Transcriber’s Notes

Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations in hyphenation and accents have been standardised but all other spelling and punctuation remains unchanged.

The precise location of footnote 256 is speculative since it is not indicated in the original.

The Sexes in Science
and
History

An Inquiry into the Dogma of Woman’s
Inferiority to Man

By

Eliza Burt Gamble

A revised edition of “The Evolution of Woman”

G. P. Putnam’s Sons
New York and London
The Knickerbocker Press
1916

Copyright, 1893
Under the title The Evolution of Woman, by
G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS

Copyright, 1916
for the revised edition, by
G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS

The Knickerbocker Press, New York

[PREFACE TO NEW EDITION]

This volume is a revised edition of The Evolution of Woman published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons in 1894.

In this later work much added evidence appears going to prove the correctness of the theory advanced in the former work. In it the subject of sex-development has been brought down to the present time and in this later investigation it is found that each and every fact connected with the biological and sociological development of the last twenty years is in strict accord not only with the facts set forth in The Evolution of Woman but with the conclusions therein arrived at.

In the concluding chapters of this volume the results of the separate development of the two diverging lines of sex demarcation are set forth. I have endeavoured to show that present conditions are the legitimate outcome of the ascendency gained during the later ages of human history by the egoistic or destructive agencies over the higher or constructive forces developed in human nature.

E. B. G.

PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION

After a somewhat careful study of written history, and after an investigation extending over several years of all the accessible facts relative to extant tribes representing the various stages of human development, I had reached the conclusion, as early as the year 1882, that the female organism is in no wise inferior to that of the male. For some time, however, I was unable to find any detailed proof that could consistently be employed to substantiate the correctness of this hypothesis.

In the year 1885, with no special object in view other than a desire for information, I began a systematized investigation of the facts which at that time had been established by naturalists relative to the development of mankind from lower orders of life. It was not, however, until the year 1886, after a careful reading of The Descent of Man, by Mr. Darwin, that I first became impressed with the belief that the theory of evolution, as enunciated by scientists, furnishes much evidence going to show that the female among all the orders of life, man included, represents a higher stage of development than the male. Although at the time indicated, the belief that man has descended from lower orders in the scale of being had been accepted by the leading minds both in Europe and America, for reasons which have not been explained, scientists, generally, seemed inclined to ignore certain facts connected with this theory which tend to prove the superiority of the female organism.

Scarcely considering at the outset whether my task would eventually take the form of a magazine article, or whether it would be extended to the dimensions of a book, I set myself to work to show that some of the conclusions of the savants regarding the subject of sex-development are not in accord with their premises.

While writing the first part of this volume, and while reasoning on the facts established by scientists in connection with the observations which have been made in these later years relative to the growth of human society and the development of human institutions, it seemed clear to me that the history of life on the earth presents an unbroken chain of evidence going to prove the importance of the female; and, so struck was I by the manner in which the facts of science and those of history harmonize, that I decided to embrace within my work some of the results of my former research. I therefore set about the task of tracing, in a brief manner, the growth of the primary characters observed in the two diverging sex-columns, according to the facts and principles enunciated in the theory of natural development.

It is not perhaps singular, during an age dominated by theological dogmatism, and in which no definite knowledge relative to the development of life on the earth had been gained, that man should have regarded himself as an infinitely superior being. Neither is it remarkable that woman, who was supposed to have appeared later on the scene of action than did her male mate, and who owed her existence to a surgical operation performed upon him, should have been regarded simply as an appendage, a creature brought forth in response to the requirements of the masculine nature.

The above doctrines when enunciated by theologians need cause little surprise, but with the dawn of a scientific age it might have been expected that the prejudices resulting from those doctrines might disappear. When, however, we turn to the most advanced scientific writings of the present century, we find that the prejudices which throughout thousands of years have been gathering strength are by no means eradicated, and any discussion of the sex question is still rare in which the effects of these prejudices may not be traced. Even Mr. Darwin, notwithstanding his great breadth of mental vision and the important work which he accomplished in the direction of original inquiry, whenever he had occasion to touch on the mental capacities of women, or more particularly on the relative capacities of the sexes, manifested the same spirit which characterizes the efforts of an earlier age; and throughout his entire investigation of the human species, his ability to ignore certain facts which he himself adduced, and which all along the line of development tend to prove the superiority of the female, is truly remarkable.

We usually judge of a man’s fitness to assume the rôle of an original investigator in any branch of human knowledge, by noting his powers of observation and generalization, and by observing his capacity to perceive connections between closely related facts; also, by tracing the various processes by which he arrives at his conclusions. The ability, however, to collect facts, and the power to generalize and draw conclusions from them, avail little, when brought into direct opposition to deeply rooted prejudices.

The indications are strong that the time has at length arrived when the current opinions concerning sex capacity and endowment demand a revision, and when nothing short of scientific deductions, untainted by the prejudices and dogmatic assumptions of the past, will be accepted.

As has been stated, the object of this volume is to set forth the principal data brought forward by naturalists bearing on the subject of the origin and development of the two lines of sexual demarcation, and by means of the facts observed by explorers among peoples in the various stages of development, to trace, so far as possible, the effect of such differentiation upon the individual, and upon the subsequent growth of human society.

E. B. G.

CONTENTS

The Sexes in Science and History

[PART I]
The Theory of Evolution

[CHAPTER I]
DEVELOPMENT OF THE ORGANISM

Sex is not only the basic fact underlying physical life but it is also the fundamental principle involved in the origin and development of religion. Throughout the history of mankind, the God-idea has ever been, male or female, according to the relative importance of the two sex principles in human affairs.

Scientists declare that they are now able to trace the development of the two diverging lines of sex-demarcation from the time of their separation, or from the time when these principles were confined within one and the same individual. In order to understand the origin of sex, it becomes necessary to recall, briefly, the theory of the development of life on the earth as set forth by the savants.

As science deals only with matter, a mechanical theory of the universe is inevitable. As science is wholly materialistic, it is perfectly consistent in its declaration that the senses and the intellect constitute the only means whereby truth may be discovered. Modern philosophy, on the other hand, which deals less with matter itself than with the causes which underlie the development of matter, affirms that a character has been developed in human beings which in its capacity to discern truth, far transcends the intellect. That character is intuition. But as we are dealing only with scientific observations, philosophical speculations do not here concern us.

The fundamental idea, which must necessarily lie at the bottom of all natural theories of development, is that of a gradual development of all (even the most perfect) organisms out of a single, or out of a very few, quite simple, and quite imperfect original beings, which came into existence, not by supernatural creation, but by spontaneous generation.[1]

According to the theory of evolution as elaborated by scientists, the history of man begins with small animated particles, or Monera, which appeared in the primeval sea. These marine specks were albuminous compounds of carbon, generated by the sun’s heat, which made their appearance as soon as the mists which enveloped the earth were sufficiently cleared away to permit the rays of the sun to penetrate them and reach the surface of the globe. Concerning the origin of the principle of life which these particles contained, or regarding the development of organic bodies from inorganic substances, the more timid among naturalists declare that in the present state of human knowledge it is impossible to know anything, while others of them, more bold, or more confident of the latent powers of the human intellect, after having elaborated a natural or mechanical explanation for the development of all organic forms, are not disposed to accept a supernatural theory for the beginning of life. For example, since organic structures represent the development of matter according to laws governing the chemical, molecular, and physical forces inherent in it, it is believed that the gulf separating organic and inorganic substances is not so difficult to span as has hitherto been supposed. Among those who hold this view may be ranked the celebrated naturalist, Ernst Haeckel.

Regarding the phenomena of life this writer observes: “We can demonstrate the infinitely manifold and complicated physical and chemical properties of the albuminous bodies to be the real cause of organic or vital phenomena.”[2] Indeed, in whatever manner the vital force within them originated, naturalists agree that from these particles have been derived all the forms, both animal and vegetable, which have ever existed upon the earth.

As speculations concerning the origin of matter lie without the domain of natural or scientific inquiry, they form no part of the investigations of the naturalist. So far as is known, matter is eternal, and all that may be learned concerning it must be gleaned by observing the changes, chemical and molecular, through which it is manifested. By those who have observed the laws which govern the manifold changes in matter, the fact is declared that the various manifestations in form and substance constitute the only creation of which we may have any knowledge; and, moreover, that the genesis of existence is going on as actively in our time as at any previous period in the history of matter. So far as human knowledge extends, no particle of matter has ever been created and none ever destroyed. This continuous process of transmutation of substance and change of form, in other words the phenomena designated Life, may have been in operation during all the past, and may continue forever.

As all speculations concerning the origin of matter have been unavailing, so all attempts to solve the problem of the origin of life have proved futile. The experiments recently carried on in the Rockefeller Institute, in which by means of chemical processes detached organs from the bodies of animals have been made to perform their normal functions, are interesting and instructive, but these experiments furnish no clue to the origin of the force which animates living organic matter. Why the nucleated cells which we call a heart should pulsate whilst those which we call a liver should secrete bile, nobody knows.

