Commentary The old saying “to know all is to forgive all” means if taken literally, that all the evils of the world would be forgivable if we took the trouble to discover the real reasons for them. Those who actually believe this reveal themselves as optimists, generous in spirit, willing to look for the best in human nature. But most of us, hardened by the experience of history, are inclined to be more sceptical: the brutish cruelties of a Stalin or a Hitler may be explicable, by some feat of psychological analysis, but are surely beyond excuse or pardon. What kind of justification can we find for Putin’s aggression in Ukraine? Even to write that sentence is to invite an angry response from most people today, for we are all appalled by the sufferings of the Ukrainian people and disgusted by the ruthless destructiveness of the Russian military. However, to …