t
within that institution their environment is limited. It is similar in
the world at large. Individuals do not choose the environment in which
at first they find themselves, and the majority cannot readily change
their environment. Within its natural limits and the barriers which
caste or custom have fixed, children form their play groups according
to their liking for each other, and adults organize their societies
according to their mutual interests or common beliefs. With increasing
acquaintance and ease of communication and transportation there comes
a wider range of choice, and environment is less controlling. The will
of the individual becomes freer to choose friends and associates
wherever he finds them. He may have widely scattered business and
political connections. He may be a member of an international
association. He may even take a wife from another city or a distant
nation. Mental interaction flows in international channels.

10. =Forms of Association.=--It is possible to classify all forms of
association in two groups as natural, like a gang of boys, or
artificial, like a political party. Or it is possible to arrange them
according to the interests they serve, as economic, scientific, and
the like. Again they may be classified according to thoroughness of
organization, ranging from the crowd to the closely knit corporation.
But whatever the form may be, the value of the association is to be
judged according to the degree of social worth, as in the case of
activities. On that basis a company of gladiators or a pugilist's club
ranks below a village improvement society; that in turn yields in
importance to a learned association of physicians discussing the best
means of relieving human suffering. In the slow process of social
evolution those forms that do not contribute to the welfare of the
race will lose their place in society.

11. =Results of Association.=--The results of association are among
the permanent assets of the race. Man has become what he is because of
his social relations, and further progress is dependent upon them. The
arts that distinguish man from his inferiors are the products of
inter-communication and co-operation. The art of conversation and the
accompanying interchange of ideas and thought stimulus are to be
numbered among the benefits. The art of conciliation that calms
ruffled tempers and softens conflict belongs here. The art of
co-operation, that great engine of achievement, de