelley sings3 ,i arise from dreams of thee8 ,when foolish people make a sacred thing seem silly1 let us at least be sane4 ,the man who cries out for the sacred thing but voices a universal need4 ,to exist1 the healthy mind must have beautiful things--the rapture of a song1 the music of running water1 the glory of the sunset and its dreams1 and the deeper dreams of the dawn4 ,it is nothing but love of country that rouses us to make our land full-blooded and beautiful where now she is pallid and wasted4 ,this1 too1 has its deeper significance4 ,v ,if we want full revenge for the past the best way to get it is to remain as we are4 ,as we are1 ,ireland is a menace to ,england4 ,we need not debate this--she herself admits it by her continued efforts to pacify us in her own stupid way4 ,would she not ignore us if it were quite safe so to do8 ,on the other hand1 if we succeed in our efforts to separate from her1 the benefit to ,england will be second only to our own4 ,this might strike us strangely1 but 'tis true1 not the less true because the ,english people could hardly understand or appreciate it now4 ,the military defence of ,ireland is almost farcical4 ,a free ,ireland could make it a reality--could make it strong against invasion4 ,this would secure ,england from attack on our side4 ,no one is1 ,i take it1 so foolish as to suppose1 being free1 we would enter quarrels not our own4 ,we should remain neutral4 ,our common sense would so dictate1 our sense of right would so demand4 ,the freedom of a nation carries with it the responsibility that it be no menace to the freedom of another nation4 ,the freedom of all makes for the security of all4 ,if there are tyrannies on earth one nation cannot set things right1 but it is still bound so to order its own affairs as to be consistent with universal freedom and friendship4 ,and1 again1 strange as it may seem1 separation from ,england will alone make for final friendship with ,england4 ,for no one is so foolish as to wish to be for ever at war with ,england4 ,it is unthinkable4 ,now the most beautiful motive for freedom is vindicated4 ,our liberty stands to benefit the enemy instead of injuring him4 ,if we want to injure him1 we should remain as we are--a menace to him4 ,the opportunity will come1 but it would hardly make us happy4 ,this but makes clear a need of the human race4 ,freedom rightly considered is not a mere setting-up of a number of independent units4 ,it makes for harmony among nations and good fellowship on earth4 ,,vi ,i have written carefully that no one may escape the conclusion4 ,it is clear and exacting1 but in the issue it is beautiful4 ,we fight for freedom--not for the vanity of the world1 not to have a fine conceit of ourselves1 not to be as bad--or if we prefer to put it so1 as big as our neighbours4 ,the inspiration is drawn from a deeper element of our being4 ,we stifle for self-development individually and as a nation4 ,if we don't go forward we must go down4 ,it is a matter of life and death2 it is out soul's salvation4 ,if the whole nation stand for it1 we are happy2 we shall be grandly victorious4 ,if only a few are faithful found they must be the more steadfast for being but a few4 ,they stand for an individual right that is inalienable4 ,a majority has no right to annul it1 and no power to destroy it4 ,tyrannies may persecute1 slay1 or banish those who defend it2 the thing is indestructible4 ,it does not need legions to protect it nor genius to proclaim it1 though the poets have always glorified it1 and the legions will ultimately acknowledge it4 ,one man alone may vindicate it1 and because that one man has never failed it has never died4 ,not1 indeed1 that ,ireland has ever been reduced to a single loyal son4 ,she never will be4 ,we have not survived the centuries to be conquered now4 ,but the profound significance of the struggle1 of its deep spiritual appeal1 of the imperative need for a motive force as lofty and beautiful1 of the consciousness that worthy winning of freedom is a labour for human brotherhood2 the significance of it all is seen in the obligation it imposes on everyone to be true1 the majority notwithstanding4 ,he is called to a grave charge who is called to resist the majority4 ,but he will resist1 knowing his victory will lead them to a dearer dream than they had ever known4 ,he will fight for that ideal in obscurity1 little heeded--in the open1 misunderstood2 in humble places1 still undaunted2 in high places1 seizing every vantage point1 never crushed1 never silent1 never despairing1 cheering a few comrades with hope for the morrow4 ,and should these few sink in the struggle the greatness of the ideal is proven in the last hour2 as they fall their country awakens to their dream1 and he who inspired and sustained them is justified2 justified against the whole race1 he who once stood alone against them4 ,in the hour he falls he is the saviour of his race4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,separation4 ,i ,when we plead for separation from the ,british ,empire as the only basis on which our country can have full development1 and on which we can have final peace with ,england1 we find in opponents a variety of attitudes1 but one attitude invariably absent--a readiness to discuss the question fairly and refute it1 if this can be done4 ,one man will take it superficially and heatedly1 assuming it to be1 according to his party1 a censure on ,mr4 ,redmond or ,mr4 ,o',brien4 ,another will take it superficially1 but1 as he thinks1 philosophically1 and will dismiss it with a smile4 ,with the followers of ,mr4 ,redmond or ,mr4 ,o',brien we can hardly argue at present1 but we should not lose heart on their account1 for these men move en masse4 ,one day the consciousness of the country will be electrified with a great deed or a great sacrifice and the multitude will break from lethargy or prejudice and march with a shout for freedom in a true1 a brave1 and a beautiful sense4 ,we must work and prepare for that hour4 ,then there is our philosophical friend4 ,i expect him to hear my arguments4 ,when ,i am done1 he may not agree with me on all points2 he may not agree with me on any point2 but if he come with me1 ,i promise him one thing3 this question can no longer be dismissed with a smile4 ,,ii ,our friend's attitude is explained in part by our never having attempted to show that a separatist policy is great and wise4 ,we have held it as a right1 have fought for it1 have made sacrifices for it1 and vowed to have it at any cost2 but we have not found for it a definite place in a philosophy of life4 ,superficial though he be1 our friend has indicated a need3 we must take the question philosophically--but in the great and true sense4 ,it is a truism of philosophy and science that the world is a harmonious whole1 and that with the increase of knowledge1 laws can be discovered to explain the order and the unity of the universe4 ,accordingly1 if we are to justify our own position as separatists1 we must show that it will harmonise1 unify and develop our national life1 that it will restore us to a place among the nations1 enable us to fulfil a national destiny1 a destiny which1 through all our struggles1 we ever believe is great1 and waiting for us4 ,that must be accepted if we are to get at the truth of the matter4 ,a great doctrine that dominates our lives1 that lays down a rigid course of action1 that involves self-denial1 hard struggles1 endurance for years1 and possibly death before the goal is reached--any such doctrine must be capable of having its truth demonstrated by the discovery of principles that govern and justify it4 ,otherwise we cannot yield it our allegiance4 ,let us to the examination1 then2 we shall find it soul-stirring and inspiring4 ,we must be prepared1 however1 to abandon many deeply-rooted prejudices2 if we are unwilling1 we must abandon the truth4 ,but we will find courage in moving forward1 and will triumph in the end1 by keeping in mind at all times that the end of freedom is to realise the salvation and happiness of all peoples1 to make the world1 and not any selfish corner of it1 a more beautiful dwelling-place for men4 ,treated in this light1 the question becomes for all earnest men great and arresting4 ,our friend1 who may have smiled1 will discuss it readily now4 ,yet he may not be convinced2 he may point his finger over the wasted land and contrast its weakness with its opponents' strength1 and conclude3 ,your philosophy is beautiful1 but only a dream4 ,he is at least impressed2 that is a point gained2 and we may induce him to come further and further till he adopts the great principle we defend4 ,,iii ,his difficulty now is the common error that a man's work for his country should be based on the assumption that it should bear full effect in his own time4 ,this is most certainly false2 for a man's life is counted by years1 a nation's by centuries1 and as work for the nation should be directed to bringing her to full maturity in the coming time1 a man must be prepared to labour for an end that may be realised only in another generation4 ,consider how he disposes his plans for his individual life4 ,his boyhood and youth are directed that his manhood and prime may be the golden age of life1 full-blooded and strong-minded1 with clear vision and great purpose and high hope1 all justified by some definite achievement4 ,a man's prime is great as his earlier years have been well directed and concentrated4 ,in the early years the ground is prepared and the seed sown for the splendid period of full development4 ,so it is with the nation3 we must prepare the ground and sow the seed for the rich ripeness of maturity2 and bearing in mind that the maturity of the nation will come1 not in one generation but after many generations1 we must be prepared to work in the knowledge that we prepare for a future that only other generations will enjoy4 ,it does not mean that we shall work in loneliness1 cheered by no vision of the ,promised ,land2 we may even reach the ,promised ,land in our time1 though we cannot explore all its great wonders3 that will be the delight of ages4 ,but some will never survive to celebrate the great victory that will establish our independence2 yet they shall not go without reward2 for to them will come a vision of soul of the future triumph1 an exaltation of soul in the consciousness of labouring for that future1 an exultation of soul in the knowledge that once its purpose is grasped1 no tyranny can destroy it1 that the destiny of our country is assured1 and her dominion will endure for ever4 ,let any argument be raised against one such pioneer--he knows this in his heart1 and it makes him indomitable1 and it is he who is proven to be wise in the end4 ,he judges the past clearly1 and through the crust of things he discerns the truth in his own time1 and puts his work in true relation to the great experience of life1 and he is justified2 for ultimately his work opens out1 matures1 and bears fruit a hundredfold4 ,it may not be in a day1 but when his hand falls dead1 his glory becomes quickly manifest4 ,he has lived a beautiful life1 and has left a beautiful field2 he has sacrificed the hour to give service for all time2 he has entered the company of the great1 and with them he will be remembered for ever4 ,he is the practical man in the true sense4 ,but there is the other self-styled practical man1 who thinks all this proceeding foolish1 and cries out for the expedient of the hour4 ,has he ever realised the promise of his proposals8 ,no1 he is the most inefficient person who has ever walked the earth4 ,but for a saving consideration let him go contemplate the wasted efforts of the opportunist in every generation1 and the broken projects scattered through the desert-places of history4 ,,iv ,still one will look out on the grim things of the hour1 and hypnotised by the hour will cry3 ,see the strength of the ,british ,empire1 see our wasted state2 your hope is vain4 ,let him consider this clear truth3 peoples endure2 empires perish4 ,where are now the empires of antiquity8 ,and the empires of to-day have the seed of dissolution in them4 ,but the peoples that saw the old empires rise and hold sway are represented now in their posterity2 the tyrannies they knew are dead and done with4 ,the peoples endured2 the empires perished2 and the nations of the earth of this day will survive in posterity when the empires that now contend for mastery are gathered into the dust1 with all dead1 bad things4 ,we shall endure2 and the measure of our faith will be the measure of our achievement and of the greatness of our future place4 ,v ,is it not the dream of earnest men of all parties to have an end to our long war1 a peace final and honourable1 wherein the soul of the country can rest1 revive and express itself2 wherein poetry1 music and art will pour out in uninterrupted joy1 the joy of deliverance1 flashing in splendour and superabundant in volume1 evidence of long suppression8 ,this is the dream of us all4 ,but who can hope for this final peace while any part of our independence is denied8 ,for1 while we are connected in any shape with the ,british ,empire the connection implies some dependence2 this cannot be gainsaid2 and who is so foolish as to expect that there will be no collision with the ,british ,parliament1 while there is this connection implying dependence on the ,british ,empire8 ,if such a one exists he goes against all experience and all history4 ,on either side of the connection will be two interests--the ,english interest and the ,irish interest1 and they will be always at variance4 ,consider how parties within a single state are at variance1 ,conservatives and ,radicals1 in any country in ,europe4 ,the proposals of one are always insidious1 dangerous or reactionary1 as the case may be1 in the eyes of the other2 and in no case will the parties agree2 they will at times even charge each other with treachery2 there is never peace4 ,it is the rule of party war4 ,who1 then1 can hope for peace where into the strife is imported a race difference1 where the division is not of party but of people8 ,that is in truth the vain hope4 ,and be it borne in mind the race difference is not due to our predominating ,gaelic stock1 but to the separate countries and to distinct households in the human race4 ,if we were all of ,english extraction the difference would still exist4 ,there is the historic case of the ,american ,states2 it is easy to understand4 ,when a man's children come of age1 they set up establishments for themselves1 and live independently2 they are always bound by affection to the parent-home2 but if the father try to interfere in the house of a son1 and govern it in any detail1 there will be strife4 ,it is hardly necessary to labour the point4 ,if all the people in this country were of ,english extraction and ,england were to claim on that account that there should be a connection with her1 and that it should dominate the people here1 there would be strife2 and it could have but one end--separation4 ,we would1 of whatever extraction1 have lived in natural neighbourliness with ,england1 but she chose to trap and harass us1 and it will take long generations of goodwill to wipe out some memories4 ,again1 and yet again1 let there be no confusion of thought as to this final peace2 it will never come while there is any formal link of dependence4 ,the spirit of our manhood will always flame up to resent and resist that link4 ,separation and equality may restore ties of friendship2 nothing else can3 for individual development and general goodwill is the lesson of human life4 ,we can be good neighbours1 but most dangerous enemies1 and in the coming time our hereditary foe cannot afford to have us on her flank4 ,the present is promising2 the future is developing for us3 we shall reach the goal4 ,let us see to it that we shall be found worthy4 ,,vi ,that we be found worthy2 let this be borne in mind4 ,for it is true that here only is our great danger4 ,if with our freedom to win1 our country to open up1 our future to develop1 we learn no lesson from the mistakes of nations and live no better life than the great ,powers1 we shall have missed a golden opportunity1 and shall be one of the failures of history4 ,so far1 on superficial judgment1 we have been accounted a failure2 though the simple maintenance of our fight for centuries has been in itself a splendid triumph4 ,but then only would we have failed in the great sense1 when we had got our field and wasted it1 as the nations around us waste theirs to-day4 ,we led ,europe once2 let us lead again with a beautiful realisation of freedom2 and let us beware of the delusion that is abroad1 that we seek nothing more than to be free of restraint1 as ,england1 ,france and ,germany are to-day2 let us beware of the delusion that if we can scramble through anyhow to freedom we can then begin to live worthily1 but that in the interval we cannot be too particular4 ,that is the grim shadow that darkens our path1 that falls between us and a beautiful human life1 and may drive us to that tiger-like existence that makes havoc through the world to-day4 ,let us beware4 ,i do not say we must settle now all disputes1 such as capital1 labour1 and others1 but that everyone should realise a duty to be high-minded and honourable in action2 to regard his fellow not as a man to be circumvented1 but as a brother to be sympathised with and uplifted4 ,neither kingdom1 republic1 nor commune can regenerate us2 it is in the beautiful mind and a great ideal we shall find the charter of our freedom2 and this is the philosophy that it is most essential to preach4 ,we must not ignore it now1 for how we work to-day will decide how we shall live to-morrow2 and if we are not scrupulous in our struggle1 we shall not be pure in our future state1 ,i know there are many who are not indifferent to high-minded action1 but who live in dread of an exacting code of life1 fearing it will harass our movements and make success impossible4 ,let us correct this mistake with the reflection that the time is shaping for us4 ,the power of our country is strengthening2 the grip of the enemy is slackening2 every extension of local government is a step nearer to independent government2 the people are not satisfied with an instalment2 their capacity for further power is developed1 and they are equipped with weapons to win it4 ,even in our time have we made great advance4 ,let one fact alone make this evident4 ,less than twenty years ago the ,irish language was despised2 to-day the movement to restore it is strong enough to have it made compulsory in the ,national ,university4 ,can anyone doubt from this sign of the times alone that the hour points to freedom1 and we are on the road to victory8 ,that we shall win our freedom ,i have no doubt2 that we shall use it well ,i am not so certain1 for see how sadly misused it is abroad through the world to-day4 ,that should be our final consideration1 and we should make this a resolution--our future history shall be more glorious than that of any contemporary state4 ,we shall look for prosperity1 no doubt1 but let our enthusiasm be for beautiful living2 we shall build up our strength1 yet not for conquest1 but as a pledge of brotherhood and a defence for the weaker ones of the earth2 we shall take pride in our institutions1 not only as guaranteeing the stability of the state1 but as securing the happiness of the citizens1 and we shall lead ,europe again as we led it of old4 ,we shall rouse the world from a wicked dream of material greed1 of tyrannical power1 of corrupt and callous politics to the wonder of a regenerated spirit1 a new and beautiful dream2 and we shall establish our state in a true freedom that will endure for ever4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,moral ,,force ,i ,one of the great difficulties in discussing any question of importance in ,ireland is that words have been twisted from their original and true significance1 and if we are to have any effective discussion1 we must first make clear the meaning of our terms4 ,love of country is quoted to tolerate every insidious error of weakness1 but if it has any meaning it should make men strong-souled and resolute in every crisis4 ,men working for the extension of ,local ,government toast ,ireland a ,nation1 and extol ,home ,rule as independence2 but while there is any restraint on us by a neighbouring ,power1 acknowledged superior1 there is dependence to that extent4 ,straightway1 those who fight for independence shift their ground and plead for absolute independence1 but there is no such thing as qualified independence2 and when we abandon the simple name to men of half-measures1 we prejudice our cause and confuse the issue4 ,then there is the irreconcilable--how is he regarded in the common cry8 ,always an impossible1 wild1 foolish person1 and we frequently resent the name and try to explain his reasonableness instead of exulting in his strength1 for the true irreconcilable is the simple lover of the truth4 ,among men fighting for freedom some start up in their plea for liberty1 pointing to the prosperity of ,england1 ,france1 and ,germany1 and when we debate the means by which they won their power1 we find our friends draw no distinction between true freedom and licentious living2 but it would be better to be crushed under the wheels of great ,powers than to prosper by their example4 ,and so1 through every discussion we must make clear the meaning of our terms4 ,there is one ,i would treat particularly now4 ,of all the terms glibly flung about in every debate not one has been so confused as ,moral ,force4 ,,ii ,since the time of ,o',connell the cry ,moral ,force has been used persistently to cover up the weakness of every politician who was afraid or unwilling to fight for the whole rights of his country1 and confusion has been the consequence4 ,i am not going here to raise old debates over ,o',connell's memory1 who1 when all is said1 was a great man and a patriot4 ,let those of us who read with burning eyes of the shameless fiasco of ,clontarf recall for full judgment the ,o',connell of earlier years1 when his unwearied heart was fighting the uphill fight of the pioneer4 ,but a great need now is to challenge his later influence1 which is overshadowing us to our undoing4 ,for we find men of this time who lack moral courage fighting in the name of moral force1 while those who are pre-eminent as men of moral fibre are dismissed with a smile--physical-force men4 ,to make clear the confusion we need only to distinguish moral force from moral weakness4 ,there is the distinction4 ,call it what we will1 moral courage1 moral strength1 moral force2 we all recognise that great virtue of mind and heart that keeps a man unconquerable above every power of brute strength4 ,i call it moral force1 which is a good name1 and ,i make the definition3 a man of moral force is he who1 seeing a thing to be right and essential and claiming his allegiance1 stands for it as for the truth1 unheeding any consequence4 ,it is not that he is a wild person1 utterly reckless of all mad possibilities1 filled with a madder hope1 and indifferent to any havoc that may ensue4 ,no1 but it is a first principle of his1 that a true thing is a good thing1 and from a good thing rightly pursued can follow no bad consequence4 ,and he faces every possible development with conscience at rest--it may be with trepidation for his own courage in some great ordeal1 but for the nobility of the cause and the beauty of the result that must ensue1 always with serene faith4 ,and soon the trepidation for himself passes1 for a great cause always makes great men1 and many who set out in hesitation die heroes4 ,this it is that explains the strange and wonderful buoyancy of men1 standing for great ideals1 so little understood of others of weaker mould4 ,the soldier of freedom knows he is forward in the battle of ,truth1 he knows his victory will make for a world beautiful1 that if he must inflict or endure pain1 it is for the regeneration of those who suffer1 the emancipation of those in chains1 the exaltation of those who die1 and the security and happiness of generations yet unborn4 ,for the strength that will support a man through every phase of this struggle a strong and courageous mind is the primary need--in a word1 ,moral ,force4 ,a man who will be brave only if tramping with a legion will fail in courage if called to stand in the breach alone4 ,and it must be clear to all that till ,ireland can again summon her banded armies there will be abundant need for men who will stand the single test4 ',tis the bravest test1 the noblest test1 and 'tis the test that offers the surest and greatest victory4 ,for one armed man cannot resist a multitude1 nor one army conquer countless legions2 but not all the armies of all the ,empires of earth can crush the spirit of one true man4 ,and that one man will prevail4 ,,iii ,but so much have we felt the need of resisting every slavish tendency that found refuge under the name of ,moral ,force1 that those of us who would vindicate our manhood cried wildly out again for the physical test2 and we cried it long and repeatedly the more we smarted under the meanness of retrograde times4 ,but the time is again inspiring1 and the air must now be cleared4 ,we have set up for the final test of the man of unconquerable spirit that test which is the first and last argument of tyranny--recourse to brute strength4 ,we have surrounded with fictitious glory the carnage of the battlefields2 we have shouted of wading through our enemies' blood1 as if bloody fields were beautiful2 we have been contemptuous of peace1 as if every war were exhilarating2 but1 ,war is hell1 said a famous general in the field4 ,this1 of course1 is exaggeration1 but there is a grim element of truth in the warning that must be kept in mind at all times4 ,if one among us still would resent being asked to forego what he thinks a rightful need of vengeance1 let him look into himself4 ,let him consider his feelings on the death of some notorious traitor or criminal2 not satisfaction1 but awe1 is the uppermost feeling in his heart4 ,death sobers us all4 ,but away from death this may be unconvincing2 and one may still shout of the glory of floating the ship of freedom in the blood of the enemy4 ,i give him pause4 ,he may still correct his philosophy in view of the horror of a street accident or the brutality of a prize-fight4 ,,iv ,but war must be faced and blood must be shed1 not gleefully1 but as a terrible necessity1 because there are moral horrors worse than any physical horror1 because freedom is indispensable for a soul erect1 and freedom must be had at any cost of suffering2 the soul is greater than the body4 ,this is the justification of war4 ,if hesitating to undertake it means the overthrow of liberty possessed1 or the lying passive in slavery already accomplished1 then it is the duty of every man to fight if he is standing1 or revolt if he is down4 ,and he must make no peace till freedom is assured1 for the moral plague that eats up a people whose independence is lost is more calamitous than any physical rending of limb from limb4 ,the body is a passing phase2 the spirit is immortal2 and the degradation of that immortal part of man is the great tragedy of life4 ,consider all the mean things and debasing tendencies that wither up a people in a state of slavery4 ,there are the bribes of those in power to maintain their ascendancy1 the barter of every principle by time-servers2 the corruption of public life and the apathy of private life2 the hard struggle of those of high ideals1 the conflict with all ignoble practices1 the wearing down of patience1 and in the end the quiet abandoning of the flag once bravely flourished2 then the increased numbers of the apathetic and the general gloom1 depression1 and despair--everywhere a land decaying4 ,viciousness1 meanness1 cowardice1 intolerance1 every bad thing arises like a weed in the night and blights the land where freedom is dead2 and the aspect of that land and the soul of that people become spectacles of disgust1 revolting and terrible1 terrible for the high things degraded and the great destinies imperilled4 ,it would be less terrible if an earthquake split the land in two1 and sank it into the ocean4 ,to avert the moral plague of slavery men fly to arms1 notwithstanding the physical consequence1 and those who set more count by the physical consequences cannot by that avert them1 for the moral disease is followed by physical wreck--if delayed still inevitable4 ,so1 physical force is justified1 not per se1 but as an expression of moral force2 where it is unsupported by the higher principle it is evil incarnate4 ,the true antithesis is not between moral force and physical force1 but between moral force and moral weakness4 ,that is the fundamental distinction being ignored on all sides4 ,when the time demands and the occasion offers1 it is imperative to have recourse to arms1 but in that terrible crisis we must preserve our balance4 ,if we leap forward for our enemies' blood1 glorifying brute force1 we set up the standard of the tyrant and heap up infamy for ourselves2 on the other hand1 if we hesitate to take the stern action demanded1 we fail in strength of soul1 and let slip the dogs of war to every extreme of weakness and wildness1 to create depravity and horror that will ultimately destroy us4 ,a true soldier of freedom will not hesitate to strike vigorously and strike home1 knowing that on his resolution will depend the restoration and defence of liberty4 ,but he will always remember that restraint is the great attribute that separates man from beast1 that retaliation is the vicious resource of the tyrant and the slave2 that magnanimity is the splendour of manhood2 and he will remember that he strikes not at his enemy's life1 but at his misdeed1 that in destroying the misdeed1 he makes not only for his own freedom1 but even for his enemy's regeneration4 ,this may be for most of us perhaps too great a dream4 ,but for him who reads into the heart of the question and for the true shaping of his course it will stand2 he will never forget1 even in the thickest fight1 that the enemy of to-day and yesterday may be the genuine comrade of to-morrow4 ,v ,if it is imperative that we should fix unalterably our guiding principles before we are plunged unprepared into the fight1 it is even more urgent we should clear the mind to the truth now1 for we have fallen into the dangerous habit of deferring important questions on the plea that the time is not ripe4 ,in a word1 we lack moral strength2 and so1 that virtue that is to safeguard us in time of war is the great virtue that will redeem us in time of servility4 ,it need not be further laboured that in a state enslaved every mean thing flourishes4 ,the admission of it makes clear that in such a state it is more important that every evil be resisted4 ,in a normal condition of liberty many temporary evils may arise2 yet they are not dangerous--in the glow of a people's freedom they waste and die as disease dies in the sunlight4 ,but where independence is suppressed and a people degenerate1 a little evil is in an atmosphere to grow1 and it grows and expands2 and evils multiply and destroy4 ,that is why men of high spirit working to regenerate a fallen people must be more insistent to watch every little defect and weak tendency that in a braver time would leave the soul unruffled4 ,that is why every difficulty1 once it becomes evident1 is ripe for settlement4 ,to evade the issue is to invite disaster4 ,resolution alone will save us in our many dangers4 ,but a plea for policy will be raised to evade a particular and urgent question3 ,people won't unite on it2 that's one cry4 ,ignorant people will be led astray2 that's another cry4 ,there is always some excuse ready for evasion4 ,the difficulty is1 that every party likes some part of the truth2 no party likes it all2 but we must have it all1 every line of it4 ,we want no popular editions and no philosophic selections--the truth1 the whole truth1 and nothing but the truth4 ,this must be the rule for everything concerning which a man has a public duty and ought to have a