AndtothinkthattheinsanepolicyofaGovernmentorGovernmentsshouldbringaboutthewholesaleslaughterofsuchmienasallthesethatIhavedescribed。
Tothinkthatthelongersuchawargoeson，thelessheroicandgenerousitbecomes，andthemoredominatedbyhatredandrevenge——bythewishtoscoreamilitaryvictoryorthedesiretosecuremerepoliticalandcommercialadvantages。
Tothinkthatnationswhoconsiderthemselvescivilizedshouldbethusacting:socontrarytothenaturallawsandinstinctsofhumanitythatofteninorderforabayonetchargemenmustbeprimedwithliquortothevergeofintoxication。
Weneednotgofurther。
Ofthethreegreatnationsprimarilyinvolvedthoseindeedofwhichwecanspeakmostconfidently，knowingthembest——itisintolerabletothinktheyshouldthusmutilateanddestroyeachother。
Allwecansayis:Neveragainmustthisthinghappen！
WhenonethinksofthewholedreadCoilandEntanglement，and，whatitisfor，themindreelsindespair。
Whenonethinksofthemarvellousscientificingenuityandskill，directedinakindofdiabolicconcentrationontheonepurposeofslaughter。
Ofthehugeguns，the12。5’s，weighing40tonsapiece，andboxedandrifledtothenicetyofthethousandthpartofaninch（IhavewatchedthembeingmadeatSheffield）。
Ofthelarger15in。guns，withrangeof13or14miles，soaccuratethattheshellsthrownatthatdistancewilldeviatehardlyacoupleofyardstotherighthandortheleftoftheirlineoffire（andintheJutlandbattlethefiringopenedatnearly11miles）。
Ofthestilllargergunsevennowbeingconstructed。
Oftheshellsthemselvesvaryingfromafewpoundstonearly，atoninweight，andsodelicatelyfashionedthatthemomentoftheirexplosioncanbepositivelytimedtothetenthpartofasecond:
Whenonethinksoftheingenuityputintoaeroplanesandairships，andalmostentirelywithaviewtothedestructionoflife;
Oftheautomaticsteeringofsubmarinetorpedoesbymeansofgyroscopes，sothatwhendeviatedbyanyobstacleoraccidentfromtheirsetcoursetheywillactuallyreturnofthemselvestothatcourseagain;
Oftheeverlastingduelgoingoninanyonecountrybetweenarmourplatesandprojectilesbutofcoursealwaysbetweenthearmourplatesofonefirmandtheprojectilesofanother（sinceobviouslyforanyonefirmtoproveitsowninferiorityineitherlinewouldbebadbusiness）！
OfthecompetitionevennowinprogressbetweentheRussianuniversitiesfortheinventionofanewexplosiveoranewgasmoredevastatingthananyhithertoproduced;
OftheweightyAdvisoryCommitteeofscientificExpertssittingpermanentlyinBritainforthediscussionandhandlingofthetechnicalproblemsoftheWar;
WhenonethinksofwhataParadiseallthisingenuity，allthisexpenditureoflabourandtreasure，mightmakeofourmortalEarth——ifitwereonlydecentlyemployed;
ThatGreatBritainalonehasalreadyspentontheWarenoughtoprovideeveryfamilyinthewholekingdomwithacomfortablecottageandanacreofland;
Whenfurtheronethinksofallthemassofhumanmaterialthereis，suchaswehavealreadydescribed——oftheveryfinestquality，andfittobuildthemostsplendidracesandcities\"thesunevershoneupon\"——andthenthatitisbeingusedfortheseutterlysenselesspurposes;
Howheart—rendingthewasteandthefolly！Howdisgustingthesinofthosewhoareresponsible！
Butto—daysurelythearmiesthemselvesofthesethreecountriesarebeginningtoseethroughtheillusionswhichhavebeendangledbeforethensolongbythoseinpower——the\"My—country——right—or—wrong\"
kindofPatriotismwhichhassooftenbeenevokedonlyinordertoservetheplotsofprivateschemers;
TheyaresurelybeginningtoseethatthedirectingofState—policyandforeignrelationsmustnolongerbeleftinthehandsofafewhighborndiplomats（mostlyignorantoftheactualmodernworldamidwhichtheylive），butmustbesubjecttotheseverestscrutinyandsurveillancebythepeopleatlargeandtheirrepresentatives;
Theyarebeginningtoseethatifcourage，devotiontoanIdea，loveoftheFather—orMother—land，Fidelityofcomradetocomrade，Efficiency，daringinAdventure，exactnessinOrganization，andsoforth，arethequalitieswhichinthepasthavemadetheprofessionofarmsgreatandglorious，itistheseveryqualitieswhichwillbedemandedandevokedforallfuturetimeinthegreatfreearmiesofIndustry。
ForwiththecessationofMilitarismastheleadingprincipleofnationallifemustinevitablycometheliberationofIndustry——elsethelaststateofoursocietieswillindeedbeworsethanthefirst。
TrulythereisnothingveryexhilaratingaboutIndustryasithasinmoderntimesbeenconceived，andonedoesnotaltogetherwonderthatalldownthecenturiesthemanwiththeswordhasdespisedthemanwiththehoe，sincethelatterhasgenerallybeenlittlebetterthanaslave。