That all life on the earth has been derived from one, or at most from a few original forms, is said to be proved by ontogeny, or the history of the germ, which in its development passes through a number of the forms which mark the ascending scale of life.

Through the study of comparative anatomy, the fact has been discovered that the individuals composing the various orders of the great vertebrate series are all moulded “on the same general plan”; that up to a certain stage in the development of the several germs—for instance those of the man, the ape, the horse, the dog, etc.,—they are not distinguishable the one from the other, and that it is only at a later stage of development that they take on the peculiarities belonging to their own special kind. The number and variety of forms which appear in the animal and vegetable world make it difficult to conceive of the idea that all have sprung from one, or at most from a few original types, yet the chain of evidence in support of this theory seems quite complete.

Natural Selection, by which it is demonstrated that organized matter must move forward simply through the chemical and physical forces inherent in it, furnishes a key to all the phenomena of life, both animal and vegetable, which have ever appeared on the earth. Natural Selection, we are told, depends for its operation on the interaction of two processes or agencies, namely, Inheritance and Adaptation. Through Inheritance germs receive from their parents a plastic form which, as all development is a function of external physical conditions, is itself nothing more than a “manifestation of the remains of antecedent physical impressions.” This inherited form causes them to go forward in a predestined course, while through Adaptation there is a constant tendency to change that predestined form imposed upon them by their parents to one better suited to their changing physical conditions.

According to the theory of Natural Selection, organic structures vary to meet the requirements of changed conditions; or, when existing circumstances are such that they are forced into new and unusual modes of life, they branch off into different directions; thus new varieties are formed, or possibly new species. Such portions of a group, however, as remain sheltered from conditions unsuited to their present line of development, retain their ancient forms. This change of structure by which organisms or portions of organic bodies are modified so as to perform more complicated functions, or those better suited to their environment, is denominated differentiation; hence the degree of differentiation attained by a structure determines the stage of development which it has reached.

But to return to our single-celled animal—the simplest form of life on the earth. Except that by the action of the surrounding forces its surface has become somewhat hardened, this little animal is the same throughout, in other words, it is homogeneous. The hardening of the outer portion constitutes the first process of differentiation, and therefore the first step in the order of progress.

Comparing the simplest form of life, the little carbon-sac found in the sea, with the germ from which animals and plants are derived, Haeckel says:

Originally every organic cell is only a single globule of mucus, like a Moneron, but differing from it in the fact that the homogeneous albuminous substance has separated itself into two different parts, a firmer albuminous body, the cell-kernel (nucleus), and an external, softer albuminous body, the cell-substance or body (protoplasma).[3]

From its body, which, when at rest, is nearly spherical, it is almost constantly casting forth certain “finger-like processes” which are as quickly withdrawn, only to reappear on some other portion of its surface. The small particles of albuminous matter with which it comes in contact adhere to it, or are drawn into its semi-fluid body by displacement of the several albuminous particles of which it is composed, and are there digested, being “absorbed by simple diffusion.” Its only activity consists in supplying itself with nourishment, and even during this process it is said to display a negative or passive quality rather than real action. The particles absorbed that are not assimilated, are expelled through the surface of the body in the same manner as they are taken into it.

At first, we are told, our animal is only a simple cell, in fact that it is not a perfect cell, for as yet the cell-kernel or nucleus has not been separated from the cell-substance or protoplasm. When its limit of size has been reached it multiplies by self-division, or by simply breaking into parts, each part performing the same functions of nutrition and propagation as its predecessor. Later, however, when a parent cell bursts, the newly developed cells no longer separate from it, but, by cohering to it and to each other, form a cluster of nucleated cells, while around this aggregation of units is formed a wall. Still its food is absorbed. Subsequently, however, a mouth and prehensile organs for seizing its food are developed, and the divisions between the cells are converted into channels or pipes through which nourishment is conveyed to every part of the body. In process of time, limbs for locomotion appear, together with bones for levers, and muscles for moving them. Finally, a brain and a heart are evolved, and although at first the heart appears as only a simple pulsating vessel, later this animal finds itself the possessor of a perfect system of digestion, circulation, and excretion, by which food, after having been changed into blood and aërated or purified by processes carried on in the system, is pumped to every part of the body. With the formation of different chemical combinations, and the development, through increasing specialization of the various kinds of tissues, and finally of the various organs, that intimate relationship observed between the parts in homogeneous and less differentiated structures no longer exists; hence, in response to the demand for communication between the various organs, numberless threads or fibres begin to stretch themselves through the muscles, and collecting in knots or centres in the brain and spine, establish instantaneous communication between the different parts, and convey sensation and feeling throughout the entire organism.

A division of labour has now been established, and each organ, being in working order and fashioned for its own special use, performs its separate functions independently, although its activity is co-ordinated with that of all other organs in the structure.

This far in the history of life on the earth sex has not been developed, or, more correctly stated, as the two sexes have not been separated, our animal is still androgynous or hermaphrodite—the reproductive functions being confined in one and the same individual. Within this little primeval animal, the progenitor of the human race, lay not only all the possibilities which have thus far been realized by mankind, but within it were embodied also the “promise and potency” of all that progress which is yet to come, and of which man himself, in his present undeveloped state, may have only a dim foreshadowing.

From the time of the appearance of life on the earth to that of the separation of the sexes, myriads of centuries may have intervened. Only when through a division of labour these elements became detached, and the special functions of each were confided to two distinct and separate individuals, did the independent history of the female and male sexes begin.

No fact is more patent, at the present time, than that sex constitutes the underlying principle throughout nature. Although it may not be said of the simplest forms of life that sexual difference has been established, yet we are assured that among the ciliated Infusorians “male and female nuclear elements have been distinguished.” This primitive condition, however, is supposed to be rather a state antecedent to sex than a union of sexes in one organism. Among all the higher orders of life, whether animal or vegetable, the sex elements, female and male, are recognized as the two great factors in creation.

As, among all the animals in which there has been a separation of sexes, there has been established a division of labour, the consequent specialization of organs and the differentiation of parts form the true line of demarcation in the march of the two diverging columns. Doubtless in the future, when our knowledge of the history of life on the earth has become more extended, it will be found that it is only by tracing the processes of differentiation throughout the two entire lines of development that we may hope to unravel all the mysteries bound up in the problem of sex, or to understand the fundamental differences in character and constitution caused by this early division of labour.

[CHAPTER II]
THE ORIGIN OF SEX DIFFERENCES

We have observed that, according to naturalists, the earliest forms of life which appeared on the earth were androgynous or hermaphrodite, that the two elements necessary for reproduction were originally confined within one and the same individual within which were carried on all the functions of reproduction. Later, however, a division of labour arose, and these two original functions became detached, after which time the reproductive processes were carried on only through the commingling of elements prepared by, or developed within, two separate and distinct individuals.

As the belief is entertained by our guides in this matter that greater differentiation, or specialization of parts, denotes higher organization, it is believed that the division of labour by which the germ is prepared by one individual and the sperm by another individual, as is the case at the present time with all the higher orders of life, constitutes an important step in the line of progress. Here this line of argument ceases, and, until very recent times, concerning the course of development followed by each sex little has been heard. This silence on a subject of such vital importance to the student of biology is not perhaps difficult to understand; the conclusion, however, is unavoidable that the individual which must nourish and protect the germ, and by processes carried on within her own body provide nourishment for the young during its prenatal existence, and sometimes for years after birth, must have the more highly specialized organism, and must, therefore, represent the higher stage of development. Indeed, it is admitted by scientists that the advance from the egg-layers to the milk-givers indicates one of the most important steps in the entire line of development; and yet the peculiar specialization of structure necessary for its accomplishment was for the most part carried on within the female organism.

Concerning the origin of sex in the individual organism little seems to be known; as a result, however, of observations on the development of the reproductive organs in the higher vertebrates, and especially in birds, it is believed that there exists a “strict parallelism between the individual and the racial history,”—that the three main stages in the development of the chick, viz.: (1) germi-parity, (2) hermaphroditism, and (3) differentiated unisexuality, correspond to the three great steps of historic evolution.

