ue the first and highest consideration in
its conduct. Still, the political object is no despotic lawgiver on
that account; it must accommodate itself to the nature of the means, and
though changes in these means may involve modification in the political
objective, the latter always retains a prior right to consideration.
Policy, therefore, is interwoven with the whole action of War, and must
exercise a continuous influence upon it, as far as the nature of the
forces liberated by it will permit.

24. WAR IS A MERE CONTINUATION OF POLICY BY OTHER MEANS.

We see, therefore, that War is not merely a political act, but also
a real political instrument, a continuation of political commerce,
a carrying out of the same by other means. All beyond this which is
strictly peculiar to War relates merely to the peculiar nature of the
means which it uses. That the tendencies and views of policy shall not
be incompatible with these means, the Art of War in general and the
Commander in each particular case may demand, and this claim is truly
not a trifling one. But however powerfully this may react on political
views in particular cases, still it must always be regarded as only a
modification of them; for the political view is the object, War is the
means, and the means must always include the object in our conception.

25. DIVERSITY IN THE NATURE OF WARS.

The greater and the more powerful the motives of a War, the more it
affects the whole existence of a people. The more violent the excitement
which precedes the War, by so much the nearer will the War approach
to its abstract form, so much the more will it be directed to the
destruction of the enemy, so much the nearer will the military and
political ends coincide, so much the more purely military and less
political the War appears to be; but the weaker the motives and the
tensions, so much the less will the natural direction of the military
element--that is, force--be coincident with the direction which the
political element indicates; so much the more must, therefore, the War
become diverted from its natural direction, the political object diverge
from the aim of an ideal War, and the War appear to become political.

But, that the reader may not form any false conceptions, we must
here observe that by this natural tendency of War we only mean the
philosophical, the strictly logical, and by no means the tendency of
forces actually engaged in conflict, by which would be suppo