not, sees the point of a
thing or not, is a matter of the uttermost unimportance. If he is
wise, he keeps his likes and dislikes to himself.

All through his training he is learning the unimportance of his
individuality, realizing that in a national, a world crisis, it counts
for nothing. On the other hand, he is equally learning that as a unit
in a fighting force his every action is of the utmost importance. The
humility which the Army inculcates is not an abject self-depreciation
that leads to loss of self-respect and effort. Substituted for the old
individualism is a new self-consciousness. The man has become humble,
but in proportion the soldier has become exceeding proud. The old
personal whims and ambitions give place to a corporate ambition
and purpose, and this unity of will is symbolized in action by the
simultaneous exactitude of drill, and in dress by the rigid identity
of uniform. Anything which calls attention to the individual, whether
in drill or in dress, is a crime, because it is essential that the
soldier's individuality should be wholly subordinated to the corporate
personality of the regiment.

As I said before, the personal humility of the soldier has nothing in
it of abject self-depreciation or slackness. On the contrary, every
detail of his appearance, and every most trivial feature of his duty
assumes an immense significance. Slackness in his dress and negligence
in his work are military crimes. In a good regiment the soldier is
striving after perfection all the time.

And it is when he comes to the supreme test of battle that the fruits
of his training appear. The good soldier has learnt the hardest
lesson of all--the lesson of self-subordination to a higher and bigger
personality. He has learnt to sacrifice everything which belongs to
him individually to a cause that is far greater than any personal
ambitions of his own can ever be. He has learnt to do this so
thoroughly that he knows no fear--for fear is personal. He has learnt
to "hate" father and mother and life itself for the sake of--though he
may not call it that--the Kingdom of God on earth.

It is a far cry from the old days when one talked of self-realization,
isn't it? I make no claim to be a good soldier; but I think that
perhaps I may be beginning to be one; for if I am asked now whether I
"loathe militarism in all its forms," I think that "the answer is in
the negative," I will even go farther, and say that I hope that some
of