The Clash of Nations, Its Causes and Consequences (Classic Reprint)

written by: John Dryden

The Roman historian, Livy, begins his account of the Second Punic War with this declaration: I am about to describe the greatest of all the wars that ever were waged. Doubtless he told the truth as it was in his time; but if he could revise his book to-day he would open it with a different sentence. The solemn duty of narrating the greatest of all wars that ever were waged now devolves upon our journalists, and a few years hence it will tax the powers of the ablest historian that the world can produce. Whatever may be the prejudices, the opinions, or the original nationality of an A merican, he cannot seriously consider this tremendous, complicated conflict without feeling that he is a citizen of the world, profoundly affected by European wars and sincerely desirous of world-wide peace. This book is intended to enable the reader to scan the daily bulletins with something of an intelligent understanding of the despatches. No one, as yet, can tell him how it will all end; but we endeavor here to tell him why it began; to indicate, as nearly as possible, the various ends that are striven for; and to show him the resources and implements that come into play many of them for the first time. There is no intention here of according praise or blame to any of the combatants, or expressing any opinion as to the merits of the conflict or the truth or falsehood of those that wage it. We hope we have presented, simply and clearly, as many of the pertinent facts as our space allows only adding that when Byron expressed his enthusiasm for Livys pictured page neither he nor that brilliant historian ever had seen such pictured pages as these. R. J.(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)