The family is patriarchal and the patria potestas is well-nigh unlimited. Local customary law prevails. The language differentiates into local and class dialects. Duties are more emphasized than rights. Respect for old age, faithfulness to blood revenge, and feudal loyalty are resplendent virtues.
Rights are more emphasized than duties.
The spirit is cosmopolitan. Pretensions founded on family, or the worthiness of some ancestor, are laughed at. Social grading is on the basis of some present fact -money, efficiency, achievement education, or character. Language grows by incorporating terms which make their d but as slang. Customary law is supplemented by legislation.