154 SOCIAL HEREDITY AND SOCIAL EVOLUTION 



necessity in war. If a tribe of one hundred men is to 

 defend itself against enemies, or to make a war of 

 conquest, some one must lead and orgranize its 

 actions, otherwise the result of the war is extermi- 

 nation. We can understand too how the power of 

 such a chieftain inevitably grows. If he leads a suc- 

 cessful attack upon an enemy, he comes home with in- 

 creased authority over his warriors. This means an 

 authority over the tribe, which he will be able to hold 

 for some time. Moreover, it will inevitably follow 

 that the chieftain, in virtue of his greater power, will 

 obtain a larger portion of the spoils that are taken 

 in these wars. This will give him still greater influ- 

 ence in the commimity when the war is over. 



If the tribe, by successful contests, grows in nimi- 

 bers, the chieftain becomes more and more a neces- 

 sity, and in time a permanency. While ten men 

 might fight ten others with no special need of a 

 leader, ten thousand men cannot wage war against 

 another ten thousand unless properly led. When 

 great bodies of men come in contact with each other 

 the success in the battle is dependent almost wholly 

 upon a proper leader. The necessity of a chieftain 

 grows, therefore, with the growth of the tribes ; and 

 in all races of men above the lowest tribes it is uni- 

 versal to find a leader. As the need for such a chief- 

 tain increases, so his power grows. We can readily 

 understand how. as a tribe increases in numbers, the 

 authority of the chieftain grows until it becomes that 

 of a king or despot. This principle has been dom- 

 inant through history. The development of civiliza- 

 tion down to the present time shows us that nations 

 have, in nearly all cases, been concentrated around 

 individuals. It is the powerful chieftain that makes 



