which, under threat of ruining both human reason and human life, demands a solution. This is the contradiction between the Christian conscience and war.
We are all Christian nations, who live the same spiritual life, so that every good, fruitful thought, which springs up in one corner of the Earth, is at once communicated to the whole Christian world, evoking similar sensations of joy and pride, independently of nationality; we, who not only love the thinkers, benefactors, poets, scholars of other nations, but also pride ourselves on the exploit of a Damien, as though it were our own; we, who just love the men of other nationalities—the French, the Germans, the Americans, the English; we, who not only respect their qualities, but rejoice when we meet them, who give them a smile of recognition, who not only could not regard a war with them as something to be proud of, but who could not even think without horror that any disagreement may arise between these men and us—we are all called to take part in murder, which must inevitably take place, tomorrow, if not today.