THE ENLARGEMENT OF CONSCIOUSNESS Narrowness of consciousness in tribal society -- Importance of face-to-face assembly -- Individuality -- Subconscious character of wider relations -- Enlargement of consciousness -- Irregularity in growth -- Breadth of modern consciousness -- Democracy IN a life like that of the Teutonic tribes before they took on Roman civilization， the social medium was small， limited for most purposes to the family， clan or village group.Within this narrow circle there was a vivid interchange of thought and feeling， a sphere of moral unity， of sympathy， loyalty， honor and congenial intercourse.Here precious traditions were cherished， and here also was the field for an active public opinion， for suggestion and discussion， for leading and following， for conformity and dissent " In this kindly soil of the family，" says Professor Gummer in his Germanic Origins， "flourished such growth of sentiment as that rough life brought forth.Peace， good-will， the sense of honor， loyalty to friend and kinsman， brotherly affection， all were plants that found in the Germanic home that congenial warmth they needed for their earliest stages of growth....
Originally the family or clan made a definite sphere or system of life；Outside of it the homeless man felt indeed that chaos had come again."
When we say that public opinion is modern， we mean of course， the wider and more elaborate forms of it.On a smaller scale it has always existed where people have had a chance to discuss and act upon matters of common interest.Among our American Indians， for example， "Opinion was a most potent factor in all tribes， and this would be largely directed by those having popularity and power.Officers， in fact all persons， became ex.
tremely well known in the small community of an Amerind tribe.Every peculiarity of temperament was understood， and the individual was respected or despised according to his predominating characteristics.Those who were bold and fierce and full of strategy were made war-chiefs， while those who possessed judgment and decision were made civil chiefs or governors." The Germanic tribes were accustomed to assemble in those village moots to which the historian recurs with such reverence， where " the men from whom Englishmen were to spring learned the worth of public opinion， of public discussion， the worth of the agreement， the 'common-sense' to which discussion leads， as of the laws which derive their force from being expressions of that general conviction."
Discussion and public opinion of this simple sort， as every one knows， takes place also among children wherever they mingle freely.Indeed， it springs so directly from human nature， and is so difficult to suppress even by the most inquisitorial methods， that we may assume it to exist locally in all forms of society and at all periods of history It grows by looks and gestures where speech is forbidden， so that even in a prison there is public Opinion among the inmates.But in tribal life these local groups contained all the vivid and conscious society there was， the lack of means of record and of quick transmission making a wider unity impracticable.
In the absence of indirect communication people had to come into face-to-face contact in order to feel social excitement and rise to the higher phases of consciousness.Hence games， feasts and public assemblies of every sort meant more to the general life than they do in our day.They were the occasions of exaltation， the theatre for the display of eloquence either in discussing questions of the moment or recounting deeds of the past梐nd for the practice of those rhythmic exercises that combined dancing， acting， poetry and music in one comprehensive and communal art.Such assemblies are possibly more ancient than human nature itself梥ince human nature implies a preceding evolution of group life梐nd in some primitive form of them speech itself is supposed by some to have been born.Just as children invent words in the eagerness of play， and slang arises among gangs of boys on the street， so the earliest men were perhaps incited to the invention of language by a certain ecstasy and self-forgetting audacity， like that of the poet sprung from the excitement of festal meetings.
Something of the spirit of these primitive assemblies Is perhaps reproduced in the social exaltation of those festal evenings around the camp-fire which many of us can recall， with individual and group songs， chants， "stunts"and the like； when there were not wanting original， almost impromptu， compositions梒elebrating notable deeds or satanizing conspicuous individuals梬hich the common excite ment generated in the minds of one or more ingenious persons.
It is sometimes said that the individual counted for nothing in tribal life， that the family or the clan was the unit of society， in which all personalities were merged' From the standpoint of organization there is much truth in this； that is the group of kindred was for many pun poses (political， economic， religious， etc.) a corporate unit， acting as a whole and responsible as a whole to the rest of society； so that punishment of wrong-doing， for ex.ample， would be exacted from the group rather than from the particular offender.But taken psychologically， to mean that there was a lack of self-assertion， the idea is with.out foundation.On the contrary， the barbaric mind exalts an aggressive and even extravagant individuality.
Achilles is a fair sample of its heroes， mighty in valor and prowess， but vain， arrogant and resentful？what we should be apt to call an individualist.The men of the Niebelungenlied， of Beowulf， of Norse and Irish tales and of our Indian legends are very much like him.
Consider， also， the personal initiative displayed in uhe formation of a war-party among the Omahas， as described by Dorsey， and note how little it differs from the way in which commercial and other enterprises are started at the present day.
