291 the congresses, all the fictions, all the subtleties will not hinder continued evolution toward a decreasing number of nations, and the realization of the universal state. The formulae of international law, pacific and humanitarian conferences serve mostly to reassure the victims of the future, to put them to sleep in the hope of security,while the master nations grow. The opponents of militarism and the protagonists of arbitration are not wrong, but they deceive themselves. Mass attracts mass, and the small nations by force of nature become the clients and satellites of the large nations. The struggle of the great nations is ordained by nature."z0 Like many prophets of doom, Lapouge found little enjoyment in lifting the veil that benevolently clouds the future to the ordinary mortal. "One shudders to think of the human hecatombs that the future has in store. The battle between the pretenders for world domination will be long, and of necessity no mercy will be shown."21 "It is hard to predict when and to whose benefit the world empire will be realized. To my mind it will scarcely take more than two or three centuries. The precipitation of events is accelerating. I also believe that the Unitkd States will be called to victory. In thc reverse case, the universe will be Russian."n Lapouge had quite a realistic appreciation of the socialism of the future in general, and of the Russian socialism in particular. It