chance in the background awarding death to the van- 

 quished and to the victor life's bitter spoils. With 

 master strokes, and with the convincing accuracy of 

 the trained observer, they painted the "disastrous 

 chances" of a tumultuous life, the "moving accidents 

 by flood and field," the spectacular catastrophes of 

 failure. 



But they did not portray the benevolent processes 

 of construction, the peaceful cooperation, the careful 

 conservation, and the successful sacrifice of self to 

 higher service. Some writers have indeed recognized 

 the element of benevolence in the cooperation that 

 forms such a conspicuous feature of many social organ- 

 izations; but usually it has been regarded as something 

 peculiar to a few highly organized animals and to 

 man, not as something inherent to all stages of organic 

 and inorganic nature. 



IV. Benevolence and Mutual Service as Directive, or 

 Disciplinary Agents in Nature-Action 



But a new phase of nature's primeval method, a new 

 instinct, is now seeking expression in the heart of man. 

 It demands more and more insistently the "humani- 

 tarian" methods of cooperation, altruism, and mutual 

 service. The hand hesitates to obey the heart's com- 

 mand because the false prophets of science still dictate 

 the use of nature's crudest, least effective methods, say- 

 ing that progress can be made only through competition, 

 through mastery by brute force, or by strategy, through 

 selfishness and the license of freedom uncontrolled. I 

 challenge this interpretation of the order. It is not 

 the real teaching of life nor of nature. It places the 



