Universal the particular character of a people presupposes the common nature of mankind. General Political Science has to do with General Political the fundamental conceptions, which appear in all sorts of Science is ways, in the theories of particular States. The history to based on which the former pays regard is the history of the World or History. universal history, not the history of a particular country, and of a particular State. The speculations of Political Philosophy must be tested and supplemented by the actual history of mankind. Universal history shows us the different stages of development which mankind has lived through since its infancy; each stage has its own peculiar views of the State, and its own political formations. We learn to understand in what ways the various nations have taken part in the common task of the human race. riods and Not all periods of universal history, nor all nations, have What pethe same significance for our science. We are specially what races nificant. concerned with the modern State. The ancient and are sigmediæval forms of the State need only be considered as preliminary, and in order, by contrast, to bring out more clearly the character of the modern State. The value of different peoples for the formation of the modern State is determined in general by their share in the progress of political civilisation, i.e. of a community of men at once orderly and free. In the history of the world, the Aryan or Indo-Germanic race is as significant for politics as the Semitic race for religion; but not until they came to Europe did even the Aryans attain a high and conscious political development. Among them the Greeks and Romans took precedence in antiquity, the Teutons (Germanen) in the Middle Ages; but our modern political civilisation depends chiefly on the mixture of Græco-Roman and Teutonic elements. The chief share in this modern political development has been taken by: (1) the English, whose very race is a mixed one, (2) secondly by the French, who combine Old Celtic and Romance with Teutonic elements, and (3) lastly the Prussians, in whom the manly self-confidence and sense of Law (Rechtssinn) of the Teuton is combined with the pliancy and submissiveness of the Slav. The political life of America is derived from that of Europe, but it is only in the General political science has thus to do with the common political consciousness of civilised mankind at the present time, and the fundamental ideas and essentially common institutions which appear in various ways in different States. Even General Public Law is no mere theory-it has a positive although indirect influence, as it operates through various particular States, and not through one universal State. Like mankind and his history, it has a real, and not merely an ideal existence. Note.-The contrast in Aristotle's Rhetoric (i. 10. 1368 b. 7) between vóμos idios and vóμos kovós is different from that which we have been considering. The former means the Law which a particular state has worked out for itself, whether written or unwritten, the latter that which is right by nature (púσe Korov díkalov) without regard to any political community. CHAPTER I. THE CONCEPTION AND IDEA OF THE STATE. THE THE HE conception (Begriff) of the State has to do with the nature and essential characteristics of actual States. The idea or ideal (Idee) of the State presents a picture, in the splendour of imaginary perfection, of the State as not yet realised, but to be striven for. the State by history: The conception of the State can only be discovered by The conhistory; the idea of the State is called up by philosophical ception of speculation. The universal conception of the State is re- arrived at cognised when the many actual States which have appeared the idea by in the world's history have been surveyed, and their common philosophy. characteristics discovered. The highest idea of the State is beheld when the tendency of human nature to political society is considered, and the highest conceivable and possible development of this tendency is regarded as the political end of mankind. istics of all States: If we consider the great number of States which history Characterpresents to us, we become aware at once of certain common characteristics of all States; others are only seen on closer examination. ber of First, it is clear that in every State a number of men are 1. a numcombined. In particular States the number may be very men; different, some embracing only a few thousands, others many millions; but, nevertheless, we cannot talk of a State until we get beyond the circle of a single family, and until a 15 |