Hunger and sex still dominate the primitive mammalian side of

The words of John Desmond Bernal speak with the force of an oracle, unveiling the duality of human nature. He declares that hunger and sex, those primal forces that once chained our kind to the laws of the beast, still dwell within us. They are the urges that drove our forefathers to hunt, to sow, to fight, to embrace, and to perpetuate the lineage of mankind. These instincts, older than fire and older than speech, ruled the marrow of life when humanity first stood upright under the vast heavens. Yet Bernal reminds us that in our present age, we glimpse the threshold of their satisfaction, as if the curses of scarcity and despair might finally yield to abundance and harmony.

Consider the ages before us, when famine stalked kingdoms like a shadow. Whole peoples perished for want of bread, and empires crumbled when harvests failed. And sex, too, was both the fountain of joy and the spark of strife, drawing men to jealousy, conquest, and betrayal. These needs were not mere appetites but the very rhythm of existence, determining who would live and who would vanish into the silence of forgotten bloodlines. In them lay the destiny of tribes and the fate of civilizations. But now, Bernal proclaims, the veil is lifting: the dream of permanent plenty is no longer the illusion of poets but the promise of science.

Take heed of the example of the Green Revolution in the twentieth century. Once, nations trembled under the threat of famine, with billions in peril. Yet through the vision of men like Norman Borlaug, seeds were transformed, and harvests multiplied. Fields once barren yielded abundance, and millions were spared the hunger that seemed inevitable. Here is a living parable: where human wisdom bends the earth, hunger retreats, and the ancient specter of want is driven back. Bernal’s prophecy shines in such deeds—where knowledge becomes bread, and invention becomes life.

Yet abundance alone is not enough. For what good is overflowing granary if the world is consumed by war? The sage reminds us that permanent peace must walk hand in hand with plenty. History bears witness: when Rome’s harvests flourished, her people knew stability, but when her frontiers burned, no mountain of grain could save her. And in our own age, when nations wage endless conflict, the blessings of technology are squandered in destruction. Thus Bernal’s vision is twofold—science provides the tools for plenty, but wisdom and harmony are required for peace.

O children of tomorrow, learn from the struggles of your ancestors. The body’s cravings may be ancient, but the spirit’s call is higher. When you labor for food, let it not be only for yourself, but for the widow, the orphan, and the stranger at your gate. When you join in love, let it not be only the indulgence of passion, but the weaving of trust, of loyalty, and of new life worthy of honor. And when your hands craft machines of power, let them not become engines of war, but instruments of sustenance and healing. In this way, you fulfill both the primitive and the noble within you.

The lesson is clear: mastery of our animal drives does not come through denial but through fulfillment wisely ordered. Hunger is overcome not by fasting alone, but by sharing in abundance. Desire is not conquered by shame, but by raising it into bonds of devotion. Peace is not gained through domination, but through the recognition that the fates of all people are bound together like threads in a single loom. This is the wisdom Bernal bequeaths: to see in our instincts not chains but the foundation for a higher destiny.

Therefore, let each reader take this teaching to heart. Strive in your own life to banish unnecessary want—cultivate not only your own prosperity, but the well-being of others. Guard your passions with reverence, treating them as sacred fires that can warm a household or burn a city. And above all, labor in your circle of influence for peace, whether it be among family, neighbors, or nations. For when hunger is ended, when desire is honored, and when peace is secured, then humanity shall at last walk in the light of its promised abundance, no longer as slaves to necessity, but as stewards of a destiny fulfilled.