ButwhenonceLabourisfreed——orratherwhenonceitfreesitself——fromthethraldom，oftheoldFeudalsystem，andfinallyfromthefearfulburdenofmodernCapitalism——whenonceitcanliftitsheadandseethegreatconstructivevisionofthenewsocietywhichawaitsit——thensurelyitwillperceivethatallthegreatqualitieswehavenamedasexhibitedinthepastintheolddestructiveWarfare，andnowbecomethesplendidheritageofthepeoplesofEurope，willbenecessaryandwillhaveafieldfortheirexerciseinthebeneficentconstructiveconquestsofNatureandthebuildinguponEarthofthatgreatCityoftheSunwhichforsomanyageshasbeenthedreamandinspirationofMan。
AndoftheoldmadWarfareitwillthensayThisodiousandinhumanThingmustneverbeagain！
Inconclusion，andtolooktothefuture:
Ithinkwemayseethatthenewconceptionoflifewillonlycomethroughthepeelingoffinthevariousnationsoftheoldhusksofthediplomatic，military，legal，andcommercialclasses，withtheirantiquated，narrow—mindedandprofoundly。irreligiousandinhumanstandards——thosehuskswhichhavesolongrestrictedandstrangulatedthegrowinglifewithin。
Itwillonlycomewiththedeterminationoftheworkers（thatis，ofeverybody）toproducethingsuseful，profitable，andbeautiful，infreeandrationalco—operation——thingsusefulbecausedeliberatelymadeforuse，thingsprofitableforallbecausenotmadeforthegainofthefew，andthingsbeautifulbecauseofthejoyandgladnesswroughtintotheirveryproduction。
Simultaneouslywiththispeelingoff，oftheOld，anddisclosureoftheNew，willofnecessityappear——indeeditistakingshapealreadytheblossomofinternationalsolidarityandfederation——thecommoncauseofHumanityandofLabourliberatedovertheworld。
Naturallysuchprocesswillnotmatureallatonce。Itmay，bitthatthefourWesternnations，England，France，ItalyandBelgium，combiningwithsomeoftheneutralStates，willconstitutethefirstEuropeanFederationoratanyratethenucleusofaFederationdestined，asitexpandstoabsorbwithinitsbordersGermanyherself（ofcoursewhensheshallhavetakenonhertruerepublicanform）
andtheotherStatesinduesuccession。
SuchFederationwhenfirmlyconsolidatedmight，itisnotunlikely，stillretainforalongperiodamilitarysystem，ofsomekind，ifonlyforitsownprotectionagainstoutlyingandnonEuropeandangers;butthatmilitarysystemwouldbesmallandsecondary。
ItrightreasonablybenomoredominantormeddlesomethanthemilitarysystemofChinahasbeenduringthelastthousandyearsincomparisonwiththemassiveimperturbabilityofthegreatChineseEmpireitself。
Meanwhileletusrememberhowimportantitisforthefutureoftheworldthateachnationandpeopleshouldbefreetocontributeitsspecialqualityandcharactertothewhole;norberidden—overroughshodbytheothers;
Thateachshouldcontribute，inTradeorotherwise，itsspecialgiftsorfacilities;andthattheInternationalismwhichalreadyrulesinlabouraffairsandinCommerceandScienceandFashionandFinanceandPhilanthropyandLiteratureandArtandMusic，shouldatlastberecognizedinPolitics。
LetusfurtherrememberhowimportantitisthateverymanandwomanshouldinsistontherightsofPersonalitytopreservesacredhisorhermostintimatesenseofselfnessanddutythevery，essenceofFreedom。
ThoughIdonot，forinstance，thinkthatarefusaltofightunderanyconditionorcircumstancecanreasonablybemaintainedtoitslogicalconclusion，andthoughIcertainlywouldnotengagemyselftorefusetofightinanyandeverycase。Still，Idohonourandrespectthegenuineconscientiousobjectors（ofwhomtherearegreatnumbers）verysincerely。
Someofthemmay，benarrow—mindedandfaddist（asconscienceoftenis），butletusrememberthatthegreatthingsofHistoryhavebeeninitiatedbysuchfolk。
ItwastheywhobarredandbrokethegladiatorialgamesatRome;
itwasthey，who，steeredthe\"Mayflower\"acrosstheAtlantic，andstartedthegreatRepublicoftheUnitedStates;
Anditisthey，whoarepossiblysowingtheseedagreatMovementwhichwillspreadalloverEurope，andultimatelybyopposingcompulsorymilitaryserviceinaugurateaworld—eraofPeace。
（Forcertainly，withoutConscriptiontheContinentalPowerswouldneverhavebecomeinvolvedinthepresentwar）
Letusrecognizetherightandthedutyofeachmantopondertheseworld—problemsforhimself:toplayhispartandtomakehisownvoiceheardinthesolutionofthem。
LetusrecognizethefalsityofSciencedivorcedfromtheHeart，andbeginto—daytocreateapolitical，aneconomic，andamaterialworldwhichshallbethetrueandsatisfyingexpressionoftherealhumansoul;
LetusacknowledgeevenatthelastthattheWarmayhavebeena，necessaryeviltoshowusbycontrasttheway，ofdeliverance;
Letusrender，homagetothosewhohavegiventheirlivesinit;
letusvowthattheirgreatsacrificeshallnotbeinvain，butshallconsecrateforusanewpurposeandanewideal;
LetusbelievethatLove，notHatred，isthepowerbywhichintheendtheWorldwillbesaved;
AndletuspraythataHeroismequaltothat，shownto—dayinthecauseofDestructionmayurgeusinthefuturetowardsagreatandgloriousConstructiveerainsociallife——andinspireuswithanewhope:
Outofpurgatorytobuildaparadise，inwhichtheugliness，vulgarity，sordidnessandcrueltyofthepresentschemeofthingswillberepeated。
August1916