The Great Illusion: A Study of the Relation of Military Power to National AdvantageAngell, Norman
History
The Great Illusion: A Study of the Relation of Military Power to National Advantage
Angell, Norman
Commercial policy; Disarmament; Imperialism; War; War, Cost of
These summarized replies need a little expansion.
Had we thrashed out the question of war and peace as we must finally, it
would hardly be necessary to explain that the apparent paradox in Answer
No. 4 (that war is futile, and that this war will have immense benefits)
is due to the inadequacy of our language, which compels us to use the
same word for two opposed purposes, not to any real contradiction of
fact.
We called the condition of the Balkan peninsula "Peace" until the attack
was made on Turkey merely because the respective Ambassadors still
happened to be resident in the capitals to which they were accredited.
Let us see what "Peace" under Turkish rule really meant and who is the
real invader in this war. Here is a very friendly and impartial
witness--Sir Charles Elliot--who paints for us the character of the Turk
as an "administrator":
The Turk in Europe has an overweening sense of his superiority,
and remains a nation apart, mixing little with the conquered
populations, whose customs and ideas he tolerates, but makes
little effort to understand. The expression, indeed, "Turkey in
Europe" means indeed no more than "England in Asia," if used as
a designation for India.... The Turks have done little to
assimilate the people whom they have conquered, and still less,
been assimilated by them. In the larger part of the Turkish
dominions, the Turks themselves are in a minority.... The Turks
certainly resent the dismemberment of their Empire, but not in
the sense in which the French resent the conquest of
Alsace-Lorraine by Germany. They would never use the word
"Turkey" or even its oriental equivalent, "The High Country" in
ordinary conversation. They would never say that Syria and
Greece are parts of Turkey which have been detached, but merely
that they are tributaries which have become independent,
provinces once occupied by Turks where there are no Turks now.
As soon as a province passes under another Government, the
Turks find it the most natural thing in the world to leave it
and go somewhere else. In the same spirit the Turk talks quite
pleasantly of leaving Constantinople some day, he will go over
to Asia and found another capital. One can hardly imagine
Englishmen speaking like that of London, but they might
conceivably speak so of Calcutta.... The Turk is a conqueror
and nothing else. The history of the Turk is a catalogue of
battles. His contributions to art, literature, science, and
religion, are practically nil. Their desire has not been to
instruct, to improve, hardly even to govern, but simply to
conquer.... The Turk makes nothing at all; he takes whatever he
can get, as plunder or pillage. He lives in the houses which he
finds, or which he orders to be built for him. In unfavorable
circumstances he is a marauder. In favorable, a _Grand
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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