Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 2.djvu/570

 556 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

a few general qualities. Social character at a thousand points in society can be resolved into a few simple elements. Therefore after the ground plan of society has been laid down in its special types, it is possible to confine the rest of regulation to patterns 'of qualities and elements of character. For each of these few elements a type is framed and held up to admiration that the individual may consent to incorporate it into his ideal. These ^abstract types are the moral virtues. By this analysis we get such generalized forms as honesty, justice, truth, fullness, fidel- ity, kindness, self-denial, loyalty, sincerity, courage, persever- ance, temperance, etc. Society no longer bids the taskmaster not to "strip the temples of their stores," "diminish the sub- stance consecrated to the gods," "carry off the cakes and band- ages of mummies," "over-value or diminish the supplies," or "cheat in the weights of the balance," as it did in Old Egypt. It simply bids him " be honest." The guidance of men by such abstractions presupposes in them the power to recognize the abstract in the concrete and is, therefore, not without its draw- backs and dangers.

The analysis of fit character in all manner of positions bring- ing to light uniformities which are erected into virtues and made the reigning ideals for individual life must be deemed one of the greatest inventions in the history of societies. Its economy is that of the alphabet. There by analyzing spoken words into their simplest sound elements we are enabled to reduce the number of written characters from thousands to a little over a a score ; these in turn must be variously combined in order to form the multitude of written words required. Here by ana- lyzing social characters into their ultimate elements we can make a few virtues do the work of many concrete types ; but these virtues must be combined in varying degrees and pro- portions in order give the variety of guidance needed in the social system. The social gain is vast. In all early societies that reached a settled social order we find elaborate codes speci- fying what is standard conduct for all the chief places and functions. The bringing up of each man to the highly specific