public opinion4 ,there is a dangerous tendency gaining ground of slurring over vital things because the settlement of them involves great difficulty1 and may involve great danger2 but whatever the issue is we must face it4 ,it is a step forward to bring men together on points of agreement1 but men come thus together not without a certain amount of suspicion4 ,in a fight for freedom that latent suspicion would become a mastering fear to seize and destroy us4 ,we must allay it now4 ,we must lead men to discuss points of difference with respect1 forbearance1 and courage1 to find a consistent way of life for all that will inspire confidence in all4 ,at present we inspire confidence in no one2 it would be fatal to hide the fact4 ,this is a necessary step to bringing matters to a head4 ,we cannot hope to succeed all at once1 but we must keep the great aim in view4 ,there will be objections on all sides2 from the blas man of the world1 concerned only for his comfort1 the mean man of business concerned only for his profits1 the man of policy always looking for a middle way1 a certain type of religious pessimist who always spies danger in every proposal1 and many others4 ,we need not consider the comfort of the first nor the selfishness of the second2 but the third and fourth require a word4 ,the man of policy offers me his judgment instead of a clear consideration of the truth4 ',tis he who says3 ,you and ,i can discuss certain things privately4 ,we are educated2 we understand4 ,ignorant people can't understand1 and you only make mischief in supposing it4 ,it's not wise4 ,to him ,i reply3 ,you are afraid to speak the whole truth2 ,i am afraid to hide it4 ,you are filled with the danger to ignorant people of having out everything2 ,i am filled with the danger to you of suppressing anything4 ,i do not propose to you that you can with the whole truth make ignorant people profound1 but ,i say you must have the whole truth out for your own salvation4 ,here is the danger3 we see life within certain limitations1 and cannot see the possibly infinite significance of something we would put by4 ,it is of grave importance that we see it rightly1 and in the difficulties of the case our only safe course is to take the evidence life offers without prejudice and without fear1 and write it down4 ,when the matter is grave1 let it be taken with all the mature deliberation and care its gravity demands1 but once the evidence is clearly seen1 let us for our salvation write it down4 ,for any man to set his petty judgment above the need for setting down the truth is madness2 and ,i refuse to do it4 ,there is our religious pessimist to consider4 ,to him ,i say ,i take religion more seriously4 ,i take it not to evade the problems of life1 but to solve them4 ,when ,i tell him to have no fear1 this is not my indifference to the issue1 but a tribute to the faith that is in me4 ,let us be careful to do the right thing2 then fear is inconsistent with faith4 ,nor can ,i understand the other attitude4 ,two thousand years after the preaching of the ,sermon on the ,mount we are to go about whispering to one another what is wise4 ,,vi ,to conclude3 ,now1 and in every phase of the coming struggle1 the strong mind is a greater need than the strong hand4 ,we must be passionate1 but the mind must guide and govern our passion4 ,in the aberrations of the weak mind decrying resistance1 let us not lose our balance and defy brute strength4 ,at a later stage we must consider the ethics of resistance to the ,civil ,power2 the significance of what is written now will be more apparent then4 ,let the cultivation of a brave1 high spirit be our great task2 it will make of each man's soul an unassailable fortress4 ,armies may fail1 but it resists for ever4 ,the body it informs may be crushed2 the spirit in passing breathes on other souls1 and other hearts are fired to action1 and the fight goes on to victory4 ,to the man whose mind is true and resolute ultimate victory is assured4 ,no sophistry can sap his resistance2 no weakness can tempt him to savage reprisals4 ,he will neither abandon his heritage nor poison his nature4 ,and in every crisis he is steadfast1 in every issue justified4 ,rejoice1 then good comrades2 our souls are still our own4 ,through the coldness and depression of the time there has lightened a flash of the old fire2 the old enthusiasm1 warm and passionate1 is again stirring us2 we are forward to uphold our country's right1 to fight for her liberty1 and to justify our own generation4 ,we shall conquer4 ,let the enemy count his dreadnoughts and number off his legions--where are now the legions of ,rome and ,carthage8 ,and the ,spirit of ,freedom they challenged is alive and animating the young nations to-day4 ,hold we our heads high1 then1 and we shall bear our flag bravely through every fight4 ,persistent1 consistent1 straightforward and fearless1 so shall we discipline the soul to great deeds1 and make it indomitable4 ,in the indomitable soul lies the assurance of our ultimate victory4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,brothers ,,and ,,enemies ,i ,our enemies are brothers from whom we are estranged4 ,here is the fundamental truth that explains and justifies our hope of re-establishing a real patriotism among all parties in ,ireland1 and a final peace with our ancient enemy of ,england4 ,it is the view of prejudice that makes of the various sections of our people hopelessly hostile divisions1 and raises up a barrier of hate between ,ireland and ,england that can never be surmounted4 ,if ,ireland is to be regenerated1 we must have internal unity2 if the world is to be regenerated1 we must have world-wide unity--not of government1 but of brotherhood4 ,to this great end every individual1 every nation has a duty2 and that the end may not be missed we must continually turn for the correction of our philosophy to reflecting on the common origin of the human race1 on the beauty of the world that is the heritage of all1 our common hopes and fears1 and in the greatest sense the mutual interests of the peoples of the earth4 ,if1 unheeding this1 any people make their part of the earth ugly with acts of tyranny and baseness1 they threaten the security of all2 if unconscious of it1 a people always high-spirited are plunged into war with a neighbour1 now a foe1 and yet fight1 as their nature compels them1 bravely and magnanimously1 they but drive their enemy back to the field of a purer life1 and1 perhaps1 to the realisation of a more beautiful existence1 a dream to which his stagnant soul steeped in ugliness could never rise4 ,,ii ,on the road to freedom every alliance will be sternly tried4 ,internal friendship will not be made in a day1 nor external friendship for many a day1 and there will be how many temptations to hold it all a delusion and scatter the few still standing loyally to the flag4 ,we must understand1 then1 the bond that holds us together on the line of march1 and in the teeth of every opposition4 ,nothing but a genuine bond of brotherhood can so unite men1 but we hardly seem to realise its truth4 ,when a deep and ardent patriotism requires men of different creeds to come together frankly and in a spirit of comradeship1 and when the most earnest of all the creeds do so1 others who are colder and less earnest regard this union as a somewhat suspicious alliance2 and1 if they join in1 do so reluctantly4 ,others come not at all2 these think our friends labour in a delusion1 that it needs but an occasion to start an old fear and drive them apart1 to attack one another with ancient bitterness fired with fresh venom4 ,we must combat that idea4 ,let us consider the attitude to one another of three units of the band1 who represent the best of the company and should be typical of the whole2 one who is a ,catholic1 one who is a ,protestant1 and one who may happen to be neither4 ,the complete philosophy of any one of the three may not be accepted by the other two2 the horizon of his hopes may be more or less distant1 but that complete philosophy stretches beyond the limit of the sphere1 within which they are drawn together to mutual understanding and comradeship1 moved by a common hope1 a brave purpose and a beautiful dream4 ,the significance of their work may be deeper for one than for another1 the origin of the dream and its ultimate aim may be points not held in common2 but the beautiful tangible thing that they all now fight for1 the purer public and private life1 the more honourable dealings between men1 the higher ideals for the community and the nation1 the grander forbearance1 courage and freedom1 in all these they are at one4 ,the instinctive recognition of an attack on the ideal is alive and vigilant in all three4 ,the sympathy that binds them is ardent1 deep and enduring4 ,observe them come together4 ,note the warm hand grasp1 the drawn face of one1 a hard-worker2 of another1 the eye anxious for a brother hard pressed2 of the third1 the eye glistening for the ideal triumphant2 of all the intimate confidence1 the mutual encouragement and self-sacrifice1 never a note of despair1 but always the exultation of the ,great ,fight1 and the promise of a great victory4 ,this is a finer company than a mere casual alliance2 yet it makes the uninspired pause1 wondering and questioning4 ,these men are earnest men of different creeds2 still they are as intimately bound to one another as if they knelt at the one altar4 ,in the narrow view the creeds should be at one another's throats2 here they are marching shoulder to shoulder4 ,how is this8 ,and the one whose creed is the most exacting could1 perhaps1 give the best reply4 ,he would reply that within the sphere in which they work together the true thing that unites them can be done only the one right way2 that instinctively seizing this right way they come together2 that this is the line of advance to wider and deeper things that are his inspiration and his life2 that if a comrade is roused to action by the nearer task1 and labours bravely and rightly for it1 he is on the road to widening vistas in his dream that now he may not see4 ,that is what he would say whose vision of life is the widest4 ,all objectors he may not satisfy4 ,that what is life to him may leave his comrade cold is a difficulty2 but against the difficulty stand the depth and reality of their comradeship1 proven by mutual sacrifice1 endurance1 and faith1 and he never doubts that their bond union will sometime prove to have a wise and beautiful meaning in the ,annals of ,god4 ,,iii ,but the men of different creeds who stand firmly and loyally together are a minority4 ,we are faced with the great difficulty of uniting as a whole ,north and ,south2 and we are faced with the grim fact that many whom we desire to unite are angrily repudiating a like desire1 that many are sarcastically noting this1 that many are coldly refusing to believe2 while through it all the most bitter are emphasising enmity and glorifying it4 ,all these unbelievers keep insisting ,north and ,south are natural enemies and must so remain4 ,the situation is further embittered by acts of enmity being practised by both sides to the extreme provocation of the faithful few4 ,their forbearance will be sorely tried1 and this is the final test of men4 ,by those who cling to prejudice and abandon self-restraint1 extol enmity1 and always proceed to the further step--the plea to wipe the enemy out3 the counter plea for forbearance is always scorned as the enervating gospel of weakness and despair4 ,though we like to call ourselves ,christian1 we have no desire for--nay even make a jest of--that outstanding ,christian virtue2 yet men not held by ,christian dogma have joyously surrendered to the sublimity of that divine idea4 ,hear ,shelley speak3 ,what nation has the example of the desolation of ,attica by ,mardonius and ,xerxes1 or the extinction of the ,persian ,empire by ,alexander of ,macedon restrained from outrage8 ,was not the pretext for this latter system of spoliation derived immediately from the former8 ,had revenge in this instance any other effect than to increase1 instead of diminishing1 the mass of malice and evil already existing in the world8 ,the emptiness and folly of retaliation are apparent from every example which can be brought forward4 ,shelley writes much further on retaliation1 which he denounces as futile superstition4 ,simple violence repels every high and generous thinker4 ,hear one other1 ,mazzini3 ,what we have to do is not to establish a new order of things by violence4 ,an order of things so established is always tyrannical even when it is better than the old4 ,let us bear this in mind when there is an act of aggression on either side of the ,boyne4 ,there will not be wanting on the other side a cry for retaliation and a lesson4 ,we shall receive every provocation to give up and acknowledge ancient bitterness1 but then is the time to stand firm1 then we shall need to practise the divine forbearance that is the secret of strength4 ,,iv ,but with only a minority standing to the flag we cry out for some hope of final success4 ,men will not fight without result for ever2 they ask for some sign of progress1 some gleam of the light of victory4 ,happily1 searching the skies1 our eyes can have their reward4 ,we shall1 no doubt1 see1 outstanding1 dark evidence of old animosity2 we shall hear fierce war-cries and see raging crowds1 but the crowds are less numerous1 and the wrath has lost its sting4 ,men who raged twenty years ago rage now1 but their fury is less real2 and young men growing up around them1 quite indifferent to the ideal1 are also indifferent to the counter cries3 they are passive1 unimpressed by either side4 ,rightly approached1 they may understand and feel the glow of a fine enthusiasm2 they are numbered by prejudice1 they will become warm1 active and daring under an inspiring appeal4 ,remember1 and have done with despair4 ,think how you and ,i found our path step by step of the way3 political life was full of conventions that suited our fathers' time1 but have faded in the light of our day4 ,we found these conventions unreal and put them by4 ,this was no reflection on our fathers2 what they fought for truly is our heritage1 and we pay them a tribute in offering it in turn our loyalty inspired by their devotion4 ,but their errors we must rectify2 what they left undone we must take up and fulfil4 ,that is the task of every generation1 to take up the uncompleted work of the former one1 and hand on to their successors an achievement and a heritage4 ,youth recognises this instinctively1 and every generation will take a step in advance of its predecessor1 putting by its prejudices and developing its truth4 ,every individual may know this from his own experience1 and from it he knows that those who are now voicing old bitter cries are ageing1 and will soon pass and leave no successors4 ,not that prejudice will die for ever4 ,each new day will have its own1 but that which is now dividing and hampering us will pass4 ,let the memory of its bitterness be an incentive to checking new animosities and keeping the future safe2 but in the present let us grasp and keep in our mind that the barrier that sundered our nation must crumble1 if only we have faith and persist1 undeterred by old bitter cries1 for they are dying cries1 undepressed by millions apathetic1 for it is the great recurring sign of the ideal1 that one hour its light will flash through quivering multitudes1 and millions will have vision and rouse to regenerate the land4 ,v ,happily1 it is nothing new to plead for brotherhood among ,irishmen now2 unhappily1 it is not so generally admitted1 nor even recognised1 that the same reason that exists for restoring friendly relations among ,irishmen1 exists for the re-establishing of friendship with any outsider--,england or another--with whom now or in the future we may be at war4 ,friendliness between neighbours is one of the natural things of life4 ,in the case of individuals how beautifully it shows between two dwellers in the same street or townland4 ,they rejoice together in prosperity2 give mutual aid in adversity2 in the ordinary daily round work together in a spirit of comradeship2 at all times they find a bond of unity in their mutual interests4 ,consider1 then1 the sundering of their friendship by some act of evil on either side4 ,the old friendship is turned to hate4 ,now the proximity that gave intimate pleasure to their comradeship gives as keen an edge to their enmity2 they meet one another1 cross one another1 harass one another at every point4 ,the bitterness that is such a poison to life must be revolting to their best instincts2 deep in their hearts must be a yearning for the casting out of hate and the return of old comradeship4 ,still the estranged brothers are at daggers drawn4 ,sometimes the evil done is so great and the bitterness so keen that the old spirit can apparently never be restored2 but while there is any hope whatever the true heart will keep it alive deep down1 for it must be cherished and kept in mind if the whole beauty of life is to be renewed and preserved for ever4 ,it is so with nations as with individuals4 ,once this is recognised we must be on guard against a new error1 which is an old error in new form1 the taking of means for end4 ,the end of general peace is to give all nations freedom in essentials1 to realise the deeper purpose1 possibilities1 fulness and beauty of life2 it is not to have a peace at any price1 peace with a certain surrender1 the meaner peace that is akin to slavery4 ,no1 its message is to guard one nation from excess that has plunged another into evil1 to leave the way open to a final peace1 not base but honourable2 it is to preserve the divine balance of the soul4 ,it may be further urged that we are engaged in a great fight2 that to try to rouse in men the more generous instincts will but weaken their hands by removing a certain driving bitterness that gives strength to their fight4 ,whatever it removes it will not be their strength4 ,in a war admittedly between brothers1 a civil war1 where different conceptions of duty force men asunder1 father is up against son1 and brother against brother2 yet they are not weakened in their contest by ties of blood and the deeper-lying harmony of things that in happier times prevail to the exclusion of bitterness and hate4 ,when1 therefore1 you teach a man his enemy is in a deep sense his brother1 you do not draw him from the fight1 but you give him a new conception of the goal to win and with a great dream inspire him to persevere and reach the goal4 ,,vi ,if1 then1 beyond individual and national freedom there is this great dream still to be striven for1 let us not decry it as something too sublime for earth4 ,it must be our guiding star to lead us rightly as far as we may go4 ,we can travel rightly that part of the road we now tread on only by shaping it true to the great end that ought to inspire us all4 ,we shall have many temptations to swerve aside1 but the power of mind that keeps our position clear and firm will react against every destroying influence4 ,in the first stage of the fight for internal unity1 when blind bigotry is furiously insisting that we but plan an insidious scheme for the oppression of a minority1 our firmness will save us till our conception of the end grow on that minority and convince all of our earnestness4 ,then the dream will inspire them1 the flag will claim them1 and the first stage in the fight will be won4 ,when internal unity is accomplished1 we are within reach of freedom4 ,yes1 but cries an objector1 ,why plead for friendship with ,england1 who will have peace only on condition of her supremacy8 ,and an answer is needed4 ,if it takes two to make a fight1 it also most certainly takes two to make a peace1 unless one accepts the position of serf and surrenders4 ,but this we do not fear2 we can compel our freedom and we are confident of victory4 ,there is still the step to friendship4 ,many will be baffled by the difficulty1 that while we must keep alive our generous instincts1 we must be stern and resolute in the fight2 while we desire peace we must prosecute war2 while we long for comradeship we must be breaking up dangerous alliances3 literary1 political1 trades and social unions formed with ,england while she is asserting her supremacy must be broken up till they can be reformed on a basis of independence1 equality and universal freedom4 ,while we are prosecuting these vigorous measures it may not seem the way to final friendship2 but we must persist2 independence is first indispensable4 ,here again1 however1 while insisting among our own ranks on our conception of the end1 it will grow on the mind of the enemy4 ,they may put it by at first as a delusion or a snare1 but one intimate moment will come when it will light up for them1 and a new era is begun4 ,in such a moment is evil abandoned1 hate buried and friendship reborn4 ,there is one honest fear that our independence would threaten their security3 it will yet be replaced by the conviction that there is a surer safeguard in our freedom than in our suppression2 the light will break through the clouds of suspicion and a star of stars will glorify the earth4 ,for this end our enemy must have an ideal as high as our own2 if thus an objector1 he is right4 ,but if in the gross materialism and greed of empire that is now the ruling passion with the enemy there is apparently little hope of a transformation that will make them spiritual1 high-minded and generous1 we must not abandon our ideal3 while the meanness and tyranny of contemporary ,england stand forward against our argument and leave our reasoning cold1 we can find a more subtle appeal in spirit1 such an appeal as comes to us in a play of ,shakespeare's1 a song of ,shelley's1 or a picture of ,turner's4 ,from the heart of the enemy ,genius cries1 bearing witness to our common humanity1 and the yearning for such high comradeship is alive1 and the dream survives to light us on the forward path4 ,we must travel that path rightly4 ,we can so travel whatever the enemy's mind4 ,more difficult it will be1 but it can be done4 ,that is the great significance and justification of ,nationalism3 it is the unanswerable argument to cosmopolitanism4 ,if the greatness and beauty of life that ought to be the dream of all nations is denied by all but one1 that one may keep alive the dream within her own frontier till its fascination will arrest and inspire the world4 ,if this ultimate dream is still floating far off1 in its pursuit there is for us achievement on achievement1 and each brave thing done is in itself a beauty and a joy for ever4 ,for the good fighter there is always fine recompense2 a clear mind1 warm blood1 quick imagination1 grasp of life and joy in action1 and at the end of day always an eminence won4 ,yes1 and from the height of that eminence will come ringing down to the last doubter a last word3 we may reach the mountaintops in aspiring to the stars4 ,,chapter ,v ,,the ,,secret ,,of ,,strength ,i ,to win our freedom we must be strong4 ,but what is the secret of strength8 ,it is fundamental to the whole question to understand this rightly1 and1 once grasped1 make it the mainstay of individual existence1 which is the foundation of national life4 ,so much has the bodily power of over-riding minorities been made the criterion of absolute power1 that to make clear the truth requires patience1 insight1 and a little mental study4 ,but the end is a great end4 ,it is to reconnoitre the most important battlefield1 to discover the dispositions of the enemy1 to measure our own resources and forge our strength link by link till we put on the armour of invincibility4 ,,ii ,we have to grasp a distinction1 knowledge of which is essential to discerning true strength4 ,it can be clearly seen in the contrast between two certain fighting forces2 first1 a well-organised army1 capably led1 marching forward full of hope and buoyancy2 second1 a remnant of that army after disaster1 a mere handful1 not swept like their comrades in panic1 but with souls set to fight a forlorn hope4 ,let us study the two3 in the contrast we shall learn the secret4 ,the courage of the well-organised army is not of so fine a quality as that nerving the few to fight to the last gasp4 ,consider first the army4 ,what is its value as a force8 ,its discipline1 its consolidation1 the absolute obedience of its units to its officers1 with the resulting unity of the whole2 added to this is the sense of security in numbers1 buoyancy of marching in a compact body1 confidence in capable chiefs--all these factors go to the making of the courage and strength of the army4 ,it is because their combination makes for the reliability of the force that discipline is so much valued and enforced1 even to the point of death4 ,let us keep this in our mind1 that their strength lies in their numbers1 concentration1 unity1 reliance on one another and on their chiefs4 ,a sudden disaster overtakes that army--the death of a great general1 the miscarriage of some plan1 a surprise attack1 any of the chances of war1 and the strength of the army is pierced1 the discipline shaken1 the sense of security gone4 ,there is an instinctive movement to retreat2 the habit of discipline keeps it orderly at first2 the fear grows2 all precaution and restraint are thrown aside--the retreat is a rout1 the army a rabble1 the end debacle4 ,external discipline in giving them its strength left them without individual resource2 internal discipline was ignored4 ,when their combined strength was gone there was individual helplessness and panic4 ,consider1 now1 a remnant of that army1 the members of which have the courage of the finer quality1 individually resolute and set on resistance1 clearly seeing at once all the possible consequences of their action1 yet with that higher quality of soul accepting them without hesitation1 pledging all human hopes for one last great hope of snatching victory from defeat1 or1 if not to save a lost battle1 to check an advancing host1 rally flying forces1 and redeem a campaign4 ,this is the heroic quality4 ,in a crisis1 the mind possessed of it does not wait for instructions or to reason a conclusion4 ,it sees definite things1 and swift as thought decides4 ,there are flying legions1 a flag down1 a conquering army1 and flight or death--to all eyes these are apparent2 but to a brave company between that flight and death there is a gleam of hope1 of victory1 and for that forlorn hope flight is put by with the acceptance of death in the alternative if they fail4 ,that is the quality to redeem us4 ,because it is witnessed so often in our history we are going to win2 not for our prowess in more fortunate war on an even field or with the flowing tide1 not for many victories in many lands1 but for the sacred places in this our brave land that are memorable for fights that registered the land unconquerable4 ,why a last stand and a sacrifice are more inspiring than a great victory is one of the hidden things2 but the truth stands3 for thinking of them our spirits re-kindle1 our courage re-awakens1 and we stiffen our backs for another battle4 ,,iii ,we have1 then1 to develop individual patience1 courage1 and resolution4 ,once this is borne in mind our work begins4 ,in places there is a dangerous idea that sometime in the future we may be called on to strike a blow for freedom1 but in the meantime there is little to do but watch and wait4 ,this is a fatal error2 we have to forge our strength in the interval4 ,there is a further mistake that our national work is something apart1 that social1 business1 religious and other concerns have no relation to it1 and consequently we set apart a few hours of our leisure for national work1 and go about our day as if no nation existed4 ,but the middle of the day has a natural connection with the beginning of the day and the end of the day1 and in whatever sphere a man finds himself1 his acts must be in relation to and consistent with every other sphere4 ,he will be the best patriot and the best soldier who is the best friend and the best citizen4 ,one cannot be an honest man in one sphere and a rascal in another2 and since a citizen to fulfil his duty to his country must be honourable and zealous1 he must develop the underlying virtues in private life4 ,he must strengthen the individual character1 and to do this he must deal with many things seemingly remote and inconsequential from a national point of view4 ,everything that crosses a man's path in his day's round of little or great moment requires of him an attitude towards it1 and the conscious or unconscious shaping of his attitude is determining how he will proceed in other spheres not now in view4 ,suppose the case of a man in business or social life4 ,he has to work with others in a day's routine or fill up with them hours of leisure they enjoy together4 ,consider to what accompaniment the work is often done and with what manner of conversation the leisure is often filled4 ,in a day's routine1 where men work together1 harmonious relations are necessary2 yet what bickerings1 contentions1 animosities fill many a day over points never worth a thought4 ,you will see two men squabble like cats for the veriest trifle1 and then go through days like children1 without a word4 ,you will see something similar in social life among men and women equally--petty jealousies1 personalities1 slanderings1 mean little stories of no great consequence in themselves1 except in the converse sense of showing how small and contemptible everything and everyone concerned is4 ,a keen eye notes with some depression the absence from both spheres of a fine manliness1 a generous conception of things1 a large outlook1 that prevents a squabble with a smile1 and because of a consciousness of the need for determination in a great fight for a principle1 holds in true contempt the trivialities of an hour4 ,for in all the mean little bickerings of life there is involved not a principle1 but a petty pride4 ,one has to note these things and decide a line of action4 ,in the abstract the right course seems quite natural and easy1 but in fact it is not so4 ,a man finds another act towards him with unconscious impudence or arrogance1 and at once flies into a rage2 there is a fierce wrangle1 and at the end he finds no purpose served1 for nothing was at stake4 ,he has lost his temper for nothing4 ,in his heat he may tell you he wouldn't let so-and-so do so-and-so1 but on the same principle he should hold a street-argument with every fish-wife who might call him a name4 ,he may tell you he will make so-and-so respect him1 but he offends his own self-respect if he cannot consider some things beneath him4 ,one must have a sense of proportion and not elevate every little act of impudence into a challenge of life to be fought over as for life and death4 ,it may be corrected with a little humour or a little disdain1 but always with sympathy for the narrow mind whose view of life cannot reach beyond these petty things4 ,yet1 to repeat1 it is not easy4 ,an irritable temper will be on fire before reason can check it2 the process of correction will prove uncomfortable--the reasons will be there1 but the feelings in revolt4 ,still1 little by little1 it is brought under1 and in the end the nasty little irritability is killed just like a troublesome nerve2 and1 by and by1 what once provoked a fierce rage becomes a subject for humorous reflection4 ,let no one fear we kill the nerve for the great ,battle of ,life2 this we but strengthen and make constant4 ,every act of personal discipline is contributing to a subconscious reservoir whence our nobler energies are supplied for ever4 ,and so1 little things lead to great2 and in an office wrangle or a social squabble there is need for developing those very qualities of judgment1 courage1 and patience which equip a man for the trials of the battlefield or the ruling of the state4 ,,iv ,we have considered the individual in business and social life4 ,let us now follow him into a political assembly4 ,we find the same conditions prevail4 ,again1 men fight bitterly but most frequently for nothing worth a fight2 and again those rightly judging the situation must