side of the Channel have pursued during the same period. But bearing it in mind, and contrasting it with the policy of our fellow nations, no one will have the hardihood to contend that, memorable as our achievements have been, military organisation has been our special attribute, that our power is principally due to our concentration on national discipline, and that our heart and genius is in war.
If, then, the eminence of England cannot be justly and acceptably traced to the power of wealth, or to the fervour of religion, or to military organisation, there is, lastly, a fourth possible cause to be considered. Individuals who are neither rich nor spiritual in a marked degree, nor endowed with combative power beyond their fellows, sometimes exercise influence upon their associates, and even upon their epoch, in virtue of a rare disposition. Occasionally this effect of character resides in nations as well as in individuals, and then the sympathy and the goodwill of even alien peoples go out to them, and, bridging the abyss of race or religion or history, make them strong. Aided by the attraction of immemorial prestige or the ties of old association, a nation thus conciliates and captivates mankind.
It is to such a cause as this that Austria, for instance, under the House of Hapsburg, owes so much. That house has for centuries committed political errors, and undergone defeats that would surely have ruined any other state. But Austria
