184 SOCIAL HEREDITY AND SOCIAL EVOLUTION 



he only so long as he lives a life untrammeled by 

 the rules of a family or a tribe. If he lives alone in 

 nature, he can follow his own will wherever it may 

 lead him, and he is thus absolutely free, except in so 

 far as he is limited by the laws of nature. But no 

 sooner does he take the first step toward organiza- 

 tion, even to the extent of having a family, than his 

 freedom disappears. He is no longer able to do 

 exactly as he pleases, for his actions must be influ- 

 enced by the interests of his family. This being the 

 case, absolute freedom is practically never found 

 among men, for with mankind the family organiza- 

 tion is universal. 



Beginning with the checks demanded by family 

 life, the freedom of the individual to follow his own 

 inclinations is more and more curbed with every step 

 in the organization and concentration of society. It 

 is true that freedom and liberty have been the great 

 cry around which have centered most of the advances 

 of civilization ; but it is the giving up of freedom in 

 its literal sense that constitutes the very essence of 

 progress. No people have perfect freedom, and no 

 nation wants it. Independence of action inevitably 

 disappears with the organization of nations. Among 

 early nations little or no attention was paid to the 

 individuals of whom a nation was composed. It has 

 not been with people that history has concerned 

 itself. The early empires of the East, under the 

 patriarchal system, dealt simply with kings. Their 

 warfares were with other kings and with generals. 

 Their treaties were with rulers, and each ruler made 

 such treaties as he could to suit himself, with appar- 

 ently, so far as we can judge from records, no con- 

 sideration for the people under him. In Greece, it is 



