Armageddon--And After

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Armageddon—And After

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Title: Armageddon--And After
Author: W. L. Courtney
Release Date: November 26, 2005 [EBook #17158]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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ARMAGEDDON--AND AFTER

BY
W.L. COURTNEY, M.A., LL.D.
LONDON
CHAPMAN & HALL, LTD.
1914

DEDICATED
WITH ALL HUMILITY AND ADMIRATION
TO
THE YOUNG IDEALISTS OF ALL COUNTRIES
WHO WILL NOT ALLOW THE DREAMS OF THEIR
YOUTH TO BE TARNISHED BY THE
EXPERIENCES OF AN
OUTWORN AGE

PREFACE
I dedicate this little book to the young idealists of this and other
countries, for several reasons. They must, obviously, be young, because
their older contemporaries, with a large amount of experience of earlier
conditions, will hardly have the courage to deal with the novel data. I
take it that, after the conclusion of the present war, there will come an
uneasy period of exhaustion and anxiety when we shall be told that
those who hold military power in their hands are alone qualified to act
as saviours of society. That conclusion, as I understand the matter,

young idealists will strenuously oppose. They will be quite aware that
all the conservative elements will be against them; they will appreciate
also the eagerness with which a large number of people will point out
that the safest way is to leave matters more or less alone, and to allow
the situation to be controlled by soldiers and diplomatists. Of course
there is obvious truth in the assertion that the immediate settlement of
peace conditions must, to a large extent, be left in the hands of those
who brought the war to a successful conclusion. But the relief from
pressing anxiety when this horrible strife is over, and the feeling of
gratitude to those who have delivered us must not be allowed to gild
and consecrate, as it were, systems proved effete and policies which
intelligent men recognise as bankrupt. The moment of deliverance will
be too unique and too splendid to be left in the hands of men who have
grown, if not cynical, at all events a little weary of the notorious defects
of humanity, and who are, perhaps naturally, tempted to allow
European progress to fall back into the old well-worn ruts. It is the
young men who must take the matter in hand, with their ardent hopes
and their keen imagination, and only so far as they believe in the
possibility of a great amelioration will they have any chance of doing
yeoman service for humanity.
The dawn of a new era must be plenarily accepted as a wonderful
opportunity for reform. If viewed in any other spirit, the splendours of
the morning will soon give way before the obstinate clouds hanging on
the horizon. In some fashion or other it must be acknowledged that
older methods of dealing with international affairs have been tried and
found wanting. It must be admitted that the ancient principles helped to
bring about the tremendous catastrophe in which we are at present
involved, and that a thorough re-organisation is required if the new
Europe is to start under better auspices. That is why I appeal to the
younger idealists, because they are not likely to be deterred by
inveterate prejudices; they will be only too eager to examine things
with a fresh intelligence of their own. Somehow or other we must get
rid of the absurd idea that the nations of Europe are always on the look
out to do each other an injury. We have to establish the doctrines of
Right on a proper basis, and dethrone that ugly phantom of Might,
which is the object of Potsdam worship. International law must be built

up with its proper sanctions; and virtues, which are Christian and
humane, must find their proper place in the ordinary dealings of states
with one another. Much clever dialectics will probably be employed in
order to prove that idealistic dreams are vain. Young men will not be
afraid of such arguments; they will not be deterred by purely logical
difficulties. Let us remember that this war has been waged in order to
make war for the future impossible. If that be the presiding idea of
men's minds, they will keep their