And in order to maintain this evil form of relationship—­its evil and futility is the whole basis of the principles I have attempted to illustrate—­he has not even observed the rough chivalry of the brigand.  The brigand, though he might knock men on the head, will refrain from having his force take the form of butchering women and disembowelling children.  Not so the Turk.  His attempt at Government will take the form of the obscene torture of children, of a bestial ferocity which is not a matter of dispute or exaggeration, but a thing to which scores, hundreds, thousands even of credible European, witnesses have testified.  “The finest gentleman, sir, that ever butchered a woman or burned a village,” is the phrase that Punch most justly puts into the mouth of the defender of our traditional Turcophil policy.

And this condition is “Peace,” and the act which would put a stop to it is “War.”  It is the inexactitude and inadequacy of our language which creates much of the confusion of thought in this matter; we have the same term for action destined to achieve a given end and for a counter-action destined to prevent it.

Yet we manage, in other than the international field, in civil matters, to make the thing clear enough.

Once an American town was set light to by incendiaries, and was threatened with destruction.  In order to save at least a part of it, the authorities deliberately burned down a block of buildings in the pathway of the fire.  Would those incendiaries be entitled to say that the town authorities were incendiaries also, and “believed in setting light to towns?” Yet this is precisely the point of view of those who tax Pacifists with approving war because they approve the measure aimed at bringing it to an end.

Put it another way.  You do not believe that force should determine the transfer of property or conformity to a creed, and I say to you:  “Hand me your purse and conform to my creed or I kill you.”  You say:  “Because I do not believe that force should settle these matters, I shall try and prevent it settling them, and therefore if you attack I shall resist; if I did not I should be allowing force to settle them.”  I attack; you resist and disarm me and say:  “My force having neutralised yours, and the equilibrium being now established, I will hear any reasons you may have to urge for my paying you money; or any argument in favour of your creed.  Reason, understanding, adjustment shall settle it.”  You would be a Pacifist.  Or, if you deem that that word connotes non-resistance, though to the immense bulk of Pacifists it does not, you would be an anti-Bellicist to use a dreadful word coined by M. Emile Faguet in the discussion of this matter.  If, however, you said:  “Having disarmed you and established the equilibrium, I shall now upset it in my favour by taking your weapon and using it against you unless you hand me your purse and subscribe to my creed.  I do this because force alone can determine issues, and because it is a law of life that the strong should eat up the weak.”  You would then be a Bellicist.