Page:Czechoslovakia's tribute to the memory of Woodrow Wilson.djvu/18

 In his messages Wilson expressed more clearly than anyone else the fundamental ideas of the whole War. Thus he became the consolation and hope of all the oppressed.

In the course of time Wilson incorporated the peace aims of the Allies in a concrete programme: he drew up his 14 Points for the terms of peace which, being the expression of the ideals of modern freedom and democracy, became the gospel of all those who expected to obtain their national independence from the War.

Wilson at last understood the psychology of tortured humanity: he tawsaw [sic] that mankind wanted a lasting peace. And so in his Notes he soon spoke of securing a definitive peace and in the spirit of his ideals of American democracy he formulated the ideas of the League of Nations.

Finally: Wilson’s place in the War is also determined by the fact that he represented a State which with its material strength has stood and stands in the foremost place in the world so that at last it decided the War owing to the physical exhaustion of the other States. When history comes to judge Wilson’s work, it will ask whether and why Wilson was really a great man. The present time values the great President very highly. And I think that history will rightly rank him amongst the great personalities of history.

It seems to be true that Wilson concentrates within himself all the signs of a great man:

high mental qualities which were shown in his studies, theoretical works and practical political activity; in his personal character and in his power of intuition and imagination enabling him to see into the future;

his systematical and laborious lifework by which he had to work his way up in order to be recognized by his fellow-citizens;

a highly-developed social conscience which represses personal egoism and gives a man a correct view of the object of life: to forget himself and devote his whole life to the service of the people and of society;

a highly-developed moral sense which turns a man into a great moral authority, a moral personality without which there never has been and never will be true greatness amongst men. By his work, life and opinions Wilson was this moral personality.

But if one is to become a great man in the history of humanity, all these personal qualities, whilst essential, are insufficient in themselves. History must give him the possibility of applying these qualities. Wilson had this good fortune in that the events of the War enabled him to put his personality into them.

He is and will be a great man also because in the most fateful moment of present-day Europe he was the worthy representative of the great democracy of the world, a democracy which decided the World War. His name will remain for ever linked with this fact.

He has an added greatness because being the representative of this democracy, he was able to formulate more clearly than anyone else the ideas which were the expression of the philosophy of this War and meant the programme for the reorganization of Europe for long