ed by the same laws of human nature. And
as the most potent influence that could be brought to bear upon
a man was a threat against his life, and as it was the province of
military power to threaten life, it was unavoidable that military
power should be the most potent influence that could be brought
to bear upon a nation.

The history of the world has been in the main a history of war
and a narrative of wars. No matter how far back we go, the same
horrible but stimulating story meets our eyes. In ancient days,
when every weapon was rude, and manipulated by one man only, the
injury a single weapon could do was small, the time required for
preparation was but brief, and the time required for recuperation
after war was also brief. At that time, military power was almost
the sole element in the longevity of a tribe, or clan, or nation;
and the warriors were the most important men among the people.
But as civilization increased, the life not only of individuals
but of nations became more complex, and warriors had to dispute
with statesmen, diplomatists, poets, historians, and artists of
various types, the title to pre-eminence. Yet even in savage tribes
and even in the conduct of savage wars, the value of wisdom and
cunning was perceived, and the stimulating aid of the poet and
the orator was secured. The relative value of men of war and men
of peace depended during each period on the conditions prevailing
then--in war, warriors held the stage; in peace, statesmen and
artists had their day.

Naturally, during periods when war was the normal condition, the
warrior was the normal pillar of the state. In how great a proportion
of the time that history describes, war was the normal condition
and peace the abnormal, few realize now in our country, because
of the aloofness of the present generation from even the memory
of war. Our last great war ended in 1865; and since then only the
light and transient touch of the Spanish War has been laid upon
us. Even that war ended seventeen years ago and since then only
the distant rumblings of battles in foreign lands have been borne
across the ocean to our ears.

These rumblings have disturbed us very little. Feeling secure behind
the 3,000-mile barrier of the ocean, we have lent an almost incredulous
ear to the story that they tell and the menace that they bear;
though the story of the influence of successful and unsuccessful
wars upon the rise and fall of nations is told so harshly