resolve not to be tempted into a wrangle even if their restraint be called by another name4 ,what in a political assembly is often the first thing to note8 ,we begin by the assumption1 this is a practical body of men1 the words invariably used to cover the putting by of some great principle that we ought all endorse and uphold4 ,but1 first1 by one of the many specious reasons now approved1 we put the principle by1 and before long we are at one another's throats about things involving no principle4 ,it is not necessary to particularise4 ,note any meeting for the same general conditions3 a chairman1 indecisive1 explaining rules of order which he lacks the grit to apply2 members ignoring the chair and talking at one another2 others calling to order or talking out of time or away from the point2 one unconsciously showing the futility of the whole business by asking occasionally what is before the chair1 or what the purpose of the meeting4 ,this picture is familiar to us all1 and curiously we seem to take it always as the particular freak of a particular time or locality2 but it is nothing of the kind4 ,it is the natural and logical result of putting by principle and trying to live away from it4 ,yet1 that is what we are doing every day4 ,it means we lack collectively the courage to pursue a thing to its logical conclusion and fight for the truth realised4 ,if we are to be otherwise as a body1 it will only be by personal discipline training for the wider and greater field4 ,we must get a proper conception of the great cause we stand for1 its magnitude and majesty1 and that to be worthy of its service we must have a standard above reproach1 have an end of petty proposals and underhand doings1 be of brave front1 resolute heart1 and honourable intent4 ,we must all understand this each in his own mind and shape his actions1 each to be found faithful in the test4 ,in fine1 if in private life there is need for developing the great virtues requisite for public service1 even more is it necessary in public life to develop the courage1 patience and wisdom of the soldier and the statesman4 ,v ,a concrete case will give a clearer grasp of the issue than any abstract reasoning4 ,our history1 recent and remote1 affords many examples of the abandoning by our public men of a principle1 to defend which they entered public life2 and our action on such an occasion is invariably the same--to regard the delinquent as simply a traitor1 to load him with invective and scorn and brand him for ever4 ,we never see it is not innate wickedness in the man1 but a weakness against which he has been untrained and undisciplined1 and which leaves him helpless in the first crisis4 ,ireland has recently been incensed by the action of some of her mayors and lord mayors in connection with the ,english ,coronation festival2 the feeling has been acute in the metropolis4 ,certain things are obvious1 but how many see what is below the surface8 ,let me suggest a case and a series of circumstances2 the more pointed the case1 the more interesting4 ,i will suppose a particular mayor is an old ,fenian3 let us see how for him a web is finely woven1 and in the end how securely he is netted4 ,first a mayor is a magistrate1 and must take the judicial oath1 but the old ,fenian has taken an oath of allegiance to ,ireland--clash number one4 ,it is not simply a question of yes or no2 there are attendant circumstances4 ,around a public man in place circulates a swarm of interested people1 needy friends1 meddling politicians1 supporters generally4 ,the chief magistrate will have influence on the bench which they all wish to invoke now and then1 and they all wish to see him there4 ,they don't approve of any principle that stands in the way4 ,they group themselves together as his supporters1 and claiming to have put him into public life1 they act as if they had acquired a lease of his soul4 ,not what he knows to be right1 but what they believe to be useful1 must be done2 and before the first day is done the first fight must be made4 ,however1 the old ,fenian has enough of the spirit of old times to come safe through the first round4 ,but the second is close on his heels3 ,dublin ,castle has been attentive4 ,the mayor1 as chief magistrate1 has privileges on which the ,castle now silently closes4 ,there are private and veiled remonstrances by secret officials3 ,the mayor is acting illegally2 he must not do so-and-so2 such is the function of a magistrate2 he has not taken the oath1 etc4 ,all this renewing the fight of the first day1 for the ,castle1 too1 wants the mayor on the bench to brand him as its own and alienate him from the old flag4 ,it puts on the pressure by suppressing his privileges1 weakening his influence1 and disappointing his supporters4 ,all this is silently done4 ,still1 the mayor holds fast1 but he has not counted on this1 and is beginning to be baffled and worried4 ,meanwhile a sort of guerilla attack is being maintained3 invitations arrive to garden parties at ,windsor1 lesser functions nearer home1 free passages to all the gay festivals1 free admissions everywhere1 the route indicated1 and a gracious request for the presence of the mayor and mayoress4 ,genuine business engagements now save the situation1 and the invitations are put by1 but our chief citizen is now bewildered4 ,these social missiles are flying in all directions1 always gracious and flattering1 never challenging and rude--who can withstand them8 ,still he is bewildered1 but not yet caught4 ,a new assault is made3 the great ,health ,crusade ,battery is called up4 ,here we must all unite1 ,god's ,english and the wild ,irish1 the ,fenian and the ,castleman1 the labourer and the lord4 ,surely1 we are all against the microbes4 ,there is a great demonstration1 their ,excellencies attend--and the mayor presides4 ,under the banner of the microbe he is caught4 ,it is a great occasion1 which their ,excellencies grace and improve4 ,his ,excellency is affable with the mayor2 her ,excellency is confidential and gracious with the mayoress--we might have been schoolchildren in the same townland we are so cordial4 ,everything proceeds amid plaudits1 and winds up in acclamation4 ,their ,excellencies depart4 ,great is the no-politics era--you can so quietly spike the guns of many an old politician--and keep him safe4 ,the social amenities do this4 ,their ,excellencies have gone1 but they do not forget4 ,there is a warm word of thanks for recent hospitality4 ,perhaps the mayor has a daughter about to be married1 or a son has died2 it is remembered1 and the cordial congratulation or gracious sympathy comes duly under the great seal4 ,what surly man would resent sympathy8 ,and so1 the strength of the old warrior is sapped2 the web is woven finely2 in its secret net the ,castle has its man4 ,you who have exercised yourselves in ,dublin recently over mayoral doings1 note all this--not to the making light of any man's surrender1 but to the true judging of the event1 its deeper significance and danger4 ,whoever fails must be called to account4 ,when a man takes a position of trust1 influence1 and honour1 and1 whatever the difficulty1 abandons a principle he should hold sacred1 he must be held responsible4 ,a battle is an ordeal1 and we must be stern with friend and foe4 ,but there is something more sinister than the weakness of the man3 remember the net4 ,,vi ,the concrete case makes clear the principle in question4 ,the man whom we have seen go down would have been safe if he had to fight no battle but one he could face with all his true friends1 and in the open light of day4 ,having to fight a secret battle was never even considered3 threats direct or vague or subtle1 blandishments1 cajolery1 graciousness1 patronage1 flattery1 plausible generalities1 attacks indirect and insidious--all coming without pause1 secret1 silent1 tireless4 ,he who is to be proof against this1 and above threat or flattery1 must have been disciplined with the discipline of a life that trains him for every emergency4 ,you cannot take up such a character like a garment to suit the occasion3 it must be developed in private and public by all those daily acts that declare a man's attitude1 register his convictions1 and form his mind4 ,it gives its own reward at once1 even in the day where nothing is apparently at stake2 where men scramble furiously over the petty things of life2 for he who sees these things at their proper value is unruffled4 ,his composure in all the fury has its own value4 ,but the mind that held him so1 by the very act of dismissing something petty1 gets a clearer conception of the great things of life2 by intuition is at once awake to a hovering and fatal menace to individual or national existence1 unseen of the common eye2 and in that hour proves1 to the confusion of the enemy1 clear1 vigorous and swift4 ,let us1 then1 for this great end note what is the secret of strength4 ,not alone to be ready to stand in with a host and march bravely to battle--the discipline that provides for this is great and valuable and must be always observed and practised4 ,this gives1 however1 only the common courage of the crowd1 and can only be trusted on an even field where the chances of war are equal4 ,but when there is a struggle to restore freedom1 where from the nature of the case the chances are uneven and the soldiers of liberty are at every disadvantage1 then must we seek to adjust the balance by a finer courage and a more enduring strength4 ,the mustering of legions will not suffice4 ,the general reviewing this fine array who would rightly estimate the power he may command1 must silently examine the units1 to judge of this brave host how large a company can be formed to fight a forlorn hope4 ,if this spirit is in reserve1 he is armed against every emergency4 ,if the chances are equal1 he will have a splendid victory2 if by any of the turns of war his legions are shaken and disaster threatened1 there is always a certain rallying-ground where the host can re-form and the field be re-won1 and the flag that has seen so many vicissitudes be set at last high and proudly in the light of ,freedom4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,principle ,,in ,,action ,i ,our philosophy is valueless unless we bring it into life4 ,with sufficient ingenuity we might frame theory after theory1 and if they could not be put to the test of a work-a-day existence we but add another to the many dead theories that litter the ,history of ,philosophy4 ,our principles are not to argue about1 or write about1 or hold meetings about1 but primarily to give us a rule of life4 ,to ignore this is to waste time and energy4 ,to observe and follow it is to take from the clouds something that appeals to us1 work it into life1 by it interpret the problems to hand1 make our choice between opposing standards1 and maintain our fidelity to the true one against every opposition and through every fitful though terrible depression2 so shall we startle people with its reality1 and make for it a disciple or an opponent1 but always at once convince the generation that there is a serious work in hand4 ,,ii ,if our philosophy is to be worked into life the first thing naturally is to review the situation4 ,if we are to judge rightly1 we must understand the present1 draw from the past its lesson1 and shape our plans for the future true to the principles that govern and inform every generation4 ,let us survey the past1 taking a sufficiently wide view between two points--say '#ih and our own time--and we see certain definite conditions4 ,great luminous years--'#ih1 '#jc1 '#dh1 '#fg1 rise up1 witness to a great principle1 readiness for sacrifice1 unshaken belief in truth1 valour and freedom1 and a flag that will ultimately prevail4 ,in these years the people had vision1 the blood quickened1 a living flame swept the land1 scorching up hypocrisy1 deceit1 meanness1 and lighting all brave hearts to high hope and achievement--for1 the whimperers notwithstanding1 it was always achievement to challenge the enemy and stagger his power1 though yet his expulsion is delayed4 ,between the glorious years of the living flame there intervened pallid times of depression1 where every disease of soul and body crept into the open4 ,true hearts lived1 scattered here and there1 believing still but disorganised and bewildered--the leaders were stricken down and in their place1 obscuring the beauty of life1 the grandeur of the past1 and our future destiny1 came time-servers1 flatterers1 hypocrites1 open traffickers in honour and public decency1 fastening their mean authority on the land4 ,these are the two great resting-places in our historic survey3 the generation of the living flame and the generation of despair2 and it is for us to decide--for the decision rests with us--whether we shall in our time merely mark time or write another luminous chapter in the splendid history of our race4 ,,iii ,let us consider these two generations apart1 to understand their distinctive features more clearly for our own guidance4 ,take first the years of vision and the general effort to replant the old flag on our walls4 ,with the first enthusiasts breathing the living flame abroad1 the kindling hope1 the widening fires1 the deepening dream1 there grows a consciousness of the greatness of the goal1 of the general duty1 of the individual responsibility for higher character1 steadier work1 and purer motive2 and gradually meanness1 trickeries1 and treacheries are weeded out of the individual and national consciousness3 there is a realisation of a time come to restore the nation's independence1 and with passion and enthusiasm are fused a fine resolve and nerve4 ,all the excited doings of the feverish or pallid years are put by as unworthy or futile4 ,the great idea inspires a great fight2 and that fight is made1 and1 notwithstanding any reverse1 must be recorded great4 ,whatever concourse of circumstances mar the dream and delay the victory1 those brave years are as a torch in witness to the ideal1 in justification of its soldiers and in promise of final success4 ,,iv ,let us examine now the deadening years that intervene between the great fights for freedom4 ,we have known something of these times ourselves1 have touched on them already1 and need not further draw out the demoralising things that corrupt and dishearten us4 ,but what we urgently require to study is the kind of effort--more often the absence of effort--made in such years by those who keep their belief in freedom and feel at times impelled in some way or other to action4 ,they have followed a lost battle1 and in the aftermath of defeat they are numbed into despair4 ,they refuse to surrender to the forces of the hour1 but they lack the fine faith and enthusiasm of the braver years that challenged these forces at every point and stood or fell by the issue4 ,they lie apathetic till1 moved by some particular meanness or treachery1 they are roused to spasmodic anger1 rush to act in some spasmodic way--generally futile1 and then relapse into helplessness again4 ,they lack the vision that inspires every moment1 discerns a sure way1 and heightens the spirit to battle without ceasing1 which is characteristic of the great years4 ,they tacitly accept that theirs is a useless generation1 that the enemy is in the ascendant1 that they cannot unseat him1 and their action1 where any is made1 is but to show their attitude1 never to convince opponents that the battle is again beginning1 that this is a bid for freedom1 that history will be called on to record their fight and pay tribute to their times4 ,their action has never this great significance4 ,when stung to fitful madness by the boastful votaries of power1 their occasional frantic efforts are more as relief to their feelings than destructive to the tyranny in being4 ,let us realise this to the full2 and seeing the futility in other years of every pathetic makeshift to annoy or circumvent the enemy1 put by futilities and do a great work to justify our time4 ,v ,we have1 then1 to consider and decide our immediate attitude to life1 where we stand4 ,there are errors to remove4 ,the first is the assumption that we are only required to acknowledge the flag in places1 offer it allegiance at certain meetings at certain times that form but a small part of our existence2 while we allow ourselves to be dispensed from fidelity to our principles when in other places1 where other standards are either explicitly or tacitly recognised4 ,that we must carry our flag everywhere2 that there must be no dispensation3 these are the cardinal points of our philosophy4 ,life is a great battlefield1 and any hour in the day a man's flag may be challenged and he must stand and justify it4 ,an idea you hold as true is not to be professed only where it is proclaimed2 it will whisper and you must be its prophet in strange places2 it is insistent of all things--you must glory in it or deny it2 there is no escaping it1 and there is no middle way2 wherever your path lies it will cross you and you must choose4 ,beware lest on any plea you put it by4 ,you cannot elect to do nothing2 the concourse of circumstances would take you to some side2 to do nothing is still to take a side4 ,priest1 poet1 professor1 public man1 professional man1 business man1 tradesman--everyone will be called to answer2 in every walk of life the true idea will find the false in conflict and the battle must be fought out there--the battle is lost when we satisfy ourselves with an academic debate in our spare moments4 ,this is a debating club age1 and a plea for an ideal is often wasted1 taken as a mere point in an argument2 but to walk among men fighting passionately for it as a thing believed in1 is to make it real1 to influence men never reached in other ways2 it is to arrest attention1 arouse interest and quicken the masses to advance4 ,and wherever the appeal for the flag is calling us the snare of the enemy is in wait4 ,our history so bristles with instances that a particular concrete case need not be cited4 ,we know that priests will get more patronage if they discourage the national idea2 that professors will get more emoluments and honours if they can ban it2 that public men will receive places and titles if they betray it2 that the professional man will be promised more aggrandisement1 the business man more commerce1 and the tradesman more traffic of his kind--if only he put by the flag4 ,most treacherous and insidious the temptation will come to the man1 young and able1 everywhere4 ,it will say1 ,you have ability2 come into the light--only put that by2 it keeps you obscure4 ,and what purpose does it serve now8 ,be practical2 come4 ,and you may weaken and yield and enter the light for the general applause1 but the old idea will rankle deep down till smothered out1 and you will stand in the splendour--a failure1 miserable1 hopeless1 not apparent1 indeed1 but for all that1 final4 ,you may stand your ground1 refuse the bribe1 uphold the flag1 and be rated a fool and a failure1 but they who rate you so will not understand that you have won a battle greater than all the triumphs of empires2 you will keep alive in your soul true light and enduring beauty2 you will hear the music eternally in the heart of the high enthusiast and have vision of ultimate victory that has sustained all the world over the efforts of centuries1 that uplifts the individual1 consolidates the nation1 and leads a wandering race from the desert into the ,promised ,land4 ,,vi ,if we are to justify ourselves in our time we must have done with dispensations4 ,many honest men are astray on this point and think attitudes justifiable that are at the root of all our failures4 ,what is the weakness8 ,it is so simple to explain and so easy to understand that one must wonder how we have been ignoring it quietly and generally so long4 ,a man1 as we have seen1 acknowledges his flag in certain places2 in other places it is challenged and he pulls it down4 ,he is dispensed4 ,he believes in his heart1 may even write an anonymous letter to the paper1 will salute the flag again elsewhere1 but he will not carry his flag through every fight and through every day4 ,when a particular crisis arises1 which involves our public boards1 public men1 and business men in action1 that requires a decision for or against the nation1 he will find it in his place in life not wise to be prominent on his own side1 and he is silently absent from his meetings--he gives a subscription but excuses himself from attendance4 ,he satisfies himself with private professions of faith and whispered encouragement to those who fill the gap--words that won't be heard at a distance--and1 worst of all1 he thinks1 because some stake in life may be jeopardised by bolder action1 he is justified4 ,the answer is1 simply he is not justified4 ,nor should anyone who is prepared to take the risk himself take it on himself to absolve others--nor1 least of all1 openly preach a milder doctrine to lead others who are timid to the farther goal1 believed in at heart4 ,encourage them by all means to practise their principles as far as they go2 never restrict yours1 or you will find yourself saying things you can't altogether approve2 and if you tell a man to do things you can't altogether approve1 and keep on telling him1 it wears into you1 and a thing you once held in abhorrence you come to think of with indifference4 ,you change insensibly4 ,old friends rage at you1 and because of it you rage at them--not knowing how you have changed4 ,you dare not let what you believe lie in abeyance or say things inconsistent with it1 else to-morrow you'll be puzzled to say what you believe4 ,you will hardly say two things to fit each other4 ,let us have no half policies4 ,our policy must be full1 clear1 consistent1 to satisfy the restless1 inquiring minds2 when we win all such over1 the merely passive people will follow4 ,it should be clear that no man can dispense himself or his fellow from a grave duty2 but for all that we have been liberal with our dispensations1 and it has left us in confusion and failure4 ,on the understanding that we will be heroes to-morrow1 we evade being men to-day4 ,we think of some hazy hour in the future when we may get a call to great things2 we realise not that the call is now1 that the fight is afoot1 that we must take the flag from its hidden resting-place and carry it boldly into life4 ,so near a struggle may touch us with dread2 but to dread provoking a fight is to endure without resistance all the consequences of a lost battle--a battle that might have been won4 ,and if we are to be fit for the heroic to-morrow we must arise and be men to-day4 ,,vii ,at times we find ourselves on neutral ground4 ,the exigencies of the struggle involve this2 and unfortunately we have in our midst sincere men who do not believe in restoring ,ireland to her original independence4 ,perhaps1 from a tendency to lose our balance at times1 it is well to have near by these men whose obvious sincerity may serve as a correcting influence4 ,we have to make them one with us2 in the meantime we meet them on neutral ground for some common purpose4 ,yet1 we must take our flag everywhere8 ,yes1 that is fundamental4 ,what then of the places where men of diverging views meet2 do we abjure the flag8 ,by no means4 ,the understanding here is not to force our views on others1 but we must keep our principles clear in mind that no hostile view be forced on us4 ,we must see to it that neutrality be observed4 ,one of the pitfalls to be aware of is1 that something which on our principles we should not recognise1 is assumed as recognised by others because to attack it would be to violate neutrality4 ,but if it may not be resisted1 it may not be recognised2 this is neutrality2 it is to stand on equal terms4 ,and since grave matters divide us--not directly concerned in our national struggle for freedom--let the dangerous idea be banished1 that in entering on common ground we decry all opposing beliefs4 ,for men who hold beliefs as vital it would not be creditable to either side to put them easily by4 ,no1 we do not ask them to forget themselves1 but to respect one another--an entirely greater and more honourable principle4 ,on neutral ground a man is not called on to abjure his flag2 rather he and his flag are in sanctuary4 ,,viii ,when we find the national idea touches life at every point1 we begin to realise how frequent the call is to defend it without warning4 ,it is not that men directly raise the idea purposely to reject it1 but that their habit of life1 to which they expect all to conform1 is unconsciously assuming that our ruling principle can have no place now or in the future4 ,their assumption that the status quo cannot be changed will be the cause of most collision at first2 and we must be quietly ready with the counter-assumption1 stand for the old idea and justify it4 ,we must realise1 too1 that the number of people who have definite1 strong1 well-developed views against ours are comparatively small4 ,this small number embraces the ,english ,government that commands forces1 obeying it without reason1 and influencing the general mass of people whose general attitude is indecision--adrift with the ruling force4 ,it is this general mass of men we must permeate with the true idea1 and give them more decision1 more courage1 more pride of race1 and bring them to prove worthy of the race4 ,they will begin to have confidence in the ,cause when they begin to see it vindicated amongst them day by day2 and that vindication must be our duty4 ,that duty will not be to seek2 it will offer itself and we shall have our test4 ,how8 ,consider when men come together for any purpose where different views prevail and general things of no great moment form the subject of debate--suddenly1 unconsciously or tentatively1 one will raise some idea that may divide the company--say1 acknowledging the ,english ,crown in ,ireland1 putting by the claim for freedom1 in the foolish hope of some material gain4 ,there is much nonsense talked and confusion abroad on this head1 and it is quite possible a man1 believing in ,ireland's full claim1 will find himself in a large company who ought to stand for ,ireland1 yet who have lost a clear conception of her rights4 ,but he will find that they have no clear conception the other way1 either2 they are confused and generally pliable2 and so1 when the challenging idea is introduced1 if he is quick and clear with the vital points1 he can tear the surface off the many nostrums of the hour and prove them mean1 worthless1 and degrading2 and1 doing so1 he will be forming the minds about him4 ,he must be ready2 that is the great need4 ,understand how a conversation is often turned by a chance word1 and how governed by one man who has passionate1 well-defined views1 while others are cold and undecided4 ,be that one man4 ,you do not know where the circumstances of life will take you2 your flag may be directly challenged to your face1 and you must reveal yourself4 ,these are things to avoid4 ,be firm1 rather than aggressive2 but be always quietly prepared for the aggressive man2 that is to inspire confidence in the timid4 ,avoid vituperation as a disease1 but have your facts clear and ready for friend or foe4 ,whenever1 and wherever least expected1 a false idea comes wandering forth1 put in at once a luminous word or two to clear the air1 hearten friends and keep them steady4 ,if you find yourself alone in the midst of opponents1 who assume you are with them and expect your co-operation1 you put them right with a word4 ,this will arrest them2 they will understand where you stand1 and that you are ready2 and they will generally yield you respect4 ,but whether it involve a fight or not1 thus do you declare your attitude4 ,we may conveniently call it--putting up the flag4 ,,ix ,it is well to consider something of the opposition that confronts a man who tries to fill his life with a brave purpose4 ,he will be told it is an illusion2 he is a dreamer1 a crank1 or a fool4 ,and it may serve a purpose to see if our critics are blinded by no illusion1 to contrast our folly with their wisdom4 ,here is one pushing by who will not be a fool1 as he thinks--he's for the emigrant-ship4 ,ask yourself if the people who go out from the remote places of ,ireland1 quiet-spoken and ruddy-faced1 and return after a few years loud-voiced and pallid1 have found things exactly as their hope4 ,they protest1 yes2 but their voice and colour belie them4 ,take the other man who does not emigrate but who has his fling at home1 who knocks around and tells you to do likewise and be no fool--mark him for your guidance4 ,you will find his leisure is boisterous1 but never gay4 ,catch him between whiles off his guard and you will find the deadening lassitude of his life4 ,this votary of pleasure has a burden to carry in whatever walk of life1 high or low4 ,on the higher plane he may have a more fastidious club or two1 a more epicurean sense of enjoyment1 more leisure and more luxury2 but the type wherever found is the same4 ,life is an utter burden to him2 in his soul is no interest1 no inspiration1 no energy1 and no hope4 ,let him be no object of envy4 ,here a friend pats you on the shoulder3 ,quite right2 be neither an emigrant nor a waster2 but be practical2 have no illusions2 deal with possibilities--who can say what is in the future8 ,we must face these facts4 ,our confident friend lacks a sense of humour4 ,he would put your plan by for its bearing on the future1 but he proposes one himself that the future must justify4 ,he tells you circumstances will not be in your favour3 he assumes them in his own4 ,but we only claim that our principles will rule the future as they have ruled the past2 for the circumstances no man can speak4 ,he calls you a dreamer for your principles1 but he can't show1 now nor in history1 that his exemplars were ever justified4 ,we are all dreamers1 then2 but some have ugly dreams1 while the dreams of others are beautiful worlds1 star-lighted and full of music4 ,x ,let the newborn enthusiast1 just come eagerly to the flag1 be warned of hours of depression that seize even the most earnest1 the boldest and the strongest4 ,our work is the work of men1 subject to such vicissitudes as hover around all human enterprise2 and every man enrolled must face hard struggles and dark hours4 ,then the depression rushes down like a horrible1 cold1 dark mist that obscures every beautiful thing and every ray of hope4 ,it may come from many causes3 perhaps1 a body not too robust1 worn down by a tireless mind2 perhaps1 the memory of long years of effort1 seemingly swallowed in oblivion and futility2 perhaps contact with men on your own side whose presence there is a puzzle1 who have no character and no conception of the grandeur of the ,cause1 and whose mean1 petty1 underhand jealousies numb you--you who think anyone claiming so fine a flag as ours should be naturally brave1 straightforward and generous2 perhaps the seemingly overwhelming strength of the enemy1 and the listlessness of thousands who would hail freedom with rapture1 but who now stand aloof in despair--and along with all this and intensifying it1 the voice of our self-complacent practical friend1 who has but sarcasm for a high impulse1 and for an immutable principle the latest expedient of the hour4 ,through such an experience must the soldier of freedom live4 ,but as surely as such an hour comes1 there comes also a star to break the darkened sky2 let those who feel the battle-weariness at times remember4 ,when in places there may be but one or two to fight1 it may seem of no avail2 still let them be true and their numbers will be multiplied3 love of truth is infectious4 ,when progress is arrested1 don't brood on what is1 but on what was once achieved1 what has since survived1 and what we may yet achieve4 ,if some have grown lax and temporise a little1 with more firmness on your part mingle a little sympathy for them4 ,it is harder to live a consistent life than die a brave death4 ,most men of generous instincts would rouse all their courage to a supreme moment and die for the ,cause2 but to rise to that supreme moment frequently and without warning is the burden of life for the ,cause2 and it is because of