Men become less inclined to destroy life or to
inflict pain; or--to use the popular terminology which happens here to
coincide precisely with that of the Doctrine of Evolution--they become
less _brutal_ and more _humane_. Obviously then the prime feature of the
process called civilization is the general diminution of warfare. But we
have seen that a general diminution of warfare is rendered possible only
by the union of small political groups into larger groups that are kept
together by community of interests, and that can adjust their mutual
relations by legal discussion without coming to blows. In the preceding
lecture we considered this process of political integration as variously
exemplified by communities of Hellenic, of Roman, and of Teutonic race,
and we saw how manifold were the difficulties which the process had to
encounter. We saw how the Teutons--at least in Switzerland, England, and
America--had succeeded best through the retention of local
self-government combined with central representation. We saw how the
Romans failed of ultimate success because by weakening self-government
they weakened that community of interest which is essential to the
permanence of a great political aggregate. We saw how the Greeks, after
passing through their most glorious period in a state of chronic
warfare, had begun to achieve considerable success in forming a pacific
federation when their independent career was suddenly cut short by the
Roman conqueror.
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