continue. Let the historian enter into the heart, the
private life of his hero ; let him refuse to be dazzled by
the dome of the temple, but enter in and see for himself,
and let him give the world the cold, clean truth, the
whole truth and nothing but the truth, as he is in
duty and in honour bound, and we will find the hero
of war is much the more a brute and much the less a
man than the bully of the prize ring. The bully
harms no one but his single antagonist ; no cities are
burned, no fields laid waste, no orphans made; and
he risks much and makes but little, at the best. The
warrior risks but little, for the chances of being hit
are remote indeed. Any soldier who receives half
the punishment the man of the ring must receive is
sure of promotion and laudation to the skies. Say
what you will, your soldier is a ruffian. The greater
the ruffian the better the soldier.
Should a man not fight to defend his country I Should he not go around trained and equipped for battle, make a machine of himself in a military system, take all the time he should devote to some natural and pure pursuit, and devote it to the art of destroying cities and slaying men? No, there is not the slightest use or excuse for the soldier. Let all warriors remain at home and there will be no war. Let bullies be treated as they deserve and there will be no warriors.
If a set of men enter my fields in violation of my rights, injure my property and take away my corn, shall I not shoot them down? Shall I not arm my