_December 31, 1914._

MANIFESTO OF THE _FRIENDS OF THE MORAL UNITY OF EUROPE_

A number of literary and scientific men at Barcelona, as far removed
from amorphous internationalism on the one hand as from mere
parochialism on the other, have banded themselves together _to affirm
their unchangeable belief in the moral unity of Europe_, and to further
this belief as far as the suffocating conditions resulting from the
present tragic circumstances permit.

We set out from the principle that the terrible war which today is
rending the heart of this Europe of ours is, by implication, a _Civil
War_.

A civil war does not exactly mean an unjust war; still, it can only be
justified by a conflict between great ideals, and if we desire the
triumph of one or the other of these ideals, it must be for the sake of
the entire European Commonwealth and its general well-being. None of the
belligerents, therefore, can be allowed to aim at the complete
destruction of its opponents; and it is even less legitimate to start
out from the criminal hypothesis that one or another of the parties is
_de facto_ already excluded from this superior commonwealth.

Yet we have seen with pain assertions such as these approved and
deliriously spread abroad; and not always amongst common people, or by
the voices of those who speak not with authority. For three months it
seemed as if our ideal Europe were ship-wrecked, but a reaction is
making its appearance already. A thousand indications assure us that, in
the world of intellect at any rate, the winds are quieting down, and
that in the best minds the eternal values will soon spring up once more.

It is our purpose to assist in this reaction, to contribute to making it
known, and, as far as we are able, to ensure its triumph. We are not
alone. We have with us in every quarter of the world the ardent
aspirations of far-sighted minds, and the unvoiced wishes of thousands
of men of good will, who, beyond their sympathies and personal
preferences, are determined to remain faithful to the cause of this
moral unity.

And above all we have, in the far distant future, the appreciation of
the men who tomorrow will applaud this modest work to which we are
devoting ourselves today.

We will begin by giving the greatest possible publicity to those
actions, declarations, and manifestations--whether they emanate from
belligerent or neutral nations--in which the effort of reviving the
feeling of a higher uni