g force in modern society.

The elegance and refinement of the women of the manors, as well as the
stability and resourcefulness of the wives of the wealthy burghers,
already gave indication of the development of the splendid type of
modern English society known as the country gentry and the no less
admirable class of the English tradespeople. Indeed, the evolution
of the middle class as a conservative force is one of the greatest
factors to be considered in mediaeval study. "Blue blood," once
regarded as a peculiar strain of vital fluid by which, through some
mysterious means, the upper stratum of society was marked off from the
lower, came to be detected in the veins of those whose only pedigree
was poverty and whose only claim upon the consideration and respect of
their fellows was real worth of character. An aristocracy which could
be repleted from the plebeian ranks of the middle classes of society,
upon whose members titles were bestowed, not because of their
readiness to respond to the needs of the privy purse of a monarch, but
because they had assumed leading and important positions in relation
to England's honor and power, was an aristocracy that did not become
archaic or degenerate. The equality of opportunity, which is the pride
and promise of modern society, had its beginnings in those early days
when the gate of emergence from lower class conditions was so seldom
opened far anyone to pass out to where the ascent of Parnassus might
quicken his ambition.

Long after feudalism had ceased, however, it was difficult to disabuse
the minds of people of the idea that the blood which flowed in
the veins of a gentleman was different from that of a peasant or a
burgher. It is curious to note one of the legendary explanations of
the division of blood as given by Alexander Barclay, a poet of the
reign of Henry VII. According to his story, while Adam was occupied
with his agricultural labors, Eve sat at home with her children about
her, when she suddenly became aware of the approach of the Creator,
and ashamed of the number of her children, she hurriedly concealed
those which were less favored in appearance. Some she placed under
hay, some under straw and chaff, some in the chimney, and some in a
tub of draff; but such as were fair and comely she kept with her.
The Lord told her that He had come to see her children, that He might
promote them in their different degrees. When she presented them,
according to age, one wa