If the nations haven’t the sense to be able
(if they wish) to limit their families—short
of resorting to such methods as War, Cannibalism,
the spread of Disease, the exposure of Infants, and
the like—one can only conclude that they
must go on fighting and preying upon each other (industrially
and militarily) till they gain the sense. Mere
unbridled and irrational lust may have led to wars
of extermination in the past. Love and the sacrament
of a true and intimate union may come some day with
the era of peace.
[26] Militating also against the idea of over-population
is the fact that so much of our agricultural land
is obviously uncared for and neglected.
THE FRIENDLY AND THE FIGHTING INSTINCTS
January, 1915.
Fighting is certainly a deeply ingrained instinct
in the human race—the masculine portion.
In the long history of human development it has undoubtedly
played an important part. It has even (such is
the cussedness and contrariety of Nature) helped greatly
in the evolution of love and social solidarity.
There is no greater bond in early stages between the
members of a group or tribe than the consciousness
that they have a common enemy.[27] It is also obviously
still a great pleasure to a very large proportion
of our male populations—as, indeed, the
fact of its being the fulfilment of a deep instinct
would lead us to expect. It does not follow,
however, from these remarks that we expect war in
its crudest form to continue for ever. There will
come a term to this phase of evolution. Probably
the impact and collision between nations—if
required for their impregnation and fecundity—will
come about in some other way.
If fighting is an ingrained instinct, the sociable
or friendly instinct is equally ingrained. We
may, indeed, suppose it roots deeper. In the
midst of warfare maddest foes will turn and embrace
each other. In the tale of Cuchulain of Muirthemne[28]
he (Cuchulain) and Ferdiad fought for three days on
end, yet at the close of each day kissed each other
affectionately; and in the present war there are hundreds
of stories already in circulation of acts of grace
and tenderness between enemies, as well as the quaintest
quips and jokes and demonstrations of sociability
between men in opposing trenches who “ought”
to have been slaying each other. In the Russo-Japanese
War during the winter, when military movement was
not easy, and the enemy lines in some cases were very
near each other, the men, Russians and Japanese, played
games together as a convenient and pleasant way of
passing the time, and not unfrequently took to snowballing
each other.
