How we cite our quotes: (Volume.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
He had swept it out of existence, as it seemed, without any provocation, as a boy might crush an ant hill, in the mere wantonness of power. (2.9.3)
This is interesting. Why did this one Martian destroy Leatherhead, a little town that wasn't going to help the humans win the war? That's where the idea of the "wantonness of power" comes into play. ("Wantonness" is never good. It means unnecessarily cruel or overblown.) When the Martians have all the power, they might say just what the sapper said a few quotes ago: there's nothing really wrong with killing humans because they're not really important.