of her princes; she allowed herself to be saved by despotism. "Let Poland perish rather than surrender the privileges of a free aristocracy of the Schlachta!" seems to have been the guiding principle of the Poles. "The safety of the country is the supreme law" remained the motto of the Muscovites.
VIII
Let us, therefore, take care not to simplify unduly the tragedy of humanity by rigid adherence to a few doctrinaire principles. By all means let us proclaim that in our modern industrial community, liberty with all its risks is infinitely preferable to despotism with all its security. But do not let us forget the fatality of the past. Let us remember that autocracy is not a mere baneful accident in the annals of Russia, a system born of brutal force and which must perish by brutal force, a despotism only supported by exile and by Cossacks, and only tempered by Nihilism and by assassination. As I said at the beginning of this chapter, although nations may not necessarily have the Government they deserve, and deserve the government they have, yet when a government has succeeded in lasting for generations, it thereby
