Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Innledning av Lord Cecil
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
I have been invited to contribute a short preface to Nordens Kalender,
and the request has filled me with some trepidation. What right has a
foreigner like myself to undertake such a task? Yet one thing encourages
me. When, a few years ago, I visited Norway, Sweden and Denmark,
I admired all I saw and was grateful for the great courtesy and hospitality
which I received. Beyond this, there was one point which specially struck
me. I had the opportunity of making a number of speeches and I found
that the audiences were extraordinarily like those which I address in
England, -— möre so than in any other country I have visited. The mental
processes were the same. The same kind of arguments appealed; even the
same kind of joke was appreciated. I felt, if I may say so, at home with
them, and I can only hope that these words may enjoy the same kindly
acceptance.
I am asked: — «What is the status of the Scandinavian Nations within
the community of Nations?» — A searching question which I cannot hope
to answer adequately. But some things may be said with confidence. The
Scandinavian countries have always exerted a great influence in the world.
Sometimes that has been due to the existence of men of outstanding genius
like Gustavus Adolphus in older days, and Fridtjof Nansen in our own
times. But many men of this kind, devoted to great causes and endowed
with pre-eminent power, have been born in other countries. While tliey
live, they impress upon the world their personalities, and when they die,
though their work may survive, the authority which their native lands
9
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
