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II. A. LORENTZ'S WORK 71
a man occupying a leading position in one of the sciences to
manage at the same time to do valuable service to the community
in the sphere of international organization and international
politics. Such service demands not only strength, insight,
and a reputation based on solid achievements, but also a freedom
from national prejudice and a devotion to the common
ends of all, which have become rare in our times. I have met
no one who combined all these qualities in himself so perfectly
as H. A. Lorentz. The marvelous thing about the effect of his
personality was tllis: Independent and stubborn natures, such as
are particularly co=on among men of learning, do not readily
bow to another's will and for the most part only accept his
leadership grudgingly. But when Lorentz is in the presidential
chair, an atmosphere of happy cooperation is invariably created,
however much those present may differ in their aims and habits
of thought. The secret of tllis success lies not only in his swift
comprehension of people and things and his marvelous command
of language, but above all in tllis, that one feels that his
whole heart is in the business in hand, and that when he is at
work, he has room for nothing else in his mind. N otbing disarms
the recalcitrant so much as tllis.
Before the War, Lorentz's activities in the cause of international
relations were confined to presiding at congresses of
physicists. Particularly noteworthy among these were the Solvay
Congresses, the first two of wllich were held at Brussels in 1909
and 1911. Then came the European war, which was a crushing
blow to all who had tlle improvement of human relations in general
at heart. Even before the war was over, and still more after
its end, Lorentz devoted himself to the work of international
reconciliation. His efforts were especially directed toward the
re-establishment of fruitful and friendly cooperation between
men of learning and scientific societies. An outsider can hardly
conceive what uphill work this was. The accumulated resentment
of the war period had not yet died down, and many influential
men persisted in the irreconcilable attitude into which
they had allowed themselves to be driven by tlle pressure of