,
I let men worship as they will, I reap
No revenue from the field of unbelief.
I cull from every faith and race the best
And bravest soul for counsellor and friend.
I loathe the very name of infidel.
I stagger at the Koran and the sword.
I shudder at the Christian and the stake.

In regard also to this tendency to religious strife the older
civilisations of Europe could give help if they would, rather than
hindrance as they do now, encouraging and stimulating creed jealousies.
Even well-meaning and unselfish friends of the Balkans contribute often
to spread evil tendencies because they take up the attitude of blind
partisanship for one particular Balkan people, and refuse either to give
charity to the others or chiding to their pet people.

It would be neither truthful nor good policy to attempt to maintain that
the great Powers of Europe are altogether responsible for the blood
torrents which are always flowing in the Balkans. But they have had a
great share of the responsibility in the past; are very guilty in the
present. Since gaining some knowledge of the Balkan peoples I have
always nursed a hope, a very desperate hope, that the powers of Western
Europe would repent of selfish ambitions at the eleventh hour, and would
adopt a policy of real help to the struggling nationalities of the Near
East. They are kept so miserable and yet naturally are really so
amiable, those little peoples. The Bulgarians in particular I learned to
regard with something of affection. Their good temper and their industry
and their patience recalled Tolstoy's pen-pictures of the Russian
peasants:

All of these peasants, even those who had quarrelled with him
about the hay, or those whom he had injured if their intention
was not to cheat him, saluted him gaily as they passed, and
showed no anger for what he had done, or any remorse or even
remembrance that they had tried to defraud him. All was
swallowed up and forgotten in this sea of joyous, universal
labour. God gave the day, God gave the strength; and the day and
the strength consecrated the labour and yielded their own
reward. No one dreamed of asking, Why this work, and who enjoyed
the fruits of it? These questions were secondary and of no
account....

Levin had often looked with interest at this life, had often
been tempted to become one with the people, living their lives;
but to-day the impr