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Anti-war essays, poems, short stories and literary excerpts
Russian writers on war
Alexander Herzen: Barracks, the most inhuman condition in which men live. An exhibition of generals.
Alexander Herzen: The type of military commander in whom everything social and moral, everything human has died out
Alexander Herzen: War and “international law”
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Alexander Herzen
From My Past and Thoughts
Translated by Constance Garnett
Work…Officials recognise as such only civil and legal affairs, the merchant regards nothing but commerce as work, military men call it their work to strut about like cranes armed from head to toe in times of peace…
Man is cruel and only prolonged suffering softens him; the child is cruel in its ignorance, the young man is cruel in the pride of his purity, the priest is cruel in the pride of his holiness, and the doctrinaire in the pride of his learning – we are all merciless, and most of all merciless when we are in the right. The heart is usually melted and grows soft after severe wounds, after the wings have been burnt, after acknowledged downfalls, after the panic which makes a man cold all over when alone, without witnesses, he begins to suspect what a weak and worthless creature he is. His heart grows softer; as he wipes away the sweat of shame and horror, afraid of an eye-witness, he seeks excuses for himself and finds them for others. The part of judge, of executioner, from that moment excites his loathing.
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