What does the iron and clay mixture in the vision illustrate about Europe?
The iron and clay mixture illustrates that Europe's consortium of nations is a fragile, unstable union. Like cement mixed with gravel, it lacks cohesion and will crumble, because centuries-old hatreds among European nations—Germans, French, Spaniards, Italians—run deep and prevent lasting unity.
Les explains that as world empires have come and gone, we are now at the iron and clay toes of the Western Europe Consortium of Nations, and he says this is perfectly illustrated by iron and clay. Using a farmer's analogy, he notes that before washed sand was used, farmers mixed cement with whatever gravel they could get, and such cement does not last—it starts crumbling because it lacks the ability to cleave. Les applies this to Europe: it is a collection of nations that for hundreds of years have hated each other with a passion, making Europe a battleground for centuries. Germans hate the French, the French hate others, Spaniards hate Italians, and those hatreds run deep. Thus the mixture pictures a divided, brittle Europe that cannot hold together.