266 SOCIAL HEREDITY AND SOCIAL EVOLUTION 



sacrifice my own interest for the good of the 

 greatest number can furnish me with no logical, 

 though it does furnish an ethical ground for action. 

 The good of the greatest number does not concern 

 me, and while I may use this as a justification of the 

 dictates of my ethical nature, it never could furnish 

 me with a vital basis for self-sacrifice. It is not 

 reason that draws men into the army at times of 

 great national crises, although it has its influence. 

 Patriotism draws the man from his home and impels 

 him to give his life for the nation. Reason alone 

 would lead him to stay at home and allow others to 

 sacrifice themselves for the things he holds valuable. 

 Reason can never lead man to sacrifice his life for 

 the king whom he serves, even less to sacrifice it for 

 the military glory of the general or emperor who 

 commands him. Reason is eminently selfish. The 

 impulse that leads to patriotism is something very 

 different from logic. The spirit of the martyr is not 

 based upon intelligence or reason. It involves both, 

 but is superior to both. Even in the conditions of 

 modern society it is clear that the impulse which 

 leads mankind in general to refrain from taking 

 another's property is not reason. "Honesty is the 

 best policy" may be the guiding principle of some, 

 but not of most people. While many are deterred 

 from acts of dishonesty through fear of the conse- 

 quences, certainly the majority are kept from paths 

 of dishonesty by some feeling wholly different from 

 reason and intelligence. 



In short, reason lacks the vitality that actuates 

 modern civilization. If mankind were actuated by 

 intelligence alone, civilization would be impossible; 

 for whatever combinations might be produced would 



