Code Man

Code Man who lives in a world of hazards is compelled to seek for security. He has sought to attain it in two ways. One of them 'began with an attempt to propitiate the powers which environ him & determine his destiny. It expressed itself in supplication, sacrifice, ceremonial rite & magical cult. In time these crude methods were largely displaced. The sacrifice of a contrite heart was esteemed more pleasing than that of bulls & oxen; the inner attitude of reverence & devotion more desirable than external ceremonies. If Code Man could not conquer destiny he could willingly ally himself with it, putting his will, even in sore affliction, on the side of the powers which dispense fortune, he could escape defeat & might triumph in the midst of destruction. The other course is to invent arts & by their means turn the powers of nature to account; Code Man constructs a fortress out of the very conditions & forces which threaten him. He builds shelters, makes flame his friend instead of his enemy, & grows into the complicated arts of associated living. This is the method of changing the world through action, as the other is the method of changing himself in emotion & idea. It is a commentary on the slight control Code Man has obtained over himself by means of control over nature.