By a careful investigation of the facts connected with the development of unisexual forms, we are enabled to discover the early beginnings of the characteristics which distinguish the two sexes throughout their entire course. We are told that with animals which have their sexes separate, in addition to strictly sexual difference

the male possesses certain organs of sense or locomotion, of which the female is quite destitute, or has them more highly developed, in order that he may readily find or reach her; or again the male has special organs of prehension for holding her securely. These latter organs, of infinitely diversified kinds, graduate into those which are commonly ranked as primary.[4]

The female, on the other hand, in addition to those sexual characters which are strictly primary, has “organs for the nourishment or protection of her young, such as the mammary glands of mammals, and the abdominal sacks of the marsupials.” In addition to these she is frequently provided with organs for the defence of the community; for instance, “the females of most bees are provided with a special apparatus for collecting and carrying pollen, and their ovipositor is modified into a sting for the defence of the larvæ and the community.” We are assured by Mr. Darwin that many similar cases could be given.[5]

Here, then, with almost the first or primary step toward sexual differentiation, may be observed the establishment of that peculiar bias which upon investigation will be seen to extend all along the two lines of sexual demarcation, and which (to anticipate the conclusions of our argument), as soon as mankind is reached, appears in the male as extreme egoism or selfishness, and in the female as altruism or care for other individuals outside of self.

We are assured, however, that it is not alone to the reproductive organs and their functions that we are to look for the chief differences in the constitution and character of the sexes. Neither is it entirely to Natural Selection that we are to seek for the causes which underlie the specialization peculiar to the two diverging lines of sexual demarcation; in addition to primary sexual divergences, there are also “secondary sexual characters” which are of great importance to their possessor. Indeed, from the prominence given to Sexual Selection by Mr. Darwin, it would seem that it played a part in the development of males quite equal to that of Natural Selection itself.

Now the difference between Natural Selection and Sexual Selection is that, whereas, in the former, characters are developed and preserved which are of use to the individual in overcoming the unfavourable conditions of environment, by the latter, only those characters are acquired and preserved which assist the individual in overcoming the obstacles to reproduction; or, to use Mr. Darwin’s own language:

[Sexual Selection] depends on the advantage which certain individuals have over others of the same sex and species solely in respect of reproduction.... [Where] the males have acquired their present structure, not from being better fitted to survive in the struggle of existence, but from having gained an advantage over other males, and from having transmitted this advantage to their male offspring alone, sexual selection must here have come into action.... A slight degree of variability leading to some advantage, however slight, in reiterated deadly contests would suffice for the work of sexual selection; and it is certain that secondary sexual characters are eminently variable. Just as man can give beauty, according to his standard of taste, to his male poultry, or more strictly can modify the beauty originally acquired by the parent species, can give to the Sebright bantam a new and elegant plumage, an erect and peculiar carriage—so it appears the female birds in a state of nature, have by a long selection of the more attractive males, added to their beauty or other attractive qualities.[6]

Thus, according to Mr. Darwin, it is through a long selection by females of the more attractive males that the present structure of the latter has been acquired. If, in a short time, a man can give elegant carriage and beauty to his bantams, according to his standard of beauty, he can see no reason to doubt that female birds, by selecting during thousands of generations the most melodious or beautiful males, according to their standard of beauty, might produce a marked effect. He says:

To sum up on the means through which, as far as we can judge, sexual selection has led to the development of secondary sexual characters. It has been shown that the largest number of vigorous offspring will be reared from the pairing of the strongest and best armed males, victorious in contests over other males, with the most vigorous and best-nourished females, which are the first to breed in the spring. If such females select the more attractive, and at the same time vigorous males, they will rear a larger number of offspring than the retarded females, which must pair with the less vigorous and less attractive males.... The advantage thus gained by the more vigorous pairs in rearing a larger number of offspring has apparently sufficed to render sexual selection efficient.[7]

Although the belief is common among naturalists that the appearance of secondary sexual characters belonging to males is greatly influenced by female choice, a majority of writers upon this subject are not in sympathy with Mr. Darwin’s theory concerning the origin of these variations. It is believed by them that Sexual Selection “may account for the perfecting, but not for the origin, of these characters.”

It is useless, however, to rehearse the opinions of the various writers who have dealt with this subject. It is perhaps sufficient to state that the great beauty of males has usually been accepted as evidence of their superiority over the females.

In his chapter, “The Male generally more Modified than the Female,” Mr. Darwin remarks: “Appearances would indicate that not the male which is most attractive to the female is chosen, but the one which is least distasteful.” He says that the aversion of female birds for certain males renders the season of courtship one of great anxiety and discomfiture, not only to many of the more poorly endowed aspirants, but to those also which are more magnificently attired—that the pairing ground becomes a field of battle, upon which, while parading their charms to the best advantage, is sacrificed much of the gorgeous plumage of the contestants. On the wooing ground are displayed for the admiration and approval of the females, all the physical attractions of the males, as well as the mental characters correlated with them, namely, courage, and pugnacity or perseverance. According to Mr. Darwin, with the exception of vanity, no other quality is in any considerable degree manifested by male birds, but to such an extent has love of display been developed in many of them, notably the pea-fowl, that, “in the absence of females of his own species, he will show off his finery before poultry and even pigs.” We are assured that the higher we ascend in the animal kingdom the more frequent and more violent become two desires in the male: “the desire of appearing beautiful, and that of driving away rivals.” According to Mr. Darwin’s theory of development, because of the indifference of the female among the lower orders of life to the processes of courtship, it has been necessary for the male to expend much energy or vital force in searching for her—in contending with his rivals for possession of her person, and in performing various acts to please her and secure her favours. While excessive eagerness in courtship is the one all-absorbing character of male fishes, birds, and mammals, we are assured that with the females, pairing is not only a matter of indifference, but that courtship is actually distasteful to them, and, therefore, that the former must resort to the various means referred to in order to induce the latter to submit to their advances.

We are informed that the female is sometimes charmed through the power of song; that at other times she is captivated by the diversified means which have been acquired by male insects and birds for producing various sounds resembling those proceeding from certain kinds of musical instruments; and not unfrequently she is won by means of antics or love dances performed on the ground or in the air. On the pairing-ground, combs, wattles, elongated plumes, top-knots, and fancy-coloured feathers are paraded for the admiration and approval of the females. Led by the all-absorbing instinct of desire,

the males display their charms with elaborate care and to the best effect; and this is done in the presence of the females.... To suppose that the females do not appreciate the beauty of the males, is to admit that their splendid decorations, and all their pomp and display, are useless; and this is incredible.[8]

Topknots, gaudy feathers, elongated plumes among birds, huge tusks, horns, etc., among mammals, the mane of the lion, and the beard of man, may be noticed among the many characters which have been acquired through Sexual Selection.

Although the immense teeth, tusks, horns, and various other weapons or appendages which ornament the males of many species of mammals, have all been developed through Sexual Selection for contending with their rivals for the favours of the females, it is observed that the “most pugnacious and best armed males seldom depend for success on their ability to drive away or kill their rivals,” but that their special aim is to “charm the female.” Mr. Darwin quotes from a “good observer,” who believes that the battles of male birds “are all a sham, performed to show themselves to the greatest advantage before the admiring females who assemble around.”[9]

In The Descent of Man is quoted the following from Mr. Belt, who, after describing the beauty of the Florisuga mellivora, says:

I have seen the female sitting on a branch, and two males displaying their charms in front of her. One would shoot up like a rocket, then suddenly expanding the snow-white tail, like an inverted parachute, slowly descend in front of her, turning round gradually to show off back and front.... The expanded white tail covered more space than all the rest of the bird, and was evidently the grand feature in the performance. Whilst one male was descending, the other would shoot up and come slowly down expanded. The entertainment would end in a fight between the two performers; but whether the most beautiful or the most pugnacious was the accepted suitor, I know not.[10]

Audubon, who spent a long life in observing birds, has no doubt that the female deliberately chooses her mate. Of the woodpecker he says the hen is followed by half a dozen suitors, who continue performing strange antics “until a marked preference is shown for one.” Of the red-winged starling it is said that she is pursued by several males “until, becoming fatigued, she alights, receives their addresses, and soon makes a choice.”[11] Mr. Darwin quotes further from Audubon, who says that among the Virginia goat-suckers, no sooner has the female “made her choice than her approved gives chase to all intruders, and drives them beyond his dominions.”

It is said that among mammals the male depends almost entirely upon his strength and courage to “charm the female.” With reference to the struggles between animals for the possession of the females, Mr. Darwin says:

This fact is so notorious that it would be superfluous to give instances. Hence the females have the opportunity of selecting one out of several males, on the supposition that their mental capacity suffices for the exertion of a choice.[12]

We are assured that among nearly all the lower orders of life the female exhibits a marked preference for certain individuals, and that an equal degree of repugnance is manifested towards others, but that the male, whose predominant character is desire, “is ready to pair with any female.” On this subject Mr. Darwin remarks: “The general impression seems to be that the male accepts any female.” He says it frequently occurs that while two males are fighting together to win the favours of a female, she goes away with a third for whom she has a preference. Mr. Darwin quotes from Captain Bryant, who says of a certain species of seals:

Many of the females on their arrival at the island where they breed, appear desirous of returning to some particular male, and frequently climb the outlying rock to overlook the rookeries, calling out and listening as if for a familiar voice. Then changing to another place they do the same again.[13]

Little seems to be known of the courtship of animals in a state of nature. Among domesticated species, however, many observations have been made by breeders going to prove that the female exerts a choice in pairing. Concerning dogs, Mr. Darwin quotes from Mr. Mayhew, who says: “The females are able to bestow their affections; and tender recollections are as potent over them as they are known to be in other cases where higher animals are concerned.” Of the affection of female dogs for certain males the same writer says it “becomes of more than romantic endurance,” that they manifest a “devotion which no time can afterwards subdue.”

