t once apparent, and he yielded to
the suggestion that it be put into English, in order that it might be
available to English readers in the four quarters of the globe. It was
accordingly translated, set up in type, and was on the point of
appearing, when on July 28, 1914, the then Austro-Hungarian Monarchy
declared war upon Serbia; on August 1 the then German Empire declared
war upon Russia, and two days later against France, violated the
neutrality of Luxemburg on the same day, and the neutrality of Belgium
on the night of the 3rd and 4th of August--thus beginning the series of
wars which, taken together, are commonly called the World War.

Professor Oppenheim subsequently came to the conclusion that it would be
better to withhold publication until the end of the war. It was done,
and the deposit of ratifications of the Treaty of Versailles on January
10, 1920, removed this obstacle.

It should be said, however, that Professor Oppenheim expressed doubts on
more than one occasion as to the desirability of its publication, but he
allowed himself to be persuaded that an English version might be of
service to the great and worthy cause of international law and of
international organization. Modesty was not the least of his virtues.

From time to time Professor Oppenheim has ventured into the same field.
In 1918, in the performance of his duty 'to lay down such rules and
suggest such measures as may tend to diminish the evils of war and
finally to extinguish war between nations', he delivered three lectures
on _The League of Nations and its Problems_, as holder of the Chair of
International Law, founded by Dr. Whewell in the University of
Cambridge. As in _The Future of International Law_, so in the lectures,
he started from the Hague Conferences and made the work of The Hague the
foundation upon which he would base any scheme of international
organization. The epigraph which he put upon the title-page, _Festina
Lente_, indicated the spirit in which he approached his task and the
advice which he felt called upon to give to the most casual of his
readers. In the lectures he took a step in advance--or backward,
according to the point of view--advocating that all members of a league
of nations should 'agree to unite their economic, military, and naval
forces against any one or more States which resort to arms without
submitting their disputes to International Courts of Justice or
International Councils of Conciliation'.