Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 3.djvu/688

 princely principle that rested on the mere personality of the prince necessarily lost power as the size of the group increased.

The most obvious way in which the persistence of the group depicts itself in the continuance of the ruler is in the heredity of the princely dignity. The physiological connection within the reigning family reflects the intricate connection within the group. The group perpetuates itself without intermission and as a matter of course from age to age. In no other way can this fact be more precisely and appropriately expressed than in the provision that the father shall be succeeded by the son, who in turn is designated from birth as heir apparent of the throne, and is always ready to assume the prerogative. Since the heredity of the regal office makes the same independent of the qualities of the personalities who occupy it (in which is also the questionable element of the device), it at the same time clearly shows that the coherence of the group has made itself independent; that it has become objective; that it has gained for itself status and durability which are no longer affected by the accident of the personality by which they are represented. The hereditary principle is often called senseless and dangerous, because it is purely formal in nature, and consequently may bring to the throne the most unfit person as well as the most fit. Precisely this circumstance, however, has a very profound meaning, for it demonstrates that the form of the group, the relation between ruler and ruled, has become real and settled. So long as the character of the group is still uncertain and variable, the supreme head, whose office it is to hold the group together, can perform the function only by virtue of very definite personal qualities. The Greek king of the heroic age had to be not only brave, wise, and eloquent, but also distinguished in athletic exercises, and, so far as possible, a superior carpenter, shipbuilder, and tiller of the soil. In general, social interest takes care further that, in groups that are still unstable, conflict and selection go before the acquisition of sovereignty. Wherever the form in which the group maintains itself is already established and secure, the personal element may withdraw in favor of the formal principle. That