In cases where the predatory activity is a collective one, this propensity is frequently called the martial spirit, or, latterly, patriotism.

It needs no insistence to find assent to the proposition that in the countries of civilized Europe the hereditary leisure class is endowed with this martial spirit in a higher degree than the middle classes.

Indeed, the leisure class claims the distinction as a matter of pride, and no doubt with some grounds.

War is honorable, and warlike prowess is eminently honorific in the eyes of the generality of men; and this admiration of warlike prowess is itself the best voucher of a predatory temperament in the admirer of war.

The enthusiasm for war, and the predatory temper of which it is the index, prevail in the largest measure among the upper classes, especially among the hereditary leisure class.