ALTRUISM 253 



ence. In spite of tlie manifest fact that altruism pre- 

 \\ serves the weak, it is equally true that only the altru- 

 ^ istic nations are strong. Furthermore, it is evident 

 that each century has seen the ethical principles ris- 

 ing to a higher plane, and that the highest nations 

 are those most perfectly ruled by their ethical sense. 

 It is evident, therefore, that the altruistic principle 

 must furnish some elements of strength sufficient 

 to compensate for the apparent weakness which 

 comes from the preservation of those that are least 

 fit. If the application of ethics to nature would 

 seem to produce degradation, what can be the factor 

 in it that causes it to produce strong nations ? The 

 answer to this question is, briefly, that ethics alone 

 makes the development of society a possibility .\^ 



The history of civilization, from the beginning, 

 has been an attempt on the part of mankind to escape 

 from the continual condition of free fight which 

 characterized the life of animals and of early man. 

 It is true that this advance has been slow. It is true 

 that there have been many relapses, and that, while 

 in one century we may see great strides toward a 

 condition of peace and morality, in the next, per- 

 haps, man has become more savage than before. It 

 is true that, even with the beginning of the twentieth 

 century, we sometimes seem to be farther from the 

 goal than ever. Nevertheless, the development of 

 this principle of altruism, or love, has been a con- 

 stant one. If we compare the present with any pre- 

 vious century, we cannot fail to realize that, so far 

 as concerns the development of this fundamental 

 law, we stand on a higher plane than did our ances- 

 tors. At the present time the principle of brotherly 

 love has a wider and deeper development than at any 



