Above the Battle Part 5

IX. FOR EUROPE: MANIFESTO OF THE WRITERS AND THINKERS OF CATALONIA

National pa.s.sions are triumphant. For five months they have rent our Europe. They think they will soon have compa.s.sed its destruction and effaced its image in the hearts of the last of these who remain faithful to it. But they are mistaken. They have renewed the faith that we had in it. They have made us recognize its value and our love. And from one country to another we have discovered our unknown brothers, sons of the same mother, who in the hour when she is denied, consecrate themselves to her defence.

Today, it is from Spain that the voice reaches us, from the thinkers of Catalonia. Let us pa.s.s on their appeal which comes to us from the sh.o.r.es of the Mediterranean, like the sound of a Christmas bell. Another day the bells of Northern Europe will be heard in their turn. And soon all will ring together in unison. The test is good. Let us be thankful.

Those who desired to separate us have joined our hands.

R. R.

_December 31, 1914._

MANIFESTO OF THE _FRIENDS OF THE MORAL UNITY OF EUROPE_

A number of literary and scientific men at Barcelona, as far removed from amorphous internationalism on the one hand as from mere parochialism on the other, have banded themselves together _to affirm their unchangeable belief in the moral unity of Europe_, and to further this belief as far as the suffocating conditions resulting from the present tragic circ.u.mstances permit.

We set out from the principle that the terrible war which today is rending the heart of this Europe of ours is, by implication, a _Civil War_.

A civil war does not exactly mean an unjust war; still, it can only be justified by a conflict between great ideals, and if we desire the triumph of one or the other of these ideals, it must be for the sake of the entire European Commonwealth and its general well-being. None of the belligerents, therefore, can be allowed to aim at the complete destruction of its opponents; and it is even less legitimate to start out from the criminal hypothesis that one or another of the parties is _de facto_ already excluded from this superior commonwealth.

Yet we have seen with pain a.s.sertions such as these approved and deliriously spread abroad; and not always amongst common people, or by the voices of those who speak not with authority. For three months it seemed as if our ideal Europe were s.h.i.+p-wrecked, but a reaction is making its appearance already. A thousand indications a.s.sure us that, in the world of intellect at any rate, the winds are quieting down, and that in the best minds the eternal values will soon spring up once more.

It is our purpose to a.s.sist in this reaction, to contribute to making it known, and, as far as we are able, to ensure its triumph. We are not alone. We have with us in every quarter of the world the ardent aspirations of far-sighted minds, and the unvoiced wishes of thousands of men of good will, who, beyond their sympathies and personal preferences, are determined to remain faithful to the cause of this moral unity.

And above all we have, in the far distant future, the appreciation of the men who tomorrow will applaud this modest work to which we are devoting ourselves today.

We will begin by giving the greatest possible publicity to those actions, declarations, and manifestations--whether they emanate from belligerent or neutral nations--in which the effort of reviving the feeling of a higher unity and a generous altruism may become apparent.

Later we shall be able to extend our activities and place them at the service of new enterprises. We demand nothing more of our friends, of our press, and of our fellow citizens than a little attention for these quickenings of reality, a little respect for the interests of a higher humanity, and a little love for the great traditions and the rich possibilities of a _unified Europe_.

BARCELONA, _November 27, 1914_.

EUGENIO D'ORS, Member of the Inst.i.tute; MANUEL DE MONTOLIU, Author; AURELIO RAS, Director of the Review _Estudio_; AUGUSTIN MURUA, University Professor; TELESFORO DE ARANZADI, University Professor; MIGUEL S. OLIVER; JUAN PALAU, publicist; PABLO VILA, Director of _Mont d'Or_ College; ENRIQUE JARDI, Barrister; E. MESSEGUER, publicist; CARMEN KARR, Director of the _Residencia de Estudiantes El Hogar_; ESTEBAN TERRADES, Member of the Inst.i.tute; JOSE ZULUETA, Member of Parliament; R. JORI, Author; EUDALDO DURAN REYNALS, Librarian of the _Biblioteca de Cataluna_; RAFAEL CAMPALANS, Engineer; J. M. LOPEZ-PICO, Author; R.

