126
THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND.
[book I
to the fullest extent, the doctrine of solitary set-
tlements, we must still contend that these are, in
their very nature, temporary ; that they contain
no possible provision for stability, in short that
they are excluded by the very idea itself of a state ;
yet it is as a member of a state that man exists,
that he is intended to exist1, and unless as a mem-
ber of a state, he is incapable of existing as a man.
He can as little create a language as create a state :
he is born to both, for both, and without both he
cannot exist at all.
Each single family then is a state : two, three or
four families are a state, under larger conditions.
How are these last to be settled ?
Where a number of independent households are
thinly dispersed over a portion of the country, their
reciprocal relations and position will probably be
more or less of the following kind.
Some arrangement will exist for the regulation
of the terms on which the use of the woods, waters
and common uncultivated land may be enjoyed by
all the settlers : it is even possible that they may
have some common religious ceremonies as the
basis of this arrangement2. But further than this
there need be no union or mutual dependence ;
each solitary homestead is a state by itself, pos-
sessing the jus belli-, in no federal relation to,
and consequently in a state of war with, every
1 Aristotle’s Politics, book i. cap. 1. Dablmann, Politik, § 1,2,3.
2 It is of course extremely difficult to conceive this apart from the
existence of a common priesthood ; but such a priesthood is already
the commencement of a regular state.
CH. V.]
THE FREEMAN. THE NOBLE.
127
other household, even though this right of war
should not be in active operation at any given
moment1.
In his own household every man may bear rule,
either following his own arbitrary will, or in accord-
ance with certain general principles, which he pro-
bably recognizes in common with his neighbours.
He may have a family worship of his own, of which
he will be the chief priest2, and which worship may
or may not be consistent with that of his neighbours.
If he is troublesome to them, they may root him
out, slay or enslave him, do with him what seems
good in their eyes, or whatsoever they have power
to do. If he thrives and accumulates wealth, they
may despoil him, or he oppress them,—all, how-
ever, jure belli, for there can be no jus imperii in
such a case.
This, however, cannot be the normal state of
man. The anxious desire, it might almost be called
instinctive yearning, to form a part of a civilized
society, forbids its continuance, not less than the
obvious advantage of entering into a mutual gua-
rantee of peace and security. The production of
food and other necessaries of life is the first busi-
In such a case, power or force being the only term of reference,
each household will be determined by that alone in its intercourse
with others. If ʌ wants a sla∖e, he will war upon and take B, if he
can : but to prevent this, B and C will unite ; so that at last a
regulated union is found best for all parties, in respect to themselves
as a community, and against all other communities.
Tac. Germ. x. “ Si publice consuletur, Sacerdos chitatis, sinprι-
υahm, ipsepaterfamilias,precatus Deos. . . This seems to indicate, at
the commencement, an independent priestly power in the paterfamilias.
Compare the remarkable history in Judges, cap. xvii, xviii.