EXTENT OF THE ANALOGIES. 385 



why, on. the other hand, the State is to be maintained 

 solely for the benefit of citizens. The corporate life must 

 here be subservient to the lives of the parts ; instead 

 of the lives of the parts being subservient to the 3orpo 

 rate life. 



Such, then, are the points of analogy and the points of 

 difference. May we not say that the points of difference 

 serve but to bring into clearer light the points of analogy. 

 While comparison makes definite the obvious contrasts be 

 tween organisms commonly so called, and the SQcial organ 

 ism ; it shows that even these contrasts are not so decided 

 as was to be expected. The indefmitcness of form, the 

 discontinuity of the parts, the mobility of the parts, and 

 the universal sensitiveness, are not only peculiarities of the 

 social organism which have to be stated with considerable 

 qualifications ; but they are peculiarities to which the in 

 ferior classes of animals present approximations. Thus we 

 find but little to conflict with the all-important analogies 

 That societies slowly augment in mass ; that they progress 

 in complexity of structure; that at the same time their parts 

 become more mutually dependent ; that their living units 

 are removed and replaced without destroying their in 

 tegrity ; and further, that the extents to which they dis 

 play these peculiarities are proportionate to their vital ac 

 tivities ; are traits that societies have in common with 

 organic bodies. And these traits in which they agree with 

 organic bodies and disagree with all other things these 

 traits which in truth specially characterize organic bodies, 

 entirely subordinate the minor distinctions : such distinc 

 tions being scarcely greater than those which separate one 

 half of the organic kingdom from the other. The princi 

 ples of organization are the same ; and the differences arc 

 simply differences of application. 



Here ending this general survey of the facts which 

 justify the comparison of a society to a living body; 



