"I believe that the British unilateral guarantee of Poland's independence—though not necessarily, as you wisely point out, the integrity of her present Versailles frontiers in perpetuity—constitutes the first real chance for the Prime Minister's policy of appeasement to obtain the unanimous support of his countrymen. The latter are so constituted that they will never accede permanently to what is demanded of them by force. Something stubborn and undefeatable has always risen in the English consciousness at the sound of a threat. And the Germans, like ourselves a strong race, are so constituted that they can never respect arguments that seem based on fear or weakness. The Prime Minister has now placed our relationships on a new and realist footing. A realization in both countries of what will inevitability produce war, coupled with a readiness to seek an adjustment of existing differences by every other means, is now attainable. It offers a fresh possibility of an Anglo-German understanding—not now, perhaps, but in the future. It is worth trying, for the alternative is the almost certain destruction of our common civilization."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Letter to The Times (3 April 1939), p. 10
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arthur_Bryant
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Arthur Bryant
Sir Arthur Wynne Morgan Bryant CH CBE (18 February 1899 – 22 January 1985) was an English historian, columnist for The Illustrated London News and man of affairs. His books included studies of Samuel Pepys, accounts of English eighteenth- and nineteenth-century history, and a life of George V. Whilst his scholarly reputation has declined somewhat since his death, he continues to be read and to be the subject of detailed historical studies. He moved in high government circles, where his works wer
36 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Arthur Bryant →
Related Quotes
"[L]ike most of my countrymen I loathe injustice and cruelty, and unlike them I happen to have had some recent experie…"
"Mr. Strauss's subsequent statement in a supplementary question that my Fascist sympathies were "well known." They may…"
"Peace—real and enduring peace—must always be our supreme and ultimate aim, for with our swollen industrial population…"
"It is hard to see how any assured peace can exist in Europe so long as Herr Hitler—that incalculable man of temperame…"
"The key to a nation's future is in her past. A nation that loses it has no future. For men's deepest desires—the inst…"
"The English were what they were because they had long wished to be. Their tradition derived from the Catholic past of…"
"Without justice and charity there can be no England. That is the historic and eternal English vision."
"Before the British regiment of the line is sacrificed to logistics—if sacrificed it is to be—I should like to put on …"
"The ability to deny to the enemy the use of the sea for the movement of armies and supplies, while enjoying it for yo…"
"During the last four centuries, the most important things that had happened were the extension of the Anglo-Saxon rac…"