On concluding his chapter on choice in pairing among quadrupeds, Mr. Darwin remarks:

It is improbable that the unions of quadrupeds in a state of nature should be left to mere chance. It is much more probable that the females are allured or excited by particular males, who possess certain characters in a higher degree than other males.[14]

As the female among birds selects her partner, he thinks it would be a strange anomaly if among quadrupeds, which stand higher in the scale and have higher mental powers, she did not also exert a choice.[15]

Because of the indifference of the female to the attentions of the male, in order to carry on the processes of reproduction, it was necessary among the lower orders that the male become eager in his pursuit of her, and as a result of this eagerness excessive passion was developed in him. As the most eager would be the most successful in propagating, they would leave the greatest number of offspring to inherit their characters—namely, in males, passion and pugnacity correlated with the physical qualities acquired through Sexual Selection.

On the subject of the acquirement of secondary sexual characters, Mr. Darwin says: “The great eagerness of the males has thus indirectly led to their much more frequently developing secondary sexual characters.” Indeed, by all naturalists, the fact is recognized that the appearance of these characters is closely connected with the reproductive function.

Later experiments have confirmed the observations of Mr. Darwin concerning the intelligence of the female among the lower orders of life. Among these experiments are those recently made by Professor Harper, of the Department of Biology, in the Northwestern University. Professor Harper announces that in all the experiments conducted by him, the female animal showed a greater degree of perception, or intelligence, than the male. He says: “In all my experiments, I found that the female displayed a remarkable quickness in grasping ideas which the male after numerous sluggish efforts finally accomplished.” Professor Harper declared that these facts regarding animals apply with equal force to human beings.

Regarding the power of the female to appreciate the beauty of the males, Mr. Darwin says:

No doubt this implies powers of discrimination and taste on the part of the female which will at first appear extremely improbable; but by the facts to be adduced hereafter, I hope to be able to show that the females actually have these powers.[16]

In commenting on the fact that the female Argus pheasant appreciates the exquisite shading of the ball-and-socket ornaments, and the elegant patterns on the wing-feathers of the male, Mr. Darwin writes:

He who thinks that the male was created as he now exists, must admit that the great plumes which prevent the wings from being used for flight, and which are displayed at courtship and at no other time, in a manner quite peculiar to this species, were given to him as ornaments. If so he must likewise admit that the female was created and endowed with the capacity for appreciating such ornaments. Every one who admits the principle of evolution, and yet feels great difficulty in believing the high taste implied by the beauty of the males, and which generally coincides with our own standard, should reflect that the nerve cells of the brain in the highest as in the lowest members of the vertebrate series are derived from those of the common progenitor of this great kingdom.

In referring to the remarkable patterns displayed on the male Argus pheasant, designs which have been developed through Sexual Selection, Mr. Darwin says:

Many will declare that it is utterly incredible that a female bird should be able to appreciate fine shading and exquisite patterns. It is undoubtedly a marvellous fact that she should possess this almost human degree of taste. He who thinks that he can safely gauge the discrimination and taste of the lower animals may deny that the female Argus pheasant can appreciate such refined beauty; but he will then be compelled to admit that the extraordinary attitudes assumed by the male during the act of courtship, by which the wonderful beauty of his plumage is fully displayed, are purposeless; and this is a conclusion which I, for one, will never admit.[17]

Here, then, in the female bird we see developed in a remarkable degree the power of discrimination, the exercise of taste, a sense of beauty, and the ability to choose—qualities which the facts brought forward by scientists show conclusively to have been acquired by the female and by her transmitted to her offspring. Regarding males, outside the instinct for self-preservation, which, by the way, is often overshadowed by their great sexual eagerness, no distinguishing characters have been acquired and transmitted, other than those which have been the result of passion, namely, pugnacity and perseverance. This excessive eagerness which prompts them to parade their charms whenever such display is likely to aid them in the gratification of their desires is developed only in the male line.

According to the law of heredity, those modifications of the male which have been the result of Sexual Selection appear only in the sex in which they originated. It will be well for us to remember that according to Mr. Darwin’s theory of pangenesis, sexes do not differ much in constitution before the power of reproduction is reached, but that after this time the undeveloped atoms or

gemmules which are cast off from each varying part in the one sex would be much more likely to possess the proper affinities for uniting with the tissues of the same sex, and thus becoming developed, than with those of the opposite sex.[18]

We are given to understand that secondary sexual characters are extremely variable, also that variability denotes low organization; secondary sexual characters indicate that the various organs of the structure have not become specialized for the performance of their legitimate functions. Highly specialized forms are not variable.

To sum up the argument thus far: It has been observed that through the separation of the sexes, and the consequent division of labour, there have been established two diverging lines of development. While the male pheasant has been inheriting from his male progenitors fantastic ball-and-socket ornaments, and huge wings which are utterly useless for their legitimate purpose, the female, in the meantime, has been receiving as her inheritance only those peculiarities of structure which tend toward uninterrupted development. Within her have been stored or conserved all the gain which has been effected through Natural Selection, and as a result of greater specialization of parts, there have been developed certain peculiarities in her brain nerve-cells, by which she is enabled to exercise functions requiring a considerable degree of intelligence.

Although this power of choice, which we are given to understand is exercised by the female throughout the various departments of the vertebrate kingdom (evidences of it having been observed among creatures even as low in the organic scale as fishes), implies a degree of intelligence far in advance of that manifested by males, it is admitted that the qualities which bespeak this superiority, namely, the power to exercise taste and discrimination, constitute a “law almost as general as the eagerness of the male.”[19]

We are assured by Mr. Darwin that in the economy of nature those ornaments of the male Argus pheasant which serve no other purpose than to please the female and secure her favours, and which have been acquired at great expense of vital force, are of the “highest importance to him,” and that his success in captivating the female “has more than compensated him for his greatly impeded power of flight and his lessened capacity for running.” Yet it is plain that his compensation for this immense expenditure of vital force has not lain in the direction of higher specialization, but that while by the acquirement of these characters the processes of reproduction have doubtless been aided, the injury to the male constitution has been deep and lasting.

Upon this subject Mr. Darwin himself says:

The development, however, of certain structures—of the horns, for instance, in certain stags—has been carried to a wonderful extreme; and in some cases to an extreme which, as far as the general conditions of life are concerned, must be slightly injurious to the male.[20]

He thinks, however, that

Natural Selection will determine that such characters shall not be acquired by the victorious males if they would be highly injurious, either by expending too much of their vital powers or by exposing them to any great danger.

According to Mr. Darwin, as these characters enable them to leave a more numerous progeny, their advantages are in the long run greater than those derived from more perfect adaptation to their conditions of life. It is plain, however, that this advantage, although it enables them to gratify their desires, and at the same time to perpetuate their species, does not imply higher development for the male organism.

We have been assured by our guides in these matters that in the processes of evolution there is no continuous or unbroken chain of progress, that growth or change does not necessarily imply development, but, on the contrary, only as a structure becomes better fitted for its conditions, and only as its organs become more highly specialized for the performance of all the duties involved in its environment, may it be said to be in the line of progress. If this be true, particular attention should be directed to the fact that as secondary sexual characters do not assist their possessor in overcoming the unfavourable conditions of his environment, they are not within the line of true development, but, on the contrary, as their growth requires a great expenditure of vital force, and, as is the case among birds, they often hinder the free use of the legs in running and walking, and entirely destroy the use of the wings for flight, they must be detrimental to the entire structure. For the reason that females have managed to do without them, the plea that the great tusks, horns, teeth, etc., of mammals have been acquired for self-defence, is scarcely tenable.

On the subject of the relative expenditure of vital force in the two lines of sexual demarcation, Mr. Darwin remarks:

The female has to expend much organic matter in the formation of her ova, whereas the male expends much force in fierce contests with his rivals, in wandering about in search of the female, in exerting his voice, pouring out odoriferous secretions, etc.... In mankind, and even as low down in the organic scale as in the Lepidoptera, the temperature of the body is higher in the male than in the female, accompanied in the case of man by a slower pulse.[21]

Yet he concludes: “On the whole the expenditure of matter and force by the two sexes is probably nearly equal, though effected in very different ways and at different rates.”[21]

However, as has been observed, the force expended by the male in fierce contests with his rivals, in wandering about in search of the female, and in his exertions to please her when found, does not constitute the only outlay of vitality to which he is subjected; but in addition to all this, there still remains to be considered that force which has been expended in the acquirement of characters which, so far as his own development is concerned, are useless and worse than useless; namely, in birds, combs, wattles, elongated plumes, great wings, etc., and in mammals great horns, tusks, and teeth—appendages which lie outside the line of true development, and, as we have seen, are of no avail except to aid in the processes of reproduction and to assist him in the gratification of his desires; in fact, as these excrescences hinder him in the performance of the ordinary functions of life, they may be regarded in the light of actual hindrances to higher development.

