l twice over."

Clerambault held out his hand to stop him:--"Ah! you have no need to
tell me that, and it tortures me. Do you think I am insensible to the
pain of these poor souls whose faith I undermine? Respect the beliefs
of others; offend not one of these little ones.... My God! what can I
do? Help me to get out of this dilemma; shall I see wrong done, let
men go to ruin,--or risk injuring them, wound their faith, draw hatred
upon myself when I try to save them?... Show me the law!"

"Save yourself."

"But that would be to lose myself, if the price is the life of others,
if we do nothing. You and I, no effort would be too great,--the ruin
of Europe, of the whole world, is imminent."

Perrotin sat quietly, his elbows on the arms of his chair, his hands
folded over his Buddha-like belly. He twirled his thumbs, looking
kindly at Clerambault, shook his head, and replied: "Your generous
heart, and your artistic sensibilities urge you too far, my friend,
but fortunately the world is not near its end. This is not the first
time. And there will be many others. What is happening today is
painful, certainly, but not in the least abnormal. War has never kept
the earth from turning on its axis, nor prevented the evolution of
life; it is even one of the forms of its evolution. Let an old scholar
and philosopher oppose his calm inhumanity to your holy Man of
Sorrows. In spite of all it may bring you some benefit. This struggle,
this crisis which alarms you so much, is no more than a simple case
of systole, a cosmic contraction, tumultuous, but regulated, like the
folding of the earth crust accompanied by destructive earthquakes.
Humanity is tightening. And war is its _seismos_. Yesterday, in all
countries, provinces were at war with each other. Before that, in each
province, cities fought together. Now that national unity has been
reached, a larger unity develops. It is certainly regrettable that it
should take place by violence, but that is the natural method. Of the
explosive mixture of conflicting elements in conflict, a new chemical
body will be born. Will it be in the East, or in Europe? I cannot
tell; but surely what results will have new properties, more valuable
than its parts. The end is not yet. The war of which we are now
witnesses is magnificent ... (I beg your pardon; I mean magnificent to
the mind, where suffering does not exist) ... Greater, finer conflicts
still are preparing. These poor childish peoples who i