Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 8.djvu/405

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WORK AND PLAY
389

wants. The average man, if left perfectly free to do as he chose, would go hunting or fishing rather than present himself at some social function, say a reception. And when one thinks of some of the more serious social activities which Groos would class as play, such as dressing in fashion, having as good a house as one's neighbor, educating his children as well, holding membership in as high-toned clubs, and so on, he can appreciate that these make as heavy demands upon the will as tilling the soil, keeping books, or directing a bank, or preaching, or instructing a class of students. In general, the latest activities in racial evolution are hardest for the individual; the lines of least resistance run in the direction of the primitive pastimes of the race, especially if these have persisted for a long time.

M. V. O'Shea.
University of Wisconsin.