them is of a nature to militate against any of the fundamental ideas which it is the aim of this little book to express. The essay entitled "The Idealism of War" appeared in the Forum for October, 1915. The other essays are printed here for the first time. To Mr. Lewis Perry of Exeter the author is peculiarly indebted for his welcome and wise advice in the preparation of the manuscript. His kindly criticism was a token of more than twenty years of friendship, which is here gratefully acknowledged. Williamstown, Mass. DEMOCRACY AND PEACE I OF THE MEANING OF DEMOCRACY F the many ideals which rule our time none is more often upon the lips of men than democracy. Few indeed are they who fail to give it honor. Yet if one stop to ask, What is democracy? he may receive no very satisfactory reply; for the answers that he gets will probably be either vague or conflicting, and some of us may even refuse to answer him at all because of the absurdity of his question. As if any one failed to know what democracy means! A late-lamented statesman and ruler of New York was once asked to outline his position upon some newly proposed policy, to which he responded, drawing himself up to photographic pose and with his hand on the proper button of his frock coat, in those memorable words: "I am a Democrat." This response of course roused great enthusiasm; but some there were whom it reminded of the walrus's equally famous and equally definite reply (as vouched for by Lewis Carroll) when the oysters asked him if he meant to eat them. "The night is fine," the Walrus said. "Do you admire the view?" There is no doubt the walrus was a diplomat, and his reply was about as instructive as that of the other statesman. In short, the word democrat has come to be almost as ambiguous as the word Christian. The statesman above referred to instead of saying, "I am a Democrat," might equally well have responded, "I am a Christian"—and so, for that matter, might the walrus. Both words have become so meaningless that they may be used as a safe means of evasion. And they are alike, moreover, in more ways than one. Thus if we are to rely on general usage, about the only definite meaning of the word Christian is non-Jewish, nonMohammedan, and non-Chinese; and in like manner democrat (except as the name for a political party in the United States) means simply a man who does not believe in absolute monarchy. Now if these definitions are reliable we have great reason for joy, for thus we, the heirs of all the ages in the glorious ranks of the Twentieth Century, would seem to have realized the greatest ideals of the centuries that preceded ours. For certainly if all Americans and western Europeans who do not |