f reaction of the violent, instinctive, and
attractive type. The feud was originally of defensive value to the
individual and to the tribe, since in the absence of criminal law the
feeling that retaliation would follow was a deterrent from acts of
aggression. But it was an expensive method of obtaining order in early
society, since response to stimulus reinstated the stimulus, and every
death called for another death; so, finally, after many experiments and
devices, the state has forbidden the individual to take justice into his
own hands. In out-of-the-way places, however, where governmental control
is weak, men still settle their disputes personally, and one who is
familiar with the course of a feud cannot avoid the conclusion that this
practice is kept up, not because there is no law to resort to, but
because the older mode is more immediate and fascinating. I mean simply
that the emotional possibilities and actual emotional reactions in the
feud are far more powerful than in due legal process.

Gladiatorial shows, bear baiting, bull fighting, dog and cock fighting,
and prize fighting afford an opportunity to gratify the interest in
conflict. The spectator has by suggestion emotional reactions analogous
to those of the combatant, but without personal danger; and vicarious
contests between slaves, captives, and animals, whose blood and life are
cheap, are a pleasure which the race allowed itself until a higher stage
of morality was reached. Pugilism is the modification of the fight in a
slightly different way. The combatants are members of society, not
slaves or captives, but the conflict is so qualified as to safeguard
their lives, though injury is possible and is actually planned. The
intention to do hurt is the point to which society and the law object.
But the prize fight is a fight as far as it goes, and the difficulties
which men will surmount to "pull off" and to witness these contests are
sufficient proof of their fascination. A football game is also a fight,
with the additional qualification that no injury is planned, and with an
advantage over the prize fight in the fact that it is not a
single-handed conflict, but an organized melee--a battle where the
action is more massive and complex and the strategic opportunities are
multiplied. It is a fact of interest in this connection that, unless
appearances are deceptive, altogether the larger number of visitors to a
university during the year are visitors to the