146 The Special Sociological Errors 



procedures, processes which have nothing to do 

 with the slaughter of the battle-field, to which 

 the cataclysmic theory assigns all results. 



Moreover, Renan and all the militarists fail 

 to take account of another fact which, when its 

 bearing is realized, ruins completely the signifi- 

 cance of their comparisons between individual 

 biological phenomena and collective social pheno- 

 mena. In 1806, Prussia was defeated at the battle 

 of Jena. According to the philosophy of force, 

 this was because Prussia was "inferior," and 

 France was "superior." Suppose we admit for 

 the moment that this was the case. The selection 

 now represents the survival of the fittest, the 

 selection which perfects the human species. But 

 what shall we say of the battle of Leipsic? At 

 Leipsic, in 18 13, all the values were reversed; it is 

 now France which is the "inferior" nation, and 

 according to Renan it would be defeat this time, 

 and not victory, which resulted in the positive 

 selection. Furthermore, a large number of the 

 same generals and soldiers who took part in the 

 battle of Jena also took part in the battle of 

 Leipsic. Napoleon belonged, therefore, to a race 

 which was superior to that of Bliicher in 1806, 

 but to an inferior race in 1813, in spite of the fact 

 that they were the same persons and had not 

 changed their nationality. As soon as we bring 

 these assertions to the touchstone of concrete 

 reality we see at once how untenable and even 

 ridiculous are direct biological comparisons. 



