Baron Arthur Ponsonby

The causes are epitomized in the fewest possible words and the occasion is separated from the cause. Causes of wars are very seldom remembered and are not very easily discovered in the perusal of histories. The occasion is sometimes mistaken for the cause, whereas it may often be merely a pretext. The occasion of a war has not in frequently been a comparatively trivial incident, whereas the cause can be traced to the gradual development of friction for which divergence of policies or conﬂict of am bitions may have been responsible. The trivial incident, or even an incident of a more serious nature, may pass off without fatal consequences if no friction exists between the nations and there is a general atmosphere of amicable understanding. Where, on the contrary, relations are strained it requires but a very small spark to light up a conﬂagration. It is important therefore to detach the occasion from the cause.

Wars & Treaties, 1815 to 1914