O Shape beyond the altar of the morning, substance of God, or shadow of mankind—
Grant me, I pray, the valor of the Vision,
That I may use whatever transient hours are mine
To live, to labor and to love!
They have signed the armistice in the Forest of Compiègne—
The task is just beginning....
ARMISTICE DAY
(Editorial from New York Herald Tribune, November 11, 1926)
It is an odd trick of fate that the great war should be commemorated by a day known popularly and widely as Armistice Day. Here was the greatest struggle men have faced since the Ice Age nearly ended the human race altogether. It held a medley of surpassing heroism, false hopes and tragic loss. And the chance which fixes the myths of history has singled out for a permanent celebration the day on which a temporary cessation of hostilities was negotiated. That peace became more lasting through negotiations and treaty. But so far as the terminology of to-day goes, the great struggle is but silenced for a breathing spell.
As it happens, the phrase fits well with current
