    31

    the h

    ierarchical ladder.  For a monkey's physiology, position in the

    pecking order is everything.59

    Humans not only undergo the same changes when they're under

    society's heel, but their blood pressure goes up...and stays there.  The

    result is an increase in the odds of heart attack and stroke, and a loss of

    mental swiftness.60

    Blood and sperm are not the only bodily substances to shift their

    concentration in response to pecking order changes.  In monkeys and

    humans, when groups fight, the winners snag a hormonal prize.  Their

    testosterone level rises.  Testosterone--the male hormone--inspires

    confidence and aggression.  The fresh jolt of it in the blood invigorates

    the victors.  For the losers it's a different story.  Testosterone level

    plummets.61  The body shifts into resignation.

    Low baboons on the totem pole carry additional consequences in their

    bloodstream.  Their circulation is flooded with glucocorticoids--stress

    hormones that constitute a slow internal poison.   The baboons on top

    do not suffer this chemical corrosion.  Their bloodstreams are relatively

    glucocorticoid-free.  Once again, position in the pecking order reshapes

    physiology.62

    After a while, top or bottom position in the pecking order gets to

    be a habit.  Numerous studies show that a creature who has won a

    fight is more likely to win the next one.  An animal who has lost barely

    shuffles through his next contest.  The odds are high he'll lose again.63

    All of this may explain a phenomenon that crops up in Julius

    Caesar's battle narratives.  Caesar frequently confronted tribesmen

    who had been bred from birth to fight, men who prided themselves on

    their ferocity.  But when the Roman legions won a decisive victory, the

    proud barbarian warriors sometimes bowed their heads and marched

    meekly into slavery.  The barbarian women--who had once been

    equally defiant--held up their children to the Romans and begged to be

    spared.  Then they gave themselves up, caving in to a subservient fate.

    The humiliation of defeat changed these fierce fighters into beaten

    men.  A quick slide from the pecking order's top to its bottom seemed

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