The Heritage of Our Fathers

LIKE as, at the coming of spring, the sap begins all unseen to flow in trees, and nature is awake to put on her new robe, so is it with every Nation to-day. Fierce currents of vitality are pouring into every Nation, bringing out of them the hidden seeds of good and evil. This vitality means a tragedy for Germany, as it means a splendid pageant of future years for many another Nation; all are affected by it, and each Nation is gathering up its forces to live anew, purified and strong. This spring-time of the world has given to India her present vitality, which makes "old men dream dreams and young men see visions". Each Nation is being forced by pressure of circumstance to weigh itself, to test itself, to know what is its own good, and what it is good for as a unit of the World State.