The Commonwealth of Nations; an inquiry into the nature of citizenship in the British Empire, and into the mutual relations of the several communities thereofPt1 . then to crystallize it into the form of a writtenresolution or law. The extent to which this com-plicated operation can be effected will determinehow far the principle of the commonwealth can berealized in practice. The smaller the community theeasier the process. The natural tendency of theprinciple is to small communities. It is exceedinglydifficult to combine two commonwealths into it is a mistake to assume that because a
The Commonwealth of Nations; an inquiry into the nature of citizenship in the British Empire, and into the mutual relations of the several communities thereofPt1 . then to crystallize it into the form of a writtenresolution or law. The extent to which this com-plicated operation can be effected will determinehow far the principle of the commonwealth can berealized in practice. The smaller the community theeasier the process. The natural tendency of theprinciple is to small communities. It is exceedinglydifficult to combine two commonwealths into it is a mistake to assume that because a tend-ency is natural it is also sound; for, left to run riot,this tendency would destroy the commonwealthitself by rendering the whole society to which it isapplied as unstable as it would be if organized on thetribal principle. Hellenic society was highly unstable. The nation,in direct contrast to those of Asia, was dividedinto a multitude of sovereign states, and the resultwas anarchy. When each town is perfectly inde-pendent and sovereign, acknowledging no superiorupon earth, multitudes of disputes, which in a great 1 Aristotle, Politics, iv. (vii.) EAST AND WEST 27 monarchy or a Federal republic may be decided by tribunals, can be settled by nothing but anappeal to the sword. The thousand causes whichinvolve large neighbouring states in warfare allexist, and all are endowed with tenfold force, in thecase of independent city - commonwealths. Borderdisputes, commercial jealousies, wrongs done toindividual citizens, the mere vague dislike whichturns a neighbour into a natural enemy, all exist,and that in a form condensed and intensified by thevery minuteness of the scene on which they have toact. A rival nation is, to all but the inhabitants ofa narrow strip of frontier, a mere matter of hearsay ;but a rival whose dwelling-place is within sight ofthe city gates quickly grows into an enemy who canbe seen and felt. The highest point which hu
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidc, booksubjectcolonization
