the legislature is a development of the ancient council, and the voting population is an enlargement of the ancient popular assembly.

With the appearance of the early state, public affairs, that is to say, politics, became a distinct subject of human interest. The citizen came into view. A man was now not only a member of a religious cult, he was a member of a commonwealth, a partner in a political enterprise. Men wanted effective armies, and good laws, and a just enforcement of these laws; and they regarded the state as an agency by which these things might be secured. As members of this organization they were citizens vested with the rights and duties of citizenship, owing allegiance to the state and receiving protection from it.

Types of Government. In tracing the evolution of government in the above section we have kept in mind the ancient history of the region around the Mediterranean Sea for the reason that the ancient government of this region can be studied to the best advantage. An early state of the Mediterranean region was always small; it was rarely as large as one of our smaller counties. Near its center was a compact settlement called the city (polis), around which was a wall, and within which was the residence of the king. At convenient distances from the city lived villagers, who would flee to the city for refuge in time of danger. The central fortified place, together with the outlying villages, was called the city-state.

The city-state, as it was constituted in the time of Homer (1000 B.C.), was invariably a monarchy, but, as we have seen, changes in the structure of society and in its interests brought changes in the organization of the state. of the city-states the leading men, the wealthy and highborn, deposed the king and took government into their own hands and set up aristocracies. Properly speaking, an aristocracy is a government conducted by a few of the best people of the state. It often happened in the ancient world

that a clique of political adventurers who could claim neither merit nor high birth would seize upon the power of the state by intrigue and hold it by force. A government of this kind was called an oligarchy. Again, in many cases all the citizens, that is, all who enjoyed the rights and privileges of the city, demanded and secured a direct participation in government. A government of this kind was called a democracy. An ancient democracy was really only an enlarged aristocracy, for in the ancient state there were large numbers of slaves with no rights of any kind, and large numbers of freemen with no political rights, and the number of people who could possibly have a voice in government was always but a small proportion of the adult male population.

Thus we see that after communities passed from a tribal to a national form of government, from a religious to a political organization, government began to be an affair of man's choice, a creation of his will, rather than a thing of divine ordination. As a result of this freedom many different kinds of states were evolved. Aristotle (333 B.C.) was able to classify the two hundred and fifty states around the Mediterranean under three heads:

(1) The monarchy, the government of one, the strong. (2) The aristocracy, the government of the few, the wise. (3) The democracy, the government of the many, the good. The forty-odd sovereign governments of to-day may be most conveniently classified as follows:

1. Absolute Monarchies, in which the will of one person is unfettered and supreme.

2. Limited Monarchies, in which the monarch shares political power with a legislative body.

3. Republics, in which all political power flows directly or indirectly from the citizens who are entitled to vote.

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT

1. What is society?

2. What is government?

3. Describe the ancient family.

4. Describe the tribal organization.

5. What were the three political elements of the early state?

6. Compare the organization of the early state with the state of to-day.

7. Describe the city-state of antiquity.

8. What is a monarchy an aristocracy? an oligarchy? a democracy? 9. What was Aristotle's classification of governments?

10. How may the governments of to-day be classified?

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

1. Can society exist without government?

2. Religion, commerce, education, war-which of these tends most strongly to knit widely separated societies together? What forces are now operating to bring the United States into social relations with the other countries of the world?

3. What is the difference between evolution and revolution in government? Was the Declaration of Independence an act of evolution or revolution?

4. Compare the City of Refuge mentioned in the Old Testament with the city-state described in the text. (See Numbers xxxv, 1–5).

5. Which of the three classes of government mentioned by Aristotle prevails in the family of to-day? in the school? in the management of the affairs of a college? of a church? of an athletic association of a railroad?

6. Classify the sovereign governments of the earth as absolute monarchies, limited monarchies and republics. In which class do we find the greatest number of people? In which class is the highest grade of civilization?

7. Among the services which government performs for society are the following: (1) It keeps the streets and roads in repair; (2) it supports the schools; (3) it administers justice between man and man; (4) it carries the mails; (5) it protects life and property; (6) it preserves the liberty of citizens; (7) it regulates the possession and transfer and descent of property; (8) it defends the nation against attack; (9) it protects the public health; (10) it helps the poor and unfortunate. Arrange these services in the order of their importance, placing the most important service first. Be prepared to give reasons for your arrangement.

8. Describe a typical despotism; for example, Persia. (Consult a good Encyclopedia.)

9. Which is worse, anarchy or despotism?

10. Describe the effect which a hermit's life produces upon mental and moral character.

II

POPULAR GOVERNMENT

Popular Government Defined; Majority Rule. A government which receives its powers from the people is a democratic or popular government, and a state in which popular government prevails is a democracy. In the United States political power everywhere flows from the people. The President of the United States, the Congress, and the national Supreme Court, all receive their powers from the Constitution of the United States, and this Constitution is a creation of the people (1)1 of the United States; the government of a State 2 receives its powers from the people of the State; a city or a town or a county is governed by the people who reside within its borders. Thus in the United States the will of the people prevails not only in the country taken as a whole but in all its parts as well. This is the fundamental principle of the American government.

The people govern by a political device known as majority rule. When a question of government is to be decided, or when an officer of government is to be chosen, an orderly vote is taken and the will of the majority is regarded as the will of all. The majority rules and the minority submits to the will of the majority; this is a necessary and unavoidable feature of democratic government. The minority, right or wrong, must bow to the will of the majority. If the cause

1 The numbers in heavy-faced type refer to passages in the Constitution of the United States (Appendix A) which are distinguished by corresponding numbers on the margin.

In this treatise, when the word "state" begins with a capital letter one of the members of the American Union is meant.

of the minority, however, is just, it may be promoted, and in good time the minority may become a majority. A righteous and aggressive minority will not suffer permanent defeat.

The Growth of Democracy. The ancient Greeks discovered the principle of majority rule, and by the year 400 B.c. most of the Grecian states were enjoying popular government. But the democracies around the Mediterranean soon perished, some through their own faults, others as the victims of conquest. The principle of democracy, however, was active among the Teuton tribes which overran Western Europe in the fourth and fifth centuries. Wherever these Teutons settled, whether along the Rhine, or in France, or in England, they planted democratic institutions. They lived in villages, and every freeman of the village had a vote and a voice in the village meeting where public affairs were discussed, and where the policies of the little government were determined. This Teuton village is an interesting example of a primary or pure democracy, -a democracy in which the people govern directly and personally.

For several hundred years after the coming of the Teutons the democratic principle among the nations of Western Europe was strong. Especially was it strong among the Teutonic settlers in England, the Angles and Saxons. During the dark ages, however, feudalism gave popular government a severe blow. Under the feudal system society was organized upon the basis of landownership and upon personal relations growing out of the ownership of land. In the troublous times of the early medieval period it became the custom of the weak to commend themselves to the strong for protection. This commendation created a personal relation in which the protector was the lord and the protected the vassal. Since the large landholders were the most powerful it was they to whom commendation was usually made. The vassal, kneeling before his lord and placing his hands between the hands of his lord, would say: "I am your man."

66