Terrible as are these years, their darkness is brightened by the light of a self-sacrifice unparalleled in the history of mankind. We could not bear the thought of those hideous trenches and of the awful destruction of human life, if they had not shown us such splendid examples of courage, devotion, self-immolation. These are wonderful days to live in, despite all the horrors of the time. The young men going forward so bravely into the mouth of hell, dying in defense of their ideals and ours, seem to us like a consecrated army, like beings set apart from their fellow-men. We have talked about freedom; we have been full of enthusiasm. But _they_ have gone quietly forward, to suffer tortures and, if need be, to lay down their lives. They are the heroes of the hour, beside whom the rest of the world seem suddenly to have shrunken into nothingness. Yet we must not forget that America, like England, expects every man, civilian as well as soldier, to do his duty, and every woman likewise. The power of a democracy is built up of the strength of each individual life. Let us give our brave soldiers their full meed of admiration, let us support and uphold them in every possible way. But we must not be so dazzled by their gallant deeds as to worship, like Germany, a military autocracy. It is our duty to remember, and to help them to remember, that among civilized nations war is temporary and abnormal, while peace is normal and eternal. The first means destruction, the last means construction. In the midst of peace we must prepare for war, that haply we may avert it. In the midst of war we have the double duty of upholding our armies to the utmost extent of our ability and at the same time making ready for the righteous peace which we know must come. We must bind up the wounds of the warriors and restore the devastated lands. We must prepare to return, when the right time comes, to quiet, every-day life. We shall still wage war, not against the bodies of men, but against ignorance, greed, corruption, evil of all kinds. For Satan, whom before the great European convulsion we hopefully thought to be dead, is evidently very much alive. At each new atrocity we have seemed to hear the wings of Apollyon, Prince of Darkness, rustling in the air, as he dealt foul blows at the struggling Christian.