inhabitant of the earth, with the possible exception of my companion here,
who fully obeys that command."

The doctor's smile was not lost on Thorwald, who replied:

"It was rather too bad of you to bring so far away from the earth the only
good man the planet contained; but I am glad to know the golden rule, as
you may well call it, has been given to men. We have had the same here,
and, oh! if I could make you realize something of the struggle our race
has had in working it into life and practice, you would gain some hope for
the people of the earth. I mean, the result of this struggle would give
you hope, for I am not ashamed to say that we are now living up to the
full requirements of this law, and if you should spend the remainder of
your lives with us I am sure you would not find my statement untrue. It is
only by actually loving our neighbors as ourselves that we are able to
live as we do. The law of love has replaced the law of force. It is well
for you to understand this at the beginning, for it is the secret of our
wonderful success in all the higher forms of civilization."

"It must have helped you greatly," said I, "in the matter of which you
have just been speaking, that of government."

"Yes, it has," he replied. "In our histories we have full accounts of the
long course of events when we were divided into hundreds of nations, each
with its own pride and ambition, and each striving to build up itself upon
the misfortunes or the ruins of its neighbors. You can perhaps imagine
what a mass of material we have for reading and study."

"We can," spoke up the student doctor, "and it fairly makes my mouth
water. But tell us briefly, Thorwald, how you ever passed from those