But we'd ha' had trouble, e'en gi'en there'd been no war.
It wouldna ha' been sae great, perhaps.

There'd not be sae much grief and sae much unhappiness i' the world today, save for him.

But there was something wrang wi' the world, and there had tae be a visitation of some sort before the world could be made better.
There's few things that come to a man or a nation in the way of grief and sorrow and trouble that are no punishments for some wickedness and sin o' his ain.

We dinna always ken what it is we ha' done.

And whiles the innocent maun suffer wi' the guilty--aye, that's a part of the punishment of the guilty, when they come to realize hoo it is they've carried others, maybe others they love, doon wi' them into the valley of despair.
I love Britain.