416 THE NATUEE OF TRADITION 



governed by what has been acquired. Few men strike out new 

 paths, and, when they do, the direction of the path is seen to be 

 greatly influenced by the previous trend of thought. Tradition, 

 as it advances, thus tends to proceed in grooves. 



The manner in which tradition conditions the degree and 

 nature of the manifestation of the instinctive tendencies is 

 equally well marked. Among some races, such as the Eskimos, 

 fighting is almost unknown. Though among such races the 

 instinct of pugnacity is probably less strongly given in the germinal 

 constitution than among other races, to a large extent the relative 

 absence of fighting is certainly due to tradition. Among the 

 Eskimos we find a great body of custom and ideas all of which tend 

 to impress upon them that fighting is wrong. An emotion again 

 may be greatly developed by some racial tradition. Self-assertion 

 is much more developed among the members of the larger and 

 more prosperous European races than among the smaller and 

 weaker races. The attitude of the Englishman is very different 

 from that of the Dane, who will tell you that Denmark is only 

 a little country that wants to be let alone. Latterly the attention 

 of the world has been drawn to the peculiar manner in which 

 the teaching of various historians, moralists, philosophers and 

 others has moulded the outlook of the Germans and come to 

 direct the expression of their emotions. Thus in a most striking 

 manner it has been made obvious how a peculiar body of tradition, 

 ultimately the product of conceptual thinking, has directed the 

 emotions and sentiments of a whole people into certain channels 

 with such disastrous results. The direction of an instinct is often 

 changed ; the tender emotion may be diverted among the childless 

 to charitable works, and the instincts of celibates obviously 

 become much changed. Any instinct indeed is capable of mani- 

 festing itself in very different forms according to the outlet which 

 it finds, and the nature of the outlet is determined chiefly by 

 tradition. * On a, aujourd'hui ', says Joubert, ' non seulement 

 la cupidite mais I'ambition du gain.' ^ The simpler emotion has, 

 that is to say, become more complex under the influence of the 

 traditional environment. 



8. Lastly we may note that the tradition acquired and present 

 at any one time may form the basis for the selection of men and 

 of groups of men. There are often, especially among the higher 



' Joubert, Pensees, p. 217. 



