GROWTH OF TYPES OF ORGANIZATION 163 



by the sheer force of his abilities, and held it simply 

 because he had power to hold it. At the very bottom 

 it is recognized by such people that the chieftain owes 

 his position to the will of those over whom he rules, 

 and among these nations the leader was originally 

 elected. His power was fleeting, lasting as long as 

 he could hold it, or frequently only for a definite 

 number of years. He did not necessarily retain his 

 authority until his death, nor could he transfer it to 

 his son. Herein is the essential difference between 

 the patriarchal and the communal system. In the 

 one, the leader owes his position to his inherit- 

 ance from the father, and is revered as the religious 

 head; in the other, he owes it simply to the fact 

 that his people voluntarily give it to him, and 

 regard him as an elected leader, but not as one with 

 divine authority. 



Among such nations two ruling forces have com- 

 monly developed. The reverence for the monarch, 

 present in the patriarchal system, was originally 

 lacking. The leader of such a community was not 

 looked upon as sacred, since he was not its religious 

 head. He was recognized as nothing more than the 

 equal of his subjects, except in the fact that circum- 

 stances gave him greater authority, and perhaps 

 greater genius. There is, therefore, wanting in this 

 system of nations the one centralizing factor that has 

 united the patriarchal tribes. The reverence, sub- 

 mission, and almost worship of the head of the 

 nation, which had been the force uniting the people 

 under the patriarchal system, was absolutely lacking 

 here. Such nations felt, however, a demand for reli- 

 gious leaders, but the religious authority was gener- 

 ally distinct from the political head, and there arose 



