rces, and it will overcome the world by making
gentleness its might, as all great spiritual teachers have done. It
comes to this, we cannot overcome hatred by hatred or war by war, but
by the opposites of these. Evil is not overcome by evil but by good; and
any race like the Irish, eager for national life, ought to learn this
truth--that humanity will act towards their race as their race acts
towards humanity. The noble and the base alike beget their kin.
Empires, ere they disappear, see their own mirrored majesty arise in the
looking-glass of time. Opposed to the pride and pomp of Egypt were the
pride and pomp of Chaldaea. Echoing the beauty of the Greek city state
were many lovely cities made in their image. Carthage evoked Rome. The
British Empire, by the natural balance and opposition of things, called
into being another empire with a civilization of coal and steel, and
with ambitions for colonies and for naval power, and with that image
of itself it must wrestle for empire. The great armadas that throng the
seas, the armed millions upon the earth betray the fear in the minds of
races, nay, the inner spiritual certitude the soul has, that pride and
lust of power must yet be humbled by their kind. They must at last meet
their equals face to face, called to them as steel to magnet by some
inner affinity. This is a law of life both for individuals and races,
and, when this is realized, we know nothing will put an end to race
conflicts except the equally determined and heroic development of the
spiritual, moral, and intellectual forces which disdain to use the force
and fury of material powers.

We may be assured that the divine law is not mocked, and it cannot be
deceived. As men sow so do they reap. The anger we create will rend us;
the love we give will return to us. Biologically, everything breeds true
to its type: moods and thoughts just as much as birds and beasts and
fishes. When I hear people raging against England or Germany or Russia I
know that rage will beget rage, and go on begetting it, and so the whole
devilish generation of passions will be continued. There are no nations
to whom the entire and loyal allegiance of man's spirit could be given.
It can only go out to the ideal empires and nationalities in the womb
of time, for whose coming we pray. Those countries of the future we must
carve out of the humanity of today, and we can begin building them up
within our present empires and nationalities just as w