68 TRANSACTIONS. 1906-7. 



subject to the moral law; and when the existence of the state is in 

 jeopardy, its government must take the means- by which the peril 

 can be averted, even though they are immoral, judged by the 

 obligations of immorality between citizen and citizen within the 

 state itself. It comes to this, when rightly and fairly expressed, 

 as it very seldom is : If nothing else will help to secure the existence 

 of your State in freedom, you may do anything that a wild animal 

 will do — knowing nothing of God, or devil, or sentiment, or morals, 

 or any sort of point d'honneur — for his life and liberty. And 

 you may do anything that a wild animal would do if he had a 

 finer cunning and no more conscience.. " 



I take Mr. Morley's Romanes Lecture (1897) on Machiavelli 

 as a contribution to the same view. Principal Cairns has said : — 



"The code of morals and even of manners as between nations 

 is such as no modern civilized society would tolerate as between 

 its citizens. If we are to take the popular press of Europe and 

 America as fair indicators of international feeling, the eight great 

 powers of Christendom treat one another like ruffians in an East- 

 end slum or a mining camp, rather than like gentlemen or still 

 more Christians. They swagger and boast, they glory in one 

 another's disaster, and are full of the meanest envy and detraction 

 when any one of them is successful. They threaten and bully 

 unblushingiy, and all their effusive international courtesies are 

 alwaj^s with a view to some personal gain, and even in the back- 

 ground there lies the appeal to the revolver or the knife " (a) . 



Finally, Mr. C. J. Dillon a well-known English publicist has 

 said: — 



"Politics are still the negation of ethics, diplomacy the con- 

 ventional drapery of legalized chicanery, and Christianity a body 

 of sublime teachings which may be assimilated by individuals, 

 but seldom contribute materially to shape the conduct of Gov- 

 ernments" (&). 



The Germans as usual have been thinking a little more deeply 

 upon this subject than the rest of us, and endeavouring to make it 

 intelligible and philosophically acceptable. Allow me to read 

 to you short extracts from a very recent book by Chancellor 

 Ruemelin of the Tubingen University asking you to compare him 

 with Machiavelli as I proceed :-^ 



(a) Contemp. Rev., January, '04, p. 51. 

 (6) Contemp. Rev., Nov., '03, 728. 



