ABSTRACT
France was when no such thing existed as Germanic consciousness, or Italian or English consciousness; in truth people were the first nation of all Europe to grasp the idea of constituting a home-land ever hearkening the call to a crusade and needing, as it were, but the voice from a supernatural world to bring forth heroism. This intimate brotherhood, this community of spirit, continuing throughout two years of warfare, results in giving to certain military units a collective soul. Certain among these souls are characterized by such nobility, sending forth a radiance comparable to that of the Saints, that other groups receive an increment to their own spirit. For more than a thousand years now, this mighty stream of feats of valor has been flowing in undiminished volume. The French make war as a religious duty. They were the first to formulate the idea of a holy war.
