HOMO MILITAXS 



possessed, who wants to comprehend everything, and includes in his 

 search for understanding the problem of why man sometimes falls prey 

 to invisible powers. One may in this connexion think of such a man as 

 Pasteur, and I believe that I shall not detract from the invaluable 

 merits of this great benefactor of mankind if I claim that for this type 

 of fighter the notion of therapy and prevention always comes in the 

 second place. 



Then there are those who are pushed into the fight by rebelling 

 against or compassion with the suffering of his fellow-men; by the 

 belief that they should not acquiesce in his downfall. Semmelweis, the 

 conqueror of childbed fever, is a typical representative of this variant 

 of Homo militans. And among the less prominent fighters there are many 

 who, though less impassioned, nevertheless have dedicated themselves, 

 driven by a conscious effort to serve suffering humanity. Certainly 

 this group includes those exceptional persons who have occasionally 

 made themselves available as human experimental animals in the 

 study of mortal diseases. The American military personnel who, in 

 1900, thus permitted Reed in Cuba to solve the problem of yellow 

 fever provide the best known, though by no means the only example. 



And lastly, besides these individuals who consciously sacrificed 

 themselves 'for the cause of humanity and in the interest of science', 

 we may not forget the many to whom probably applies what Camus 

 in his earlier mentioned book puts into the mouth of one of his im- 

 provised plague fighters. When sounded out about the motives of his 

 terribly risky cooperation, the answer is hesitantly summarized in the 

 simple words, 'par honnetete'. 



I realize that these few remarks are anything but sufficient to form 

 a suitable image of Homo militans such as he appears to-day. Never- 

 theless, it would already give me great satisfaction if I had succeeded 

 in imbuing my audience with the notion that it is the highest time 

 that the homines militantes of this earth cease to exhaust themselves in 

 infamous mutual combat, and instead dedicate themselves to the more 

 urgent and at the same time more glorious task of ensuring the exist- 

 ence of humanity by protecting it against its many beleaguers. 



In that event you may be found willing to reserve in the human 

 family circle a lasting place not only for Homo sapiens, Homofaber, and 

 surely, Homo ludens, but also for Homo militans! 



4i5 



