The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1896-05-15
ANlIENT CLUBS.
BY HENRY GRANVILLE

In one of the Spectator papers Ad-
Olson, writing of the club life of his
day, says: "Man is said to be socia-
bic animal, and, as an instance of it
we may observe that we take all occa-
slons and pretense of forming our
selves into nocturnal assemblies which
are commonly known by the name OF
clubs. When set of men find them
selves agree i'll any particular, though
never so trivial, they establish them
selves into kind Of fraternity, and
meet once or twice week upon the
account Of such a fantastic resem-
| blance."
Here is the philosophy of the club
idea which in one form or other is as old
as humanity. No sooner did our pre-
historic ancestors begin to emerge
from the brute state and develop into
reasoning, thinking animals, even
though low down in the scale of civil
ization, than the instinct for establish
ing intimate and interdependent rela-
tions with each other manifested it.
self The beginnings were crude
enough, and at first did not extend be-
yond the nightly conference around
the tire-camp, or at the village assem-
bly, ground. But, as time went on,
out of the necessity of selfpreserva-
ton and advancement, came alliances
for government, for trade, and for pro-
lection of life and property. All these
associations, which have been the mo-
tive power in the growth of humanity,
had their inception in the tendency to
fratcrnization among men Of like ideas,
like needs, and like ambitions. While
chiefly pertaining to the serious bust
ness of life, in less degree they also
catered to the Unborn desire of man for
companionship in hours of relaxation,
As has been well said, they were a ma
tural and necessary ofishoot of mans
eregarious and social nature
In the records of even the most pri-
mitive peoples there are abundant
traces of organizations of this charac-
ter. Some were political, some reli-
gious, some commercial or industrial,
some purely social. The idea of the
association of men with like interests,
however, underlies them all, even
though the form of alliance may have
been crude and the bonds scarcely dis
cernibe. The Indian villages ofNorth
and South America, the negro hamlets
of Africa. the settlements of the Pa
cilic islanders, the Afghan towns of
Central Asia, all present, even to this
day, striking examples of the perpet-
uation of this ancient form of fraterni-
zation. Other examples almost with
out limit might be cited in illustration.
Even in the rudest settlements coter-
les of the people have their regular
places and times of meeting. The old
men meet to smoke and rehearse their
deeds of prowess, and the young to
sport and boast of their great deeds
vet to be. Each of these organized
assemblies, too, is characterized by a
certain amount of exclusiveness and
they possess, even if sometimes rough
", all the underlying characteristics
that pertain to the club as we now
know it.
Coming down to more modern times
and to more civilized peoples, we find
the club idea taking more definite and
distinctive shape, as, for example, in
the Sodalties of Rome, founded by
King Numa Many Of these associa-
tions were for trade purposes solely,
partaking somewhat of the character
of the trade or craft guilds of later
times: others were political, cores
ponding in general way to the po-
Iitical clubs of Paris; and some were
purely social. Much of the life of an
cient Rome centred i'm these institu-
tions. They We're organized on
framework not unlike that of the mod
ern club, had their constitutions and
bylaws, elected members by ballot,
and, in Il word, were conducted on the
same lines rs the clubs OF to-day. The
government O, "A recognized them in
legislation. and accorded them tavors,
such for instance, rs the privilege OF
occuving special and prominent seats
at public festivals. Plutarch tells us
that bv the laws of Numa certain res
ular times of meeting were fixed for
these clubs. and that there were GER
thin set forms of procedure, including
liberal lihations to the gods-a custom
that has been substantially preserved
in club-land even to the present day.
Among the Greeks, as well as
among the Romans, clubs of this kiud
hourished. Aristotle says that men
of the same tribe, or pursuit, were ac