This union contains a liberating power which produces happy and permanent results in the national life.

We need only recall the uniting power of the War of Liberation or the Franco-German War and their historical consequences.

The brutal incidents inseparable from every war vanish completely before the idealism of the main result.

All the sham reputations which a long spell of peace undoubtedly fosters are unmasked.

Great personalities take their proper place; strength, truth, and honour come to the front and are put into play.