The truth is that the Russia of our fathers, of our childhood, of our
middle-age; the testamentary Russia of Peter the Great--who imagined that
all the nations were delivered into the hand of Tsardom--can do nothing.
It can do nothing because it does not exist. It has vanished for ever at
last, and as yet there is no new Russia to take the place of that ill-
omened creation, which, being a fantasy of a madman's brain, could in
reality be nothing else than a figure out of a nightmare seated upon a
monument of fear and oppression.
The true greatness of a State does not spring from such a contemptible
source. It is a matter of logical growth, of faith and courage. Its
inspiration springs from the constructive instinct of the people,
governed by the strong hand of a collective conscience and voiced in the
wisdom and counsel of men who seldom reap the reward of gratitude. Many
States have been powerful, but, perhaps, none have been truly great--as
yet. That the position of a State in reference to the moral methods of
its development can be seen only historically, is true. Perhaps mankind
has not lived long enough for a comprehensive view of any particular
case.
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