[CHAPTER III]
MALE ORGANIC DEFECTS

We have observed that through the great sexual ardour developed at puberty within the male of the lower species, numberless variations of structure have been acquired, characters which, as they are the result of undeveloped atoms cast off from the varying parts in his progenitors, denote low organization. We have seen also that these characters require for their growth an immense amount of vital force, which, had the development of the male been normal, would have been expended in perfecting the organism, or would have been utilized in fitting it to overcome the adverse conditions of his environment. Secondary sexual characters, being so far as males are concerned, wholly the result of eagerness in courtship, cannot appear before the time for reproduction arrives, and as it is a law of heredity that peculiarities of structure which are developed late in life, when transmitted to offspring, appear only in the sex in which they originated, these variations of structure are confined to males.

According to Mr. Darwin’s theory little difference exists between the sexes until the age of reproduction arrives. It is at this time, the time when the secondary sexual characters begin to assert themselves, that the preponderating superiority of the male begins to manifest itself.

Although, according to Mr. Darwin, variability denotes low organization and shows that the various organs of the body have not become specialized to perform properly their legitimate functions, it is to characters correlated with and dependent upon these varying parts that the male has ultimately become superior to the female. If these characters, namely, pugnacity, perseverance, and courage have been such important factors in establishing male superiority, too much care may not be exercised in analyzing them and in tracing their origin and subsequent development.

Sexual Selection resembles artificial selection save that the female takes the part of the human breeder. She represents the intelligent factor or cause in the operations involved. If this be true, if it is through her will, or through some agency or tendency latent in her constitution that Sexual Selection comes into play, then she is the primary cause of the very characters through which man’s superiority over woman has been gained. As a stream may not rise higher than its source, or as the creature may not surpass its creator in excellence, it is difficult to understand the processes by which man, through Sexual Selection, has become superior to woman.

He who admits the principle of Sexual Selection will be led to the remarkable conclusion that the nervous system not only regulates most of the existing functions of the body, but has indirectly influenced the progressive development of various bodily structures and certain mental qualities. Courage, pugnacity, perseverance, strength and size of body, weapons of all kinds, musical organs, both vocal and instrumental, bright colours, and ornamental appendages have all been indirectly gained by the one sex or the other, through the exertion of choice, the influence of love and jealousy, and the appreciation of the beautiful in sound, colour, or form; and these powers of the mind manifestly depend on the development of the brain.[22]

While the female has been performing the higher functions in the processes of reproduction, through her force of will, or through her power of choice, she has also been the directing and controlling agency in the development of those characters in the male through which, when the human species was reached, he was enabled to attain a limited degree of progress.

Since the origin of secondary sexual characters is so clearly manifest, perhaps it will be well for us at this point to examine also their actual significance, that we may be enabled to note the foundation upon which the dogma of male superiority rests.

Although the gay colouring of male birds and fishes has usually been regarded as an indication of their superiority over their sombre-coloured mates, later investigations are proving that these pigments represent simply unspecialized material, and an effort of the system to cast out the waste products which have accumulated as a result of excessive ardour in courtship. The same is true of combs, wattles, and other skin excrescences; they show a feverish condition of the skin in the over-excited males, whose temperature is usually much higher than is that of females. We are assured that the skin eruptions of male fishes at the spawning season “seem more pathological than decorative.”[23] In the processes of reproduction, the undeveloped atoms given off from each varying part are reproduced only in the male line.

The beautiful colouring of male birds and fishes, and the various appendages acquired by males throughout the various orders below man, and which, so far as they themselves are concerned, serve no other useful purpose than to aid them in securing the favours of the females, have by the latter been turned to account in the processes of reproduction. The female made the male beautiful that she might endure his caresses.

From the facts elaborated by our guides in this matter, it would seem that the female is the primary unit of creation, and that the male functions are simply supplemental or complementary. Parthenogenesis among many of the lower forms of life would seem to favour this view. We are given to understand that under conditions favouring katabolism, the males among Rotifera wear themselves out, under which conditions the females become katabolic enough to do without them.

Among the common Rotifera, the males are almost always very different from the females, and much smaller. Sometimes they seem to have dwindled out of existence altogether, for only the females are known. In other cases, though present, they entirely fail to accomplish their proper function of fertilization, and, as parthenogenesis obtains, are not only minute, but useless.[24]

So long as food is plentiful, the females continue to raise parthenogenetic offspring, but with the advent of hard times, when food is scarce or of a poor quality, the parthenogenetic series is interrupted by the appearance of males. Although, unaided by the male, the female of certain species is able to reproduce, he has never been able to propagate without her co-operation.

Concerning the conditions which underlie the production of females and males we have the following from The Evolution of Sex, by Geddes and Thomson:

Such conditions as deficient or abnormal food, high temperature, deficient light, moisture, and the like, are obviously such as would tend to induce a preponderance of waste over repair—a katabolic habit of body,—and these conditions tend to result in the production of males. Similarly, the opposed set of factors, such as abundant and rich nutrition, abundant light and moisture, favour constructive processes, i.e., make for an anabolic habit, and these conditions result in the production of females.[25]

Among the lower orders of animal life, notably insects, we are assured that an excess of females denotes an excess of formative force, and that an excess of males indicates a deficiency on the part of the parents. In the case of bees, the queen, which is the highest development, is produced only under the best circumstances of nutrition, while the birth of the drone, which is the lowest result of propagation, is preceded by extremely low conditions.

The working bee which, being an imperfect female, may not be impregnated, will, however, give birth to parthenogenetic offspring, such offspring always being male. In the case of Aphides, the sex depends on the conditions of nutrition. During the summer months while food is plentiful and nutritious, females are parthenogenetically produced, but with the return of autumn and the attendant scarcity of food, together with the low temperature, only males are brought forth. In seasons in which food is abundant, Cladocera and Aphides lose the power to copulate; they nevertheless multiply parthenogenetically at a marvellous rate of increase,

giving birth to generation after generation of parthenogenetic females, so long as the environment remains favourable, but giving birth, as soon as the conditions of life become less favourable, to males and to females which require fertilization.[26]

It is stated also that if caterpillars are shut up and starved before entering the chrysalis stage, the butterflies which make their appearance are males, while the highly nourished caterpillars are sure to come out females. In the case of moths unnutritious food produces only males.

Experiments show that when tadpoles are left to themselves the average number of females is about fifty-seven in the hundred, but that under favourable conditions the percentage of females is greatly increased. The following is the result of one series of observations by Yung. In the first brood, by feeding one set with beef, the percentage of females was raised from fifty-four to seventy-eight; in the second, with fish, the percentage rose from sixty-one to eighty-one, which in the third set, when the nutritious flesh of frogs was supplied, only eight males were produced to ninety-two females.[27]

It is stated that although scarcity of food is an important factor in determining the appearance of males, temperature also plays an important part in their production. Kurg having found a few males in midsummer in pools which were nearly dried up was induced to attempt their artificial production. So successful was he, that “he obtained the males of forty species, in all of which the males had previously been unknown.” He proved that

any unfavourable change in the water causes the production of males, which appear as it dries up, as its chemical constitution changes, when it acquires an unfavourable temperature, or, in general, when there is a decrease in prosperity.

From which observations and many others quoted from Düring, Professor Brooks concludes that “among animals and plants, as well as in mankind, a favourable environment causes an excess of female births, and an unfavourable environment an excess of male births.”[28] According to Rolph, also, the percentage of females increases with the increase of favourable conditions of temperature and food.

Among insects the males appear first, thus showing that less time is required to develop them from the larval state. Of this Mr. Darwin says: “Throughout the great class of insects the males almost always are the first to emerge from the pupal state, so that they generally abound for a time before any female can be seen.”[29]

Recent observations show that among the human species nutrition plays a significant part in determining sex. Statistics prove that in towns and in well-to-do families there is a preponderance of girls, while in the country, and among the poor, more boys are born; also, that immediately following epidemics, wars, and famines, there is an excess of male births. On examination, it was found that in Saxony “the ratio of boy-births rose and fell with the price of food, and that the variation was most marked in the country.”[30]

That the female represents a higher development than the male is proved throughout all the various departments of nature. Among plants, staminate flowers open before pistillate, and are much more abundant, and less differentiated from the leaves, showing that they are less developed, and that slighter effort, a less expenditure of force, is necessary to form the male than the female. A male flower represents an intermediate stage between a leaf and a perfect, or we might say, a female flower, and the germ which produces the male would, in a higher stage, produce the female.[31] In reference to the subject of the relative positions of the female and male flowers in the Sedges, Mr. Meehan observes:

In some cases the spike of the male flowers terminates the scape; in others the male flowers occupy the lower place; in others, again they have various places on the same spike. It will be generally noted that this is associated together with lines of nutrition,—those evidently favoured by comparative abundance sustaining the female flowers.

