THE ORIGIN OF TRADITION 433 



the increase of skill cannot be over-estimated. So long as all men 

 are more or less self-supporting and perform all the functions 

 necessary to maintain existence, the securing of food, the building 

 of shelters, the fashioning of weapons, the making of clothes, their 

 skill in any one direction must remain small. But as soon as certain 

 men begin to concentrate upon certain functions the whole 

 position changes. It then becomes possible for skill to reach 

 a far higher level, and with the further division of functions 

 there is practically no hmit to the degree of skill which may be 

 obtained. A concentration upon one function and the association 

 of men so employed are themselves powerful stimuH to further 

 progress. The facts are familiar and there is no need to elaborate 

 the position. At length classification by function tends to override 

 classification by any other standard, and all those engaged in any 

 country in any one function become associated in such a manner 

 that the stimulus is further emphasized and the possibility of any 

 favourable new departure being lost is reduced to a minimum. 



The importance of the organic type of organization in favouring 

 the transmission and storing of tradition is equally well marked 

 when compared with the segmentary type. The more society is 

 divided into self-contained and self-sufficient segments, the less 

 likelihood is there that any development in one segment will 

 spread to the other segments. All events tend to be locahzed, and 

 any promising departure in a new direction is unlikely to penetrate 

 far and become embodied in tradition. New departures are more 

 likely to be lost altogether than to be preserved. The more 

 society is organized on the organic type, on the other hand, the 

 more facilities there are for the transmission and storing of 

 tradition. As the segmentary system breaks down, the trans- 

 mission and storing of tradition themselves become special 

 functions. Various means of communication are elaborated, the 

 spreading of news becomes a function in itself, teaching becomes 

 a profession, and libraries are estabhshed. 



10. Such very briefly are the nature, causes, and results of the 

 change in the organization of society so far as concerns our 

 present purpose. There are certain points in this connexion to 

 which some allusion may be made. We have already commented 

 on the fact that the transformation to the higher type does not go 

 hand in hand with growth in numbers. The two examples from 

 India and China showed how little correspondence there may be 



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