Who Taught Us War? Animals and Insects, or Man?

Did we learn war, its arts and its tricks, from plants, or from insects, birds, and animals, or from man himself?

I shall not go deeply into inquiry about the origin of evil and its natural elements in man, for my purpose is to present a few observations that we can study in what our eyes fall upon of the behavior of certain creatures — behavior which resembles to a great degree what we observe of the arts of war in man. Among these, for example, is the deception those creatures use to hide from sight. The hunter sees the ground-hen flying; but when it settles upon the ground it becomes the very likeness of a stone, and he cannot tell it apart from its surroundings unless it flies up again.

And the chameleon — God protect us from the chameleon — is green on the green tree and brown on the brown trunk, so that the enemy can notice it only with difficulty. And the turtle, when it hides beneath its shell, all caked with dust — who can tell that it is not a stone like the stones around it, after nature divided its back into small, irregular stones so as to be a faithful imitation of the wild landscape? Can we not set beside this what we see at Nahr al-Kalb, for instance — gun emplacements made in the likeness of the natural rocks of that region — or those motorcars that took on the color of the desert and the color of the forests when they operated in desert and forest, so that the enemy's airplane could not distinguish them even if it came close?

And our weapons — where did we get them? Our barbed wire from the thorny rose; our tanks on the design of the crocodile; flame-throwers on the design of the bustard, of which the proverb says: the bustard's weapon is its droppings! Poison gases on the design of the animals that arm themselves with their venom; the shooting of arrows on the design of the porcupine, which defends itself with the darts of its quills! And the fighting man's spirit on the "design" of the brave lion!

As for the atomic bomb, I do not know whence man drew his inspiration for it, though I incline to think he drew it from the deadly scourges that ravage mankind, such as the plague or the yellow wind and the like! Or perhaps he drew it from the thunderbolt in nature, or from earthquakes! Or perhaps he drew it from the hearts of certain people! And this last is the likeliest, though it takes us far from the "animals."

A new item: and organization — where did we learn it in wars? Since the days of Solomon the Wise we have been given the counsel to go to the ant and learn from her. Who among us has not once watched the ant to see how she organizes her armies in two straight lines, one for going and the other for returning, so that she can carry off a whole threshing-floor of wheat with a speed man cannot match with all his means of transport?

And those nests the ants build to ward off the evil of enemies — are they not like trenches? And the bridges they make of the bodies of their fellows in order to cross watercourses — are these not portable bridges, the very last word in engineering! And then the self-sacrifice of those who volunteer to be the bridge — is it not of the kind of the "hara-kiri" of the Japanese?

And the bees — are not their methods of organization the most marvelous model for the ministries of supply in wartime! And the centralization of government among them — is it not an example to be followed in wise, firm rule? And the standing of the female among them — does it not suggest much for the renaissance of the Eastern woman in this age?...

And the setting of snares to trap enemies — does it not resemble the walls the spider weaves to trap the fly!

And the iron mask with which we ward off enemies — is it not like the stick the agama lizard bites so that the snake cannot swallow it?

What we have mentioned is but a little of the much that can be observed among insects, animals, and birds of the methods of attack or self-defense, and of the tricks, deceptions, and camouflage employed in war between enemies! But the essential difference between them and the ways of men is that those animals rarely use their weapon except in self-defense; they are innocent in this respect — they do not attack and they do not practice deliberate trickery! Man, however, managed to borrow the weapon but did not borrow the good intent behind that weapon, and so he has allowed the animal and the insect to enjoy greater peace of mind than his own...