ing certain of the men who gave the fullest rein
to their tongues, the officer, far from wishing to
restrict their liberty of speech, would whisper
gaily in my ear: "That's one of our best men."
And the man, who did not hear, would burst into
a great laugh, because he knew in advance what
could be said about him. Even the bad soldier — I
saw just one — however weakened by alcoholism,
emaciated, short-winded, lack-luster of eye, as he
stood leaning against a tree as if from fear of
falling, even he had come there of his own will,
instead of claiming, as he might have done, the
excuse of his ill-health. He whined, because he
had been given a chance to whine, but he was at
his post, having declined an invitation to the
hospital. And the captain said :
"When I arrive in cantonment there are some-
times, very suddenly, a lot of men ill. But when
we are going into the trenches, there is never a
single one — never. The men don't want to leave
additional work to their comrades.' '
That was said in the simplest manner, in a low
voice, as if this supreme abnegation hardly
merited a word of praise. It is the universal
spirit of noble comradeship, man to man, soldier
to officer and officer to soldier. There are no more
punishments. That is the rule throughout the
army, and the French spirit of banter is every-
where regaining its rights. The complaints that
we solicited were received amid good-natured
FRANCE FACING GERMANY 393
bursts of laughter from the very men who prof-
fered them.
And there was this unanimous conclusion,
quietly spoken: "We'll carry on. We must." Ah,
those words, "We must," how many times have
you not heard them hurled by an implacable
voice at the invisible enemy, quite near to your
trench, in the tragic silence of the underground
Boche, beyond the barbed wire and the chevaux-
de-frise! "We must"; it is the God wills it in
this great last crusade of civilization against sav-
agery. This man awkwardly bundled up in a
muddy tunic, but with two eyes of flame under
the visor of his blue helmet, assures you in one
word that he has full consciousness of what he
is doing and of what his will is. "We must" —
that expresses it all. The soldier has agreed to
the terrible sacrifices demanded of him by the
destiny of France, whose history, so heavy to
bear, but so grand and beautiful, requires an
heroic redoubling of continuous sacrifice in this
decisive hour. He knows it, and he says it with
a joyous start of thoughtful gaiety in which the
flood of a higher nobility of soul washes away for
the future the wreckage left by errors in which he
was nevertheless able to exhibit flashes of glory.
We must! Let us keep the words nearest our
hearts. It is the word of command that I bring
back from the trenches. It is the supreme
phrase of those who are battling for the grandest
country which it was ever given to man to build
up for the attainment of the highest aims of
humanity. "We must" is the cry of the man who
394 FRANCE FACING GERMANY
falls. "We must" is the sole thought of the
soldier who stays crouching in the pit of a shell-
crater when he has lost everything, even his
demolished trench, and when, in the infernal
thundering of monstrous masses of steel, he is
stupefied by terrors in earth and air turned loose
against him, and can expect nothing but death,
and that without even the comfort of a personal
deed in battle — it is his sole thought because if
he retreated one step it would be one step that
the enemy would advance. "We must! We
must!" In this expression of the inexorable
necessity of rising above himself is condensed
all that he is capable of thinking and feeling.
And he grips at the crumbling pebbles, which let
him sink deeper into his earth instead of repelling
him.
And we admire, marveling at this miracle of
French courage. But that is not enough. "We
must" is the word of command of the soldier and
that of his chiefs also, in all the grades of the
service. Modest in their roles, the lieutenants
and captains and majors are worthy to command
such soldiers. This was not told me; I saw it.
I know what they say about each other. And
there is no need to ask them. It is enough to hear
the words that they exchange, or even merely
to take note of the glances that pass between
them. One sees the sublime familiarities of the
epopee. At this point of dizzy sublimity, a signal
or a moment of silence has an incomparable ac-
cent of tragedy. If I have the time, some day,
I will tell you about some captain or colonel
among his men, away from the post of command.
FRANCE FACING GERMANY 395
Or still better, of a general. Certain officers,
whom I know well, have deserved, in a measure
which it is not my business to specify here, cer-
tain criticisms which have been voiced even in
the Chambers. I do not think that this is the
moment to settle such accounts, in which we must
desire nothing but strict justice for all parties.
What must be said, at present, because it is true,
is that it is impossible for a race to have pro-
duced such soldiers, to engage in a battle of men
and material such as was never seen before,
without having latent within it the productive
forces for a corresponding power of command.
We have military leaders, real ones, because
they sprang from our race, as did our soldiers. I
say it after three visits to the front, of which this
latest has permitted me to judge amply with my
own eyes, in complete independence of mind, and
with a view solely to the interest of the nation —
I say that the French army, as a whole, possesses
leaders worthy to command it and capable of put-
ting it to its best work, provided that, as is in-
dispensable, they are in turn worthily commanded.
Their civic virtues are by no means lower than
their military qualities. I speak of the greater
number, and it will be agreed that the number
is great enough. They are wise, they are able,
and they are willing; and since they are one with
their soldiers we can truly say that we have in our
hands the instrument necessary, if the organiza-
tion is completed by a perfected coordination
under the command of one will.
I shall say no more. I have come back from
this long trip with a very clear vision of what we
396 FRANCE FACING GERMANY
need and of what we must secure. For those in
the rear, as for those at the front, there is a great
duty to fulfil. Our word of command is the same.
"We must/' I received it from men who are
under the shells and with whom it is our task
to remain at one by doing all the duty of citizens
as they are doing all the duty of soldiers. "We
must." Shame to the man who does not under-
stand the words.
May 14, 1916.
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