The Navy as a Fighting Machine | Page 7

reasonably conclude that, if we know the character of a man--or a
group of men--and if we know also the line of action which he--or
they-have followed in the past, we shall be able to predict his--or
their--line of action in the future with considerable accuracy; and that
the accuracy will increase with the number of men in the group, and the
length of time during which they have followed the known line of
action. Le Bon says: "Every race carries in its mental constitution the
laws of its destiny."
Therefore, the line of action that the entire human race has followed
during the centuries of the past is a good index--or at least the best
index that we have--to its line of action during the centuries of the
future.

Now, men have been on this earth for many years; and history and
psychology teach us that in their intercourse with each other, their
conduct has been caused by a combination of many forces, among
which are certain powerful forces that tend to create strife. The
strongest by far of these forces is the ego in man himself, a quality
divinely implanted which makes a man in a measure self-protecting.
This ego prompts a man not only to seek pleasure and avoid trouble for
himself, but also to gain superiority, and, if possible, the mastery over
his fellow men. Men being placed in life in close juxtaposition to each
other, the struggles of each man to advance his own interests produce
rivalries, jealousies, and conflicts.
Similarly with nations. Nations have been composed for the most part
of people having an heredity more or less common to them all, so that
they are bound together as great clans. From this it has resulted that
nations have been jealous of each other and have combated each other.
They have been doing this since history began, and are doing it as
much as ever now.
In fact, mankind have been in existence for so many centuries, and their
physical, moral, mental, and spiritual characteristics were so evidently
implanted in them by the Almighty, that it seems difficult to see how
any one, except the Almighty himself, can change these characteristics
and their resulting conduct. It is a common saying that a man cannot lift
himself over the fence by his boot straps, though he can jump over the
fence, if it is not too high. This saying recognizes the fact that "a
material system can do no work on itself"; but needs external aid.
When a man pulls upward on his boot straps, the upward force that he
exerts is exactly balanced by the downward reaction exerted by his boot
straps; but when he jumps, the downward thrust of his legs causes an
equal reaction of the earth, which exerts a direct force upward upon the
man; and it is this external force that moves him over the fence. It is
this external force, the reaction of the earth or air or water, which
moves every animal that walks, or bird that flies, or fish that swims. It
is the will of the Almighty, acting through the various stimuli of nature,
that causes the desire to walk, and all the emotions and actions of men.
If He shall cause any new force to act on men, their line of conduct will

surely change. But if He does not--how can it change, or be changed;
how can the human race turn about, by means of its own power only,
and move in a direction the reverse from that in which it has been
moving throughout all the centuries of the past?
These considerations seem to indicate that nations, regarded in their
relation toward each other, will go on in the direction in which they
have been going unless acted upon by some external force.
Will civilization, commerce, or Christianity impart that force?
Inasmuch as civilization is merely a condition in which men live, and
an expression of their history, character and aims, it is difficult to see
how it could of itself act as an external force, or cause an external force
to act. "Institutions and laws," says Le Bon, again, "are the outward
manifestation of our character, the expression of its needs. Being its
outcome, institutions and laws cannot change this character."
Even if the civilization of a given nation may have been brought about
in some degree by forces external to that nation, yet it is clear that we
must regard that civilization rather as the result of those forces than as a
force itself. Besides, civilization has never yet made the relations of
nations with each other more unselfish, civilized nations now and in the
past, despite their veneer of courtesy, being fully as jealous of each
other as the most savage tribes.