284 Intranational and International Ethics [June-September 



life, that cardinal aim in the war of nations, the progress made in 

 this comparatively short span of human history is immense; it reads 

 like a fairy tale. From high in the air a human bird directs you to 

 turn a micrometer screw one miUimeter or two and a huge shell 

 annihilates hundreds or thousands of your enemy. A small group 

 of human fishes bubble up in the vicinity of a huge leviathan, a 

 dreadnought, and in less than ten minutes hundreds of men and mil- 

 lions of dollars are fcrever at the bottom of the sea. In a Stretch 

 of hundreds of miles, hundreds of thousands of soldiers are moved 

 rapidly without a hitch from one place to another where they are 

 needed most The success is wonderful. In barely eight months 

 milHons of people were killed or crippled, perhaps as many more 

 were made homeless and driven into starvation, and billions of dol- 

 lars borrowed and wasted. And that astounding result was not 

 accomplished as in olden times, merely by extraordinary physical 

 force or endurance or by that virtue in which wild beasts greatly 

 excel men, the virtue of physical courage; it was accomplished by 

 specific human ingenuity. Mathematics, physics, chemistry and 

 other theoretical and practical sciences have made these awful re- 

 sults possible. In fact, practically every kind of intellectual activity 

 took and takes a profound part in the bitter struggle which now 

 goes on among highly civilized nations. Historians, philosophers, 

 literary men and others are busy contributing offensive and ven- 

 omous literature about their fellow-men of nations with whom their 

 country is at war, whose friends they were and whose honors they 

 enjoyed. Poets sing the song of profound hatred and musicians 

 write the melody to it, or compose war marches and songs. Re- 

 ligion offers an extraordinarily sad spectacle. Nations having the 

 same religion and believing in the same God, pray to Him that He 

 may help them destroy their enemy. Think of the robber and mur- 

 derer who on his most godless errand prays to God for aid and 

 guidance ! 



But here I must call your attention to a paradoxical but remark- 

 able fact. Beastly as international morality is, when nations are at 

 war, war nevertheless unquestionably elevates the intranational 

 morality. The majority of Citizens in every country are not ideal- 

 ists; in time of peace they comply with the laws of their country 



