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?