146 THE MORAL ASPECT OF 



But to represent the good of a State as antagonistic to 

 that of humanity, or to set patriotism and cosmopolitanism 

 against each other, is as wrong in theory and as mischievous 

 in practice as it is to oppose the good of the individual 

 citizen to that of his State. The attempt to do so arises 

 from the same shallow individualism, and the same ignor- 

 ance of the coincidence of private and public good. But 

 the teaching of history is as clear in respect to the com- 

 munity of States as we have found it to be in the case of 

 a community of individuals. The failure or the prosperity 

 of a particular State has always communicated itself to its 

 neighbours precisely in the same way. Every wrong deed 

 on the part of an individual State is a wrong to humanity, 

 and every action that is right and good for itself is in the 

 last resort a contribution to the stability and prosperity of 

 its neighbours. The British Empire, by its political and 

 social progress, by its science and inventions and industrial 

 enterprise, has benefited every country with which it has 

 held intercourse. And other nations have done the same 

 to us. Their good is ours, and ours theirs. Even in 

 international trade, where self-seeking seems to be at the 

 same time both most evident and most justifiable, our best 

 neighbour is our strongest neighbour ; for it buys most 

 from us in order to supply its own needs, and sells most 

 to us so as to supply ours. We cannot profit by its decay, 

 nor it by ours. When Rome destroyed Carthage it de- 

 stroyed a great part of its own prosperity ; and any " hitting 

 back " upon our part, if that means weakening our neigh- 

 bours, weakens ourselves as well. The utmost that can 

 be said for any such policy of retaliation is that it may 

 conceivably lead our neighbours to mend their ways, 

 although it must be admitted that force very rarely brings 