RUCABADO, Author; E. CUELLO CALOU, University Professor; MANUEL REVENLOS, Professor of the _Escuela de Funcionarios_; J. FARRAN MAYORAL, Author; JAIME Ma.s.sO TORRENTS, Member of the Inst.i.tute; JORGE RUBIO BALAGUER, Director of the _Biblioteca de Cataluna_.

_Translated from the Spanish by R. R._

_Journal de Geneve_, January 9, 1915.

X. FOR EUROPE: AN APPEAL FROM HOLLAND TO THE INTELLECTUALS OF ALL NATIONS

In the preceding chapter, in which I put before my readers the fine manifesto of the Catalonian intellectuals "For the Moral Unity of Europe," I stated that after this appeal from the Mediterranean South I would make known those of the North. Amongst the latter here is the voice of Holland:--

The _Nederlandsche Anti-Oorlog Road_ (Dutch Anti-War Council) is perhaps the most important attempt that these last months has seen to unify pacifist thought. Whilst recognizing the value of what has been done for some years past in favor of peace, the N. A. O. R. is convinced that "all this work could have been much more effective, and could even have prevented the present catastrophe, if it had been better taken in hand."

There has been lack of co-operation, wastage of energy, lack of penetration to the ma.s.s of the people. The problem is to discover if this internal defect cannot be remedied. "Will the world-wide tragedy of rivalry continue even inside the pacifist movement, or will this war teach those who are fighting against it the necessity of an energetic organization and preparation?"

To this task the N.A.O.R. is devoting itself. Founded on October 8, 1914, it had succeeded by January 15th in securing the adhesion of 350 Dutch societies (official, political, of all parties, religious, intellectual, labor), and its manifestoes brought together the signatures of more than a hundred of the most ill.u.s.trious names of the Netherlands--statesmen, prelates, officers, writers, professors, artists, business men, etc. It therefore represents a considerable moral force.

Let it be said at once that the N.A.O.R. does not look for an immediate end of the war by a peace at any price. On the one hand it declares itself "it has formed no presumptuous idea of its strength; it has no nave confidence in vague peace formulae, nor even in well-defined mutual obligations. The universal war of today has, alas! taught it much in this respect also." And, moreover, it is quite aware that a peace at any price, under present conditions, would only be a consecration of injustice. The great public meetings which it has organized on December 15th in the chief towns of the Netherlands have unanimously declared that such a peace seemed neither possible nor even desirable. I will add that certain of the articles of the N.A.O.R. suggest, with all the reserve necessitated by its att.i.tude of neutrality and its profound desire for impartiality, the direction of its suppressed sympathies.

Especially the following:--

"To repair the harm done by this war to the prestige of law in international relations. To bow before the law, whether customary or codified in treaties is a duty, even where sanction is wanting. Reform will be in vain: if there is not respect for law, and nations refuse to keep their word, a durable peace is out of the question."

The object of the N.A.O.R. is especially to study the conditions in which we can realize a just, humane, and durable peace, which will secure for Europe a long future of fruitful tranquility and of common work, and to interest the public opinion of all nations in securing such a peace. I cannot a.n.a.lyze here, owing to lack of s.p.a.ce, the various public manifestoes, the _Appeal to the People of Holland_ (October, 1914), or the _Appeal for Co-operation and the Preparation of Peace_, a kind of attempt to mobilize the pacifist armies (November). The latter of these contains ideas which agree in many cases with those of the _Union of Democratic Control_ (the abolition of secret diplomacy, and a larger control of foreign affairs by Parliaments; the prohibition of special armament industries; the establishment of the elementary principle of international law, that no country shall be annexed without the consent, freely expressed, of the population). I will content myself here with publis.h.i.+ng the manifesto addressed to the thinkers, writers, artists, and scientists of all nations. In this manifesto we shall find support for the tasks which we ourselves have undertaken in working to keep the thought of Europe sheltered from the ravages of the war, and in continually recalling it to the recognition of its highest duty, which is, even in the worst storms of pa.s.sion, to safeguard the spiritual unity bf civilized humanity.

