Thetraitsofpredatorymanarebynomeansobsoleteinthecommonrunofmodernpopulations。Theyarepresentandcanbecalledoutinboldreliefatanytimebyanyappealtothesentimentsinwhichtheyexpressthemselves——unlessthisappealshouldclashwiththespecificactivitiesthatmakeupourhabitualoccupationsandcomprisethegeneralrangeofoureverydayinterests。Thecommonrunofthepopulationofanyindustrialcommunityisemancipatedfromthese，economicallyconsidered，untowardpropensitiesonlyinthesensethat，throughpartialandtemporarydisuse，theyhavelapsedintothebackgroundofsub-consciousmotives。Withvaryingdegreesofpotencyindifferentindividuals，theyremainavailablefortheaggressiveshapingofmen’sactionsandsentimentswheneverastimulusofmorethaneverydayintensitycomesintocallthemforth。Andtheyassertthemselvesforciblyinanycasewherenooccupationalientothepredatoryculturehasusurpedtheindividual’severydayrangeofinterestandsentiment。Thisisthecaseamongtheleisureclassandamongcertainportionsofthepopulationwhichareancillarytothatclass。Hencethefacilitywithwhichanynewaccessionstotheleisureclasstaketosports；andhencetherapidgrowthofsportsandofthesportingsentientinanyindustrialcommunitywherewealthhasaccumulatedsufficientlytoexemptaconsiderablepartofthepopulationfromwork。
Ahomelyandfamiliarfactmayservetoshowthatthepredaceousimpulsedoesnotprevailinthesamedegreeinallclasses。Takensimplyasafeatureofmodernlife，thehabitofcarryingawalking-stickmayseematbestatrivialdetail；buttheusagehasasignificanceforthepointinquestion。Theclassesamongwhomthehabitmostprevails——theclasseswithwhomthewalking-stickisassociatedinpopularapprehension——
arethemenoftheleisureclassproper，sportingmen，andthelower-classdelinquents。Tothesemightperhapsbeaddedthemenengagedinthepecuniaryemployments。Thesameisnottrueofthecommonrunofmenengagedinindustryanditmaybenotedbythewaythatwomendonotcarryastickexceptincaseofinfirmity，whereithasauseofadifferentkind。Thepracticeisofcourseingreatmeasureamatterofpoliteusage；butthebasisofpoliteusageis，inturn，theproclivitiesoftheclasswhichsetsthepaceinpoliteusage。Thewalking-stickservesthepurposeofanadvertisementthatthebearer’shandsareemployedotherwisethaninusefuleffort，anditthereforehasutilityasanevidenceofleisure。Butitisalsoaweapon，anditmeetsafeltneedofbarbarianmanonthatground。Thehandlingofsotangibleandprimitiveameansofoffenseisverycomfortingtoanyonewhoisgiftedwithevenamoderateshareofferocity。
Theexigenciesofthelanguagemakeitimpossibletoavoidanapparentimplicationofdisapprovaloftheaptitudes，propensities，andexpressionsoflifehereunderdiscussion。Itis，however，notintendedtoimplyanythinginthewayofdeprecationorcommendationofanyoneofthesephasesofhumancharacterorofthelifeprocess。Thevariouselementsoftheprevalenthumannaturearetakenupfromthepointofviewofeconomictheory，andthetraitsdiscussedaregaugedandgradedwithregardtotheirimmediateeconomicbearingonthefacilityofthecollectivelifeprocess。Thatistosay，thesephenomenaarehereapprehendedfromtheeconomicpointofviewandarevaluedwithrespecttotheirdirectactioninfurtheranceorhindranceofamoreperfectadjustmentofthehumancollectivitytotheenvironmentandtotheinstitutionalstructurerequiredbytheeconomicsituationofthecollectivityforthepresentandfortheimmediatefuture。Forthesepurposesthetraitshandeddownfromthepredatoryculturearelessserviceablethanmightbe。Althougheveninthisconnectionitisnottobeoverlookedthattheenergeticaggressivenessandpertinacityofpredatorymanisaheritageofnomeanvalue。Theeconomicvalue——withsomeregardalsotothesocialvalueinthenarrowersense——oftheseaptitudesandpropensitiesisattemptedtobepasseduponwithoutreflectingontheirvalueasseenfromanotherpointofview。Whencontrastedwiththeprosymediocrityofthelatter-dayindustrialschemeoflife，andjudgedbytheaccreditedstandardsofmorality，andmoreespeciallybythestandardsofaestheticsandofpoetry，thesesurvivalsfromamoreprimitivetypeofmanhoodmayhaveaverydifferentvaluefromthathereassignedthem。Butallthisbeingforeigntothepurposeinhand，noexpressionofopiniononthislatterheadwouldbeinplacehere。
Allthatisadmissibleistoenterthecautionthatthesestandardsofexcellence，whicharealientothepresentpurpose，mustnotbeallowedtoinfluenceoureconomicappreciationofthesetraitsofhumancharacteroroftheactivitieswhichfostertheirgrowth。Thisappliesbothasregardsthosepersonswhoactivelyparticipateinsportsandthosewhosesportingexperienceconsistsincontemplationonly。Whatisheresaidofthesportingpropensityislikewisepertinenttosundryreflectionspresentlytobemadeinthisconnectiononwhatwouldcolloquiallybeknownasthereligiouslife。