But whatever you do, do not blame everybody for what was certainly done
by somebody. It may be it is no good crying over spilt blood, any
more than over spilt milk. But we do not find the culprit any more by
spilling the milk over everybody; or by daubing everybody with blood.
Still less do we improve matters by watering the milk with our tears,
nor the blood either. To say that everybody is responsible means that
nobody is responsible. If in the future we see Russia annexing Rutland
(as part of the old Kingdom of Muscovy), if we see Bavaria taking a
sudden fancy to the Bank of England, or the King of the Cannibal Islands
suddenly demanding a tribute of edible boys and girls from England and
America, we may be quite certain also that the Leader of the Labour
Party will rise, with a slight cough, and say: “It would be a difficult
task to apportion the blame between the various claims which...”