To this Mr. Meehan adds:

And this is indeed a natural consequence, for, as vitality exists so much longer in the female than the male flowers, which generally die when the pollen has matured, it is essential that they should have every advantage in this respect.[32]

The most perfect and vigorous specimens of coniferous trees are of the female kind. In its highest and most luxuriant stage the larch bears only female blossoms, but so soon as its vigour is lost male flowers appear, after which death soon ensues.

In The Evolution of Sex, by Geddes and Thomson, is the following:

In phraseology which will presently become more intelligible and concrete, the males live at a loss, are more katabolic,—disruptive changes tending to preponderate in the sum of changes in their living matter or protoplasm. The females, on the other hand, live at a profit, are more anabolic,—constructive processes predominating in their life, whence indeed the capacity of bearing offspring.[33]

Among the lower orders of animals, there appears an excess of males, and among the higher forms of life, man included, the fact that the male is the result of the cruder, less developed germ, has been clearly shown, not alone by the facts brought forward by Mr. Darwin, but by those enunciated by all reliable writers on this subject. As a result of the excessive eagerness in males, and the consequent expenditure of vital force among the lower orders of life to find the female and secure her favours, they are generally smaller in size, with a higher body temperature and shorter life. Among the higher orders, the human species, for instance, although man is larger than woman, he is still shorter lived, has less endurance, is more predisposed to organic diseases, and is more given to reversion to former types, facts which show that his greater size is not the result of higher development. It is noted that the liability to assume characters proper to lower orders belongs in a marked degree to males of all the higher species—man included.

Doubtless man’s greater size (a modification which has been acquired through Sexual Selection) has been of considerable value to him in the struggle for existence to which he has been subjected, but the indications are already strong that after a certain stage of progress has been reached, even this modification of structure will prove useless, if not an actual hindrance to him. On mechanical principles, every increase of size requires more than a corresponding increase of strength and endurance to balance the activities and carry on the vital processes, yet such have been the conditions of man’s development, that his excess of strength does not compensate for his greater size and weight, while his powers of endurance fall below those of women.

Although the conditions of the past have required a vast expenditure of physical energy, the activities of the future will make no such demand. Nature’s forces directed by the human will and intellect are already lessening the necessity for an excessive outlay of bodily strength. It may be truly said that electricity and the innumerable mechanical devices now in use have well nigh supplanted the necessity for great physical exertion. Even war, should it be continued, which is not likely, will be conducted without it. Destructive weapons based upon high-power explosives require little physical effort for their manipulation. The pugilist represents the departing glory of male physical strength.

We are informed by Mr. Darwin that by a vast number of measurements taken of various parts of the human body in different races, during his Novara Expedition, it was found that the men in almost every case presented a greater range of variations than women, and, as Mr. Wood has carefully attended to the variations of the muscles of man, Mr. Darwin quotes from him that “the greatest number of abnormalities in each subject is found in males.” He adduces also the testimony of several others who have practically investigated this subject, all of whom agree in their statements that variations in the muscles are more frequent in males than in females. These variations usually consist in a reversion to lower types—a reversion in which muscles proper to lower forms of life make their appearance.

In an examination of forty male subjects, there was in nineteen of them a rudimentary muscle found which is designated as the ischio-pubic, and in three others of the forty was observed a ligament which represents this muscle; but, in an examination by the same person of thirty female subjects, in only two of them was this muscle developed on both sides, whilst in three others the rudimentary ligament was present. Thus while we observe that about fifty-five per cent. of the males examined were possessed of muscles proper to lower orders, in only about seventeen per cent. of the females under observation did this reversion appear. In a single male subject, seven muscular variations proper to apes were indicated.

Numberless cases might be cited in which reversions and abnormalities have been developed only in the male line. Of the porcupine men of the Lambert family who lived in London last century, Haeckel says:

Edward Lambert, born in 1717, was remarkable for a most unusual and monstrous formation of the skin. His whole body was covered with a horny substance, about an inch thick, which rose in the form of numerous thorn-shaped and scale-like processes, more than an inch long. This monstrous formation on the outer skin, or epidermis, was transmitted by Lambert to his sons and grandsons, but not to his granddaughters.[34]

According to the testimony of those who have made a study of the various abnormalities in the human organism, the ears of men present a greater range of variations than do those of women, and the cases in which supernumerary digits appear in males are as two to one, compared with females presenting the same structural defect. Of one hundred and fifty-two cases of this kind tabulated by Burt Wilder, eighty-six were males and thirty-nine females, the sex of the remaining twenty-seven being unknown. Mr. Darwin wishes us to remember, however, that “women would more frequently endeavour to conceal a deformity of this kind than men.” Although it is quite natural for women to abhor abnormalities and deformities, it is to be doubted if they would succeed for any considerable length of time in concealing the deformity of an organ which, like the hand, is usually uncovered, and which in waking hours, is in almost constant use.

One of the principal characters which distinguishes the human animal from the lower orders is the absence of a natural covering for the skin. That mankind have descended from hair-covered progenitors is the inevitable conclusion of all those who accept the theory of the evolution of species, the straggling hairs which are scattered over the body of man being the rudiments of a uniform hairy coat which enveloped his ancestors.

We are informed that a hairy covering for the body, pointed ears which were capable of movement, and a tail provided with the proper muscles, were among the undoubted characters of the antecedents of the human race. In addition to these, among the males, were developed great canine teeth which were used as weapons against their rivals.

As the lack of a hairy coat for the body constitutes one of the principal characteristics which distinguishes man from the lower animals, it would seem that a knowledge of the order of time in which the two sexes became divested of their natural covering would serve as a hint to indicate their relative stages of development. In a paper read some years ago at a meeting of the Anthropological Institute in London, Miss Bird (Mrs. Bishop) the well-known traveller, gave a description of the Ainos, a race of people found chiefly in the island of Yezo, and who, it is thought probable, were the original inhabitants of Japan. The peculiarity of this people is, that the men are covered with a thick coat of black hair. The women, we are told, “are not hairy like the men,” but “have soft brown skins.” Upon this subject of hairiness, Mr. Darwin says:

As the body of woman is less hairy than that of man, and as this character is common to all races, we may conclude that it was our female semi-human ancestors who were first divested of hair, and that this occurred at an extremely remote period before the several races had diverged from a common stock.

After our female ancestors had acquired the new character, nudity, they must have transmitted it to their own sex, and by continually selecting their mates from among the least hairy, in process of time males too would become divested of their animal covering. Whether or not our semi-human ancestors were subjected to the scorching heat of the torrid zone, nudity must have been better suited to their improved condition, not wholly, however, because of its greater beauty and comfort, but because it was a condition better suited to cleanliness; and, as the hairy coat had become a useless appendage, or was not necessary to their changed conditions, it disappeared from the bodies of females, while doubtless for ages it was retained upon the bodies of males. That hairiness denotes a low stage of development, Mr. Darwin incautiously admits, yet in dealing with this subject he is not disposed to carry his admission to its legitimate conclusion by treating its appearance on the body of man as a test in determining the comparative development of the female and male organisms.

Idiots, who, by the way, are more numerous among males than among females, are frequently covered with hair, and by the acquirement of other characters more often revert to lower animal types. Mr. Darwin assures us that around sores of long standing stiff hairs are liable to appear, thus showing that hair on the body is indicative of undeveloped tissues and low constitutional conditions. The same writer, however, does not neglect to inform us that the loss of man’s hairy covering was rather an injury to him than otherwise; but whether or not the diminution in the quality of prehension in his toes, the loss of his canines, and the disappearance of his tail have likewise proved detrimental to him, Mr. Darwin fails to state.

The fact that throughout the vertebrate kingdom males possess rudiments of the various parts appertaining to the reproductive system which properly belong to females, is regarded as evidence that some remote progenitor of this kingdom must have been hermaphrodite, or androgynous, especially as it has been ascertained that at a very early embryonic period both sexes possess true male and female glands. As high in the scale of life as the mammalian class, males are said to possess rudiments of a uterus, while at the same time mammary glands are plainly manifest; which fact would seem to show that in the high state of development indicated by this great class, male organs have not through the processes of differentiation become specialized for the performance of their legitimate functions. In reference to the subject of atavism Mr. Darwin cites as a case of reversion to a former type, an instance in which a man was the possessor of two pairs of mammæ.

