ng
defined; it might, so far as the terms of the custom went, be either
purchase, or inheritance, or the receipt of royal bounty. The successful
merchant might also thrive to thegn-right. The thegn himself might also
rise to the rank, the estimation and status of an earl."[2] It has been
said that early German history is, as regards this matter, in contrast
with English, and that true castes are to be found in the military
associations (_Genossenschaften_) which arose from the older class of
Dienstmannen, and in which every member--page, squire or knight--must
prove his knightly descent; the Bauernstand, or rural non-military
population; the Burgerstand, or merchant-class. The ministry of the
Catholic Church in the West, was, however, never restricted by blood
relation. There is no doubt that at some time or other professions were
in most countries hereditary. Thus Prescott[3] tells us that in Peru,
notwithstanding the general rule that every man should make himself
acquainted with the various arts, "there were certain individuals
carefully trained to those occupations which minister to the wants of
the more opulent classes. These occupations, like every other calling
and office in Peru, always descended from father to son. The division of
castes was in this particular as precise as that which existed in
Hindustan or Egypt." Again, Zurita[4] says that in Mexico no one could
carry on trade except by right of inheritance, or by public permission.
The Fiji carpenters form a separate caste, and in the Tonga Islands all
the trades, except tattoo-markers, barbers and club-carvers are
hereditary,--the separate classes being named matabooles, mooas and
tooas. Nothing is more natural than that a father should teach his son
his handicraft, especially if there be no organized system of public
instruction; it gives the father help at a cheap rate, it is the easiest
introduction to life for the son, and the custom or reputation of the
father as a craftsman is often the most important legacy he has to
leave. The value of transmitted skill in the simple crafts was very
great; and what was once universal in communities still survives in
outlying portions of communities which have not been brought within the
general market of exchange. But so long as this process remains natural,
there can be no question of caste, which implies that the adoption of a
new profession is not merely unusual, but wrong and punishable. Then,
the word caste has