INTRODU
The Religion of Good-citizenship
Sage, thun ivir nicht rechtl Wir mussen den Pobel betrugen,
Sur, ivie ungeschickt, siur ivie wild er sich zeigt Ungeschid wild sind alle roherogenen ;
Seid nur redlid fiihrt ihn zum Menschli an.
Goethe
THE great war at the present moment is abs all the attention of the world exclusive of everything else. But then I think this war itself must make serious thinking people turn their attention to the great problem of civilisation. All civilisation begins by the quest of Nature, i.e. by subduing and trolling the terrific physical forces in Nature so that they do no harm to men. The modern civilisation of Europe to-day has succeeded in the quest of Nature with a success, it must be admitted, hitherto not attained by any other civilisation. But there is in this world a force more terrible even thaerrific physical forces in Nature and that is the passions in the heart of man. The harm which the physical forces of Nature do to mankind, is nothing pared with the harm which human passions do. Until therefore this terrible force,_the human passions_is properly regulated and trolled, there be, it is evident, not only no civilisation, but even no life possible for human beings.
In the first early and rude stage of society, mankind had to use
_ Arent we just doing the right thing? the mob we must befool them;
See, now, how shiftless! and look noild! {or such is the mob-Shiftless and wild all sons of Adam are when you befool them;
Be but ho and true, and thus make human, them all.
physical force to subdue and subjugate human passions. Thus hordes of savages had to be subjugated by sheer physical force. But as civilisation advances, mankind discovers a force more potent and more effective for subduing and trolling human passions than physical ford this force is called moral force. The moral force whi the past has been effective in subduing and trolling the human passions in the population of Europe, is Christianity. But now this war with the armament preg it, seems to show that Christianity has bee iive as a moral force. Without an effective moral force to trol arain human passions, the people of Europe have had again to employ physical force to keep civil order. As Car-lyle truly says, " Europe is Anarchy plus a stable. " The use of physical foraintain civil order leads to militarism. In fact militarism is necessary in Europe to-day because of the want of an effective moral force. But militarism leads to war and war mearu and waste. Thus the people of Europe are on the horns of a dilemma. If they do away with militarism, anarchy will destroy their civilisation, but if they keep up militarism, their civilisation will collapse through the waste aru of war. But Englishmen say that they are determio put down Prussian militarism and Lord Kiter believes that he will be able to stamp out Prussian militarism with three million drilled and armed Englishmen. But then it seems to me when Prussian militarism is thus stamped out, there will then arise another militarism, _the British militarism which again will have to be stamped out. Thus there seems to be no way of escape out of this vicious circle.
But is there really no way of escape? Yes, I believe there is. The Ameri Emerson long ago said, "I easily see the bankruptcy of the vulgar musket worship, _though great men be musket worshippers; and tis certain, as God liveth, the gun that does n