They will worry – and they are right to worry – that a situation of extreme peril, a veritable threat to the nation, was required before the French recovered their senses and took the path of reason. And they will regret that the French are not the prosaic sort of people who know how to be themselves at normal cruising speed, without having to hear a cannonball whistle past.
有些人会对这个奇怪的国家感到惊奇，这个国家不到最危险的时候就表现不出它的伟大。他们会担心——应该担心——法国人非要等到极端危险情形、不折不扣的国家威胁来临时才会恢复理智，选择理性之路。他们会感到遗憾，法国人是“不走寻常路”的民族，在一帆风顺、炮火声平息时他们便不认识自己。但法国人就是如此。