Page:Michael Farbman - The Russian Revolution & The War (1917).djvu/54

 "It must be remembered," he says, "that the clearer the aims of the war, the more distinct and positive the utterances of the Allies, the more certain the soldiers are that the whole Coalition is fighting sincerely for the pure ideal of liberty, the more powerful will be the offensive impulse of the Russian army."

Russia's danger to-day is nervousness. The whole national life is in a state of nerves. It is nervously overstrained and apprehensive. The country feels itself on the verge of ruin, or as Skobelyef (Socialist Member of the Government) put it the other day, "Russia is balancing on a razor-edge." In fact Russia is living only on her nervous excitement.The new offensive illustrates this most clearly. It has been a miracle. Yet there is evidently too much exaltation and not enough of that calm confidence that one would like. The army fights with amazing vehemence and