Abstract
MANY speeches dealing with the present crisis have been made since the War began six months ago. That of Lord Halifax at Oxford on February 27 surpassed them all not only in the clarity with which the fundamental issues at stake were set forth, but also in the eloquent and moving enunciation of their relation to a philosophy of life which looks beyond the individual ideal to an aim worthy of the pursuit of mankind at large. Addressing his audience, as he said, with the dual personality of Chancellor of the University and H.M. Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Lord Halifax made no attempt to gloss over the facts, unpleasing as they may be, or to ignore the grave dangers for the future of civilization which they imply. The one fact by which above all he is appalled is that this "waste land" we live in, as the present state of European civilization has been called, has been brought about not by the mistakes, the pride, and the selfishness of an older generation, but by that of youth, deprived of the elements of true judgment, which has been the driving force behind the Nazi movement. But, if on one side force is an instrument of aggression, on the other, youth will fight to break down the barrier which must be broken down, if the youth of Europe is to avoid living always in this "waste land".
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Lord Halifax and International Affairs. Nature 145, 381 (1940). https://doi.org/10.1038/145381a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/145381a0