every one who has the instincts of manhood.

And as this is natural, so it is, also, within a certain sphere
needful, and to a certain extent useful. Armies and navies exist, at
least in theory, to prevent injustice among nations. Laws are made to
punish wrong-doers. Courts, police-forces, and prisons are maintained to
suppress evil with power.

But while we recognize this method of dealing with evil as useful to a
certain extent and necessary within a certain sphere, we must remember
that it has its strict limitations.

First, it belongs to the state and not to the individual. When the
private man assumes to punish evil with force he sanctions lynch-law,
which is a terror to the innocent as well as to the guilty. Then we have
the blood-feud and the vendetta, mob-rule and anarchy.

Second, the suppression of evil by force is only a temporary relief, a
protection for the moment. It does not touch the root of the matter. You
send the murderer out of the world by a regulated flash of lightning.
But you do not send murder out of the world. To do that you must reach
and change the heart of Cain. You put the thief in prison, but when he
comes out he will be ready to steal again, unless you can purify his
conscience and control his will. You assault and overthrow some system
of misgovernment, and "turn the rascals out." But unless you have
something better to substitute, all you have done is to make room for a
new set of rascals,--a new swarm of mosquitoes with fresh appetites and
larger capacities.

Third, the method of fighting evil with force on its own ground often