He should find some means of
putting in evidence the leisure that is not spent in the sight of
the spectators. This can be done only indirectly, through the
exhibition of some tangible, lasting results of the leisure so
spent -- in a manner analogous to the familiar exhibition of
tangible, lasting products of the labour performed for the
gentleman of leisure by handicraftsmen and servants in his
employ.
The lasting evidence of productive labour is its material product
-- commonly some article of consumption. In the case of exploit
it is similarly possible and usual to procure some tangible
result that may serve for exhibition in the way of trophy or
booty. At a later phase of the development it is customary to
assume some badge of insignia of honour that will serve as a
conventionally accepted mark of exploit, and which at the same
time indicates the quantity or degree of exploit of which it is
the symbol. As the population increases in density, and as human
relations grow more complex and numerous, all the details of life
undergo a process of elaboration and selection; and in this
process of elaboration the use of trophies develops into a system
of rank, titles, degrees and insignia, typical examples of which
are heraldic devices, medals, and honorary decorations.
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