XX 



THE ORIGIN OF TRADITION 



1. The study of the formation of tradition is a matter of great 

 complexity. Many important aspects of the problem await 

 elucidation. It is proposed here to reduce the discussion to the 

 barest outline, and to confine it to the origin of skilled processes 

 and in particular to the origin of skill in the provision of the 

 essential requirements of daily life. We further take into account 

 only the most important aspects of the environment — namely, 

 the influence of fertility and the influence of contact of man with 

 man and of race with race. All questions connected with innate 

 differences in mental and physical characters will be for the 

 present disregarded. We want to know — other things being 

 equal — how skill will originate and grow, given such differences 

 in the environment as regards fertility and contact as exist. 



2. The first problem which confronts us is concerned with the 

 differences in the environment arising from differences in fertility. 

 To this term a special meaning is attached. Fertility as here 

 employed corresponds to what is usually spoken of as the wealth 

 of any country or district. The nature and abundance of the 

 fauna and flora, the surface features of the land, the composition 

 of the upper layers of the ground, the minerals and to some 

 degree the climate, as well as other factors, all go to make up 

 the fertility or wealth of any area. The differences in the factors 

 which go to make up fertility as between different portions of 

 the world's surface are well known ; they are very great — areas 

 closely approximated being at times sharply differentiated one 

 from another whereas in other places conditions remain very 

 similar over large areas. 



The most important fact to be observed in this connexion is 

 that there is no absolute standard of fertility. ' The term fertility ', 

 says Marshall, ' has no meaning except with reference to the 

 special circumstances of a particular time and place.' ^ Fertility 

 is in fact purely a relative term, and, now that we have for the 



I Marshall, Principles of Economics, p. 100. 

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