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Conrad, Joseph, 1857-1924

"Notes on Life and Letters"


Looked at in that light alone Polonism seems worth saving. That it has
lived so long on its trust in the moral support of the Western Powers may
give it another and even stronger claim, based on a truth of a more
profound kind. Polonism had resisted the utmost efforts of Germanism and
Slavonism for more than a hundred years. Why? Because of the strength
of its ideals conscious of their kinship with the West. Such a power of
resistance creates a moral obligation which it would be unsafe to
neglect. There is always a risk in throwing away a tool of proved
temper.
In this profound conviction of the practical and ideal worth of Polonism
one approaches the problem of its preservation with a very vivid sense of
the practical difficulties derived from the grouping of the Powers. The
uncertainty of the extent and of the actual form of victory for the
Allies will increase the difficulty of formulating a plan of Polish
regeneration at the present moment.
Poland, to strike its roots again into the soil of political Europe, will
require a guarantee of security for the healthy development and for the
untrammelled play of such institutions as she may be enabled to give to
herself.


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