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The Psychology of Jingoism

the ethical obtuseness of a Tommy when he invites him to peruse, I will not say the elevated doctrine of the Sermon on the Mount, but the maxims of common honesty and truth contained within the pages of the book? Does he not fear that these maxims may conflict with soldierly duty and corrupt the military efficiency of the army? What are the ethics of the soldier? The following succinct statement affords a sufficient answer: –

As a nation we are brought up to feel it a disgrace to succeed by falsehood; the word 'spy' conveys in it something as repulsive as slave. We will keep hammering away with the conviction that honesty is the best policy, and that truth always wins in the long run. These pretty little sentences do well for a child's copy-book, but the man who acts upon them in war had better sheathe his sword for ever.

This passage from the 'Soldier's Pocket-book,' by Sir Garnet Wolseley, I commend to the notice of the distinguished patron of the New Testament, and to the bishops and clergy who are so impressed by the 'cleansing,' 'bracing,' 'fortifying' influences of war.

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