There is more truth, and truth of a higher order, in this than in
the theory of the social compact. Individuals, to a certain
extent, derive their life from God through society, and so far
they depend on her, and they are hers; she owns them, and has the
right to do as she will with them. On this theory the state
emanates from society, and is supreme. It coincides with the
ancient Greek and Roman theory, as expressed by Cicero, already
cited. Man is born in society and remains there, and it may be
regarded as the source of ancient Greek and Roman patriotism,
which still commands the admiration of the civilized world. The
state with Greece and Rome was a living reality, and loyalty a
religion. The Romans held Rome to be a divinity, gave her
statues and altars, and offered her divine worship. This was
superstition, no doubt, but it had in it an element of truth. To
every true philosopher there is something divine in the state,
and truth in all theories. Society stands nearer to God, and
participates more immediately of the Divine essence, and the
state is a more lively image of God than the individual. It was
man, the generic and reproductive man, not the isolated
individual, that was created in the image and likeness of his
Maker. "And God created man in his own image; in the image of
God created he him; male and female created he them.
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