This system had at that time many advantages. 1. The old method of
holding land in common was a wasteful one, since the way in which the
possessor of a field might cultivate it would perhaps spoil it for the
one who received it at the next allotment. 2. In an age of constant
warfare, feudalism protected all classes better than if they had stood
apart, and it often enabled the King to raise a powerful and
well-armed force in the easiest and quickest manner. 3. It cultivated
two important virtues,--fidelity on the part of the vassal, protection
on that of the lord. It had something of the spirit of the Golden
Rule in it. Its corner stone was the faithfulness of man to man.
Society had outgrown the outward forms of feudalism, which like every
system had its drawbacks, but it would seem as though it could never
wholly outgrow the feudal principle.