Subsequent discussion, although it did not dim my admira- tion
for Coventry, did suggest to me that national service was not as simple as it seemed. It would appear that the problem is not so much the conscientious objectors (whom we all respect), nor even the malingerers (who are not very numerous), but the great middle mass of those who are perfectly ready to do something but who for one reason or another abstain from enrolment. I was at pains to discover the true reasons for such abstention. The main reason is, I suppose, our national habit of postponement, our tendency to put things off. This tendency arises, not so much from any natural raffishness or untidiness of mind, but from our congenital hatred of the mentally irksome. It is certainly not true that our people are more lethargic, timid or selfish than are the French or Germans. Physically, we are capable of self-sacrifice and even of energy. Yet there are moments when I feel that intellectually and spiritually we are the most cowardly people on this globe.
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