"Olaf Stapledon - Last And First Men" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stapledon Olaf)

with the most assertive of her late allies. It was a frontier incident, a
fancied "insult to the Italian flag," which at last caused an unauthorized
raid upon French territory by a small party of Italian militia. The raiders
were captured, but French blood was shed. The consequent demand for apology
and reparation was calm, but subtly offensive to Italian dignity. Italian
patriots worked themselves into short-sighted fury. The Dictator, far from
daring to apologize, was forced to require the release of the captive
militia-men, and finally to declare war. After a single sharp engagement the
relentless armies of France pressed into North Italy. Resistance, at first
heroic, soon became chaotic. In consternation the Italians woke from their
dream of military glory. The populace turned against the Dictator whom they
themselves had forced to declare war. In a theatrical but gallant attempt to
dominate the Roman mob, he failed, and was killed. The new government made a
hasty peace, ceding to France a frontier territory which she had already
annexed for "security."
Thenceforth Italians were less concerned to outshine the glory of
Garibaldi than to emulate the greater glory of Dante, Giotto and Galileo.
France had now complete mastery of the continent of Europe; but having
much to lose, she behaved arrogantly and nervously. It was not long before
peace was once more disturbed.
Scarcely had the last veterans of the European War ceased from wearying
their juniors with reminiscence, when the long rivalry between France and
England culminated in a dispute between their respective Governments over a
case of sexual outrage said to have been committed by a French African soldier
upon an Englishwoman. In this quarrel, the British Government happened to be
definitely in the wrong, and was probably confused by its own sexual
repressions. The outrage had never been committed. The facts which gave rise
to the rumour were, that an idle and neurotic Englishwoman in the south of
France, craving the embraces of a "cave man," had seduced a Senegalese
corporal in her own apartments. When, later, he had shown signs of boredom,
she took revenge by declaring that he had attacked her indecently in the woods
above the town. This rumour was such that the English were all too prone to
savour and believe. At the same time, the magnates of the English Press could
not resist this opportunity of trading upon the public's sexuality, tribalism
and self-righteousness. There followed an epidemic of abuse, and occasional
violence, against French subjects in England; and thus the party of fear and
militarism in France was given the opportunity it had long sought. For the
real cause of this war was connected with air power. France had persuaded the
League of Nations (in one of its less intelligent moments) to restrict the
size of military aeroplanes in such a manner that, while London lay within
easy striking distance of the French coast, Paris could only with difficulty
be touched by England. This state of affairs obviously could not last long.
Britain was agitating more and more insistently for the removal of the
restriction. On the other hand, there was an increasing demand for complete
aerial disarmament in Europe; and so strong was the party of sanity in France,
that the scheme would almost certainly have been accepted by the French
Government. On both counts, therefore, the militarists of France were eager to
strike while yet there was opportunity.
In an instant, the whole fruit of this effort for disarmament was
destroyed. That subtle difference of mentality which had ever made it