iaeval
organizations, you may follow this law in the history of the Tartars, of
the Turks, and of Russia herself. The spirit of aggressiveness vanishes
only when decay sets in, which is still far from being the case of
Russia, or when a nation is gradually converted to Occidental mentality,
which, I hope, will some day be her happy lot. But till then, and that
may mean a century or two, any sort of union including Russia would mean
a herd of sheep including a wolf.

2. What I hope then, for the present, as the most desirable result of
the war, is a thorough understanding between the nations of the Western
European Continent, construction of a powerful political block,
corresponding to the area of western mentality, in close connection with
America; such a block would discourage aggression from the east; it
would urge Russia on the path of reform and home improvement. England
would be welcome to join it, on condition of renouncing those
pretensions to monopolizing the seas which are as constant a menace to
peace as Russian aggressiveness is. So we should have, if not "the
United States of Europe," which at present lies beyond the boundary
lines of possibilities, a strong peace union of the homogeneous western
nations. Alas! this result can be reached only by destroying the present
unnatural connections, which mean the continuance of war till a crushing
decision is obtained.

3. The American colonies of England did not think of union as of a peace
scheme; they had been compelled into it by war, by the necessity of
self-defense. It is only such an overpowering motive which has force
enough to blot out petty rivalries and minor antagonisms. If union
between States belonging to the same race and not divided either by
history or by serious conflicting interests could be effected only under
the pressure of a common peril, we must infer "a minori ad majus" that
such a powerful incentive will be more necessary still to persuade into
union nations of different races, each cherishing memories of mutual
collisions and actually aware of not unimportant clashing interests.

The menace of aggression from the east has been brought home to us by
the present war; gradually it will be understood even by those
Occidentals who at present unhappily lend their support to that
aggression. On this perception of the higher common interests of
self-defense do I build the possibilities of a western coalition. But a
time may come when Russia wil