Chaos, a vision of eternity/Preface
PREFACE
Should any optimist feel disposed to object to the doleful picture of man's character, life and destiny depicted in this drama, let it be remembered that it is—all a dream. Yet, dreams come true! Since this work was written a great war has devastated Europe and embroiled the entire world. In the midst of universal culture, when mankind was serenely contemplating an age of peace and enlightened development, the great storm broke. The barbarities of primitive ages were duplicated, and, even surpassed. Rapine and torture; the taking and killing of hostages; the bombardment and destruction of unfortified places and the ruthless murder of non-combatants—all of these brutalities were unexpectedly revived; to the horror and amazement of a startled world.
In the wake of all this came other ills hardly less discreditable to human nature: While the true men of the world were fighting the battles of civilization, other men, debased and sordid, preaching patriotism in the meantime at a safe distance from the zone of danger, were insidiously profiteering in all the necessities of life; turning the sacrifice of their brothers-in-arms to their own selfish advantage. And now, with the war over, the evil still continues. Even religious intolerance, suspended for a time, has reawakened and, while its blinded votaries are struggling for tactical advantage, Paganism runs rampant with poisonous fangs aimed at the heart of all religion. Races, too, are stirred again to selfish rivalries. Imperialism, for the destruction of which the war was fought, still lurks in unexpected places and diplomats are still striving to solve international problems by the methods of Machiavelli. In short, we are wearing the habiliments of civilization; but our culture is largely cold formula. We speak the phrases of the Twentieth Century; but cherish in our hearts the fears, the hates, and the passions of Medievalism.
Sooner or later, it will be realized that there exists in the universe a law of retributive justice, akin to, and as inexorable as, the law of compensation. For thousands of years mankind has been fluctuating between the extremes of individual selfishness and race selfishness. It is only a short step from Emerson's philosophy of Self-Reliance to the arrogant Superman theory of Nietzsche. The individual must be taught that what is best for the community is best for himself; and races must learn that what is best for mankind is best for every race in common. In this lies the hope of the world.