The end of darkness, however usual it may seem to
us a week from now, does, in fact, symbolise a change of deep significance. There are those who will see in it the presage of an early peace ; I do not wish to chill their optimism. But even to those who feel that peace will be a gradual process, and not a sudden event, the 'raising of the black-out is the confirmation of strategical facts of vast importance. I feel sympathy for those who, having during these five years kept their gaze so glued to the grindstone that they have come to know its every granulation, now for the first time raise their eyes and are appalled by the vast shapes of difficulty which lie ahead. Our future problems are in truth formidable and wide ; and it is only when the strain relaxes that we realise how tired we are. But how momentary is our exhaustion when we envisage the vast areas of experiment, of hope, of opportunity which lie ahead!
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