It is true that instances have been observed in which characters peculiar to males have been developed in females. This phenomenon, however, seldom appears among individuals of the higher orders, and among the lower forms of life where it occurs, it is always manifested under low circumstances of nutrition or in cases of old age, disease, or loss of vitality. Instances are cited in which hens, after they have become old or diseased, have taken on characters peculiar to males.

In all “old-settled” countries women are in excess of men, and this is true, notwithstanding the fact that more boys are born than girls. Regarding the excess of the male over female births, Mr. Darwin quotes from Professor Faye, who says:

A still greater preponderance of males would be met with, if death struck both sexes in equal proportion in the womb and during birth. But the fact is, that for every one hundred still-born females, we have in several countries from 134.6 to 144.9 still-born males.[35]

Statistics show that during the first four or five years of life, more male children die than female.

Although whenever throughout Mr. Darwin’s Descent of Man he has been pleased to deal with the subject of structural variations, he has given us to understand that they are injurious to the constitution, and although he has shown that their appearance is much more frequent in men than in women, yet he does not seem to realize whither his admissions are leading him. He has proved by seemingly well-established facts that the female organism is freer from imperfections than the male, and therefore that it is less liable to derangements; also, that being more highly specialized, it is less susceptible to injury under unfavourable conditions; yet, in attempting to explain the reason why so many more male than female infants succumb to the exigencies of birth, he expresses the opinion that the size of the body and “especially of the head” being greater in males, they would be “more liable to be injured during parturition.”

Among the reasons urged by Mr. Darwin to account for the excess of women over men in all “old-settled” countries, is that of the exposure of grown men to various dangers, and their tendency to emigrate. Doubtless there is more emigration among men than among women, still men do not usually emigrate to a wilderness and rarely to sparsely settled countries. When men emigrate from one civilized country, they usually go to another civilized country; yet in all old-settled countries women are in excess of men. While the dangers to which men are exposed because of their greater physical activity have been many, and the accidents liable to occur from their harder struggle for existence more numerous than those to which women have been subjected, still it would seem that the danger to female life, incident to the artificial relations of the sexes under our present semi-civilized conditions, is more than an offset for that to which men are liable.

The fact must be borne in mind, however, that the diseases and physical disabilities of women, at the present time, although dangerous to health and life, are not organic, and will therefore disappear as soon as through higher conditions they are allowed the free expression of their own will in matters pertaining to the sexual relation. As the diseases peculiar to the female constitution are not caused by structural defects, but, on the contrary, are due to the overstimulation of the animal instincts in her male mate, or, to the disparity between her stage of development and his, they have not materially injured her constitution nor shortened her average duration of life, neither have they lessened her capacity for improvement.

With reference to the women of Greenland, Cranz says that while they

remain with their parents they are well off; but from twenty years of age till death, their life is one series of anxieties, wretchedness, and toil, yet, in spite of all their cares, toils, and vexations the women commonly arrive at a greater age than the men.[36]

That the imperfections of the male organism are already beginning to interpose themselves between man and many of the occupations and activities of advancing civilization, is only too apparent.

Sight, far more than any other sense, is the most intellectual, yet in the development of the visual organs it has been proved that men are especially deficient. Dr. Andrew Willson assures us that “colour-blindness is a condition which is certainly capable of transmission to the progeny. In one family the males alone were affected through seven generations.”

In an examination which was carried on some years ago under the supervision of Dr. Jeffries, among the pupils of the Boston schools, in which were 14,469 boys and young men, and 13,458 girls and young women, it was found that about one male in every twenty-five was colour-blind, while the same defect among the girls and young women was extremely rare, only 0.066 per cent. of them being thus affected.[37]

At a convention held in the city of Chicago for the purpose of organizing an association for educational reform, the teacher of drawing in the St. Paul schools made a statement that “four per cent. of all male pupils were colour-blind, while only one-tenth of one per cent. of female pupils were so affected.” No explanation was offered for this strange fact; indeed, it was pronounced a mystery, “even oculists and surgeons having given it up as impenetrable.”

That defective vision is beginning to interfere with the activities of men, is shown by the fact that in many instances, in later times, colour tests have been required to determine fitness of applicants for positions in various departments of commercial enterprise. In this country, during the last fifty years, much attention has been given to the subject of visual defects in seamen, railroadmen, and other persons occupying positions of responsibility in which unimpaired vision is an important qualification. In response to a request sent by the German Government through its minister to the Surgeon-General of the United States Army, for statistical and other information on the subject of colour-blindness, Mr. Charles E. Pugh, General Manager of the Pennsylvania Railroad, in September, 1884, sent to William Thomson, M.D., surgical expert for the same company, the following statement:

Of this report Dr. Thomson says:

The apparently small percentage of colour-blind in this table may be ascribed to the non-application of men who knew their deficiency, and to the fact that men in the service, knowing their defect, would leave the road before examination, and thus escape detection, and be enabled to gain employment on other roads where no examinations are required.[38]

In several departments of the national government, attempts have been made to guard against the dangers resulting from imperfect sight. In the examination of recruits, the War Department at Washington, some years ago, issued orders that bits of coloured pasteboard, or “test cards” be used for determining the power of individuals to distinguish objects at a distance, while worsteds of various hues were employed to ascertain their ability to distinguish colour. In the Treasury and Naval Departments were ordered similar examinations, in which the power to distinguish colour was a necessary qualification in the case of all persons seeking employment therein.

In the examinations ordered by navigation and railroad companies to protect themselves and the public against disaster resulting from imperfect vision in their employees, tests have been made. Among the requirements imposed by law, applying to engineers, brakemen, and firemen, in the State of Connecticut, are the following: “Unobstructed visual field, normal visual acuteness, and freedom from colour-blindness.”

If Dr. Jeffries’s investigation in the Boston public schools and the report of the officers of the Pennsylvania Railroad are to serve as a criterion in judging of the extent to which impaired vision is developed in men, or if among them one in every twenty-five is defective in the colour sense, the inference seems unavoidable that the proportion of them unfitted for railroad and steamboat service, for military duty, and for various important government positions, must be large. Hence, by these tests alone may be observed something of the extent to which, under the higher conditions which are approaching, the imperfect development in men of this one organ (the eye) may cripple their energies and check those activities which, in many instances, are best suited to their tastes and inclinations.

Nor is this defective vision developed in men a peculiarity which is confined within the limits of our own country. In Europe, investigations analogous to those instituted in America have been followed by the same or similar results. Until a comparatively recent time this subject has received little or no attention, for the reason that the processes of civilization and the various activities of life have not, hitherto, demanded a correct or highly developed colour sense; but with the requirements of more highly civilized conditions, in vocations demanding more diversified and complicated physical and mental activities, it is plain that man, because of this organic imperfection, must labour under continuous disadvantages. Then add to defective vision his lack of physical endurance, his liability to various organic affections caused by structural defects, and his abnormal appetites which are constantly demanding for their gratification the things which are injurious to his mental and physical constitution, and we are enabled to judge, to some extent, of the obstacles against which, in the struggle for existence, the future man will find himself obliged to contend.

Not only is man’s sense of sight less perfectly developed than is woman’s, but his sense of touch is less acute. The hand, directed as it is by the brain, is the most completely differentiated member of the human structure. It may almost be said of the hand, that it assists the brain in performing its functions. The female hand, however, is capable of delicate distinctions which the male has no means of determining. A dispatch from Washington says of the women of the Treasury Department:

So superior is their skill in handling paper money that they accomplish results that would be utterly unattainable without them. It has been found by long experience that a counterfeit may go through half the banks in the country without being detected, until it comes back, often torn and mutilated, into the hands of the Treasury women. Then it is certain of detection. They shut their eyes and feel of a note if they suspect it. If it feels wrong, in half a minute they point out the incongruities of the counterfeit.

Although throughout the ascending scale of life, the female has been expending all her energy in the performance of her legitimate functions—functions which, as we have seen, are of a higher order than those performed by the male, through causes which will be discussed farther on in these pages, within the later centuries of human existence—she has been temporarily overcome by the destructive forces developed in the opposite sex, forces which are without the line of true development, and which through overstimulation and encouragement have overleaped the bounds of normal activity, and have therefore become disruptive and injurious.

During the past five thousand years, woman’s reproductive functions have been turned into means of subsistence, and under the peculiar circumstances of her environment, her “struggle for existence” has involved physical processes far more disastrous to life and health than are those to which man has been subjected. Owing to the peculiar condition of woman’s environment, there has been developed within her more delicate and sensitive organism an alarming degree of functional nervousness; yet, with the gradual broadening of her sphere of activity, and the greater exercise of personal rights, this tendency to nervous derangement is gradually becoming lessened. That there is reserve force in woman sufficient to overcome the evil results of the supremacy of the animal instincts during the last five thousand or six thousand years of human existence, from present indications seems more than likely.

