Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 2.djvu/270

 256 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

ever, the control of self and the strength of will increase till in hale and firm characters among adults the daily impact of sug- gestion causes no more tremor than a flight of arrows against an iron-clad. But only the few attain this self-possession ; the great mass of adults retain a responsiveness to hints from with- out that must be taken into account in the social regulation of conduct.

Bodily and mental condition has much to do with suggestibil- ity. Fatigue, disease, and "nerves" lessen the inhibitive power, while mob-madness leads men captive to the impressions of the moment. The source of suggestion is, moreover, a vital matter. The peculiar power of certain individuals of authority or prestige to fascinate and impose their wills on the many is well known. The services of this power on behalf of social control will be treated in the paper on "Personality." Two other things to be considered in measuring the importance of suggestion are its volume and its purify. It is frequent, reiterated, manifold sugges-\ tion, suggestion from all sides, from everybody, that wins mas- tery over the will. As continual tapping with a hammer will break an iron beam, so innumerable mental impacts break down the firmest resolution. It is this cumulative aspect that makes social suggestion emanating from the community itself the chief kind to be considered in connection with the conduct of adults. Again the force of a suggestion is vastly lessened if it encoun- ters opposite suggestions that inhibit and block it off. It is therefore social suggestions, protected from contradiction, that are most signal in results.

Everything we do confesses the pull exerted by social sug- gestion. Our choice of food and drink, our style of dress and furniture, our lying down and our getting up, our amusements and our pastimes feel the sway of fashion and vogue. What- ever is common is suggested by way of example or advice or intimation from a hundred directions. In our most private choices we are swerved from our orbit by the solar attraction (or repulsion) of the conventional. Nor is this sway of usage without a dash of control. Break with social practice and there