Individual through the Nervous System. 105 



stitutions, institutions which regulate public health and morals, 

 institutions which have for their aim the diffusion of arts and 

 sciences, and the general welfare of the people. It must not 

 be forgotten that the acts and measures of every Government 

 are assumed to be known and understood by every citizen, 

 and that, consequently, the smallest unit of society, the family, 

 or even the adult individual, must necessarily exert an in- 

 fluence elsewhere. The family cannot, therefore, isolate itself 

 from society and its influences, any more than society can 

 exclude the family from its pale. The one must consider 

 the other, and the collective influence must be exerted upon 

 the individual. In ancient Rome and Sparta, whose social 

 activity was turned in the direction of conquest, public institu- 

 tions exerted their influence upon the national character ; and 

 physical force, energy, courage, and devotion to the father- 

 land were developed and stamped upon the people. Moreover, 

 it is to be observed that if the same religious and political 

 institutions prevail in two societies, whose physical circumstances 

 and physiological conditions are dissimilar, these societies 

 manifest a like development, not only in their moral character, 

 but also in the impressionability and general aptitude of the 

 people. Sparta and Rome on the one hand, Egypt and Hindo- 

 stan on the other, afford examples of this. Again, if social 

 institutions undergo a change in their character in the course 

 of the existence of a nation, a changed moral character and 

 impressionability are the result, though race and climate remain 

 the same. The change in the character of the early Romans 

 and those of the Empire affords a striking example of this. In 

 explaining the cause of this change, I think we are bound to 

 refer to the great alteration effected in their mode of govern- 

 ment. The Senate, that venerable institution so worthy of 

 respect and reverence, which by its wise and paternal govern- 

 ment, had not only guided the national destinies, but influenced 

 the national character, had lost its vital power, and became the 

 mere tool and toy of weak or vicious emperors ; while low-born 

 slaves had occupied positions of authority and vitiated all the 