its exhausting strain and exacting demands that so many men have failed4 ,we must get men to realise that to live is as daring as to die4 ,but confusion has been made in our time by the glib phrase3 ,you are not asked now to die for ,ireland1 but to live for her1 without insisting that the life shall aim at the ideal1 the brave and the true4 ,to slip apologetically through existence is not life4 ,if such a mean philosophy went abroad1 we would soon find the land a place of shivering creatures1 without the capacity to live or the courage to die--calamity1 surely4 ,all these circumstances make for the hour of depression2 and it may well be in such an hour1 amid apathy and treachery1 cold friends and active enemies1 with worn-down frame and baffled mind1 you1 pleading for the ,old ,cause1 may feel your voice is indeed a voice crying in the wilderness2 and it may serve till the blood warms again and the imagination recover its glow1 to think how a ,voice1 that cried in the wilderness thousands of years ago1 is potent and inspiring now1 where the voice of the practical man sends no whisper across the waste of years4 ,,xi ,what1 then1 to conclude1 must be our decision8 ,to take our philosophy into life4 ,when we do that generally1 in a deep and significant sense our ,war of ,independence will have begun4 ,let there be no deferring a duty to a more convenient future4 ,it is as possible that an opening for freedom may be thrust on us1 as that we shall be required to organise a formal war with the usual movements of armies2 in our assumptions for the second1 let us not be guilty of the fatal error of overlooking the first4 ,as in other spheres1 so in politics we have our conventions2 and how little they may be proven has been lately seen1 when ,england went through a war of debate1,footnote3 ,debate over ,house of ,lords4 largely unreal1 over her constitution and her liberties1 even while foreign wars and complications were still being debated2 and in the middle of it all1 suddenly1 from a local labour dispute1 putting by all thought of the constitution1 feeling as comparatively insignificant the fear of invasion1 all ,england stood shuddering on the verge of frantic civil war2,footnote3 ,the ,railway strike4 and all ,ireland1 when the moment of possible freedom was given1 when ,england might have been hardly able to save herself1 much less to hold us--,ireland1 thinking and working in old grooves1 lay helpless4 ,let us draw the moral4 ,we cannot tell what unsuspected development may spring on us from the future1 but we can always be prepared by understanding that the vital hour is the hour at hand4 ,let the brave choice now be made1 and let the life around be governed by it2 let every man stand to his colours and strike his flag to none2 then shall we recover ground in all directions1 and our time shall be recorded1 not with the deadening but with the luminous years4 ,in all the vicissitudes of the fight1 let us not be distracted by the meanness of the mere time-server nor the treachery of the enemy1 but be collected and cool2 and remembering the many who are not with us from honest motives or unsuspected fears1 live to show our belief beautiful and true and1 in the eternal sense1 practical4 ,then shall those who are worth convincing be held1 and our difference may reduce itself to what is possible2 then will they come to realise that he who maintains a great faith unshaken will make more things possible than the opportunist of the hour2 then will they understand how much more is possible than they had ever dared to dream3 they will have a vision of the goal2 and with that vision will be born a steady enthusiasm1 a clear purpose1 and a resolute soul4 ,the regeneration of the land will be no longer a distant dream but a shaping reality2 the living flame will sweep through all hearts again2 and ,ireland will enter her last battle for freedom to emerge and reassume her place among the nations of the earth4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,loyalty ,i ,to be loyal to his cause is the finest tribute that can be paid to any man4 ,and since loyalty to the ,irish cause has been the great virtue of ,irishmen through all history1 it is time to have some clear thinking as to who are the ,irish rebels and who the true men4 ,when a stupid ,government1 grasping our reverence for fidelity1 tried to ban our heroes by calling them felons1 it was natural we should rejoin by writing ,the ,felons of our ,land and heap ridicule on their purpose4 ,but once this end was achieved we should have reverted to the normal attitude and written up as the true ,irish ,loyalists1 ,brian the ,great1 and ,shane the ,proud1 the valiant ,owen ,roe and the peerless ,tone1 ,mitchel and ,davis--irreconcilables all4 ,when men revolt against an established evil it is their loyalty to the outraged truth we honour4 ,we do not extol a rebel who rebels for rebellion's sake4 ,let us be clear on this point1 or when we shall have re-established our freedom after centuries of effort it shall be open to every knave and traitor to challenge our independence and plot to readmit the enemy4 ,loyalty is the fine attribute of the fine nature2 the word has been misused and maligned in ,ireland3 let us restore it to its rightful honour by remembering it to be the virtue of our heroes of all time4 ,in considering it from this view-point we shall find occasion to touch on delicate positions that have often baffled and worried us--the asserting of our rights while using the machinery of the ,government that denies them1 the burning question of consistency1 our attitude towards the political adventurer on one hand1 and towards the honest man of half-measures on the other4 ,loyalty involves all this4 ,and it shows that the man who revolts to win freedom is the same as he who dies to defend it4 ,he does not change his face and nature with the changing times4 ,he is loyal always and most wonderfully lovable1 because in the darkest times1 when banned as wild1 wicked and rebelly1 he is loyal still as from the beginning1 and will be to the end4 ,yes1 ,tone is the true ,irish ,loyalist1 and every aider and abettor of the enemy a rebel to ,ireland and the ,irish race4 ,,ii ,when you insist on examining the question in the light of first principles your opportunist opponent at once feels the weakness of his position and always turns the point on your consistency4 ,it is well1 then1 in advance to understand the relative value and importance of argument as argument in the statement of any case4 ,a body of principles is primarily of value1 not as affording a case that can be argued with ingenuity1 but as enshrining one great principle that shines through and informs the rest1 that illumines the mind of the individual1 that warms1 clarifies and invigorates--that1 so to speak1 puts the mind in focus1 gets the facts of existence into perspective1 and gives the individual everything in its right place and true proportion4 ,it brings a man to the point where he does not dispute but believes4 ,he has been wandering about cold and irresolute1 tasting all philosophies1 or none1 and drinking deep despair4 ,he does not understand the want in his soul while he has been looking for some panacea for its cure till the great light streams on him1 and instead of receiving something he finds himself4 ,that is it4 ,there is a power of vision latent in us1 clouded by error2 the true philosophy dissipates the cloud and leaves the vision clear1 wonderful and inspiring4 ,he who acquired that vision is impervious to argument--it is not that he despises argument2 on the contrary1 he always uses it to its full strength4 ,but he has had awakened within him something which the mere logician can never deduce1 and that mysterious something is the explanation of his transformed life4 ,he was a doubter1 a falterer1 a failure2 he has become a believer1 a fighter1 a conqueror4 ,you miss his significance completely when you take him for a theorist4 ,the theorist propounds a view to which he must convert the world2 the philosopher has a rule of life to immediately put into practice4 ,his spirit flashes with a swiftness that can be encircled by no theory4 ,it is his glory to have over and above a new penetrating argument in the mind--a new and wonderful vitality in the blood4 ,the unbeliever1 near by1 still muddled by his cold theories1 will argue and debate till his intellect is in a tangle4 ,he fails to see that a man of intellectual agility might frame a theory and argue it out ably1 and then suddenly turn over and with equal dexterity argue the other side4 ,do we not have set debates with speakers appointed on each side8 ,that is dialectic--a trick of the mind4 ,but philosophy is the wine of the spirit4 ,the capacity then to argue the point is not the justification of a philosophy4 ,that justification must be found in the virtue of the philosophy that gives its believer vision and grasp of life as a whole1 that warms and quickens his heart and makes him in spirit buoyant1 beautiful1 wise and daring4 ,,iii ,let us come now to that burning question of consistency4 ,very well1 you won't acknowledge the ,english ,crown4 ,why then use ,english coins and stamps8 ,you don't recognise the ,parliament at ,westminster4 ,why then recognise the ,county ,councils created by ,bill at ,westminster8 ,why avail of all the ,local ,government machinery8--and so forth4 ,the argument is a familiar one1 and the answer is simple4 ,though no guns are thundering now1 ,ireland is virtually in a state of war4 ,we are fighting to recover independence4 ,the enemy has had to relax somewhat in the exigencies of the struggle and to concede all these positions of local government and enterprise now in question4 ,we take these posts as places conceded in the fight and avail of them to strengthen1 develop and uplift the country and prepare her to carry the last post4 ,surely this is adequate4 ,on a field of battle it is always to the credit of a general to capture an enemy's post and use it for the final victory4 ,it is a sign of the battle's progress1 and tells the distant watchers on the hills how the fight is faring and who is going to win4 ,there would be consternation away from the field only if word should come that the soldiers had gone into the tents of the enemy1 acknowledging him and accepting his flag4 ,that is the point to question4 ,there can be no defence for the occupying of any post conceded by the enemy4 ,it may be held for or against ,ireland2 any man accepting it and surrendering his flag to hold it stands condemned thereby4 ,that is clear4 ,yet it may be objected that such a clear choice is not put to most of those undertaking the local government of ,ireland1 that few are conscious of such an issue and few governed by it4 ,it is true4 ,but for all that the machinery of local government is clearly under popular control1 and as clearly worked for an immediate good1 preparing for a greater end4 ,men unaware of it are unconsciously working for the general development of the country and recovering her old power and influence4 ,those conscious of the deeper issue enter every position to further that development and make the end obvious when the alien ,government--finding those powers conceded to sap further resistance are on the contrary used to conquer wider fields--endeavours to force the popular government back to the purposes of an old and failing tyranny4 ,that is the nature of the struggle now4 ,at periods the enemy tries to stem the movement1 and then the fight becomes general and keen around a certain position4 ,in our time there were the ,land ,leagues1 the ,land ,war1 fights for ,home ,rule1 ,universities1 ,irish2 and these fights ended in ,land ,acts1 ,local ,government ,acts1 ,university ,acts1 and the conceding of pride of place to the native language in university life4 ,every position gained is a step forward2 it is accepted as such1 and so is justified4 ,for anyone who grasps the serious purpose of recovering ,ireland's independence all along the line1 the suggestion that we should abandon all machinery of local government and enterprise--because they are ,government positions--to men definitely attached to the alien garrison is so foolish as not to be even entertained4 ,when our attitude is questioned let it be made clear4 ,that is the final answer to the man who challenges our consistency3 we are carrying the trenches of the enemy4 ,,iv ,even while dismissing a false idea of consistency we have to make clear another view still remote from the general mind4 ,if we are to have an effective army of freedom we must enrol only men who have a clear conception of the goal1 a readiness to yield full allegiance1 and a determination to fight always so as to reflect honour on the flag4 ,the importance of this will be felt only when we come to deal with concrete cases4 ,while human nature is what it is we will have always on the outskirts of every movement a certain type of political adventurer who is ready to transfer his allegiance from one party to another according as he thinks the time serves4 ,he has no principle but to be always with the ascendant party1 and to succeed in that aim he is ready to court and betray every party in turn4 ,as a result1 he is a character well known to all4 ,the honest man who has been following the wrong path1 and after earnest inquiry comes to the flag1 we readily distinguish4 ,but it is fatal to any enterprise where the adventurer is enlisted and where his influence is allowed to dominate4 ,it may seem strange that such men are given entry to great movements3 the explanation is found in the desire of pioneers to make converts at once and convince the unconverted by the confidence of growing numbers4 ,we ignore the danger to our growing strength when the adventurer comes along1 loud in protest of his support--he is always affable and plausible1 and is received as a man of experience2 and in our anxiety for further strength we are apt to admit him without reserve4 ,but we must make sure of our man4 ,we must keep in mind that an alliance with the adventurer is more dangerous than his opposition2 and we must remember the general public1 typified by the man in the street whom we wish to convince1 is quietly studying us1 attracted perhaps by our principles and coming nearer to examine4 ,if he knows nothing else1 he knows the unprincipled man1 and when he sees such in our ranks and councils he will not wait to argue or ask questions2 he will go away and remain away4 ,the extent to which men are ruled by the old adage1 ,show me your company and ,i'll tell you what you are1 is more widespread than we think4 ,moreover1 consistency in a fine sense is involved in our decision4 ,we fight for freedom1 not for the hope of material profit or comfort1 but because every fine instinct of manhood demands that man be free1 and life beautiful and brave1 and surely in such a splendid battle to have as allies mean1 crafty profit-seekers would be amazing4 ,let us be loyal in the deep sense1 and let us not be afraid of being few at first4 ,an earnest band is more effective than a discreditable multitude4 ,that band will increase in numbers and strength till it becomes the nucleus of an army that will be invincible4 ,v ,the fine sense of consistency that keeps us clear of the adventurer decides also our attitude to the well-meaning man of half-measures4 ,he says separation from ,england is not possible now and suggests some alternative1 if not ,home ,rule1 ,grattan's ,parliament1 or leaving it an open question4 ,in the general view this seems sensible1 and we are tempted to make an alliance based on such a ground2 and the alliance is made4 ,what ensues8 ,men come together who believe in complete freedom1 others who believe in partial freedom that may lead to complete freedom1 and others who are satisfied with partial freedom as an end4 ,before long the alliance ends in a deadlock4 ,the man of the most far-reaching view knows that every immediate action taken must be consistent with the wider view and the farther goal1 if that goal is to be attained2 and he finds that his ultimate principle is frequently involved in some action proposed for the moment4 ,when such a moment comes he must be loyal to his flag and to a principle that if not generally acknowledged is an abiding rule with him2 but his allies refuse to be bound by a principle that is an unwritten law for him because the law is not written down for them4 ,this is the root of the trouble4 ,the friends1 thinking to work together for some common purpose1 find the unsettled issue intrudes1 and a debate ensues that leads to angry words1 recriminations1 bad feeling and disruption4 ,the alliance based on half measures has not fulfilled its own purpose1 but it has sown suspicion between the honest men whom it brought together2 that is no good result from the practical proposal4 ,there is an inference3 men who are conscious of a clear complete demand should form their own plans1 equally full of care and resolution1 and go ahead on their own account4 ,but we hear a plaintive cry abroad3 ,oh1 another split2 that's ,irishmen all over--can never unite1 etc4 ,we will not turn aside for the plaintive people2 but let it be understood there can be an independent co-operation1 where of use1 with those honest men who will not go the whole way4 ,that independent co-operation can serve the full purpose of the binding alliance that has proved fatal4 ,above all1 let there be no charge of bad faith against the earnest man who chooses other ways than ours2 it is altogether indefensible because we disagree with him to call his motives in question4 ,often he is as earnest as we are2 often has given longer and greater service1 and only qualifies his own attitude in anxiety to meet others4 ,to this we cannot assent1 but to charge him with bad faith is flagrantly unjust and always calamitous4 ,in getting rid of the deadlock we have too often fallen to furiously fighting with one another4 ,let us bear this in mind1 and concern ourselves more with the common enemy2 but let not the hands of the men in the vanguard be tied by alien ,king1 ,constitution1 or ,parliament4 ,all the conditions grow more definite and seem1 perhaps1 too exacting2 remember the greatness of the enterprise4 ,suppose in the building of a mighty edifice the architect at any point were careless or slurred over a difficulty1 trusting to luck to bring it right1 how the whole building would go awry1 and what a mighty collapse would follow4 ,let us stick to our colours and have no fear4 ,when all these principles have been combined into one consistent whole1 a light will flash over the land and the old spirit will be reborn2 the mean will be purged of their meanness1 the timid heartened with a fine courage1 and the fearless will be justified3 the land will be awake1 militant1 and marching to victory4 ,,vi ,this is1 surely1 the fine view of loyalty4 ,let us write it on our banners and proclaim it to the world4 ,it is consistent1 honourable1 fearless and immutable4 ,what is said here to-day with enthusiasm1 exactness and care1 will stand without emendation or enlargement1 if in a temporary reverse we are called to stand in the dock to-morrow2 or if1 finely purged in the battle of freedom1 we come through our last fight with splendid triumph1 our loyalty is there still1 shining like a great sun1 the same beautiful1 unchanging thing that has lighted us through every struggle--perhaps now to guide us in framing a constitution and giving to a world1 distracted by kings1 presidents and theorists1 a new polity for nations4 ,a waverer1 half-caught between the light1 half fearful with an old fear1 pleads3 ,this is too much--we are men1 not angels4 ,precisely1 we are not angels2 and because of our human weakness1 our erring minds1 our sudden passions1 the most confident of us may at any moment find himself in the mud4 ,what1 then1 will uplift him if he has been a waverer in principle as well as in fact8 ,he is helpless1 disgraced and undone4 ,let him know in time we do not set up fine principles in a fine conceit that we can easily live up to them1 but in the full consciousness that we cannot possibly live away from them4 ,that is the bed-rock truth4 ,when the man of finer faith by any slip comes to the earth1 he has to uplift him a staff that never fails1 and to guide him a principle that strengthens him for another fight1 to go forth1 in a sense ,alexander never dreamed of1 to conquer new worlds4 ',tis the faith that is in him1 and the flag he serves1 that make a man worthy2 and the meanest may be with the highest if he be true and give good service4 ,let us put by then the broken reed and the craft of little minds1 and give us for our saving hope the banner of the angels and the loyalty of gods and men4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,womanhood ,and another said3 ,i have married a wife and therefore ,i cannot come4 ,yes1 and we have been satisfied always to blame the wife1 without noticing the man who is fond of his comfort first of all1 who slips quietly away to enjoy a quiet smoke and a quiet glass in some quiet nook--always securing his escape by the readiest excuse4 ,we are coming now to consider the aspect of the question that touches our sincere manhood2 but let no one think we overlook that mean type of man who evades every call to duty on the comfortable plea3 ,i have married a wife4 ,i ,when the mere man approaches the woman to study her1 we can imagine the fair ones getting together and nudging one another in keen amusement as to what this seer is going to say4 ,it is often sufficiently amusing when the clumsy male approaches her with self-satisfied air1 thinking he has the secret of her mysterious being4 ,i have no intention here of entering a rival search for the secret4 ,but we can1 perhaps1 startle the gay ones from merriment to gravity by stating the simple fact that every man stands in some relationship to woman1 either as son1 brother1 or husband2 and if it be admitted that there is to be a fight to-morrow1 then there are some things to be settled to-day4 ,how is the woman training for to-morrow8 ,how1 then1 will the man stand by that very binding relationship8 ,will clinging arms hold him back or proud ones wave him on8 ,will he have1 in place of a comrade in the fight1 a burden2 or will the battle that has too often separated them but give them closer bonds of union and more intimate knowledge of the wonderful thing that is ,life8 ,,ii ,i wish to concentrate on one heroic example of ,irish ,womanhood that should serve as a model to this generation2 and ,i do not mean to dwell on much that would require detailed examination4 ,but some points should be indicated4 ,for example1 the awakening consciousness of our womanhood is troubling itself rightly over the woman's place in the community1 is concentrating on the type delineated in ,the ,doll's ,house1 and is agitating for a more honourable and dignified place4 ,we applaud the pioneers thus fighting for their honour and dignity3 but let them not make the mistake of assuming the men are wholly responsible for ,the ,doll's ,house1 and the women would come out if they could4 ,we have noticed the man who prefers his ease to any troubling duty3 he has his mate in the woman who prefers to be wooed with trinkets1 chocolates1 and the theatre to a more beautiful way of life1 that would give her a nobler place but more strenuous conditions4 ,again1 the man is not always the lord of the house4 ,he is as often1 if not more frequently1 its slave4 ,then there are the conventions of life4 ,in place of a fine sense of courtesy prevailing between man and woman1 which would recognise with the woman's finer sensibility a fine self-reliance1 and with the man's greater strength a fine gentleness1 we have a false code of manners1 by which the woman is to be taken about1 petted and treated generally as the useless being she often is2 while the man becomes an effeminate creature that but cumbers the earth4 ,fine courtesy and fine comradeship go together4 ,but we have allowed a standard to gain recognition that is a danger alike to the dignity of our womanhood and the virility of our manhood4 ,it is for us who are men to labour for a finer spirit in our manhood3 we cannot throw the blame for any weakness over on external conditions4 ,the woman is in the same position4 ,she must understand that greater than the need of the suffrage is the more urgent need of making her fellow-woman spirited and self-reliant1 ready rather to anticipate a danger than to evade it4 ,when she is thus trained1 not all the men of all the nations can deny her recognition and equality4 ,,iii ,for the battle of to-morrow then there is a preliminary fight to-day4 ,the woman must come to this point1 too4 ,in life there is frequently so much meanness1 a man is often called to acknowledge some degrading standard or fight for the very recognition of manhood1 and the woman must stand in with him or help to pull him down4 ,let her understand this and her duty is present and urgent4 ,the man so often wavers on the verge of the right path1 the woman often decides him4 ,if she is nobler than he1 as is frequently the case1 she can lift him to her level2 if she is meaner1 as she often is1 she as surely drags him down4 ,when they are both equal in spirit and nobility of nature1 how the world is filled with a glory that should assure us1 if nothing else could1 of the truth of the ,almighty ,god and a beautiful ,eternity to explain the origin and destiny of their wonderful existence4 ,they are indispensable to each other3 if they stand apart1 neither can realise in its fulness the beauty and glory of life4 ,let the man and woman see this1 and let them know in the day that is at hand1 how the challenge may come from some petty authority of the time that rules not by its integrity but by its favourites4 ,we are cursed with such authority1 and many a one drives about in luxury because he is obsequious to it3 he prefers to be a parasite and to live in splendour than be a man and live in straits4 ,he has what ,bernard ,shaw so aptly calls the soul of a servant4 ,if we are to prepare for a braver future1 let us fight this evil thing2 if we are to put by national servitude1 let us begin by driving out individual obsequiousness4 ,this is our training ground for to-morrow4 ,let the woman realise this1 and at least as many women as men will prefer privation with self-respect to comfort with contempt4 ,let us1 then1 in the name of our common nature1 ask those who have her training in hand1 to teach the woman to despise the man of menial soul and to loathe the luxury that is his price4 ,,iv ,i wish to come to the heroic type of ,irish ,womanhood4 ,when we need to hearten ourselves or others for a great enterprise1 we instinctively turn to the examples of heroes and heroines who1 in similar difficulties to ours1 have entered the fight bravely1 and issued heroically1 leaving us a splendid heritage of fidelity and achievement4 ,it is little to our credit that our heroes are so little known4 ,it is less to our credit that our heroines are hardly known at all2 and when we praise or sing of one our selection is not always the happiest4 ,how often in the concert-hall or drawing-room do we get emotional when someone sings in tremulous tones1 ,she is far from the ,land4 ,there is a feeling for poetry in our lives1 a feeling that patriotism will not have it1 a melting pity for the love that went to wreck1 a sympathy for ourselves and everybody and everything--a relaxing of all the nerves in a wave of sentiment4 ,this emotion is of the enervating order4 ,there is no sweep of strong fire through the blood1 no tightening grip on life1 no set resolve to stand to the flag and see the battle through4 ,it is well1 then1 a generation that has heard from a thousand platforms1 in plaintive notes1 of ,sarah ,curran and her love should turn to the braver and more beautiful model of her who was the wife of ,tone4 ,v ,when we think of the qualities that are distinctive of the woman1 we have in mind a finer gentleness1 sensibility1 sympathy and tenderness2 and when we have these qualities intensified in any woman1 and with them combined the endurance1 courage and daring that are taken as the manly virtues1 we have a woman of the heroic type4 ,of such a type was the wife of ,tone4 ,we can speak her praise without fear1 for she was put to the test in every way1 and in every way found marvellously true4 ,for her devotion to1 and encouragement of1 her great husband in his great work1 she would have won our high praise1 even if1 when he was stricken down and she was bereft of his wonderful love and buoyant spirits1 she had proved forgetful of his work and the glory of his name4 ,but she was bereft1 and she was then found most marvellously true4 ,her devotion to ,tone1 while he was living and fighting1 might be explained by the woman's passionate attachment to the man she loved4 ,it is the woman's tenderness that is most evident in these early years1 but there is shining evidence of the fortitude that showed her true nobility in the darker after-years4 ,it was no ordinary love that bound them1 and reading the record of their lives this stands out clear and beautiful4 ,tone1 whom we know as patient organiser1 tenacious fighter1 far-seeing thinker1 indomitable spirit--a born leader of men--writes to his wife with the passionate simplicity of an enraptured child3 ,i doat upon you and the babes4 ,and his letters end thus3 ,kiss the babies for me ten thousand times4 ,god ,almighty for ever bless you1 my dearest life and soul4 7,this from the ,french ,atheist4 ,i hope his traducers are heartily ashamed of themselves47 ,nor is it strange4 ,when1 in the beginning of his enterprise1 he is in ,america1 preparing to go to ,france on his great mission1 he is troubled by the thought of his defenceless ones4 ,in the crisis how does his wife act8 ,does she wind clinging arms around him1 telling him with tears1 of their children and his early vows1 and beseeching him to think of his love and forget his country8 ,no2 let the diary speak3 ,my wife especially1 whose courage and whose zeal for my honour and interests were not in the least abated by all her past sufferings1 supplicated me to let no consideration of her or our children stand for a moment in the way of my engagements to our friends and my duty to my country1 adding that she would answer for our family during my absence1 and that the same ,providence which had so often1 as it were1 miraculously preserved us1 would1 she was confident1 not desert us now4 ,it is the unmistakable accent of the woman4 ,she is quivering as she sends him forth1 but the spirit in her eyes would put a trembling man to shame--a spirit that her peerless husband matched but no man could surpass4 ,her fortitude was to be more terribly tried in the terrible after-time1 when the ,cause went down in disaster and ,tone had to answer with his life4 ,no tribute could be so eloquent as the letter he wrote to her when the last moment had come and his doom was pronounced3 ,adieu1 dearest love1 ,i find it impossible to finish this letter4 ,give my love to ,mary2 and1 above all1 remember you are now the only parent of our dearest children1 and that the best proof you can give of your affection for me will be to preserve yourself for their education4 ,god ,almighty bless you all4 ,that letter is like ,stephens' speech from the dock1 eloquent for what is left unsaid4 ,there is no wailing for her1 least of all for himself1 not that their devoted souls were not on the rack3 ,as no words can express what ,i feel for you and our children1 ,i shall not attempt it2 complaint of any kind would be beneath your courage and mine--but their souls1 that were destined to suffer1 came sublimely through the ordeal4 ,when ,tone left his children as a trust to his wife1 he knew from the intimacy of their union what we learn from the after-event1 how that trust might be placed and how faithfully it would be fulfilled4 ,what a tribute from man to wife6 ,how that trust was fulfilled is in evidence in every step of the following years4 ,remembering ,tone's son who survived to write the memoirs was a child at his father's