1906-7. ' TRANSACTIONS. 69 



"Yet we must admit, be the contradiction real or only ap- 

 parent, that there are certain actions permitted by the code of 

 political ethics, but prohibited by the moral law. (P. 25) . 



" It would, however, be quite as illogical as it is impracticable, 

 to demand from the community itself the same course of action 

 or omission as from its members. (P. 32). 



" Moreover, how can the golden rule be applied to the relation 

 of one State to another? (P. 34). 



"Nevertheless, the relation of the State to justice differs 

 essentially from that of the individual. (P. 37). 



"Historians will not praise it, poets cannot glorify it, but 

 nobility and magnanimity are not predicates which statecraft can 

 court most successfully. (P. 44). 



" An unqualified obligation on the part of a State to observe 

 treaties made or recognized by it, cannot be maintained. (P. 45). 



" Politics, as all human action, is subject to the authority of 

 moral dut}'', but the moral law which prescribes virtues and duties 

 for the individual is not available in the conduct of public affairs. 

 This phase of ethical law is essentially foreign to politics. Al- 

 truism is the gospel of the citizen, self-preservation that of the 

 state. (P. 48). 



"Is politics subject to the moral law of private life? must be 

 answered in the negative. Does politics possess an independent 

 principle for the guidance of its action? in the affirmative. 

 These answers merely re-affirm the truth of the old maxim, salus 

 publica suprema lex esto; all other considerations are subordinate 

 to the preservation and well-being of the community. (P. 49). 



"The interests of a foreign state can be regarded only in so 

 far as they do not conflict with our own. In politics, at least, the 

 preservation of the state justifies every sacrifice and is superior 

 to every commandment. (P. 59). 



"The claim may be made that the main question at issue is, 

 whether or not it is justifiable to commit, in the interests of the 

 public weal, actions which are unconditionally forbidden by law 

 and morality. (P. 66). 



"The conditions in which the higher interests of a state or a 

 nation are at stake transcend ordinary rules, and principles, and 

 they upon whom supreme responsibility rests can hardly afford 

 to be impeded by the threads of casuistry. (P. 72). 



" On the other hand, we can hardly fail to notice in the man- 

 agement of public affairs an increasing tendency toward nobler 

 ends." (P. 75). 



