Evening star., 1939-04-02

USED no dneSthetlCS because we nd0 none.
was forced again and again to assist in|
operations and even perform some slight ones
myself while the victim was conscious.
The greatest lesson my life has yet taught
me was the bearing of many of those Russian
soldiers under such torture - their sweet
ness, their courage, their optimism - above
all, their patience: and when now l am
tempted to curse at delay think of them and
am ashamed.
1t was, in fact, those two years in the
Russian army that gave me by far the most
intense experience of my life.
One night especially remember. | went
out into the forest with another stretcher
bearer to bring in wounded man. We were
under fire all night
Trees crashed about us, for we we're on the
retreat, moving swiftly and this forest had
not as yet been devastated. From underground
heads appeared begging US to be quiet.
became seized with a kind of ecstasy and
at last moved, without knowing it, into the
Austrian lines, picked up wounded Austrian
and brought him back to our lines.
After reaching our base in the early MORN
ing-all quiet after that CHASTITY noise, the sun
rising. the birds singing - knew strange
mystical consciousness of intimacy with God
Call it reaction, overexcitement or simply !
kind of strumming after that dreadful roar. il
you like. the fact remains that those early
morning hours altered all my life.
think perhaps that terror, pain, loss of
no
teachers This is platitude and many people
sCoff at it.
can only say that learned much from
pain and fear - they are stronger influences
than Patience And the danger of Patience is
Indifference
have, for example, always been dumb
about politics. In the old days, before the War,
politics seemed to me altogether unimportant.
l can see now how extremely important they
were because they led, during those years -
1903 to 1914 - directly to the Great War.
After the War; for long time felt so keen
delight in my recovery of the world OF the
arts, that heard of political events with only
half an ear.
Even now the War of 1914 is still so close
10 me tndt l all lIlCllllcu W "ciNoIlIc any 1
state of being that is not that
Until the crisis of September was incom-
parably patient with everybody. rather
prided myself in seeing both sides so plainly.
Then l learned further lesson - that.
patience must be based on clear sense of
values - that old sense of values that Henry
James tried to teach me.
Irealize fully that it is not worth being alive
if freedom of thought and religious liberty are
threatened, and that ones private happiness
depends absolutely on general happiness.
And would wish to give anything have
toward helping to preserve the liberty and
freedom of the individual alive and safe
Ibelieve that have had great good fortune
in being allowed to work at an art that love =
Which brings me to my last lesson.
used to have great ambition q still have
the ambition) that should one day write the
book that have always wanted to write.
Now am sure that the writer ought to
have nothing to do with personal ambition
He is permitted by God to make something.
Let him make it as we'll as he can. No
matter what happens to it after it is made
In fact there is this odd paradox about
life - one must learn to lose ones egotlsm|
vet it is only by being egotistic that one
can learn.