death1 his simple tribute written in manhood is eloquent in the extreme3 ,i was brought up by my surviving parent in all the principles and in all the feelings of my father--of itself it would suffice4 ,but we can follow the years between and find moving evidence of the fulfilment of the trust4 ,we see her devotion to her children and her proud care to preserve their independence and her own4 ,she puts by patronage1 having a higher title as the widow of a ,general of ,france2 and she wins the respect of the great ones of ,france under the ,republic and the ,empire4 ,lucien ,buonaparte1 a year after ,tone's death1 pleaded before the ,council of ,five ,hundred1 in warm and eloquent praise3 ,if the services of ,tone were not sufficient of themselves to rouse your feelings1 ,i might mention the independent spirit and firmness of that noble woman who1 on the tomb of her husband and her brother1 mingles with her sighs aspirations for the deliverance of ,ireland4 ,i would attempt to give you an expression of that ,irish spirit which is blended in her countenance with the expression of her grief4 ,such were those women of ,sparta1 who1 on the return of their countrymen from the battle1 when with anxious looks they ran over the ranks and missed amongst them their sons1 their husbands1 and their brothers1 exclaimed1 ',he died for his country2 he died for the ,republic4' ,when the ,republic fell1 and in the upheaval her rights were ignored1 she went to the ,emperor ,napoleon in person and1 recalling the services of ,tone1 sought naturalization for her son to secure his career in the army2 and to the wonder of all near by1 the ,emperor heard her with marked respect and immediately granted her request4 ,she sought only this for her surviving son4 ,she had seen two children die--there was moving pathos in the daughter's death--and now she was standing by the last4 ,never was child guarded more faithfully or sent more proudly on his path in life4 ,one should read the memoirs to understand1 and pause frequently to consider3 how she promised her husband bravely in the beginning that she would answer for their children1 and how1 in what she afterwards styled the hyperbole of grief1 she was called to fulfil to the letter1 and was found faithful1 with an unexampled strength and devotion2 how she saw two children struck down by a fatal disease1 and how she drew the surviving son back to health by her watchful care to send him on his college and military career with loving pride2 how1 when a ,minister of ,france1 irritated at her putting by his patronage1 roughly told her he could not take the ,emperor by the collar to place ,mr4 ,tone--she went to the ,emperor in person1 with dignity but without fear1 and won his respect2 how the suggestion of the mean-minded that her demand was a pecuniary one1 drew from her the proud boast that in all her misfortunes she had never learned to hold out her hand2 how through all her misfortunes we watch her with wonderful dignity1 delicacy1 courage1 and devotion quick to see what her trust demanded and never failing to answer the call1 till her task is done1 and we see her on the morning when her son sets out on the path she had prepared1 the same quivering woman1 who had sent her husband with words of comfort to his duty1 now1 after all the years of trial1 sending her son as proudly on his path4 ,it is their first parting4 ,let her own words speak3 ,hitherto ,i had not allowed myself even to feel that my ,william was my own and my only child2 ,i considered only that ,tone's son was confided to me2 but in that moment ,nature resumed her rights4 ,i sat in a field3 the road was long and white before me and no object on it but my child4444 ,i could not think2 but all ,i had ever suffered seemed before and around me at that moment1 and ,i wished so intensely to close my eyes for ever1 that ,i wondered it did not happen4 ,the transitions of the mind are very extraordinary4 ,as ,i sat in that state1 unable to think of the necessity of returning home1 a little lark rushed up from the grass beside me2 it whirled over my head and hovered in the air singing such a beautiful1 cheering1 and1 as it sounded to me1 approving note1 that it roused me4 ,i felt in my heart as if ,tone had sent it to me4 ,i returned to my solitary home4 ,it is a picture to move us1 to think of the devoted woman there in the sunshine1 bent down in the grass1 utterly alone1 till the lark1 sweeping heavenward in song1 seems to give a message of gentle comfort from her husband's watching spirit4 ,our emotion now is of no enervating order4 ,we are proud of our land and her people2 our nerves are firm and set2 our hearts cry out for action2 we are not weeping1 but burning for the ,cause4 ,how little we know of this heroic woman4 ,we are in some ways familiar with ,tone1 his high character1 his genial open nature1 his daring1 his patience1 his farsightedness1 his judgment--in spirit tireless and indomitable3 a man peerless among his fellows4 ,but he had yet one compeer2 there was one nature that matched his to depth and height of its greatness--that nature was a woman's1 and the woman was ,wolfe ,tone's wife4 ,,vi ,it is well this heroic example of our womanhood should be before not only our womanhood but our manhood4 ,it should show us all that patriotism does not destroy the finer feelings1 but rather calls them forth and gives them wider play4 ,we have been too used to thinking that the qualities of love and tenderness are no virtues for a soldier1 that they will sap his resolution and destroy his work2 but our movements fail always when they fail to be human4 ,until we mature and the poetry in life is wakening1 we are ready to act by a theory2 but when ,nature asserts herself the hard theorist fails to hold us4 ,let us remember and be human4 ,we have been saying in effect1 if not in so many words3 ,for ,ireland's sake1 don't fall in love--we might as well say3 ,for ,ireland's sake1 don't let your blood circulate4 ,it is impossible--even if it were possible it would be hateful4 ,the man and woman have a great and beautiful destiny to fulfil together3 to substitute for it an unnatural way of life that can claim neither the seclusion of the cloister nor the dominion of the world is neither beautiful nor great4 ,we have cause for gratitude in the example before us4 ,the woman can learn from it how she may equal the bravest man2 and the man should learn to let his wife and children suffer rather than make of them willing slaves and cowards4 ,for there are some earnest men who are ready to suffer themselves but cannot endure the suffering of those they love1 and a mistaken family tenderness binds and drags them down4 ,no one1 surely1 can hold it better to carefully put away every duty that may entail hardship on wife and child1 for then the wife is1 instead of a comrade1 a burden1 and the child becomes a degenerate creature1 creeping between heaven and earth1 afraid to hold his head erect1 and unable to fulfil his duty to ,god or man4 ,let no man be afraid that those he loves may be tried in the fire2 but let him1 to the best of his strength1 show them how to stand the ordeal1 and then trust to the greatness of the ,truth and the virtue of a loyal nature to bring each one forth in triumph1 and he and they may have in the issue undreamed of recompense4 ,for the battle that tries them will discover finer chords not yet touched in their intercourse2 finer sympathies1 susceptibilities1 gentleness and strength2 a deeper insight into life and a wider outlook on the world1 making in fine a wonderful blend of wisdom1 tenderness and courage that gives them to realise that life1 with all its faults1 struggles1 and pain is still and for ever great and beautiful4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,the ,,frontier ,i ,our frontier is twofold1 the language and the sea4 ,for the majesty of our encircling waters we have no need to raise a plea1 but to give ,god thanks for setting so certain a seal on our individual existence and giving us in the spreading horizon of the ocean some symbol of our illimitable destiny4 ,for the language there is something still to be said2 there are some ideas gaining currency that should be challenged--the cold denial of some that the unqualified name ,irish be given to the literature of ,irishman that is passionate with ,irish enthusiasm and loyalty to ,ireland1 yet from the exigencies of the time had to be written in ,english2 the view not only assumed but asserted by some of the ,gael that the ,gall may be recognised only if he take second place2 the aloofness of many of the ,gall1 not troubling to understand their rights and duties2 the ignoring on both sides of the fine significance of the name ,irishman1 of a spirit of patriotism and a deep-lying basis of authority and justice that will give stability to the state and secure its future against any upheaval that from the unrest of the time would seem to threaten the world4 ,,ii ,consider first the literature of ,irishmen in ,english4 ,from the attitude commonly taken on the question of literary values1 it is clear that the primary significance of expression in writing is often lost4 ,what is said1 and the purpose for which it is said1 take precedence of the medium through which it is said4 ,but from our national awakening to the significance of the medium so long ignored we have grown so excited that we frequently forget the greater significance of the thing4 ,the utterance of the man is of first importance1 and1 where his utterance has weight1 the vital need is to secure it through some medium1 the medium becoming important when one more than another is found to have a wider and more intimate appeal2 and then we do well to become insistent for a particular medium when it is in anxiety for full delivery of the writer's thought and a wide knowledge of its truth4 ,but we are losing sight of this natural order of things4 ,it is well1 then1 the unconvinced ,gall should hear why he should accept the ,irish language2 not simply to defer to the ,gael1 but to quicken the mind and defend the territory of what is now the common country of the ,gael and ,gall4 ,davis caught up the great significance of the language when he said3 ,tis a surer barrier1 and more important frontier1 than fortress or river4 ,the language is at once our frontier and our first fortress1 and behind it all ,irishmen should stand1 not because a particular branch of our people evolved it1 but because it is the common heritage of all4 ,one who has a knowledge of ,irish can easily get evidence of its quickening power on the ,irish mind4 ,travel in an ,irish-speaking district and hail one of its old people in ,english1 and you get in response a dull ,good-day1 ,sir4 ,salute him in ,irish and you touch a secret spring4 ,the dull eyes light up1 the face is all animation1 the body alert1 and for a dull good-day1 you get warm benedictions1 lively sallies1 and after you1 as you pass on your road1 a flood of rich and racy ,irish comes pouring down the wind4 ,that is the secret power of the language4 ,it makes the old men proud of their youth and gives to the young quickened faculties1 an awakened imagination and a world to conquer4 ,this is no exaggeration4 ,it is not always obvious1 because we do not touch the secret spring nor wander near the magic4 ,but the truth is there to find for him who cares to search4 ,you discover behind the dullness of a provincial town a bright centre of interest1 and when you study the circle you know that here is some wonderful thing3 priests1 doctors1 lawyers1 teachers1 tradesmen1 clerks--all drawn together1 young and old1 both sexes1 all enthusiasts4 ,sometimes a priest is teaching a smith1 sometimes the smith is teaching the priest3 for a moment at least we have unconsciously levelled barriers and there is jubilation in the natural life re-born4 ,out of that quickened life and consciousness rises a vivid imagination with a rush of thought and a power of expression that gives the nation a new literature4 ,that is the justification of the language4 ,it awakens and draws to expression minds that would otherwise be blank4 ,it is not that the revelation of ,davis is of less value than we think1 but that through the medium of ,irish other revelations will be won that would otherwise be lost4 ,again1 in subtle ways we cannot wholly understand1 it gives the ,irish mind a defence against every other mind1 taking in comradeship whatever good the others have to offer1 while retaining its own power and place4 ,the ,irish mind can do itself justice only in ,irish4 ,but still some ardent and faithful spirits broke through every difficulty of time and circumstance and found expression in ,english1 and we have the treasures of ,davis1 ,mitchel1 and ,mangan2 yet1 the majority remained cold1 and now1 to quicken the mass1 we turn to the old language4 ,but this is not to decry what was won in other fields4 ,in the widening future that beckons to us1 we shall1 if anything1 give greater praise to these good fighters and enthusiasts1 who in darker years1 even with the language of the enemy1 resisted his march and held the gap for ,ireland4 ,,iii ,on this ground the ,gael and ,gall stand on footing of equality4 ,that is the point many on both sides miss and we need to emphasise it4 ,some ,irishmen not of ,gaelic stock speak of ,irish as foreign to them1 and would maintain ,english in the principal place now and in the future4 ,we do well then to make clear to such a one that he is asked to adopt the language for ,ireland's sake as a nation and for his own sake as a citizen4 ,if he wishes to serve her he must stand for the language2 if he prefers ,english civilisation he should go back to ,england4 ,there only can he develop on ,english lines4 ,an ,irishman in ,ireland with an ,english mind is a queer contradiction1 who can serve neither ,ireland nor ,england in any good sense1 and both ,ireland and ,england disown him4 ,so the ,irishman of other than ,gaelic ancestors should stand in with us1 not accepting something disagreeable as inevitable1 but claiming a right by birth and citizenship1 joining the fine army of the nation for a brave adventurous future1 full of fine possibility and guaranteed by a fine comradeship--owning a land not of flattery and favouritism1 but of freedom and manhood4 ,this saving ideal has been often obscured by our sundering class names4 ,this is why we would substitute as common for all the fine name of ,irishman4 ,,iv ,but in asking all parties to accept the common name of ,irishman1 we find a fear rather suggested than declared--that men may be asked in this name to put by something they hold as a great principle of ,life2 that ,catholic1 ,protestant and ,dissenter will all be asked to find agreement in a fourth alternative1 in which they will not submit to one another but will all equally belie themselves4 ,there is such a hidden fear1 and we should have it out and dispose of it4 ,the best men of all parties will have no truck with this and they are right4 ,but on what ground1 then1 shall we find agreement1 the recognition of which ,irish ,citizenship implies8 ,on this1 that the man of whatever sincere principles1 religious or civic1 counts among his great duties his duty as citizen2 and he defends his creed because he believes it to be a safe guide to the fulfilling of all duties1 this including4 ,when1 therefore1 we ask him to stand in as ,irish ,citizen1 it is not that he is to abandon in one iota his sincere principles1 but that he is to give us proof of his sincerity4 ,he tells us his creed requires him to be a good citizen3 we give him a fine field in which he can be to us a fine example4 ,v ,in further consideration of this we should put by the thought of finding a mere working agreement4 ,there is a deep-lying basis of authority and justice to seek1 which it should be our highest aim to discover4 ,modern governments concede justice to those who can compel justice--even the democracy requires that you be strong enough to formulate a claim and sustain it2 but this is the way of tyranny4 ,a perfect government should seek1 while careful to develop its stronger forces and keep them in perfect balance1 to consider also the claims of those less powerful but not less true4 ,a government that over-rides the weak because it is safe1 is a tyranny1 and tyranny is in seed in the democratic governments of our time4 ,we must consider this well1 for it is pressing and grave2 and we must get men to come together as citizens to defend the rights as well of the unit which is unsupported as of the party that commands great power4 ,so shall we give steadiness and fervour to our growing strength by balancing it with truth and justice3 so shall we found a government that excesses cannot undermine nor tyranny destroy4 ,,vi ,we have to consider1 in conclusion1 the unrest in the world1 the war of parties and classes1 and the need of judging the tendencies of the time to set our steps aright4 ,with the wars and rumours of wars that threaten the great nations from without and the wild upheavals that threaten them within1 it would be foolish to hide from ourselves the drift of events4 ,we must decide our attitude2 and if it is too much to hope that we may keep clear of the upheavals1 we should aim at strengthening ourselves against the coming crash4 ,we cannot set the world right1 but we can go a long way to setting things in our own land right1 by making through a common patriotism a united people4 ,what if we are held up occasionally by the cold cries shot at every high aim--dreamer--,utopia2 cry this in return3 no vision of the dreamer can be more wild than the frantic make-shifts of the ,great ,powers to vie in armaments with one another or repress internal revolts4 ,consider ,england in the late strike that paralysed her4 ,it was only suspended by a step that merely deferred the struggle2 the strife is again threatening4 ,all the powers are so threatened and their efforts to defer the hour are equally feverish and fruitless2 for the hour is pressing and may flash on the world when 'tis least prepared4 ,let who will deride us1 but let us prepare4 ,we may not guide our steps with the certainty of prophets1 nor hope by our beautiful schemes to make a perfect state2 but we can only come near to perfection in the light of a perfect ideal1 and however far below it we may remain1 we can at least1 under its inspiration1 reach an existence rational and human3 our justification for a brave effort lies in that the governments of this time are neither one nor the other4 ,he who thinks ,ireland's struggle to express her own mind1 to give utterance to her own tongue1 to stand behind her own frontier1 is but a sentiment will be surprised to find it leads him to this point4 ,herein is the justification and the strength of the movement4 ,men are deriding things around them1 of the significance of which they have not the remotest idea4 ,ireland is calling her children to a common banner1 to the defence of her frontier1 to the building up of a national life1 harmonious and beautiful--a conception of citizenship1 from which a right is conceded1 not because it can be compelled1 but because it is just3 to the foundation of a state that will by its defence of the least powerful prove all powerful1 that will be strong because true1 beautiful because free1 full of the music of her olden speech and caught by the magic of her encircling sea4 ,,chapter ,x ,,literature ,,and ,,freedom--,,the ,,propagandist ,,playwright ,i ,a nation's literature is an index to its mind4 ,if the nation has its freedom to win1 from its literature may we learn if it is passionately in earnest in the fight1 or if it is half-hearted1 or if it cares not at all4 ,whatever state prevails1 passionate men can pour their passion through literature to the nation's soul and make it burn and move and fight4 ,for this reason it is of transcendent importance to the ,cause4 ,literature is the ,shrine of ,freedom1 its fortress1 its banner1 its charter4 ,in its great temple patriots worship2 from it soldiers go forth1 wave its challenge1 and fight1 and conquering1 write the charter of their country4 ,its great power is contested by none2 rather1 all recognise it1 and many and violent are the disputes as to its right use and purpose4 ,i propose to consider two of the disputants--the propagandist playwright and the art-for-art's-sake artist1 since they raise issues that are our concern4 ,it is curious that two so violently opposed should be so nearly alike in error3 they are both afraid of life4 ,the propagandist is all for one side2 the artist afraid of every side4 ,the one lacks imagination2 the other lacks heart2 they are both wide of the truth4 ,the service of the truth requires them to pursue one course2 in their dispute they swerve from that course1 one to right1 one to left4 ,because they leave the path on opposite sides1 they do not see how much alike is their error2 but that they do both leave the path is my point1 and it is well we should consider it4 ,it would be difficult to deal with both sides at once2 so ,i will consider the propagandist first4 ,what ,i have to charge against him is that his work is insincere1 that he is afraid to do justice to the other side1 that he makes ridicule of our exemplars1 that he helps to keep the poseur in being2 and to conclude1 that only by a saving sense of humour can we find our way back to the truth4 ,,ii ,when we judge literature we do so by reference to the eternal truth1 not by what the writer considers the present phase of truth2 and if literature so tested is found guilty of suppression1 evasion or misinterpretation1 we call the work insincere1 though the author may have written in perfect good faith4 ,that is a necessary distinction to keep in mind4 ,if you call a man's work insincere1 the superficial critic will take it as calling the man himself insincere2 but the two are distinct1 and it needs to be emphasised1 for sincere men are making these propagandist plays1 of which the manifest and glaring untruth is working mischief to the national mind4 ,a type of such a play is familiar enough in these days when we like to ridicule the ,west ,briton4 ,we are served up puppets representing the shoneen with a lisp set over against the patriot who says all the proper things suitable to the occasion4 ,now1 such a play serves no good purpose1 but it has a certain bad effect4 ,it does not give a true interpretation of life2 it enlightens no one2 but it flatters the prejudices of people who profess things for which they have no zeal4 ,that is the root of the mischief4 ,many of us will readily profess a principle for which we will not as readily suffer1 but when the pinch comes and we are asked to do service for the flag1 we cover our unwillingness by calling the man on the other side names4 ,where such a spirit prevails there can be no national awakening4 ,if we put a play before the people1 it must be with a hope of arresting attention1 striking their imagination1 giving them a grip of reality1 and filling them with a joy in life4 ,now1 the propagandist play does none of these things2 it has neither joy nor reality2 its characters are puppets and ridiculous2 they are essentially caricatures4 ,this is supposed to convert the unbeliever2 but the intelligent unbeliever coming to it is either bored or irritated by its extravagant absurdity1 and if he admits our sincerity1 it is only at the expense of our intelligence4 ,,iii ,a propagandist play for a political end is even more mischievous--at least lovers of freedom have more cause for protest4 ,it makes our heroes ridiculous4 ,no man of imagination can stand these impossible persons of the play who walk on eternally talking of ,ireland4 ,our heroes were men2 these are poseurs4 ,get to understand ,davis1 ,tone1 or any of our great ones1 and you will find them human1 gay1 and lovable4 ,were you ever in love1 ,davis8 asked one of his wondering admirers1 and prompt and natural came the reply3 ,i'm never out of it4 ,we swear by ,tone for his manly virtues2 we love him because we say to ourselves3 ,what a fine fellow for a holiday4 ,a friend of ,mitchel's travelling with him once through a storm1 was astonished to find him suddenly burst out into a fine recitation1 which he delivered with fine effect4 ,he was joyous in spirit4 ,for their buoyancy we love them all1 and because of it we emulate them4 ,we are influenced1 not by the man who always wants to preach a sermon at us1 but by the one with whom we go for a holiday4 ,our history-makers were great1 joyous men1 of fine spirit1 fine imagination1 fine sensibility1 and fine humour4 ,they loved life2 they loved their fellow man2 they loved all the beautiful1 brave things of earth4 ,when you know them you can picture them scaling high mountains and singing from the summits1 or boating on fine rivers in the sunlight1 or walking about in the dawn1 to the music of ,creation1 evolving the philosophy of revolutions and building beautiful worlds4 ,you get no hint of this from the absurd propagandist play1 yet this is what the heart of man craves4 ,when he does not get it1 he cannot explain what he wants2 but he knows what he does not want1 and he goes away and keeps his distance4 ,the play has missed fire1 and the playwright and his hero are ridiculous4 ,let us understand one thing3 if we want to make men dutiful we must make them joyous4 ,,iv ,it is because we must talk of grave things that we must preserve our gaiety2 otherwise we could not preserve our balance4 ,by some freak of nature1 the average man strikes attitudes as readily as the average boy whistles4 ,we know how the poseur works mischief to every cause1 and we can see the poseur on every side4 ,in politics1 he has made the platform contemptible1 which is a danger to the nation1 needing the right use of platform2 in literature--well1 we all know bourgeois1 but who has done justice to the artist who gets on a platform to talk about the bourgeois8--in religion1 the poseur is more likely to make agnostics than all the ,rationalist ,press2 and the agnostic poseur in turn is very funny4 ,now all these are an affliction1 a collection of absurdities of which we must cure the nation4 ,if we cannot cure the nation of absurdity we cannot set her free4 ,let it be our rule to combine gaiety with gravity and we will acquire a saving sense of proportion4 ,only the solemn man is dull2 the serious man has a natural fund of gaiety3 we need only be natural to bring back joy to serious endeavour4 ,then we shall begin to move4 ,let us remember a revolution will surely fail when its leaders have no sense of humour4 ,v ,but our humour will not be a saving humour unless it is of high order4 ,a great humorist is as rare as a great poet or a great philosopher4 ,though ours may not be great we must keep it in the line of greatness4 ,remember1 great humour must be made out of ourselves rather than out of others4 ,the fine humorist is delightfully courteous2 the commonplace wit1 invariably insulting4 ,we must keep two things in mind1 that in laughter at our own folly is the beginning of wisdom2 and the keenest wit is pure fun1 never coarse fun4 ,we start a laugh at others by getting an infallible laugh at ourselves4 ,the commonplace wit arranges incidents to make someone he dislikes ridiculous2 his attitude is the attitude of the superior person4 ,he is nearly always--often unintentionally--offensive2 he repels the public sometimes in irritation1 sometimes in amusement1 for they often see point in his joke1 but see a greater joke in him1 and they are often laughing1 not at his joke1 but at himself4 ,let us for our salvation avoid the attitude of the superior person4 ,don't make sport of others--make it of yourself4 ,ridicule of your neighbour must be largely speculation2 of the comedy in yourself there can be no doubt4 ,when you get the essential humour out of yourself1 you get the infallible touch1 and you arrest and attract everyone4 ,you are not the superior person4 ,in effect1 you slap your neighbour on the back and say1 ,we're all in the same boat2 let us enjoy the joke2 and you find he will come to you with glistening eye4 ,he may feel a little foolish at first--you are poking his ribs2 but you cannot help it--having given him the way to poke your own4 ,by your merry honesty he knows you for a safe comrade1 and he comes with relief and confidence--we like to talk about ourselves4 ,he will be equally frank with yourself2 you will tell one another secrets2 you will reach the heart of man4 ,that is what we need4 ,we must get the heart-beat into literature4 ,then will it quiver and dance and weep and sing4 ,then we are in the line of greatness4 ,,vi ,it is because we need the truth that we object to the propagandist playwright4 ,only in a rare case does he avoid being partial2 and when he is impartial he is cold and unconvincing4 ,he gives us argument instead of emotion2 but emotion is the language of the heart4 ,he does not touch the heart2 he tries to touch the mind3 he is a pamphleteer and out of place4 ,he fails1 and his failure has damaged his cause1 for it leaves us to feel that the cause is as cold as his play2 but when the ,cause is a great one it is always vital1 warm and passionate4 ,it is for the sake of the ,cause we ask that a play be made by a sincere man-of-letters1 who will give us not propagandist literature nor art-for-art's-sake1 but the throbbing heart of man4 ,the great dramatist will have the great qualities needed1 sensibility1 sympathy1 insight1 imagination1 and courage4 ,the special pleader and the poseur lack all these things1 and they make themselves and their work foolish4 ,let us stand for the truth1 not pruning it for the occasion4 ,the man who is afraid to face life is not competent to lead anyone1 to speak for anyone1 or to interpret anything3 he inspires no confidence4 ,the one to rouse us must be passionate1 and his passion will win us heart and soul4 ,when from some terribly intense moment1 he turns with a merry laugh1 only the fool will take him as laughing at his cause2 the general instinct will see him detecting an attitude1 tripping it up1 and making us all merry and natural again4 ,in that moment we shall spring up astonished1 enthusiastic1 exultant--here is one inspired2 we shall enter a passionate brotherhood1 no cold disputes now--the smouldering fire along the land shall quicken to a blaze1 history shall be again in the making4 ,we shall be caught in the living flame4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,literature ,,and ,,freedom--,,art ,,for ,,art',s ,,sake ,i ,art for art's sake has come to have a meaning which must be challenged1 but yet it can be used in a sense that is both high and sacred4 ,if a gifted writer take literature as a great vocation and determine to use his talents faithfully and well1 without reference to fee or reward2 if prosperity cannot seduce him to the misuse of his genius1 then we give him our high praise4 ,let it still not be forgotten that the labourer is worthy of his hire4 ,but if the hire is not forthcoming1 and he knowing it1 yet says in his heart1 ,the work must still be done2 and if he does it loyally and bravely1 despite the present coldness of the world1 doing the good work for the love of the work and all beautiful things2 and if with this meaning he take art for art's sake as his battle-cry1 then we repeat it is used in a sense both high and sacred4 ,,ii ,but there are artists abroad whose chief glory seems to be to deny that they have convictions--that is1 convictions about the passionate things of life that rouse and move their generation4 ,now that they should not be special pleaders is an obvious duty1 but unless they have a passionate feeling for the vital things that move men1 heart and soul1 they cannot interpret the heart and soul of passionate men1 and their work must be for ever cold4 ,when literature is not passionate it does not touch the spirit to lift and spread its wings and soar to finer air4 ,that is the great want about all the clever books now being turned out--they often give us excitement2 they never give us ecstasy4 ,then there is an obvious feeling of something lacking which men try to make up with art2 and they produce