cellars, violating the women in the streets, burning thousands of francs' worth of powder, and leaving misery and cholera in one's track —

“That is what is meant by not falling into the most hideous materialism.

“What have they done, those warriors, that proves the least intelligence? Nothing. What have they invented? Cannons and muskets. That is all.

”What remains to us from Greece? Books and statues. Is Greece great from her conquests or her creations?

”Was it the invasions of the Persians which saved Greece from falling into the most hideous materialism?

”Were the invasions of the barbarians what saved and regenerated Rome?