Chapter 29

SOME EXPLANATIONS--A HUMAN APPETITE--A DINNER AND A BONNE BOUCHE.

The brigadier and myself remained behind to discuss the general
bearings of this unexpected event.

"Your rigid demand for motives, my good sir," I remarked, "reduces
the Leaplow political morality very much, after all, to the level of
the social-stake system of our part of the world."

"They both depend on the crutch of personal Interests, it is true;
though there is, between them, the difference of the interests of a
part and of the interests of the whole."

"And could a part act less commendably than the whole appear to have
acted in this instance?"

"You forget that Leaplow, just at this moment, is under a moral
eclipse. I shall not say that these eclipses do not occur often, but
they occur quite as frequently in other parts of the region, as they
occur here. We have three great modes of controlling monikin
affairs, viz., the one, the few, and the many--"

"Precisely the same classification exists among men!" I interrupted.

"Some of our improvements are reflected backward; twilight following
as well as preceding the passage of the sun," quite coolly returned
the brigadier. "We think that the many come nearest to balancing the
evil, although we are far from believing even them to be immaculate.
Admitting that the tendencies to wrong are equal in the three
systems (which we do not, however, for we think our own has the
least), it is contended that the many escape one great source of
oppression and injustice, by escaping the onerous provisions which
physical weakness is compelled to make, in order to protect itself
against physical strength."

"This is reversing a very prevalent opinion among men, sir, who
usually maintain that the tyranny of the many is the worst sort of
all tyrannies."

"This opinion has got abroad simply because the lion has not been
permitted to draw his own picture. As cruelty is commonly the
concomitant of cowardice, so is oppression nine times out of ten the
result of weakness. It is natural for the few to dread the many,
while it is not natural for the many to dread the few. Then, under
institutions in which the many rule, certain great principles that
are founded on natural justice, as a matter of course, are openly
recognized; and it is rare, indeed, that they do not, more or less,
influence the public acts. On the other hand, the control of a few
requires that these same truths should be either mystified or
entirely smothered: and the consequence is injustice."

"But, admitting all your maxims, brigadier, as regards the few and
the many, you must yourself allow