TITLES. 171 



404. The supremacy associated with age in patri 

 archal groups, and in societies derived by composition from 

 patriarchal groups, shown primarily in that honouring of 

 parents which, as in the Jewish commandments, is put next 

 to the worship of God, and secondarily in the honouring of 

 old men in general, gives rise to a kindred but divergent 

 group of titles. Age being dignified, words indicating sen 

 iority become names of dignity. 



The beginnings may be discerned among the uncivil 

 ized. Counsels being formed of the older men, the local 

 name for an older man becomes associated in thought with 

 an office of power and therefore of honour. Merely noting 

 this, it will suffice if we trace in European language the 

 growth of titles hence resulting. Among the Romans sena 

 tor, or member of the senatus, words having the same root 

 with sen ex, was a name for a member of the assembly of 

 elders; and in early times these senators or elders, other 

 wise called patres, represented the component tribes : father 

 and elder being thus used as equivalents. From the fur 

 ther cognate word senior, we have, in derived languages, 

 signior, seigneur, senlwr first applied to head men, 

 rulers, or lords, and then by diffusion becoming names of 

 honour for those of inferior rank. The same thing has 

 happenel with ealdor or aldor. Of this Max Miiller 

 says, &quot; like many other titles of rank in the various Teu 

 tonic tongues, it is derived from an adjective implying 

 age;&quot; so that &quot;earl&quot; and &quot;alderman,&quot; both originat 

 ing from this root, are names of honour similarly result 

 ing from that social superiority gained by advanced 

 years. 



Whether or not the German title graf should be added, 

 is a moot point. If Max Miiller is right in considering the 

 objections of Grimm to the current interpretation inade 

 quate, then the word originally means grey; that is, grey 

 headed. 



