Quotation from: The Strength of the Strong

Written by: Jack London


"What does China care for the comity of nations?" said Li Tang
Fwung. "We are the most ancient, honourable, and royal of races.
We have our own destiny to accomplish. It is unpleasant that our
destiny does not tally with the destiny of the rest of the world,
but what would you? You have talked windily about the royal races
and the heritage of the earth, and we can only reply that that
remains to be seen. You cannot invade us. Never mind about your
navies. Don't shout. We know our navy is small. You see we use
it for police purposes. We do not care for the sea. Our strength
is in our population, which will soon be a billion. Thanks to you,
we are equipped with all modern war-machinery. Send your navies.
We will not notice them. Send your punitive expeditions, but first
remember France. To land half a million soldiers on our shores
would strain the resources of any of you. And our thousand
millions would swallow them down in a mouthful. Send a million;
send five millions, and we will swallow them down just as readily.
Pouf! A mere nothing, a meagre morsel. Destroy, as you have
threatened, you United States, the ten million coolies we have
forced upon your shores--why, the amount scarcely equals half of
our excess birth rate for a year."

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