THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 111, 4 February 1941, Page 6

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY

Comments—Reflections Cowardice, fear and depression, in thought, word and deed, its terribly catching, but courage, faith aud cheerfulness are equally so.—Bishop of St. Albans. # « * “Perhaps I shall not be able to avoid an alliance with Russia. I shall keep that as a trump card. Perhaps it will be the decisive gamble of my life. But it will never stop me from as firmly retracing my steps and attacking Russia when my aims in the West have been achieved.”—Hitler in a conversation with Herr Rauschning in 1934. * * * “We read that David, man of valour, when he sought to defend Israel against the assaults of the enemy, did not wait for the attack, but went forth with courage, and without encumbering armament, to meet the foe. Indeed, it is written: ‘And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew near to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.’ There is wisdom, we may all agree, and advantage, in a willingness to act when the issue has been made clear aud action is inevitable. The people of the United States today face the necessity of determining, wisely, dispassionately, calmly, whether or not forceful and courageous action is or soon-will be unavoidable.” —Mr. Frank L. Perrin, in the “Christian Science Monitor.” * * ♦

“Political India will make a mistake if it persists in arguing with Mr. Amery. The far wiser thing will be to use all the opportunities that Britain is prepared to grant in war-time. India will not get a constitution until some time after the war. To that hard fact political India must reconcile herself, but it will not be prudent to waste the time between then and now in idleness. Congress made a blunder in abandoning all the positions of vantage because the Government did not formally consult India before making her a belligerent. It has made another blunder now. The problem for practical men is to regain the field of autonomy which the Constitution of 1935 gave and to work steadily for a better 'Constitution.”— “The Statesman,” Calcutta.

“What are we told to do? To remember that our food must contain certain constituents which are always present in the old foods, milk, vegetables, fruit, and other foods now known as ‘protective,’ and are not found in such popular foods as white bread and sugar, insufficiently so in meat. The need has been expressed in the form of a basal diet, a list of ‘protective’ foods which contain the vital constituents in sufficient quantity. The list varies slightly with its source, as might be expected, since its figures cannot be ex - act. Here is one form of it: Bread, 120 z.; milk 0.6 pint; cereals (such as oats), 20z.; fats, 1.50 z.; potatoes, 160 z.; vegetables, 6oz. These figures represent average daily consumption a head. It is not ■necessary to eat this diet, the whole diet, and nothing but the diet, though there are people in the world who do live on diets which are equivalent to it, and live in good health. All that is needed is to eat such foods as contain the same valuable elements as the basal diet.” —Sir William Bragg, in “The Times.”

‘‘The plain fact is that Hitler is in a position to do in France exactly what he wants. If he decides to march troops to Marseilles and Gibraltar he could do so in defiance and with little opposition. With France it might not pay him, because her colonies are still to a large degree free agents, and this might call for the gentler handling of the home Government. But with Spain there is iio such difficulty. Spain is a proud and independent country, and from her experience in the civil war she knows that once Germans are in they are hard to get out. Her economic dereliction after that internal struggle is serious and still far from being repaired. Many of her wisest rulers are averse to sacrificing more of her young men in the service of Germany and adding to her present hardships the rigours of our blockade. They know that we have only the wish to be on good terms with their country, and that even now, amid all our financial strains, we are helping her reconstructive work with large loans.”—“Manchester Guardian.”

“The Nazis say, ‘We will build a new •order in Europe’—for the Germans. The basis of that new order is that the Germans are to be the superior race—that the Poles, Czechs, Rumanians, Scandinavians, the French, and even ■the Italians, though they are their allies, shall be their labourers, inferior beings that feed the mighty German nation. That is the basis of their new order. To the German work-people they say, ‘We will make you more prosperous, we will feed you well,’ but it is a basis of civilization that the British character cannot accept. No! British labour is not going to be satisfied to be regarded as a well-fed pig with no intelligence, and that feeding at the cost of tribute from millions of others. Whatever may have been the motives of those who tried appeasement, it can be truly said that the policy was bound to fail because two great principles, one of force and the other of liberty, are irreconcilable. We have to place the principles of peace higher than anything else or we shall have condemned another generation to renew the struggle, because I am convinced that in the evolution of mankind •one or other of these principles must survive—that is to say, we must be free men and women or slaves, and as long as the issue remains unsettled recurring conflict is inevitable.”—Mr. Bevin, British Minister of Labour, in a recent speech. 'Die Sacred Word. Let us forget All but the one word Freedom, calling us To live not die by altars barbarous. Think not of joy in this great hour, nor lose Fortune’s first hold. Not thus do wise men use. —Euripides (“Iphigenia in Tuuris”).