work faultless in form and fastidious in phrase1 but still it lacks the touch of fire that would lift it from common things to greatness4 ,,iii ,if we are to apply art to great work we must distinguish art from artifice4 ,we find the two well contrasted in ,synge's ,riders to the ,sea and his ,playboy4 ,the first was written straight from the heart4 ,we feel ,synge must have followed those people carrying the dead body1 and touched to the quick by the caoine1 passed the touch on to us1 for in the lyric swell of the close we get the true emotion4 ,here alone is he in the line of greatness4 ,this gripped his heart and he wrote out of himself4 ,but in the other work of his it was otherwise4 ,he has put his method on record3 he listened through a chink in the floor1 and wrote around other people4 ,it is characteristic of the art of our time4 ,let it be called art if the critics will1 but it is not life4 ,,iv ,no1 it is not life4 ,but there is so much talk just now of getting down to fundamentals1 of the poetry of the tramp walking the world1 and the rest of it1 that it would be well if we did get down to fundamentals2 and this is one thing fundamental--the tramp is a deserter from life4 ,he evades the troubled field where great causes are fought2 he shuns the battle because of the wounds and the sacrifice2 he has no heart for high conflict and victory4 ,let him under the cover of darkness but secure his share of the spoils and the world may go to wreck4 ,yes1 he is the meanest of things--a deserter4 ,on the field of battle he would be shot4 ,if we let him desert the field of life1 go his way and walk the world1 let us not at least hail him as a hero4 ,the ,repertory ,theatre is the nursery of this particular art-cult1 and 'twould relieve some of us to talk freely about it4 ,the ,repertory ,theatre has already become fashionable1 and is quite rapidly become a nuisance4 ,men are making songs and plays and lectures for art's sake1 for the praise of a coterie or to shock the bourgeois--above all shock the bourgeois4 ,a certain type of artist delights in shocking the bourgeois--a riot over a play gives him great satisfaction4 ,in passing1 one must note with exasperation1 perhaps with some misgiving1 how men raise a riot over something not worth a thought1 and will not fight for things for which they ought to die4 ,but he likes the bourgeois to think him a terrible person2 in his own esteem he is on an eminence1 and he proceeds to send out more shock-the-bourgeois literature2 and 'tis mostly very sorry stuff4 ,sometimes he tries to be emotional and is but painfully artificial2 sometimes he tries to be merry and gives us flippancy for fun4 ,and we feel a terrible need for getting back to a standard1 worthy and true4 ,great work can be made only for the love of work2 not for money1 not for art's sake1 not for intellectual appeal nor flippant ridicule1 but for the pure love of things1 good1 true and beautiful4 ,with the best of intentions we may fail2 and this should be laid down as a safe guiding principle2 a dramatist should be moved by his own tragedy2 the novelist should be interested in his own story2 the poet should make his song for the love of the song and his comedy for the fun of the thing4 ,,vi ,we naturally think of the ,abbey ,theatre when we speak of these things1 and as the ,abbey work has certainly suffered from overpraise we may correct it by comparison with ,shakespeare4 ,before the ,abbey we were so used to triviality that when clever and artistic work appeared we at once hailed it great4 ,we did get one or two great things1 a fact to note with hearty pleasure and pride4 ,but the rest was merely clever2 and now that we are getting nothing great we must insist1 and keep on insisting1 that 'tis merely clever4 ,but let us remember that value of the word great4 ,let it be kept for such names as ,shakespeare and ,molire2 and lesser men may be called brilliant1 talented or able--anything you will but great4 ,consider the scenes from the supreme plays of ,shakespeare and compare with them the innumerable plays now coming forth and note a vital difference4 ,these give us excitement1 where ,shakespeare gave us vision4 ,we may be reminded of ,shakespeare's duels and brawls and battles and blood2 his generation revelled in excitement4 ,yes1 they craved it1 and he gave it to them1 but shot through with wonder1 subtlety1 ecstasy2 and his splendid creations1 like mighty worlds1 keep us wondering for ever4 ,we must get back that supreme note of blended music and wonder1 that makes the spirit beautiful and tempts it to soar1 till it rise over common things and mere commotion1 spreading its wings for the finer air where reason faints and falls to earth4 ,,vii ,a dramatist cannot make a great play out of little people4 ,his chief characters at least must be great of heart and soul--the great hearts that fight great causes4 ,when such are caught1 in the inevitable struggle of affections and duties and the general clash of life their passionate spirits send up all the elements that make great literature4 ,the writer who cannot enter into their battles and espouse their cause cannot give utterance to their hearts2 and we don't want what he thinks about them2 we want what they think about themselves4 ,he who is in passionate sympathy with them feels their emotion and writing from the heart does great things4 ,the artist who is in mortal dread of being thought a politician or suspected of motives cannot feel1 and will as surely fail1 as the one who sits down to play the rle of politician disguised as play-right4 ,that is what the artist has got to see2 and he has got to see that while the ,irish ,revolution for centuries has attracted the greatest hearts and brains of ,ireland1 for him carefully to avoid it is to avoid the line of greatness4 ,for a propagandist to sit down to give it utterance would be as if a handy-man were to set out to build a cathedral4 ,the ,revolution does not need to be argued2 it justifies itself--all we need is to give it utterance--give it utterance once greatly4 ,then the writer may proceed to give utterance to every good thing under the sun4 ,but our artists are making1 and will continue to make1 only second-class literature1 for they are afraid of the ,revolution1 and it is all over our best of life2 they are afraid of that life4 ,but to enter the arena of greatness they must give it a voice4 ,that is the vocation of the poet4 ,,viii ,yes1 and the poet will be unlike you1 gentlemen of the fastidious phrase4 ,he will not be careless of form1 but the passion that is in him will make simple words burn and live2 never will he in the mode of the time go wide of the truth to make a picturesque phrase2 his mind rapt on the thing will fix on the true word2 his heart warm with the battle will fashion more beautiful forms than you1 ,o detached and dainty artist2 his soul full of music and adventure will scale those heights it is your fate to dream of but not your fortune to possess4 ,yet1 you1 too1 might possess them would you but step with him into the press of adventurous legions1 and make articulate the dream of men1 and make splendid their triumph4 ,he is the prophet of to-morrow1 though you deny him to-day4 ,he is not like to you1 supercilious and aloof--he would have you for a passionate brother1 would raise your spirit in ecstasy1 flood your mind with thought1 and touch your lips with fire4 ,because of his sensitiveness he knows every mood and every heart and gives a voice and a song to all4 ,you might know him for a good comrade1 where freedom is to win or to hold1 over in the van or the breach2 able to deal good blows and take them in the fine manner1 a fine fighter2 not with darkened brow crying1 an eye for an eye--for who could give him blow for blow or match his deed with a deed8--but one of open front and open hand who will count it happiness to have made for a victory he may not live to enjoy1 as ready to die in its splendour as he had been to live through the darkness before the dawn2 remembering with soldier tenderness the comrades of old battles1 forgetting the malice of old enemies2 a high example of the magnanimous spirit1 happily not yet unknown on earth2 with fine generosity and noble fire1 full of that great love the common cry can never make other than humanising and beautiful1 not without a gleam of humour more than half divine1 he will pass1 leaving to the foe that hated him heartily equally with the friend that loved him well1 the wonder of his thought and the rapture of his melody4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,religion ,i ,it ought to be laid down as a first principle that grave questions which have divided us in the past1 and divide us still with much bitterness1 should not be thrust aside and kept out of view in the hope of harmony4 ,where the attitude is such1 the hope is vain4 ,they should be approached with courage in the hope of creating mutual respect and an honourable solution for all4 ,religion is such a question4 ,to the majority of men this touches their most intimate life4 ,because of their jealous regard for that intimate part of themselves they are prepared for bitter hostilities with anyone who will assail it2 and because of the unmeasured bitterness of assaults on all sides we have come to count it a virtue to bring together in societies labelled non-sectarian1 men who have been violently opposed on this issue4 ,it will be readily allowed that to bring men together anyhow1 even suspiciously1 is somewhat of an advance1 when we keep in mind how angrily they have quarrelled4 ,but 'tis not to our credit that in any assembly a particular name hardly dare be mentioned2 and it must be realised that1 whatever purpose it may serve in lesser undertakings1 in the great fight for freedom no such attitude will suffice4 ,no grave question can be settled by ignoring it4 ,since it is our duty to make the ,war of ,independence a reality and a success1 we must invoke a contest that will as surely rouse every latent passion and give every latent suspicion an occasion and a field4 ,that is the danger ahead4 ,we must anticipate that danger1 meet and destroy it4 ,perhaps at this suggestion most of us will at once get restive4 ,some may say with irritation3 ,why raise this matter8 ,others on the other side may prepare forthwith to dig up the hatchet4 ,is not the attitude on both sides evidence of the danger8 ,does anyone suppose we can start a fight for freedom without making that danger a grimmer reality8 ,who can claim it a wise policy merely for the moment to dodge it8 ,for that is what we do4 ,let us have courage and face it4 ,at what ,i have to say let no man take offence or fright--it commits no one to anything4 ,it is written to try and make opponents understand and respect one another1 not to set them at one another1 least of all to make them liberal1 that is1 lax and contemptible1 ready to explain everything away4 ,we want primarily the man who is prepared to fight his ground1 but who is big enough in heart and mind to respect opponents who will also fight theirs4 ,in the integrity and courage of both sides is the guarantee of the independence of both4 ,that should be our guiding thought4 ,but as on this question most people abandon all tolerance1 it is quite possible what may be written will satisfy none2 still1 it may serve the purpose of making a need apparent4 ,to repeat1 we must face the question4 ,but whoever elects to start it1 should approach the issue with sympathy and forbearance4 ,these are as necessary as courage and resolution2 yet1 since many often sacrifice firmness to sympathy1 others will take the opposite line of riding roughshod over everyone1 a harshness that confirms the weakling in his weakness4 ,to note all this is but to note the difficulty2 and if what is now written fails in its appeal1 it need only be said to walk unerringly here would require the insight of a prophet and the balance of an angel4 ,,ii ,what everyone should take as a fair demand is that all men should be sincere in their professions1 and that we should justify ourselves by the consistency of our own lives rather than by the wickedness of our neighbours3 which is nothing new4 ,it is our trouble that we must emphasise obvious duties4 ,to approach the question frankly with no matter what good faith will lead to much heart-burning1 perhaps1 to no little bitterness2 but if we realise that all sides are about equally to blame1 we may induce an earnestness that may lead to better things4 ,it is in that hope ,i write4 ,catholics and ,protestants1 instead of saying to one another the things with which we are familiar1 should look to their own houses2 and if in this age of fashionable agnosticism1 they should conclude that the general enemy is the atheist1 socialist1 and the syndicalist1 they should still be reminded to look to their own houses2 and if the agnostic take this to justify himself1 he should be reminded he has never done anything to justify himself4 ,it may seem a curious way for inducing harmony to set out to prove everyone in the wrong2 but the point is clear1 not to attack what men believe but to ask them to justify their words by their deeds4 ,the request is not unreasonable and it may be asked in a tone that will show the sincerity of him who makes it and waken a kindred feeling in all earnest men4 ,the world will be a better place to live in1 and we shall be all better friends when every man makes a genuine resolve to give us all the example of a better life4 ,,iii ,a development that would require a treatise in itself ,i will but touch on1 to suggest to all interested a matter of general and grave concern--the growing materialism of religious bodies4 ,on all sides self-constituted defenders of the faith are troubling themselves1 not with the faith but with the numbers of their adherents who have jobs1 equal sharers in emoluments1 and so forth4 ,a ,protestant of standing writes a book and proves his religion is one of efficiency2 a ,catholic of equal standing quickly rejoins with another book to prove his religion is also efficient2 each blind to the fact that the resulting campaign is disgraceful to both4 ,when religion ceases to represent to us something spiritual1 and purely spiritual1 we begin to drift away from it4 ,where thy treasure is1 there thy heart is also4 ,no man can serve ,god and ,mammon4 ,the modern rejoinder is familiar3 ,we must live4 ,this1 our generation is not likely to forget4 ,the grave concern is that well-meaning men are accustoming themselves to this cry to sacrifice all higher considerations for the equal division of emoluments4 ,let us as citizens and a community see that every man has the right and the means to live2 but when self-interested bodies start a rivalry in the name of their particular creeds1 we know it ends in a squalid greed and fight for place1 in a pursuit of luxury1 the logical outcome of which must be to make the world ugly1 sordid and brutal4 ,it would be a mistake to overlook that high-minded men are allowing themselves to be committed by plausible reasons to this growing evil4 ,it is misguided enthusiasm4 ,there is a divine authority that warns us all3 ,be zealous for the better gifts4 ,,iv ,i wish to examine the attitude of the average ,christian to the ,agnostic4 ,the world is falling away from religion1 he will cry when depressed1 without thinking how much he himself may be a contributing cause4 ,let him study it in this light4 ,what is his attitude8 ,when he comes to speak of the tendency of the age he will indulge in vague generalities about atheism1 socialism1 irreligion1 and the rest2 always the cause is outside of him1 and against him2 he is not part of it4 ,i ask him to pass by the atheist awhile and take what may be of more concern4 ,there is a type of ,catholic and ,protestant who has as little genuine religion in him as any infidel1 who does not deny the letter of the law1 but who does not observe its spirit1 whose only use for the letter is to criticise and harass adversaries4 ,observe the high use he has for liberty--drinking1 card-playing1 gambling1 luxury2 he has no place in his life for any worthy deeds1 nay1 only scorn for such4 ,still he passes for orthodox4 ,if he is a ,catholic1 he secures that by putting in an appearance at ,mass on ,sundays4 ,his mind is not there2 he arrives late and goes early4 ,his ,protestant fellow in his private judgment finds more scope3 ,let the women go listen to the parson4 ,this is the sort of saying gives him such a conceit of himself4 ,we have the type on both sides1 so all can see it4 ,now it is not in the way of the ,pharisee we come to note them1 but to note that1 strange as it may appear1 either or both together will come to applaud the denouncing of the atheist4 ,we gather such into our religious societies1 and flatter them that they are adherents of religion and the bulwark of the faith1 and they forthwith anathematise the atheist with great gusto4 ,the one so anathematised is often as worthless as themselves with a conceit to despise priest and parson alike4 ,but it sometimes happens he is a fine character who has no religion as most of us understand it1 but who has yet a fine spiritual fervour1 ready to fight and make sacrifices for a national or social principle that he believes will make for better things1 a man of integrity and worth whom the best of men may be glad to hold as a friend4 ,yet we find in the condition to which we have drifted such a one may be pilloried by wasters1 gamblers1 rioters1 a crew that are the curse of every community4 ,we lash the atheist and the age but give little heed to the insincerity and cant of those we do not refuse to call our own4 ,what an example for the man anathematised4 ,he sees the vice and meanness of those we allow to pass for orthodox1 and when he sees also the complacency of the better part1 he is unconvinced4 ,we praise the sweetness of the healing waters of ,christ-like charity1 but despite our gospel he never gets it1 never4 ,we give him execration1 injustice2 if we let him go with a word1 it is never a gentle word1 but a bitter epithet2 and we wonder he is estranged1 when he sees our amazing composure in an amazing welter of hypocrisy and deceit4 ,there is1 of course1 the better side1 the many thousands of ,catholics and ,protestants who sincerely aim at better things4 ,but what has to be admitted is that most sincerely religious people adopt to the man of no established religion the same attitude as does the hypocrite3 they join in the general cry4 ,they should look to their own houses2 they should purge the temple of the money-lender and the knave2 they should see that their field gives good harvest2 they should remember that not to the atheist only but to the orthodox was it written3 ,every tree therefore that doth not yield good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire4 ,v ,there is a word to be said to the man for whom was invented the curious name agnostic4 ,i'm concerned only with him who is sincere and high-minded4 ,let us pass the flippant critics of things they do not understand4 ,but all sincere men are comrades in a deep and fine sense4 ,what the honest unbeliever has to keep in mind is that the darker side is but one side4 ,if he stands studying a crowd of the orthodox and finds therein the drunkard1 the gambler1 the sensualist2 and if he says bitter things of the value of religion and gets in return the clerical fiat of one who is more a politician than a priest2 and if he rejoins contemptuously1 ,this is fit for women and children1 let him be reminded that he can also study the other side if he care4 ,if he has the instinct of a fighter he must know every army has in its trail the camp-follower and the vulture1 but when the battle is set and the danger is imminent1 only the true soldier stands his ground4 ,because some who are of poor spirit are in high place1 let him not forget the old spirit still exists4 ,not only the women but the best intellects of men still keep the old traditions4 ,newman and ,pascal1 ,dante and ,milton1 ,erigena and ,aquinas1 are all dead1 but in our time even they have had followers not too far off4 ,in the same spirit ,gilbert ,chesterton found wonder at a wooden post1 and ,francis ,thompson1 in his divine wandering1 troubled the gold gateways of the stars4 ,let our friend before he frames his final judgment pause here4 ,he may well be baffled by many anomalies of the time1 his eye may rest on the meaner horde1 his ear be filled with the arrogance of some unworthy successor of ,paul2 and if he says3 ,why permit these things8 he may be told there are some alive in this generation who will question all such things1 and who1 however hard it go with them1 have no fear for the final victory4 ,,vi ,perhaps the conventional ,christian and conventional non-,christian may rest a moment to consider the reality4 ,between the bitter believer and the exasperated unbeliever1 ,christianity is being turned from a practice to a polemic1 and if we are to recall the old spirit we must recall the old earnestness and simplicity of the early ,martyrs4 ,we do not hear that they called ,nero an atheist1 but we do hear that they went singing to the arena4 ,by their example we may recover the spirit of song1 and have done with invective4 ,if we find music and joyousness in the old conception1 it is not in the fashion of the time to explain it away in some new theology1 for he to whom it is not a fashion1 but a vital thing1 keeps his anchor by tradition4 ,to him it is the shining light away in the mists of antiquity2 it is the strong sun over the living world2 it is the pillar of fire over the widening seas and worlds of the unknown2 it is the expanse of infinity4 ,when he is lost in its mystery he adverts to the wonder about him1 for all that is wonderful is touched with it1 and all that is lovely is its expression4 ,it is in the breath of the wind1 pure and bracing from the mountain top4 ,it is in the song of the lark holding his musical revel in the sunlight4 ,it is in the ecstasy of a ,spring morning4 ,it is in the glory of all beautiful things4 ,when it has entered and purified his spirit1 his heart goes out to the persecuted in all ages and countries4 ,none will he reject4 ,i am not come to call the just but sinners4 ,he remembers those words1 and his great charity encompasses not only the persecuted orthodox1 but the persecuted heretics and infidels4 ,,vii ,i will not say if such an endeavour as ,i suggest can have an immediate success4 ,but ,i think it will be a step forward if we get sincere men on one side to understand the sincerity of the other side2 and if in matters of religion and speculation1 where there is so much difficulty and there is likely to be so much conflict of opinion1 there should be no constraint1 but rather the finest charity and forbearance2 then the orthodox would be concerned with practising their faith rather than in harassing the infidel1 and the infidel would receive a more useful lesson than the ill-considered tirades he despises4 ,he may remain still unconvinced1 but he will give over his contempt4 ,this question of religion is one on which men will differ1 and differing1 ultimately they will fight if we find no better way4 ,we must remember while freedom is to win we are facing a national struggle1 and if we are threatened within by a civil war of creeds it may undo us4 ,that is why we must face the question4 ,that is why ,i think utter frankness in these grave matters is of grave urgency4 ,if we approach them in the right spirit we need have no fear--for at heart the most of men are susceptible to high appeals4 ,what we need is courage and intensity2 it is gabbling about surface things makes the bitterness4 ,if in truth we safeguard the right of every man as we are bound to do we shall win the confidence of all1 and we may hope for a braver and better future1 wherein some light of the primal ,beauty may wander again over earth as in the beginning it dawned on chaos when the ,spirit of ,god first moved over the waters4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,intellectual ,,freedom ,i ,it will probably cause surprise if ,i say there is1 possibly1 more intellectual freedom in ,ireland than elsewhere in ,europe4 ,but ,i do not mean by intellectual freedom conventional ,free-thought1 which is1 perhaps1 as far as any superstition from true freedom of the mind4 ,the point may not be admitted but its consideration will clear the air1 and help to dispose of some objections hindering that spiritual freedom1 fundamental to all liberty4 ,,ii ,i have no intention here of in any way criticising the doctrine of ,free-thought1 but one so named cannot be ignored when we consider ,intellectual ,freedom4 ,this1 then1 has to be borne in mind when speaking of ,free-thought1 that while it allows you latitude of opinion in many things1 it will not allow you freedom in all things1 in1 for example1 ,revealed ,religion4 ,i only mention this to show that on both sides of such burning questions you have disputants dogmatic4 ,a dogmatic yes meets an equally dogmatic no4 ,the dogmas differ and it is not part of our business here to discuss them3 but to come to a clear conception of the matter in hand1 it must be kept in mind1 that if you1 notwithstanding1 freely of your own accord1 accept belief in certain doctrines1 the freethinkers will for that deny you freedom4 ,and the freethinkers are right in that they are dogmatic4 7,but this they themselves appear to overlook47 ,freedom is absolutely dogmatic4 ,it is fundamentally false that freedom implies no attachment to any belief1 no being bound by any law1 ,as free as the wind1 as the saying goes1 for the wind is not free4 ,simple indeterminism is not liberty4 ,,iii ,we must1 then1 find the true conception of ,intellectual ,freedom4 ,it is the freedom of the individual to follow his star and reach his goal4 ,that star binds him down to certain lines and his freedom is in exact proportion to his fidelity to the lines4 ,the seeming paradox may be puzzling3 a concrete example will make it clear4 ,suppose a man1 shipwrecked1 finds himself at sea in an open boat1 without his bearings or a rudder4 ,he is at the mercy of the wind and wave1 without freedom1 helpless4 ,but give him his bearings and a helm1 and at once he recovers his course2 he finds his position and can strike the path to freedom4 ,he is at perfect liberty to scuttle his boat1 drive it on the rocks or do any other irrational thing2 but if he would have freedom1 he must follow his star4 ,,iv ,this leads us to track a certain error that has confused modern debate4 ,a man in assumed impartiality tells you he will stand away from his own viewpoint and consider a case from yours4 ,now1 if he does honestly hold by his own view and thinks he can put it by and judge from his opponent's1 he is deceiving both himself and his opponent4 ,he can do so apparently1 but1 whatever assumption is made1 he is governed subconsciously by his own firm conviction4 ,his belief is around him like an atmosphere2 it goes with him wherever he goes2 he can only stand free of it by altogether abandoning it4 ,if his case is such that he can come absolutely to the other side to view it uninfluenced by his own1 then he has abandoned his own4 ,he is like a man in a boat who has thrown over rudder and bearings3 he may be moved by any current3 he is adrift4 ,if he is to recover the old ground1 he must win it as something he never had4 ,but if instead of this he does at heart hold by his own view1 he should give over the deception that he is uninfluenced by it in framing judgment4 ,it is psychologically impossible4 ,let the man understand it as a duty to himself to be just to others1 and to substitute this principle for his spurious impartiality4 ,this is the frank and straightforward course4 ,while he is under his own star1 he is moving in its light3 he has1 if unconsciously1 his hand on the helm3 he judges all currents scrupulously and exactly1 but always from his own place at the wheel and with his own eyes4 ,to abandon one or the other is to betray his trust1 or in good faith and ignorance to cast it off till it is gone1 perhaps1 too far to recover4 ,v ,if we so understand intellectual freedom1 in what does its denial consist8 ,in this3 around every set of principles guiding men1 there grows up a corresponding set of prejudices that with the majority in practice often supersede the principles2 and these prejudices with the march of time assume such proportions1 gather such power1 both by the numbers of their adherents and the authority of many supporting them1 that for a man of spirit1 knowing them to be evil and urgent of resistance1 there is needed a vigour and freedom of mind that but few understand and even fewer appreciate or encourage4 ,the prejudices that grow around a man's principles are like weeds and poison in his garden3 they blight his flowers1 trees and fruit2 and he must go forth with fire and sword and strong unsparing hand to root out the evil things4 ,he will find with his courage and strength are needed passion and patience and dogged persistence4 ,for men defend a prejudice with bitter venom altogether unlike the fire that quickens the fighter for freedom2 and the destroyer of the evil may find himself assailed by an astonishing combination--charged with bad faith or treachery or vanity or sheer perversity1 in proportion as those who dislike his principles deny his good faith2 or those who profess them1 because of his vigour and candour denounce him for an enemy within the fold4 ,but for all that he should stand fast4 ,if he has the courage so to do1 he gives a fine example of intellectual freedom4 ,,vi ,it will serve us to consider some prejudices1 free-thinking and religious4 ,first the free-thinker4 ,he has a prejudice very hard to kill4 ,if ,i believe in the beginning what ,bernard ,shaw has found out thus late in the day1 that priests are not as bad as they are painted1 the free-thinker would deny me intellectual freedom4 ,the fact of my right to think the matter out and come to that conclusion would count for nothing4 ,on the other hand1 if ,i were known to have professed a certain faith and to have abandoned it1 he would acclaim that as casting off mental slavery4 ,this is hopelessly confusing4 ,if a man has ceased to hold a certain belief he deserves no credit for courage in saying so openly4 ,if he thinks what he once believed1 or is supposed to have believed1 has no vitality1 surely he can have no reason for being afraid of it1 and to speak of dangerous consequences from it to him1 can be for him at least only a bogey4 ,his simple denial is1 then1 no mark of courage4 ,courage is a positive thing4 ,yet he may well have that courage4 ,suppose him in taking his stand to have taken up some social faith that for him has promise of better things4 ,he will find his new creed surrounded by its own swarm of prejudices1 and if he refuse to worship every fetish of the free-thinker1 declaring that this stands to him for a certain definite1 beautiful thing1 and fighting for it1 he will find himself denied and scouted by his new friends4 ,he may find himself often in company with some supposed enemies4 ,he will surely need in his sincere attitude to life a freedom of mind that is not a name merely but a positive virtue that demands of him more than denunciation of obscurantism1 the recognition of a personal duty and the justification of personal works4 ,,vii ,the religious prejudice will be no less hard to kill4 ,indiscriminate denunciation of unbelievers as wicked men serves no good purpose and leads nowhere4 ,there are wicked men on all sides4 ,our standard must be one that will distinguish the sincere men on all sides2 and our loyalty to our particular creeds must be shown in our lives and labours1 not in the reviling of the infidel4 ,we are justified in casting out the hypocrite from every camp1 and when we come to this task we can be sure only of the hypocrites in our own2 and we should lay it as an injunction on all bodies to purge themselves4 ,the burden will be laid on all--not one surely of which men can complain--that they shall prove their principles in action and lay their prejudices by4 ,christians