the first half of the century the production of the precious
metals was far in excess of anything that had preceded, and this
output, large as it was, was nearly tripled in the last half of the
century. These figures, however, are extremely modest compared with
those of recent times, when more gold is mined in a year than was then
mined in a century. The total amount mined in 1915 was $470,000,000;
in 1917 $428,000,000; for the period 1850 to 1916 inclusive the total
amount mined was $13,678,000,000.

[1] See the photograph in my _Life and Letters of Luther_, p. 364.

[2] No valid comparison can be made for the years after 1913, for in
most nations paper currencies have ousted gold.

[3] These figures are based on those of Sommerlad in the
_Handwoerter-buch der Staatswissenschaften_, s.v. "Preis," taken from
Wiebe, who based on Lexis. Figures quite similar to those of Sommerlad
are given by C. F. Bastable in the _Encyclopaedia Britannica_, s.v.
"Money." I have incorporated Haring's corrections.

SECTION 3. INSTITUTIONS

[Sidenote: The monarchies]

For a variety of reasons the sixteenth century was as monarchical in
mind as the twentieth century is democratic. Immemorial prescription
then had a vigor since lost, and monarchy descended from classical and
biblical antiquity when kings were hedged with a genuine divinity. The
study of Roman law, with its absolutist maxims, aided in the formation
of royalist sentiment. The court as the center of fashion attracted a
brilliant society, while the small man satisfied his cravings for
gentility by devouring the court gossip that even then clogged the
presses. It is probable that one reason why the throne became so
popular was that it was, next to the church, the best advertised {477}
article in the world. But underlying these sentimental reasons for
loyalty there was a basis of solid utility, predisposing men to support
the scepter as the one power strong enough to overawe the nobles. One
tyrant was better than many; one lion could do less harm than a pack of
wolves and hyaenas. In the greater states men felt perfectly helpless
without a king to rule the anarchical chaos into which society would
have dissolved without him. When the Spanish Communes rebelled against
Charles V they triumphed in the field, but their attempt simply
collapsed in face of their utter inability to solve the problem of
government without a royal governor. They were as helpless as