right, or its counterfeit, were only
on one side in war; it would have been equally sensible to argue about
the Holy Inquisition with a Manichee. Lay religions have their great
seminaries and secret societies where they deposit their doctrinal
treasures with great pride. He who departs from these is
excommunicated--until he in turn belongs to the past, when he becomes
a god, and can excommunicate in future himself.

* * * * *

If Clerambault was not tempted to convert these hardened intellectuals
with their stiff helmet of truth, he knew others who had not the same
proud certainty; far from it. Those who sinned rather through softness
and pure dilettantism--Arsene Asselin was one of these, an amiable
Parisian, unmarried, a man of the world, clever and sceptical; and as
much shocked by a defect in sentiment as in expression. How could he
like extremes of thought, which are the cultures in which the germs of
war develop? His critical and sarcastic spirit inclined him towards
doubt; so there was no reason why he should not have understood
Clerambault's point of view, and he came within an ace of doing so.
His choice depended on some fortuitous circumstances, but from
the moment that he turned his face in the other direction, it was
impossible for him to go back; and the more he stuck in the mud, the
more obstinate he grew. French self-respect cannot bear to admit its
mistakes; it would rather die in defence of them.... But French or
not, how many are there in the world who would have the strength of
mind to say: "I have made a mistake, we must begin all over again."
Better deny the evidence ... "To the bitter end" ... And then break
down.

Alexandre Mignon was a before-the-war pacifist and an old friend
of Clerambault's. He was a _bourgeois_ of about his own age,
intellectual, a member of the University, and justly respected for the
dignity of his life. He should not be confounded with those parlour
pacifists covered with official decorations and grand cordons of
international orders, for whom peace is a gilt-edged investment in
quiet times. For thirty years he had sincerely denounced the dangerous
intrigues of the dishonest politicians and speculators of his country;
he was a member of the League for the Rights of Man, and loved to make
speeches for either cause, as it might happen. It was enough if his
client purported to be oppressed; it did not matter if the victim had
been a would-b