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The Psychology of Jingoism

as justified by changes in modern conditions of life, etc., but this is only a shallow sophistry which fails even to deceive us while we utter it.

In fact, these teachings have never furnished us with vital veritable ideals. We have had a standard of desirable conduct, ideals of our own, sometimes good and elevated, standards of good manners, honour, and chivalry, but they have never been moulded or dominated by Christianity.

Test the motive by applying the maxim which is held to be most typical of Christianity, 'Love your enemies.' Not merely have Englishmen never acted on this principle, but they have never really held it a duty to do so.

The real standard of good conduct for English people has always run upon some such lines as these: 'Love your friends and hate your enemies; look after your family, and get for them all you can; abstain from petty theft and all unlawful deeds; work for a living if you cannot lawfully compel some one else to work for you; help a neighbour in distress; live a peaceful, orderly life, with only occasional outbursts of animation; abhor certain sorts of meanness and cheating; be prepared at any

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