R. R.

_February 7, 1915._

NEDERLANDSCHE ANTI-OORLOG RAAD

Immediately after the European war had broken out, several groups of intellectuals belonging to the warring nations have advocated the justice of their country's cause in manifestoes and pamphlets, which they have scattered in great numbers throughout the neutral states.[25]

And this still goes on; side by side with the war of the sword a no less vehement war is carried on with the pen.

Those writings have also reached us, the undersigned, all subjects of a neutral state. We have read them with the greatest interest, as they enable us to form a clear opinion not only of the frame of mind brought about by the outbreak of the war among the intellectuals of the warring nations, but also of the opinions they hold about the causes and the nature of the present war.

It has not surprised us neutrals to see that the spokesmen of the opposing nations are equally convinced of the justice of their cause.

Neither has it surprised us that those spokesmen evince such a strong inclination to advocate their rights before the neutral states. Indeed, in such a terrible struggle it is a psychologic necessity for all the nations concerned that they should believe implicitly in the justice of their cause; they must ardently desire to testify to their faith before others. Only an unshakable confidence in the absolute justice of their cause can keep them from wavering or despairing during the gigantic struggle.

But we have perceived with great sorrow that the greater part of those writings are absolutely lacking in the slightest effort to be just towards opponents; that the meanest and most malicious motives are ascribed to them.

We respect the conviction of every one of the warring nations that they are fighting for a just cause. Even if we should have formed an opinion about the origin of the war, we should yet not think the present a fit moment to oppose different opinions or arguments to each other. This should be the work of the future, when scientific research will be able to consider all the facts quietly, when national pa.s.sions will have subsided and the nations will listen with more composure to the verdict of history.

Yet we think it our duty and we consider it a privilege given to us as neutrals to utter a serious warning against the systematic rousing of a lasting bitterness between the now warring parties.

Though fully aware that the late events have irritated the feeling of nationality to the utmost, yet we believe that patriotism should not prevent any one from doing justice to the character of one's enemy; that faith in the virtues of one's own nation need not be coupled with the idea that all vices are inherent in the opposing nation; that confidence in the justice of one's own cause should not make one forget that the other side cherishes that conviction with the same energy.

Besides, no one should forget that the question: "What nations will be enemies?" depends on political relations, which vary according to unexpected circ.u.mstances. Today's enemy may be tomorrow's friend.

The tone, in which of late not only the papers to which we have referred above, but also the newspaper press of the warring nations has written about the enemy, threatens to arouse and to perpetuate the bitterest hatred.

To the evils directly resulting from the war, will be added the regrettable consequence that co-operation between the belligerent nations in art, science, and all other labors of peace will be delayed for some time, nay, even made quite impossible. Yet the time will come after this war, when the nations will have to resume some form of intercourse, social as well as spiritual.

The fewer fierce accusations have been breathed on either side, the less one nation has attacked the character of the other: in short, the less lasting bitterness has been roused, so much the easier will it be afterwards to take up again the broken threads of international intercourse.

This rousing of hatred and bitterness is also an impediment in the way that leads our thoughts towards peace.

Every one who in word or writing rails at the enemy or excites national pa.s.sions is responsible for the longer duration of this horrible war.

Therefore, we the undersigned, appeal to all those of the same mind, especially among those belonging to the warring nations, to co-operate for this purpose: that in word and writing everything be avoided that may rouse lasting animosity.

We especially address this appeal to those who influence public opinion in their own country, to men of science and to artists, to those who long ago have realized that in all civilized countries there are men and women with the same notions of justice and morality as they have themselves.