134 ADAPTATION AND PROGRESS 



tribe, city (as in Greece) or village (as in India). More recently 

 it has expanded to include the state or nation. 1 



The fundamental characteristics which differentiate races, he 

 holds, are few in number and practically unchangeable. The 

 accessory characteristics, however, due to environment, circum- 

 stances or education are changed with comparative ease. 2 



Races are classified as primitive, inferior, average and su- 

 perior, the chief criterion of superiority being " aptitude for 

 dominating their reflex impulses." 3 From primitive to superior 

 civilization there is progressive differentiation of individuals, 

 sexes and races, though among superior races there are " no 

 inherent differences in men of one race." The only difference is 

 that " circumstances have called out latent possibilities," as in the 

 case of Robespierre, Fouquer-Tinville and Saint Just. 4 



" Character," says Le Bon, "is formed by the combination in 

 varying proportions, of the different elements which psycholo- 

 gists are accustomed at the present day to designate by the name 

 of sentiments . . . [such as] perseverance, energy, power of self- 

 control, faculties more or less dependent on the will and moral- 

 ity." 5 " The intellectual qualities," he holds, " are susceptible 

 of being slightly modified by education, those of character almost 

 wholly escape its influence," and this latter result comes only 

 in the case of neutral natures, i. e., those " whose will is almost 

 non-existent." 6 " The character of a people and not its intel- 

 ligence determines its historical evolution and governs its des- 

 tiny." 7 Because of the different characters of peoples taken as a 

 whole, arise misunderstandings and wars, subjugation and social 

 stratification resulting in division of labor. Owing to this 

 stratification and the exploitation of the masses, a people comes 

 to have a form like a pyramid with the elite at the apex, " an 

 exceedingly restricted group as compared with the rest of the 

 population, but the only group that determines the rank of a 

 country in the intellectual scale of civilization." 8 



1 Psychology of Peoples, p. 14. 6 Ibid., p. 31. Cf. Comte's use of term "heart." 



2 Ibid., p. 19. 6 Ibid., p. 32. 

 1 Ibid., p. 30. 7 Ibid., p. 34. 



4 Ibid., p. 20. 8 Ibid., pp. 35-42, 199 f. 