might well find exemplars in the early martyrs1 those who for their principles went so readily to the lions4 ,one may anticipate the complacent rejoinder3 ,this is not so exacting an age2 men are not asked to die for religion now--and one may in turn reply1 that1 perhaps our age may not be without occasion for such high service1 but that we may be unwilling to go to the lions4 ,our time has its own trial--by no means unexacting let me tell you--but we quietly slip it by3 it is much easier to revile the infidel4 ,this as a test of loyalty should be pinned3 we shall shut up thereby the hypocrite4 ,and the earnest man1 more conscious of his own burden1 will be more sympathetic1 generous and just1 and will come to be more logical and to see what ,newman well remarked1 that one who asks questions shows he has no belief and in asking may be but on the road to one4 ,if to ask a question is to express a doubt1 it is no less1 perhaps1 to seek a way out of it4 ,what better can he do than inquire1 if he is in doubt8 asks ,newman4 ,not to inquire is in his case to be satisfied with disbelief4 ,we should1 acting in this light1 instead of denouncing the questioner1 answer his question freely and frankly1 encourage him to ask others and put him one or two by the way4 ,men meeting in this manner may still remain on opposite sides1 but there will be formed between them a bond of sympathy that mutual sincerity can never fail to establish4 ,this is freedom1 and a fine beautiful thing1 surely worth a fine effort4 ,what we have grown accustomed to1 the bitterness1 the recriminations1 the persecutions and retaliations1 are all the evil weeds of prejudice1 growing around our principles and choking them4 ,they are so far a denial of principle1 a proof of mental slavery4 ,our freedom will attest to faith3 ,where the ,spirit of the ,lord is1 there is ,liberty4 ,,viii ,this1 in conclusion1 is the root of the matter3 to claim freedom and to allow it in like measure2 rather than to deny1 to urge men to follow their beliefs3 only thus can they find salvation4 ,to constrain a man to profess what we profess is worse than delusion3 should he give lip service to what he does not hold at heart1 'twere for him deceitful and for us dangerous4 ,where his star calls1 let him walk sincerely4 ,if his creed is insufficient or inconsistent1 in his struggle he shall test it1 and in his sincerity he must make up the insufficiency or remove the inconsistency4 ,this is the only course for honourable men and no man should object4 ,to repeat1 it puts an equal burden on all--the onus of justifying the faith that is in them4 ,life is a divine adventure and he whose faith is finest1 firmest and clearest will go farthest4 ,god does not hold his honours for the timid3 the man who buried his talent1 fearing to lose it1 was cast into exterior darkness4 ,he who will step forward fearlessly will be justified4 ,all things are possible to him who believeth4 ,many on both sides may be surprised to find suddenly proposed as a test to both sides the readiness to adventure bravely on the ,sea of ,life4 ,the free-thinker may be astonished to hear1 not that he goes too far1 but does not go far enough4 ,he may gasp at the test1 but it is in effect the test and the only true one4 ,the man who does not believe he is to be blotted out when his body ceases to breathe1 who holds all history for his heritage and the wide present for his battle-ground1 believes also the future is no repellent void but a widening and alluring world4 ,if in his travel he is scrupulous in detail1 it is in the spirit of the mariner who will neither court a ship-wreck nor be denied his adventure4 ,he cannot deny to others the right to hesitate and halt by the way1 but his spirit asks no less than the eternal and the infinite4 ,yes1 but many good religious people are not used to seeing the issue in this light1 and those who make a trade of fanning old bitterness will still ply their bitter trade1 crying that anarchists1 atheists1 heretics1 infidels1 all outcasts and wicked men1 are all rampant for our destruction4 ,it may be disputed1 but1 admitting it1 one may ask3 ,is there no place among ,christian people for those distinctive virtues on which we base the superiority of our religion8 ,when the need is greatest1 should the practice be less urgent8 ,it is not evident that the free-thinker is obliged by any of his principles to give better example4 ,it is evident the ,christian is so obliged4 ,why is he found wanting8 ,if human weakness were pleaded1 one could understand4 ,it is against the making a virtue of it lies the protest4 ,how many noble things there are in our philosophies1 and how little practised4 ,no violent convulsions should be needed to make us free1 if men were but consistent3 we should find ourselves wakening from a wicked dream in a bloodless and beautiful revolution4 ,we are in the desert truly and a long way from the ,promised ,land4 ,but we must get to the higher ground and consider our position2 and if one by one we are stripped of the prejudices that too long have usurped the place of faith1 and we find ourselves1 to our dismay1 perhaps lacking that faith that we have so long shouted but so little testified1 and tremble on the verge of panic1 there is one last line that gives in four words with divine simplicity and completeness a final answer to all timidity and objections3 ,fear not2 only believe4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,militarism ,i ,to defend or recover freedom men must be always ready for the appeal to arms4 ,here is a principle that has been vindicated through all history and needs vindication now4 ,but in our time the question of rightful war has been crossed by the evil of militarism1 and in our assertion of the principle1 that in the last resort freemen must have recourse to the sword1 we find ourselves crossed by the anti-militarist campaign4 ,we must dispose of this confusing element before we can come to the ethics of war4 ,of the evil of militarism there can be no question1 but a careful study of some anti-militaristic literature discloses very different motives for the campaign4 ,i propose to lay some of the motives bare and let the reader judge whether there may not be an insidious plot on foot to make a deal between the big nations to crush the little ones4 ,for this purpose ,i will consider two books on the question1 one by ,mr4 ,norman ,angell1 ,the ,great ,illusion1 and one by ,m4 ,jacques ,novikow1 ,war and ,its ,alleged ,benefits4 ,in the work of ,mr4 ,angell the reader will find the suggestion of the deal1 while in the work of ,m4 ,novikow is given a clear and honest statement of the anti-militarist position1 with which we can all heartily agree4 ,those of us who would assert our freedom should understand the right anti-militarist position1 because in its exponents we shall find allies at many points4 ,but with ,mr4 ,angell's book it is otherwise4 ,these points emerge3 the basis of morality is self-interest2 the ,great ,powers have nothing to gain by destroying one another1 they should agree to police and exploit the territory of the backward races2 if the statesmen take a different view from the financiers1 the financiers can bring pressure to bear on the statesmen by their international organisation2 the capitalist has no country4 ,well1 our comment is1 the patriot has a country1 and when he wakens to the new danger1 he may spoil the capitalist dream1 and this book of ,mr4 ,angell's may in a sense other than that the author intended be appropriately named ,the ,great ,illusion4 ,,ii ,the limits of this essay do not admit of detailed examination of the book named4 ,what ,i propose to do is make characteristic extracts sufficiently full to let the reader form judgment4 ,as we are only concerned for the present with the danger ,i mention1 ,i take particular notice of ,mr4 ,angell's book1 and ,i refer the reader for further study to the original4 ,but the charge of taking an accidental line from its context cannot be made here1 as the extracts are numerous1 the tendency of all alike1 and more of the same nature can be found4 ,i divide the extracts into three groups1 which ,i name3 #a4 ,the ,ethics of the ,case4 #b4 ,the ,power of ,money4 #c4 ,the ,deal4 ,where italics are used they are mine4 #a4 ,,the ,,ethics ,,of ,,the ,,case4--,the real basis of ,social ,morality is self-interest4 7,the ,great ,illusion1 #crd ,ed41 p4 #ff47 ,have we not abundant evidence1 indeed1 that the passion of patriotism1 as divorced from material interest1 is being modified by the pressure of material interest8 7p4 #afg47 ,piracy was magnificent1 doubtless1 but it was not business4 7,speaking of the old ,vikings1 p4 #bde47 ,the pacifist propaganda has failed largely because it has not put 7and proven7 the plea of interest as distinct from the moral plea4 7p4 #cba47 #b4 ,,the ,,power ,,of ,,money4--,the complexity of modern finance makes ,new ,york dependent on ,london1 ,london upon ,paris1 ,paris upon ,berlin1 to a greater degree than has ever yet been the case in history4 7p4 #dg47 ,it would be a miracle if already at this point the whole influence of ,british ,finance were not thrown against the action of the ,british ,government4 7,on the assumed ,british capture of ,hamburg1 p4 #ec74 ,the most absolute despots cannot command money4 7p4 #bbf47 ,with reference to capital1 it may almost be said that it is organised so naturally internationally that formal organisation is not necessary4 7p4 #bfi47 #c4 ,,the ,,deal4--,france has benefited by the conquest of ,algeria1 ,england by that of ,india1 because in each case the arms were employed not1 properly speaking1 for conquest at all1 but for police purposes4 7p4 #aae47 ,while even the wildest ,pan-,german has never cast his eyes in the direction of ,canada1 he has cast them1 and does cast them1 in the direction of ,asia ,minor4444 ,germany may need to police ,asia ,minor4 7pp4 #aag1 #aah47 ,it is much more to our interest to have an orderly and organised ,asia ,minor under ,german tutelage than to have an unorganised and disorderly one which should be independent4 7p4 #abj47 ,sir ,harry ,johnston1 in the ',nineteenth ,century' for ,december1 #aiaj1 comes a great deal nearer to touching the real kernel of the problem4444 ,he adds that the best informed ,germans used this language to him3 ',you know that we ought to make common cause in our dealings with backward races of the world6' ,the quotations speak for themselves4 ,note the policing of the backward races4 ,the ,colonies are not in favour4 ,mr4 ,angell writes3 ,what in the name of common sense is the advantage of conquering them if the only policy is to let them do as they like8 7p4 #ib47 ,south ,africa occasions bitter reflections3 ,the present ,government of the ,transvaal is in the hands of the ,boer ,party4 7p4 #ie47 ,and he warns ,germany1 that1 supposing she wishes to conquer ,south ,africa1 she would learn that the policy that ,great ,britain has adopted was not adopted by philanthropy1 but in the hard school of bitter experience4 7p4 #ajd47 ,we believe him1 and we may have to teach a lesson or two in the same school4 ,it may be noted in passing ,mr4 ,angell gives ,ireland the honour of a reference4 ,in reply to a critic of the ,morning ,post1 who wrote thus3 ,it is the sublime quality of human nature that every great nation has produced citizens ready to sacrifice themselves rather than submit to external force attempting to dictate to them a conception other than their own of what is right4 7p4 #bed47 ,mr4 ,angell replied3 ,one is1 of course1 surprised to see the foregoing in the ,morning ,post2 the concluding phrase would justify the present agitation in ,india1 or in ,egypt1 or in ,ireland against ,british1 rule4 7p4 #bed47 ,comment is needless4 ,the reading and re-reading of this book forces the conclusion as to its sinister design4 ,once that design is exposed its danger recedes4 ,there is one at least of the backward races that may not be sufficiently alive to self-interest1 but may for all that upset the capitalist table and scatter the deal by what ,ruskin described in another context as the inconvenience of the reappearance of a soul4 ,,iii ,we must not fail to distinguish the worth of the best type of anti-militarist and to value the truth of his statement4 ,it is curious to find ,mr4 ,angell writing an introduction to ,m4 ,novikow's book1 for ,m4 ,novikow's position is1 in our point of view1 quite different4 ,he does not draw the fine distinction of policing the backward races4 ,rather1 he defends the ,bengalis4 ,suppose their rights had never been violated1 he says3 ,they would have held their heads higher2 they would have been proud and dignified1 and perhaps might have taken for their motto1 ,dieu et mon droit4 7,war and ,its ,alleged ,benefits1 p4 #ab47 ,he can be ironical and he can be warm4 ,later1 he writes2 ,the ,french 7and all other people7 should vindicate their rights with their last drop of blood2 so what ,i write does not refer to those who defend their rights1 but to those who violate the rights of others4 7,note p4 #gj47 ,he does not put by the moral plea1 but says3 ,political servitude develops the greatest defects in the subjugated peoples4 7p4 #gi47 ,and he pays his tribute to those who die for a noble cause3 ,my warmest sympathy goes out to those noble victims who preferred death to disgrace4 7p4 #hb47 ,this is the true attitude and one to admire2 and any writer worthy of esteem who writes for peace never fails to take the same stand4 ,emerson1 in his essay on ,war1 makes a fine appeal for peace1 but he writes3 ,if peace is sought to be defended or preserved for the safety of the luxurious or the timid1 it is a sham and the peace will be base4 ,war is better1 and the peace will be broken4 ,and elsewhere on ,politics1 he writes3 ,a nation of men unanimously bent on freedom or conquest can easily confound the arithmetic of the statists and achieve extravagant actions out of all proportions to their means4 ,yes1 and by our unanimity for freedom we mean to prove it true4 ,,chapter ,,xv ,,the ,,empire ,i ,with the immediate promise of ,home ,rule many strange apologists for the ,empire have stepped into the sun4 ,perhaps it is well--we may find ourselves soon more directly than heretofore struggling with the ,empire4 ,so far the fight has been confused4 ,imperialists fighting for ,home ,rule obscured the fact that they were not fighting the ,empire4 ,now ,home ,rule is likely to come1 and it will serve at least the good purpose of clearing the air and setting the issue definitely between the nation and the ,empire4 ,we shall have our say for the nation1 but as even now many things1 false and hypocritical1 are being urged on behalf of the ,empire1 it will serve us to examine the ,imperial creed and show its tyranny1 cruelty1 hypocrisy1 and expose the danger of giving it any pretext whatever for aggression4 ,for the ,empire1 as we know it and deal with it1 is a bad thing in itself1 and we must not only get free of it and not be again trapped by it1 but must rather give hope and encouragement to every nation fighting the same fight all the world over4 ,,ii ,one candid writer1 ,machiavelli1 has put the ,imperial creed into a book1 the examination of which will--for those willing to see--clear the air of illusion4 ,now1 we are conscious that defenders of the ,empire profess to be shocked by the wickedness of ,machiavelli's utterance--we shall hear ,macaulay later--but this shocked attitude won't delude us4 ,let those who have not read ,machiavelli's book1 ,the ,prince1 consider carefully the extracts given below and see exactly how they fit the ,english occupation of ,ireland1 and understand thoroughly that the ,empire is a thing1 bad in itself1 utterly wicked1 to be resisted everywhere1 fought without ceasing1 renounced with fervour and without qualification1 as we have been taught from the cradle to renounce the ,devil with all his works and pomps4 ,consider first the invasion4 ,machiavelli speaks3--,the common method in such cases is this4 ,as soon as a foreign potentate enters into a province those who are weaker or disobliged join themselves with him out of emulation and animosity to those who are above them1 insomuch that in respect to those inferior lords no pains are to be omitted that may gain them2 and when gained1 they will readily and unanimously fall into one mass with the ,state that is conquered4 ,only the conqueror is to take special care that they grow not too strong1 nor be entrusted with too much authority1 and then he can easily with his own forces and their assistance keep down the greatness of his neighbours1 and make himself absolute arbiter in that province4 ,here is the old maxim1 ,divide and conquer4 ,to gain an entry some pretence is advisable4 ,machiavelli speaks with approval of a certain potentate who always made religion a pretence4 ,having entered a vigorous policy must be pursued4 ,we read--,he who usurps the government of any ,state is to execute and put in practice all the cruelties which he thinks material at once4 ,cromwell rises before us4 ,a prince1 says ,machiavelli1 is not to regard the scandal of being cruel if thereby he keeps his subjects in their allegiance4 ,for1 he is cautioned1 whoever conquers a free town and does not demolish it commits a great error and may expect to be ruined himself2 because whenever the citizens are disposed to revolt they betake themselves1 of course1 to that blessed name of ,liberty1 and the laws of their ancestors1 which no length of time nor kind usage whatever will be able to eradicate4 ,an alternative to utter destruction is flattery and indulgence4 ,men are either to be flattered and indulged or utterly destroyed4 ,we think of the titles and the bribes4 ,again1 ,a town that has been anciently free cannot more easily be kept in subjection than by employing its own citizens4 ,we think of the place-hunter1 the ,king's visit1 the loyal address4 ,to make the conquest secure we read3 ,when a prince conquers a new ,state and annexes it as a member to his old1 then it is necessary your subjects be disarmed1 all but such as appeared for you in the conquest1 and they are to be mollified by degrees and brought into such a condition of laziness and effeminacy that in time your whole strength may devolve upon your own natural militia4 ,we think of the ,arms ,acts and our weakened people4 ,but while one-half is disarmed and the other half bribed1 with neither need the conqueror keep faith4 ,we read3 ,a prince who is wise and prudent cannot1 or ought not1 to keep his parole1 when the keeping of it is to his prejudice and the causes for which he promised removed4 ,this is made very clear to prevent any mistake4 ,it is of great consequence to disguise your inclination and play the hypocrite well4 ,we think of the ,broken ,treaty and countless other breaches of faith4 ,it is1 of course1 well to seem honourable1 but ,machiavelli cautions3 ,it is honourable to seem mild1 and merciful1 and courteous1 and religious1 and sincere1 and indeed to be so1 provided your mind be so rectified and prepared1 that you can act quite contrary upon occasion4 ,should anyone hesitate at all this let him hear3 ,he is not to concern himself if run under the infamy of those vices1 without which his dominion was not to be preserved4 ,thus far the philosophy of ,machiavelli4 ,the ,imperialist out to civilise the barbarians is1 of course1 shocked by such wickedness2 but we are beginning to open our eyes to the wickedness and hypocrisy of both4 ,to us this book reads as if a shrewd observer of the ,english ,occupation in ,ireland had noted the attending features and based these principles thereon4 ,we have reason to be grateful to ,machiavelli for his exposition4 ,his advice to the prince1 in effect1 lays bare the marauders of his age and helps us to expose the ,empire in our own4 ,,iii ,there is a lesson to be learnt from the fact that this book of ,machiavelli's1 written four centuries ago in ,italy1 is so apt here to-day4 ,we must take this exposition as the creed of ,empire and have no truck with the ,empire4 ,it may be argued that the old arts will be no longer practised on us4 ,let the new supporters of the ,empire know that by the new alliance they should practise these arts on other people1 which would be infamy4 ,we are not going to hold other people down2 we are going to encourage them to stand up4 ,if it means a further fight we have plenty of stimulus still4 ,our oppression has been doubly bitter for having been mean4 ,the tyranny of a strong mind makes us rage1 but the tyranny of a mean one is altogether insufferable4 ,the cruelty of a ,cromwell can be forgotten more easily than the cant of a ,macaulay4 ,when we read certain lines we go into a blaze1 and that fire will burn till it has burnt every opposition out4 ,in his essay on ,milton1 ,macaulay having written much bombast on the ,english ,revolution1 introduces this characteristic sentiment3 ,one part of the ,empire there was1 so unhappily circumstanced1 that at that time its misery was necessary to our happiness and its slavery to our freedom4 ,for insolence this would be hard to beat4 ,let it be noted well4 ,it is the philosophy of the ,predominant ,partner4 ,if he had thanked ,god for having our throats to cut1 and cut them with loud gratitude like ,cromwell1 a later generation would be incensed4 ,but this other attitude is the gall in the cup4 ,macaulay is1 of course1 shocked by ,machiavelli's ,prince4 ,in his essay on ,machiavelli we read3 ,it is indeed scarcely possible for any person not well acquainted with the history and literature of ,italy to read without horror and amazement the celebrated treatise which has brought so much obloquy on the name of ,machiavelli4 ,such a display of wickedness1 naked1 yet not ashamed1 such cool1 judicious1 scientific atrocity1 seemed rather to belong to a fiend than to the most depraved of men4 ,but1 later1 in the same essay1 is a valuable sidelight4 ,he writes of ,machiavelli as a man whose only fault was that1 having adopted some of the maxims then generally received1 he arranged them most luminously and expressed them more forcibly than any other writer4 ,here we have the truth1 of course not so intended1 but evident3 ,machiavelli's crime is not for the sentiments he entertained but for writing them down luminously and forcibly--in other words1 for giving the show away4 ,think of ,macaulay's horror and amazement1 and read this further in the same essay3 ,every man who has seen the world knows that nothing is so useless as a general maxim4 ,if it be very moral and very true it may serve for a copy to a charity boy4 ,so the very moral and the very true are not for the statesman but for the charity-boy4 ,this perhaps may be defended as irony2 hardly1 but even so1 in such irony the character appears as plainly as in volumes of solemn rant4 ,to us it stands out clearly as the characteristic attitude of the ,english ,government4 ,the ,english people are used to it1 practise it1 and will put up with it2 but the ,irish people never were1 are not now1 and never will be used to it2 and we won't put up with it4 ,we get calm as old atrocities recede into history1 but to repeat the old cant1 above all to try and sustain such now1 sets all the old fire blazing--blazing with a fierceness that will end only with the ,british connection4 ,,iv ,not many of us in ,ireland will be deceived by ,macaulay1 but there is danger in an occasional note of writers1 such as ,bernard ,shaw and ,stuart ,mill4 ,our instinct often saves us by natural repugnance from the hypocrite1 when we may be confused by some sentiment of a sincere man1 not foreseeing its tendency4 ,when an aggressive power looks for an opening for aggression it first looks for a pretext1 and our danger lies in men's readiness to give it the pretext4 ,such a sentiment as this from ,mill--on ,liberty--gives the required opening3 ,despotism is a legitimate mode of government in dealing with ,barbarians1 provided the end be their improvement2 or this from ,shaw's preface to the ,home ,rule edition of ,john ,bull's ,other ,island3 ,i am prepared to ,steam-roll ,tibet if ,tibet persist in refusing me my international rights4 ,now1 it is within our right to enforce a principle within our own territory1 but to force it on other people1 called for the occasion barbarians1 is quite another thing4 ,shaw may get wrathful1 and genuinely so1 over the ,denshawai horror1 and expose it nakedly and vividly as he did in his first edition of ,john ,bull's ,other ,island1 ,preface for ,politicians2 but the aggressors are undisturbed as long as he gives them pretexts with his steam-roll ,tibet phrase4 ,and when he says further that he is prepared to co-operate with ,france1 ,italy1 ,russia1 ,germany and ,england in ,morocco1 ,tripoli1 ,siberia and ,africa to civilise these places1 not only are his denunciations of ,denshawai horrors of no avail--except to draw tears after the event--but he cannot co-operate in the civilising process without practising the cruelty2 and perhaps in their privacy the empire-makers may smile when ,shaw writes of ,empire with evident earnestness as a name that every man who has ever felt the sacredness of his own native soil to him1 and thus learnt to regard that feeling in other men as something holy and inviolable1 spits out of his mouth with enormous contempt4 ,when1 further1 in his ,representative ,government ,mill tells the ,english people--a thing about which ,shaw has no illusions--that they are the power which of all in existence best understands liberty1 and1 whatever may have been its errors in the past1 has attained to more of conscience and moral principle in its dealing with foreigners than any other great nation seems either to conceive as possible or recognise as desirable--they not only go forward to civilise the barbarians by ,denshawai horrors1 but they do so unctuously in the true ,macaulayan style4 ,we feel a natural wrath at all this1 not unmingled with amusement and amazement4 ,in studying the question we read much that rouses anger and contempt1 but one must laugh out heartily in coming to this gem of ,mill's1 uttered with all ,mill's solemnity3 ,place-hunting is a form of ambition to which the ,english1 considered nationally1 are almost strangers4 ,when the sincerest expression of the ,english mind can produce this we need to have our wits about us2 and when1 as just now1 so much nonsense1 and dangerous nonsense1 is being poured abroad about the ,empire1 we need to pause1 carefully consider all these things1 and be on our guard4 ,v ,in conclusion1 we may add our own word to the talk of the hour--the politicians on ,home ,rule4 ,it should raise a smile to hear so often the prophecy that ,ireland will be loyal to the ,empire when she gets ,home ,rule4 ,we are surprised that any ,irishman could be so foolish1 though1 no doubt1 many ,englishmen are so simple as to believe it4 ,history and experience alike deny it4 ,possibly the ,home ,rule chiefs realise their active service is now limited to a decade or two1 and assume ,home ,rule may be the limit for that time1 and speak only for that time2 but at the end of that time our generation will be vigorous and combative1 and if we cannot come into our own before then1 we shall be ready then4 ,we need say for the moment no more than this--the limit of the old generation is not the limit of ours4 ,if anyone doubt the further step to take let him consider our history1 recent and remote4 ,the old effort to subdue or exterminate us having failed1 the new effort to conciliate us began4 ,minor concessions led to the bigger question of the land4 ,one ,land ,act led to another till the people came by their own4 ,home ,rule1 first to be killed by resolute government1 was next to be killed by kindness1 and ,local ,government came4 ,local ,government made ,home ,rule inevitable2 and now ,home ,rule is at hand and we come to the last step4 ,anyone who reads the history of ,ireland1 who understands anything of progress1 who can draw any lesson from experience1 must realise that the advent of ,home ,rule marks the beginning of the end4 ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,resistance ,,in ,,arms--,,foreword ,i ,the discussion of freedom leads inevitably to the discussion of an appeal to arms4 ,if proving the truth and justice of a people's claim were sufficient there would be little tyranny in the world1 but a tyrannical power is deaf to the appeal of truth--it cannot be moved by argument1 and must be met by force4 ,the discussion of the ethics of revolt is1 then1 inevitable4 ,,ii ,the ubiquitous pseudo-practical man1 petulant and critical1 will at once arise3 ,what is the use of discussing arms in ,ireland8 ,if anyone wanted to fight it would be impossible1 and no one wants to fight4 ,what prevents ye going out to begin8 ,such peevish criticism is anything but practical1 and one may ignore it2 but it suggests the many who would earnestly wish to settle our long war with a swift1 conclusive fight1 yet who feel it no longer practical4 ,keeping to the practical issue1 we must bear in mind a few things4 ,though ,ireland has often fought at odds1 and could do so again1 it is not just now a question of ,ireland poorly equipped standing up to ,england invincible4 ,england will never again have such an easy battle4 ,the point now to emphasise is this--by remaining passive and letting ourselves drift we drift into the conflict that involves ,england4 ,we must fight for her or get clear of her4 ,there can be no neutrality while bound to her2 so a military policy is an eminently practical question4 ,moreover1 it is an urgent one3 to stand in with ,england in any danger that threatens her will be at least as dangerous as a bold bid to break away from her4 ,one thing above all1 conditions have changed in a startling manner2 ,england is threatened within as without2 there are labour complications of all kinds of which no one can foresee the end1 while as a result of another complication we find the ,prime ,minister of ,england going about as carefully protected as the ,czar of ,russia4,footnote3 ,the militant suffragette agitation4 ,the unrest of the times is apt to be even bewildering4 ,england is not alone in her troubles--all the great ,powers are likewise2 and it is at least as likely for any one of them to be paralysed by an internal war as to be prepared to wage an external one4 ,this stands put clearly--we cannot go away from the turmoil and sit down undisturbed2 we must stand in and fight for our own hand or the hand of someone else4 ,let us prepare and stand for our own4 ,however it be1 no one can deny that in all the present upheavals it is at least practical to discuss the ethics of revolt4 ,,iii ,we can count on a minority who will see wisdom in such a discussion2 it must be our aim to make the discussion effective4 ,we must be patient as well as resolute4 ,we are apt to get impatient and by hasty denunciation drive off many who are wavering and may be won4 ,these are held back1 perhaps1 by some scruple or nervousness1 and by a fine breath of the truth and a natural discipline may yet be made our truest soldiers4 ,emerson1 in his address at the dedication of the ,soldiers' ,monument1 ,concord1 made touching reference in some such in the ,american ,civil ,war4 ,he told of one youth he knew who feared he was a coward1 and yet accustomed himself to danger1 by forcing himself to go and meet it4 ,he enlisted in ,new ,york1 says ,emerson1 went out to the field1 and died early4 ,and his comment for us should be eloquent4 ,it is from this temperament of sensibility that great heroes have been formed4 ,the pains we are at to make men physically fit we must take likewise to make them mentally fit4 ,we are minutely careful in physical training1 drill regulations and the rest1 which is right1 for thus we turn a mob into an army and helplessness into strength4 ,let us be minutely careful1 too1 with the untried minds--timid1 anxious1 sensitive in matters of conscience2 like him ,emerson spoke of1 they may be found yet in the foremost fighting line1 but we must have patience in pleading with them4 ,here above all must we keep our balance1 must we