168 THE SOCIAL THEORY OF GEORG SIMMEL
ment can withdraw in favor of the formal principle. That
formal principle is the hereditary kingship.
The objectivation of the group coherence may dispense
with this personal form and become attached to material
symbols, such as crown jewels, a flag, a banner; or it may
find expression in a maxim or motto.’
The importance of a material symbol becomes much
greater if it serves as a common possession. It may be that
the material interests of the individuals converge in this
symbol, or that the centralized functions of the group de-
pend on it. In that case it is of importance to secure its
permanence. This is usually obtained by the “dead hand,”
the provision that the property of the association, which,
as such, is eternal, cannot be alienated. For the church the
eternity of her tenure was a symbol of the eternity of her
life-principle. That her possessions were chiefly real estate
strengthened the usefulness of her material properties for
the preservation of her group unity. Modern associations
and corporations try to secure the same ends by different
means. In some cases the provision is made that no resti-
tution of contributions shall be made to those who with-
draw, and in other cases the constitution stipulates that in
case of dissolution the funds shall not be distributed, but
shall revert to another association of similar purpose. In
the latter case the provision aims, not at the physical per-
1 Soz., pp. 511-14. This formalistic sociological aspect of the hereditary king-
ship is, of course, not the whole story of its historical development. Simmel would
not have us believe that. But it is none the less to be regretted that he did not
refer to the reverse side of the medal. The kingship did not only become heredi-
tary because it reflected the immortality of the group, but also because the
princes conceived their imperium as a dominium, as a permanent possession in
their own family.
t For an extensive account of the importance of the symbol or the emblem
for the group unity, see Emile Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of Religious
Life (translated by Swain), p. 236.
