Authority 217 



The history of the pohtical and religious life of nations 

 has been better preserved, of course, than the records of 

 activity of the smaller aggregations of humanity. The com- 

 mon familiarity with the progress of mankind, in the practice 

 of national organization, makes it available as example. We 

 may study in that phase the general principles by which all 

 such aggregates acquire cohesion and harmony of purpose, 

 and so become conduct units, although it must be remembered 

 that between the small and simple definite organizations, 

 such as the family, and the large and complex — but still 

 comprehensive — national organizations there are an infinite 

 number of true units influencing conduct by their corporate 

 harmony, which overlap so that their effects are not readily 

 comprehended. For example the associations and congre- 

 gations of certain persons in societies and clubs for specified 

 purposes, are effective in their own activities; and yet so 

 diversified as to be impossible of general definition or de- 

 scription. Then again the inner groups of persons for 

 governmental and political purposes — the great partizan and 

 municipal and commercial and educational organizations — 

 and the combinations and unions of men in their special in- 

 dustrial capacity — all these and many more are examples of 

 effective conduct units in which the human individual loses 

 his identity, and gains a place pertaining to his racial and 

 continuous nature. 



The evolution of these organizations is however coincident 

 with that of the greater ones which we may study in history, 

 and is more or less evident in the general record where it 

 appears that they tend to agree in type with the govern- 

 mental. In fact a modern democratic nation is like a club 