come down with sympathy to every particular4 ,it is surely evident that it is essential to give the care we lavish on the body with equal fulness to the mind4 ,,iv ,at the heart of the question we will be met by the religious objection to revolt4 ,here all scruples1 timidity1 wavering1 will concentrate2 and here is our chief difficulty to face4 ,the right to war is invariably allowed to independent states4 ,the right to rebel1 even with just cause1 is not by any means invariably allowed to subject nations4 ,it has been and is denied to us in ,ireland4 ,we must answer objectors line by line1 leading them1 where it serves1 step by step to our conclusions2 but this is not to make freedom a mere matter of logic--it is something more4 ,when it comes to war we shall frequently give1 not our promises1 but our conclusions4 ,this much must be allowed1 however1 that1 as far as logic will carry1 our position must be perfectly sound2 yet1 be it borne in mind1 our cause reaches above mere reasoning--mere logic does not enshrine the mysterious touch of fire that is our life4 ,so1 when we argue with opponents we undertake to give them as good as or better than they can give1 but we stake our cause on the something that is more4 ,on this ground ,i argue not in general on the right of war1 but in particular on the right of revolt2 not how it may touch other people elsewhere ignoring how it touches us here in ,ireland4 ,a large treatise could be written on the general question1 but to avoid seeming academic ,i will confine myself as far as possible to the side that is our concern4 ,for obvious reasons ,i propose to speak as to how it affects ,catholics1 and let them and others know what some ,catholic writers of authority have said on the matter4 ,one thing has to be carefully made clear4 ,it is seen in the following quotation from an eminent ,catholic authority writing in ,ireland in the middle of the last century1 ,dr4 ,murray1 of ,maynooth3 ,the ,church has issued no definition whatever on the question--has left it open4 ,many theologians have written on it2 the great majority1 however 7so far as ,i have been able to examine them71 pass it over in silence4 7,essays chiefly ,theological1 vol4 #d74 ,this has to be kept in mind4 ,theologians have written1 some on one side and some on the other1 but the ,church has left it open4 ,i need not labour the point why it is useful to quote ,catholic authorities in particular1 since in ,ireland an army representative of the people would be largely ,catholic1 and much former difficulty arose from ,catholics in ,ireland meeting with opposition from some ,catholic authorities4 ,it may be seen the position is delicate as well as difficult1 and in writing a preliminary note one point should be emphasised4 ,we must not evade a difficulty because it is delicate and dangerous1 and we must not temporise4 ,in a physical contest on the field of battle it is allowable to use tactics and strategy1 to retreat as well as advance1 to have recourse to a ruse as well as open attack2 but in matters of principle there can be no tactics1 there is one straightforward course to follow1 and that course must be found and followed without swerving to the end4 ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,resistance ,,in ,,arms--,,the ,,true ,,meaning ,,of ,,law ,i ,when we stand up to question false authority we should first make our footing firm by showing we understand true authority and uphold it4 ,let us be clear then as to the meaning of the word law4 ,it may be defined2 an ordinance of reason1 the aim of which is the public good and promulgated by the ruling power4 ,let us cite a few authorities4 ,a human law bears the character of law so far as it is in conformity with right reason2 and in that point of view it is manifestly derived from the ,eternal ,law4 7,aquinas ,ethicus1 ,vol4 #a1 p4 #bgf47 ,writing of laws that are unjust either in respect to end1 author or form1 ,st4 ,thomas says3 ,such proceedings are rather acts of violence than laws2 because ,st4 ,augustine says3 ',a law that is not just goes for no law at all4' 7,aquinas ,ethicus1 ,vol4 #a1 p4 #bib47 ,the fundamental idea of all law1 writes ,balmez1 is that it be in accordance with reason1 that it be an emanation from reason1 an application of reason to society 7,european ,civilisation1 ,chap4 #ec74 ,in the same chapter ,balmez quotes ,st4 ,thomas with approval3 ,the kingdom is not made for the king1 but the king for the kingdom2 and he goes on to the natural inference3 ,that all governments have been established for the good of society1 and that this alone should be the compass to guide those who are in command1 whatever be the form of government4 ,it is likewise the view of ,mill1 in ,representative ,government1 that the well-being of the governed is the sole object of government4 ,it was the view of ,plato before the ,christian era3 his ideal city should be established1 that the whole ,city might be in the happiest condition4 7,the ,republic1 ,book #d47 ,calderwood writes3 ,political ,government can be legitimately constructed only on condition of the acknowledgment of natural obligations and rights as inviolable4 7,handbook of ,modern ,philosophy1 ,applied ,ethics1 ,sec4 #d47 ,here all schools and all times are in agreement4 ,till these conditions are fulfilled for us we are at war4 ,when an independent and genuine ,irish ,government is established we shall yield it a full and hearty allegiance3 the law shall then be in repute4 ,we do not stand now to deny the idea of authority1 but to say that the wrong people are in authority1 the wrong flag is over us4 ,,ii ,we must overthrow the arguments that might be employed against us by the advocates of blind submission to any power that happens to be established1 writes ,balmez1 on resistance to ,de ,facto ,governments4 7,european ,civilisation1 ,chap4 #ee47 ,we could not be more explicit than the famous ,spanish theologian4 ,to such arguments let the following stand out from his long and emphatic reply3--,illegitimate authority is no authority at all2 the idea of power involves the idea of right1 without which it is mere physical power1 that is force4 ,he writes further3 ,the conqueror1 who1 by mere force of arms1 has subdued a nation1 does not thereby acquire a right to its possession2 the government1 which by gross iniquities has despoiled entire classes of citizens1 exacted undue contributions1 abolished legitimate rights1 cannot justify its acts by the simple fact of its having sufficient strength to execute these iniquities4 ,there is much that is equally clear and definite4 ,what extravagant things can be said on the other side by people in high places we know too well4 ,balmez in the same book and chapter gives an excellent example and an excellent reply3 ,don ,felix ,amat1 ,archbishop of ,palmyra1 in the posthumous work entitled ,idea of the ,church ,militant1 makes use of these words3 ',jesus ,christ1 by ,his plain and expressive answer1 ,render to ,csar the things that are ,csar's1 has sufficiently established that the mere fact of a government's existence is sufficient for enforcing the obedience of subjects to it4444' ,his work was forbidden at ,rome1 is ,balmez' expressive comment1 and he continues1 and whatever may have been the motives for such a prohibition1 we may rest assured that1 in the case of a book advocating such doctrines1 every man who is jealous of his rights might acquiesce in the decree of the ,sacred ,congregation4 ,so much for ,de ,facto ,government4 ,it is usurpation2 by being consummated it does not become legitimate4 ,when its decrees are not resisted1 it does not mean we accept them in principle--nor can we even pretend to accept them--but that the hour to resist has not yet come4 ,it is the strategy of war4 ,,iii ,we stand on the ground that the ,english ,government in ,ireland is founded in usurpation and as such deny its authority4 ,but if it be argued1 assuming it as ,ireland's case1 that a usurped authority1 gradually acquiesced in by the people1 ultimately becomes the same as legitimate1 the reply is still clear4 ,for ourselves we meet the assumption with a simple denial1 appealing to ,irish ,history for evidence that we never acquiesced in the ,english ,usurpation4 ,but to those who are not satisfied with this simple denial1 we can point out that even an authority1 originally founded legitimately1 may be resisted when abusing its power to the ruin of the ,commonwealth4 ,we still stand on the ground that the ,english government is founded in usurpation1 but we can dispose of all objections by proving the extremer case4 ,this is the case ,dr4 ,murray1 already quoted1 discusses4 ,the question1 he writes1 is about resistance to an established and legitimate government which abuses its power4 7,essays1 ,chiefly ,theological1 ,vol4 #d47 ,he continues3 ,the common opinion of a large number of our theologians1 then1 is that it is lawful to resist by force1 and if necessary to depose1 the sovereign ruler or rulers1 in the extreme--the very extreme--case wherein the following conditions are found united3 #a4 ,the tyranny must be excessive--intolerable4 #b4 ,the tyranny must be manifest1 manifest to men of good sense and right feeling4 #c4 ,the evils inflicted by the tyrant must be greater than those which would ensue from resisting and deposing him4 #d4 ,there must be no other available way of getting rid of the tyranny except by recurring to the extreme course4 #e4 ,there must be a moral certainty of success4 #f4 ,the revolution must be one conducted or approved by the community at large 444 the refusal of a small party in the ,state to join with the overwhelming mass of their countrymen would not render the resistance of the latter unlawful4 7,essays1 ,chiefly ,theological2 see also ,rickaby1 ,moral ,philosophy1 ,chap4 #h1 ,sec4 #g47 ,some of these conditions are drawn out at much length by ,dr4 ,murray4 ,i give what is outstanding4 ,how easily they could fit ,irish conditions must strike anyone4 ,i think it might fairly be said that our leaders generally would1 if asked to lay down conditions for a rising1 have framed some more stringent than these4 ,it might be said1 in truth1 of some of them that they seem to wait for more than a moral certainty of success1 an absolute certainty1 that can never be looked for in war4 ,,iv ,when a government through its own iniquity ceases to exist1 we must1 to establish a new government on a true and just basis1 go back to the origin of ,civil ,authority4 ,no one argues now for the ,divine ,right of ,kings1 but in studying the old controversy we get light on the subject of government that is of all time4 ,to the conception that kings held their power immediately from ,god1 ,suarez boldly opposed the thesis of the initial sovereignty of the people2 from whose consent1 therefore1 all civil authority immediately sprang4 ,so also1 in opposition to ,melanchthon's theory of governmental omnipotence1 ,suarez a fortiori admitted the right of the people to depose those princes who would have shown themselves unworthy of the trust reposed in them4 7,de ,wulf1 ,history of ,medieval ,philosophy1 ,third ,edition1 p4 #die47 ,suarez' refutation of the ,anglican theory1 described by ,hallam as clear1 brief1 and dispassionate1 has won general admiration4 ,hallam quotes him to the discredit of the ,english divines3 ,for this power1 by its very nature1 belongs to no one man but to a multitude of men4 ,this is a certain conclusion1 being common to all our authorities1 as we find by ,st4 ,thomas1 by the ,civil laws1 and by the great canonists and casuists2 all of whom agree that the prince has that power of law-giving which the people have given him4 ,and the reason is evident1 since all men are born equal1 and consequently no one has a political jurisdiction over another1 nor any dominion2 nor can we give any reason from the nature of the thing why one man should govern another rather than the contrary4 7,hallam--,literature of ,europe1 ,vol4 #c1 ,chap4 #d47 ,dr4 ,murray1 in the essay already quoted1 speaks of ,sir ,james ,mackintosh as the ablest ,protestant writer who refuted the ,anglican theory1 which ,mackintosh speaks of as ,the extravagance of thus representing obedience as the only duty without an exception4 ,dr4 ,murray concludes his own essay on ,resistance to the ,supreme ,civil ,power by a long passage from ,mackintosh1 the weight and wisdom of which he praises4 ,the greater part of the passage is devoted to the difficulties even of success and emphasising the terrible evils of failure4 ,in what has already been written here ,i have been at pains rather to lay bare all possible evils than to hide them4 ,but when revolt has become necessary and inevitable1 then the conclusion of the passage ,dr4 ,murray quotes should be endorsed by all3 ,an insurrection rendered necessary by oppression1 and warranted by a reasonable probability of a happy termination1 is an act of public virtue1 always environed with so much peril as to merit admiration4 ,yes1 and given the happy termination1 the right and responsibility of establishing a new government rest with the body of the people4 ,v ,we come1 then1 to this conclusion1 that government is just only when rightfully established and for the public good2 that usurpation not only may but ought to be resisted2 that an authority originally legitimate once it becomes habitually tyrannical may be resisted and deposed2 and that when from abuse or tyranny a particular government ceases to exist1 we have to re-establish a true one4 ,it is sometimes carelessly said1 ,liberty comes from anarchy1 but this is a very dangerous doctrine4 ,it would be nearer truth to say from anarchy inevitably comes tyranny4 ,men receive a despot to quell a mob4 ,but when a people1 determined and disciplined1 resolve to have neither despotism nor anarchy but freedom1 then they act in the light of the ,natural ,law4 ,it is well put in the doctrine of ,st4 ,thomas1 as given by ,turner in his ,history of ,philosophy 7,chap4 #ch73 ,the redress to which the subjects of a tyrant have a just right must be sought1 not by an individual1 but by an authority temporarily constituted by the people and acting according to law4 ,yes1 and when wild and foolish people talk hysterically of our defiance of all authority1 let us calmly show we best understand the basis of ,authority--which is ,truth1 and most highly reverence its presiding spirit--which is ,liberty4 ,,chapter ,,xviii ,,resistance ,,in ,,arms--,,objections ,i ,having stated the case for resistance1 it will serve us to consider some objections4 ,many inquiring minds may be made happy by a clear view of the doctrine1 till some clever opponent holds them up with remarks on prudence1 possibly sensible1 or remarks on revolutionists1 most probably wild1 with1 perhaps1 the authority of a great name1 or unfailing refuge in the concrete4 ,it is curious that while often noticed how men1 trying to evade a concrete issue1 take refuge in the abstract1 it is not noticed that men1 trying to avoid acknowledging the truth of some principle1 take refuge in the concrete4 ,a living and pressing difficulty1 though transient1 looms larger than any historical fact or coming danger4 ,seeing this1 we may restore confidence to a baffled mind1 by helping it to distinguish the contingent from the permanent4 ,thus1 by disposing of objections1 we make our ground secure4 ,,ii ,to the name of prudence the most imprudent people frequently appeal4 ,those whose one effort is to evade difficulties1 who to cover their weakness plead patience1 would be well advised to consider how men passionately in earnest1 enraged by these evasions1 pour their scorn on patience as a thing to shun4 ,the plea does not succeed2 it only for the moment damages the prestige of a great name4 ,patience is not a virtue of the weak but of the strong4 ,an objector says3 ,of course1 all this is right in the abstract1 but consider the frightful abuses in practice1 and some apt replies spring to mind4 ,dr4 ,murray1 writing on ,mental ,reservation1 in his ,essays1 chiefly ,theological1 speaks thus3 ,but it is no objection to any principle of morals to say that unscrupulous men will abuse it1 or that1 if publicly preached to such and such an audience or in such and such circumstances1 it will lead to mischief4 ,this is admirable1 to which the objector can only give some helpless repetitions4 ,with ,balmez1 we reply3 ,but in recommending prudence to the people let us not disguise it under false doctrines--let us beware of calming the exasperation of misfortune by circulating errors subversive of all governments1 of all society4 7,european ,civilisation1 ,chap4 #ee47 ,of men who shrink from investigating such questions1 ,balmez wrote3 ,i may be permitted to observe that their prudence is quite thrown away1 that their foresight and precaution are of no avail4 ,whether they investigate these questions or not1 they are investigated1 agitated and decided1 in a manner that we must deplore4 7,ibid4 ,chap4 #ed47 ,take with this ,turner on ,france under the old rgime and the many and serious grievances of the people3 ,the ,church1 whose duty it was to inculcate justice and forbearance1 was identified1 in the minds of the people1 with the ,monarchy which they feared and detested4 7,history of ,philosophy1 ,chap4 #ei47 ,the moral is that when injustice and evil are rampant1 let us have no palliation1 no weakness disguising itself as a virtue4 ,what we cannot at once resist1 we can always repudiate4 ,to ignore these things is the worst form of imprudence--an imprudence which we1 for our part at least1 take the occasion here heartily to disclaim4 ,,iii ,there is so much ill-considered use of the word revolutionist1 we should bear in mind it is a strictly relative term4 ,if the freedom of a people is overthrown by treachery and violence1 and oppression practised on their once thriving land1 that is a revolution1 and a bad revolution4 ,if1 with tyranny enthroned and a land wasting under oppression1 the people rise and by their native courage1 resource and patience re-establish in their original independence a just government1 that is a revolution1 and a good revolution4 ,the revolutionist is to be judged by his motives1 methods and ends2 and1 when found true1 his insurrection1 in the words of ,mackintosh1 is an act of public virtue4 ,it is the restoration of1 ,truth to its place of honour among men4 ,,iv ,balmez mentions ,bossuet as apparently one who denies the right here maintained2 and we may with profit read some things ,bossuet has said in another context1 yet which touches closely what is our concern4 ,writing of ,les ,empires1 thus ,bossuet3 ,les rvolutions des empires sont rgles par la providence1 et servent humilier les princes4 ,this is hardly calculated to deter us from a bid for freedom2 and if we go on to read what he has written further under this heading1 we get testimony to the hardihood and love of freedom and country that distinguished early ,greece and ,rome in language of eloquence that might inflame any people to liberty4 ,of undegenerate ,greece1 free and invincible3 ,mais ce que la ,grece avait de plus grand tait une politique ferme et prvoyante1 qui savait abandonner1 hasarder et dfendre1 ce qu'il fallait2 et1 ce qui est plus grand encore1 un courage que l'amour de la libert et celui de la patrie rendaient invincible4 ,of undegenerate ,rome1 her liberty3 ,la libert leur tait donc un trsor qu'ils prferoient toutes les richesses de l'univers4 ,again3 ,la maxime fondamentale de la rpublique tait de regarder la libert comme une chose insparable du nom ,roman4 ,and her constancy3 ,voila de fruit glorieux de la patience ,romaine4 ,des peuples qui s'enhardissaient et se fortifiaient par leurs malheurs avaient bien raison de croire qu'on sauvait tout pourvu qu'on ne perdit pas l'esperance4 ,and again3 ,parmi eux1 dans les tats les plus tristes1 jamais les faibles conseils n'ont t seulement couts4 ,the reading of such a fine tribute to the glory of ancient liberties is not likely to diminish our desire for freedom2 rather1 to add to the natural stimulus found in our own splendid traditions1 the further stimulus of this thought that must whisper to us3 ,persevere and conquer1 and to-morrow our finest opponent will be our finest panegyrist when the battle has been fought and won4 ,v ,in conclusion1 in the concrete this simple fact will suffice3 we have established immutable principles2 the concrete circumstances are contingent and vary4 ,it is admirably put in the following passage3 ,the historical and sociological sciences1 so carefully cultivated in modern times1 have proved to evidence that social conditions vary with the epoch and the country1 that they are the resultant of quite a number of fluctuating influences1 and that1 accordingly1 the science of ,natural ,right should not merely establish immutable principles bearing on the moral end of man1 but should likewise deal with the contingent circumstances accompanying the application of those principles4 7,de ,wulf1 ,scholasticism1 ,old and ,new1 ,part #b1 ,chap4 #b1 ,sec4 #cc47 ,yes1 and if we apply principles to-morrow1 it is not with the conditions of to-day we must deal1 but with the contingent circumstances accompanying the application of those principles4 ,let that be emphasised4 ,the conditions of twenty years ago are vastly changed to-day2 and how altered the conditions of to-morrow can be1 how astonishing can be the change in the short span of twenty years1 let this fact prove4 ,ireland in '#dh was prostrate after a successful starvation and an unsuccessful rising--to all appearances this time hopelessly crushed2 yet within twenty years another rising was planned that shook ,english government in ,ireland to its foundations4 ,let us bear in mind this further from ,de ,wulf3 ,sociology1 understood in the wider and larger sense1 is transforming the methods of the science of ,natural ,right4 ,in view of that transformation he is wise who looks to to-morrow4 ,what ,de ,wulf concludes we may well endorse1 when he asks us to take facts as they are brought to light and study each question on its merits1 in the light of these facts and not merely in its present setting but as presented in the pages of history4 ,it can be fairly said of those who have always stood for the separation of ,ireland from the ,british ,empire1 that they alone have always appealed to historical evidence1 have always regarded the conditions of the moment as transient1 have always discussed possible future contingencies4 ,the men who temporised were always hypnotised by the conditions of the hour4 ,but in the life-story of a nation stretching over thousands of years1 the ,british occupation is a contingent circumstance1 and the immutable principle is the ,liberty of the ,irish ,people4 ,,chapter ,,xix ,,the ,,bearna ,,baoghail--,,conclusion ,i ,but when principles have been proved and objections answered1 there are still some last words to say for some who stand apart--the men who held the breach4 ,for1 they do stand apart1 not in error but in constancy2 not in doubt of the truth but its incarnation2 not average men of the multitude for whom human laws are made1 who must have moral certainty of success1 who must have the immediate allegiance of the people4 ,for it is the distinguishing glory of our prophets and our soldiers of the forlorn hope1 that the defeats of common men were for them but incentives to further battle2 and when they held out against the prejudices of their time1 they were not standing in some new conceit1 but most often by prophetic insight fighting for a forgotten truth of yesterday1 catching in their souls to light them forward1 the hidden glory of to-morrow4 ,they knew to be theirs by anticipation the general allegiance without which lesser men cannot proceed4 ,they knew they stood for the ,truth1 against which nothing can prevail1 and if they had to endure struggle1 suffering and pain1 they had the finer knowledge born of these things1 a knowledge to which the best of men ever win--that if it is a good thing to live1 it is a good thing also to die4 ,not that they despised life or lightly threw it away2 for none better than they knew its grandeur1 none more than they gloried in its beauty1 none were so happily full as they of its music2 but they knew1 too1 the value of this deep truth1 with the final loss of which ,earth must perish3 the man who is afraid to die is not fit to live4 ,and the knowledge for them stamped out ,earth's oldest fear1 winning for life its highest ecstasy4 ,yes1 and when one or more of them had to stand in the darkest generation and endure all penalties to the extreme penalty1 they knew for all that they had had the best of life and did not count it a terrible thing if called by a little to anticipate death4 ,they had still the finest appreciation of the finer attributes of comradeship and love2 but it is part of the mystery of their happiness and success1 that they were ready to go on to the end1 not looking for the suffrage of the living nor the monuments of the dead4 ,yes1 and when finally the re-awakened people by their better instincts1 their discipline1 patriotism and fervour1 will have massed into armies1 and marched to freedom1 they will know in the greatest hour of triumph that the success of their conquering arms was made possible by those who held the breach4 ,,ii ,when1 happily1 we can fall back on the eloquence of the world's greatest orator1 we turn with gratitude to the greatest tribute ever spoken to the memory of those men to whom the world owes most4 ,demosthenes1 in the finest height of his finest oration1 vindicates the men of every age and nation who fight the forlorn hope4 ,he was arraigned by his rival1 schines1 for having counselled the ,athenians to pursue a course that ended in defeat1 and he replies thus3 ,if1 then1 the results had been foreknown to all--not even then should the ,commonwealth have abandoned her design1 if she had any regard for glory1 or ancestry1 or futurity4 ,as it is1 she appears to have failed in her enterprise1 a thing to which all mankind are liable1 if the ,deity so wills it4 ,and he asks the ,athenians3 ,why1 had we resigned without a struggle that which our ancestors encountered every danger to win1 who would not have spit upon you8 ,and he asks them further to consider strangers1 visiting their ,city1 sunk in such degradation1 especially when in former times our country had never preferred an ignominious security to the battle for honour4 ,and he rises from the thought to this proud boast3 ,none could at any period of time persuade the ,commonwealth to attach herself in secure subjection to the powerful and unjust2 through every age has she persevered in a perilous struggle for precedency and honour and glory4 ,and he tells them1 appealing to the memory of ,themistocles1 how they honoured most their ancestors who acted in such a spirit3 ,yes2 the ,athenians of that day looked not for an orator or a general1 who might help them to a pleasant servitude3 they scorned to live if it could not be with freedom4 ,and he pays them1 his listeners1 a tribute3 ,what ,i declare is1 that such principles are your own2 ,i show that before my time such was the spirit of the ,commonwealth4 ,from one eloquent height to another he proceeds1 till1 challenging schines for arraigning him1 thus counselling the people1 he rises to this great level3 ,but1 never1 never can you have done wrong1 ,o ,athenians1 in undertaking the battle for the freedom and safety of all3 ,i swear it by your forefathers--those that met the peril at ,marathon1 those that took the field at ,plata1 those in the sea-fight at ,salamis1 and those at ,artimesium1 and many other brave men who repose in the public monuments1 all of whom alike1 as being worthy of the same honour1 the country buried1 schines1 not only the successful and victorious4 ,we did not need this fine eloquence to assure us of the greatness of our ,o',neills and our ,tones1 our ,o',donnells and our ,mitchels1 but it so quickens the spirit and warms the blood to read it1 it so touches--by the admiration won from ancient and modern times--an enduring principle of the human heart--the capacity to appreciate a great deed and rise over every physical defeat--that we know in the persistence of the spirit we shall come to a veritable triumph4 ,yes2 and in such light we turn to read what ,ruskin called the greatest inscription ever written1 that which ,herodotus tells us was raised over the ,spartans1 who fell at ,thermopyl1 and which ,mitchel's biographer quotes as most fitting to epitomise ,mitchel's life3 ,stranger1 tell thou the ,lacedemonians that we are lying here1 having obeyed their words4 ,and the biographer of ,mitchel is right in holding that he who reads into the significance of these brave lines1 reads a message not of defeat but of victory4 ,,iii ,yes2 and in paying a fitting tribute to those great men who are our exemplars1 it would be fitting also1 in conclusion1 to remember ourselves as the inheritors of a great tradition2 and it would well become us not only to show the splendour of the banner that is handed on to us1 but to show that this banner we1 too1 are worthy to bear4 ,for1 how often it shall be victorious and how high it shall be planted1 will depend on the conception we have of its supreme greatness1 the knowledge that it can be fought for in all times and places1 the conviction that we may1 when least we expect1 be challenged to deny it2 and that by our bearing we may bring it new credit and glory or drag it low in repute4 ,we do well1 ,i say1 to remember these things4 ,for in our time it has grown the fashion to praise the men of former times but to deny their ideal of ,independence2 and we who live in that ideal1 and in it breathe the old spirit1 and preach it and fight for it and prophesy for it an ultimate and complete victory--we are young men1 foolish and unpractical4 ,and what should be our reply8 ,a reply in keeping with the flag1 its history and its destiny4 ,let them1 who deride or pity us1 see we despise or pity their standards1 and let them know by our works--lest by our election they misunderstand--that we are not without ability in a freer time to contest with them the highest places--avoiding the boast1 not for an affected sense of modesty but for a saving sense of humour4 ,for in all the vanities of this time that make ,life and ,literature choke with absurdities1 pretensions and humbug1 let us have no new folly4 ,let us with the old high confidence blend the old high courtesy of the ,gaedheal4 ,let us grow big with our cause4 ,shall we honour the flag we bear by a mean1 apologetic front8 ,no6 ,wherever it is down1 lift it2 wherever it is challenged1 wave it2 wherever it is high1 salute it2 wherever it is victorious1 glorify and exult in it4 ,at all times and forever be for it proud1 passionate1 persistent1 jubilant1 defiant2 stirring hidden memories1 kindling old fires1 wakening the finer instincts of men1 till all are one in the old spirit1 the spirit that will not admit defeat1 that has been voiced by thousands1 that is noblest in ,emmet's one line1 setting the time for his epitaph3 ,when my country--not if--but when my country takes her place among the nations of the earth4 ,it is no hypothesis2 it is a certainty4 ,there have been in every generation1 and are in our own1 men dull of apprehension and cold of heart1 who could not believe this1 but we believe it1 we live in it3 we know it4 ,yes1 we know it1 as ,emmet knew it1 and as it shall be seen to-morrow2 and when the historian of to-morrow1 seeing it accomplished1 will write its history1 he will not note the end with surprise4 ,rather will he marvel at the soul in constancy1 rivalling the best traditions of undegenerate ,greece and ,rome1 holding through disasters1 persecutions1 suffering1 and not less through the seductions of milder but meaner times1 seeing through all shining clearly the goal3 he will record it all1 and1 still marvelling1 come to the issue that dauntless spirit has reached1 proud and happy2 but he will write of that issue--,liberty2 ,inevitable3 in two words to epitomise the history of a people that is without a parallel in the ,annals of the ,world4