Romain Rolland on Esperanto in "The Forerunners"

"My dream goes further. I should like the seed of universal culture to be scattered, from the very beginning of education, among the pupils of the primary and secondary schools. Above all let me suggest that throughout the countries of Europe an international language should be one of the compulsory subjects of study. Such international languages (Esperanto, Ido) have already attained something very near perfection; and with the minimum of effort the international language could be mastered by all the children of the civilised world. Not merely would this language be of unrivalled practical value throughout life. It would further serve as an introduction to the study of foreign languages and of their own national tongue; for it would make them realise, far better than any express instruction, the common elements in the European languages and the unity of European thought."

SOURCE:  Rolland, Romain. "On Behalf of the International of the Mind" (March 15, 1918), in The Forerunners, translated by Eden & Cedar Paul (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Howe, 1920).