Patriotism cannot be set down as an ultimate enemy of peace on earth and good will among men because it sometimes supports a war. The purpose of a state is not primarily that of waging war, but that of enabling men to live together in peace. And correspondingly patriotism is not exclusively or mainly a war-waging virtue. In fact, it more commonly expresses itself as a peaceful and constructive public spirit. Patriotism, as matters now stand, is not likely to cause the opening of hostilities, although it will support a war which has already been started. And it is, even in war, usually a defensive rather than an offensive attitude. This is virtually proved by the fact that all the belligerent countries have to make their peoples believe that they are fighting a defensive war. That is the way in which the martial spirit of patriots has to be appealed to. And it is a significant thing that such is the case. It indicates that the destruction of patriotism is not necessary to the attainment of world peace, but that the end may be secured simply through the decay of the bellicose spirit. As a matter of fact, the conscience of the world has already undergone great changes with regard to war. It is probable that the earliest savage state was that of almost incessant warfare. And in those days, it wasn’t necessary to find any pretext for opening hostilities. The sufficient reason for an attack was that the other group had something that the party of the first part wanted. The earliest stage of savage and even civilized life, therefore, was one in which wars could quite uniformly be frankly wars of aggression. The stage in which the present generation seems to be living is that of “wars of defense.” There are some signs that the next era will be that of peace. The whole world is getting tired of war, and longing for internationalism. And, what is new, these feelings are springing up all over the world _at the same time_. Perhaps we are already in the transitional period. At any rate, it does not seem to be quite accurate to charge that patriotism is the first cause of wars in these days. It is safe to say that the populations of the world wanted peace in 1914. Something else is the first cause of wars. A dispute arises between two governments, and patriotism, to be sure, adds fuel to the flames. But patriotism in itself is for the most part peaceful until it is fanned into fury.