Commenting on the subject of nervousness, and the degree in which it is manifested in civilized countries, and especially among civilized women, Dr. Beard says:

Women, with all their nervousness—and, in civilized lands, women are more nervous, immeasurably, than men, and suffer more from general and special nervous diseases—yet live quite as long as men, if not somewhat longer; their greater nervousness and far greater liability to functional diseases of the nervous system being compensated for by their smaller liability to acute and inflammatory disorders, and various organic nervous diseases, likewise, such as the general paralysis of insanity.[39]

According to Maudsley women “seldom suffer from general paralysis.” This disease is frequently inherited, and is sometimes the result of alcoholic and other excesses.[40]

Regarding the dangers to which women are exposed by excessive and useless maternity, Dr. Beard remarks:

The large number of cases of laceration at childbirth and the prolonged and sometimes even life-enduring illness resulting from them, are good reasons for the terror which the processes of parturition inspires in the minds of American women today.

However, that the dangers incident to parturition, and the excessive nervousness which characterizes civilized women, are not necessary adjuncts of civilization, but, on the contrary, are a result of the unchecked disruptive forces developed in man, and the consequent drain on the vital energies of woman, will be seen, so soon as through the cultivation of the higher faculties developed in and transmitted through females, the lower nature of males has finally been brought within its legitimate bounds.

[CHAPTER IV]
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOCIAL INSTINCTS AND THE MORAL SENSE

Man is pre-eminently a social animal. He seeks companionship and depends largely upon his fellows for security and happiness. Nor is this dependence upon others confined to the human species. Association, or combination of interests, is manifested throughout the entire organic scale.

From Mr. Darwin’s reasoning it is evident that he regards association as the basic principle underlying progress. He also thinks that combination is impossible without sympathy or a desire for the welfare of others outside of self. He is certain that associated animals have a feeling of affection for the group and that “they sympathize with one another in times of distress and danger.”[41]

This writer thinks that an animal like the gorilla, which possessing great size and strength is able to defend itself against all its enemies, would not become social and therefore would be unable to advance. And this too, notwithstanding the fact that such an animal has already developed pugnacity, courage, and perseverance, the characters which are regarded as the source of the remarkable mental endowment of man.

We have seen that the greater size of the male is the result of Sexual Selection and is therefore a secondary sexual character. “All the secondary sexual characters of man are highly variable.”[42] In dealing with this subject we must not lose sight of the fact that variability denotes low organization. It shows that the organs of the body have not become specialized to perform their legitimate functions.

Among monogamous animals difference in size between the sexes is slight, but among polygamous species the male is considerably larger than the female, this difference being correlated with numerous variations of structure.

Among early races males were considerably in excess of females so it was customary for the former to fight desperately to win the favour of the latter in much the same manner as their animal progenitors had fought to secure their mates. These struggles were enacted in the presence of the females, they always choosing the strongest and best endowed leaving the weaker and uglier members of the group unmated and therefore unable to propagate their misfortunes. This exercise of choice by the female in pairing is the primary fact in the history of human progress. The appalling effects of the withdrawal from women of this fundamental prerogative will be referred to later in these pages.

That pugnacity, courage, and perseverance are the result of man’s strong sexual nature is shown wherever this subject is touched upon in The Descent of Man. Special attention is directed to the fact that eunuchs are deficient in these qualities.

That the greater size and strength of the male, together with courage, pugnacity, and perseverance, have been of great value to him in deciding the contests between rivals in courtship is quite true. It is clear, however, that these characters are in no wise responsible for the origin and development of the higher faculties. Even Mr. Darwin’s premises, when carried to their legitimate conclusions, furnish sufficient evidence to prove that the social instincts and the moral sense have been developed quite independently of these characters.

According to the reasoning of the savants it is only through that specialization of organs which has resulted in the separation of the sex elements, and the consequent division of functions, that the social instincts have originated, and that it is to processes involved in such specialization, or differentiation, that the higher faculties and the moral sense have arisen. It is indeed plain from their reasoning that matter, or perhaps I should say the force inherent in matter, had to be raised to a certain dynamic order before the peculiar quality of brain and nerve necessary for the development of these faculties could be manifested through it.

As there are different kinds of matter, so there are different modes of force, in the universe; and as we rise from the common physical matter in which physical laws hold sway up to chemical matter and chemical forces, and from chemical matter again up to living matter and its modes of force, so do we rise in the scale of life from the lowest kind of living matter with its corresponding force or energy, through different kinds of histological elements, with their corresponding energies or functions, up to the highest kind of living matter and corresponding mode of force with which we are acquainted, viz., nerve element and nerve force. But, when we have got to nerve element and nerve force, it behooves us not to rest content with the general idea, but to trace, with attentive discrimination, through the nervous system the different kinds of nervous cells, and their different manifestations of energy. So also shall we obtain the groundwork for a true conception of the relations of mind and the nervous system.[43]

We have seen that the nervous system not only regulates most of the existing functions of the body, but that it has indirectly influenced the development of various bodily structures and certain mental qualities, and that these powers of mind depend on the development of the brain.

By our guides in this matter, we are assured that the most important difference observed between man and the lower animals is the conscience; hence, if we would understand how it has been possible for man to rise to his present position, we must know something of the processes involved in the development of the social instincts, through which have originated conscience and a desire for the welfare of others outside of self. The importance of these instincts in the development of conscience is thus set forth by Mr. Darwin:

Any animal whatever, endowed with well-marked social instincts, the parental and filial affections being here included, would inevitably acquire a moral sense or conscience, as soon as its intellectual faculties had become as well, or nearly as well, developed as in man.

Sympathy, we are told, is the foundation-stone of the social instincts. From facts which are everywhere presented among the forms of life below man, it is evident that sympathy was developed at an early stage of animal life. It is doubtless strongly manifested in our ape-like progenitors, and it was probably this instinct which subsequently led to a community of interest and the coherence of the tribe.

In a consideration, therefore, of this question of sex development and the origin of the progressive principle, if, as we are assured, sympathy constitutes the foundation-stone of the social instincts, and if it is to these instincts that we are to look for the origin of the moral sense, or conscience— a faculty which constitutes the fundamental difference between the human species and the lower orders of life—the question naturally arises: In which of the two diverging lines of sexual demarcation has arisen sympathy, or an interest in the well-being of others? For an answer to our question we must look carefully to the facts connected with the development of the sexes within one of which have been acquired characters tending toward the welfare of society, or of individuals outside of self; within the other, characters looking only toward selfish gratification. Within the former, the maternal instinct predominates; within the latter, passion.

Mr. Darwin admits that “parental and filial affection lies at the base of the social instincts,” and gives as his opinion that this quality is the result of Natural Selection—that those individuals which bestowed upon their offspring the greatest care and attention, would survive and multiply at the expense of others in which this instinct was less developed. Therefore, in pursuing the inquiry of sex-function and sex-development, a question of considerable significance is at this point suggested: Within which parent is observed the greater tendency to bestow care and attention upon offspring?

We are assured that “the animal family is especially maternal.” So soon as a female bird has laid her eggs, she is animated only by one desire; neither the promise of abundant food nor the fear of bullets is able to divert her purpose. Although the males among the more highly developed birds assist in rearing the family, amongst various species it is only the female which cares for the young. The male duck has no interest in his progeny, neither has the male eider. Of the male turkeys Mr. Letourneau says that they

do much worse: they often devour the eggs of their females, and thus oblige the latter to hide them. Female turkeys join each other with their young ones for greater security, and thus form troops of from sixty to eighty individuals, led by the mothers, and carefully avoiding the old males, who rush on the young ones and kill them by violent blows on the head with their beaks.[44]

The males of various other species, jealous of the attentions of the mothers during the time that their efforts are directed toward the maintenance of their brood, often kill their young. Regarding the subject of paternal care, Mr. Letourneau observes: “It is important to notice that amongst birds, the fathers devoid of affection generally belong to the less intelligent, and are most often polygamous.”

By observing the habits of cuckoos the fact has been ascertained that among them the maternal instinct is almost entirely lacking. Of the cuckoo it has been remarked that it is a “discontented, ill-conditioned, passionate, in short, decidedly unamiable bird.” Its note is typical of its habits and character.

The same abruptness, insatiability, eagerness, the same rage, are noticeable in its whole conduct. The cuckoos are notoriously unsociable, even in migration individualistic. They jealously guard their territorial “preserves,” and verify in many ways the old myth that they are sparrow-hawks in disguise. The parasitic habit is consonant with their general character.

The species consist predominantly of males. The preponderance is probably about five to one; though one observer makes it five times greater. In so male a species, it is not surprising to find degenerate maternal instincts.[45]

Regarding spiders and the greater number of insects, we are told that the males entirely neglect their young; it is

in the female that the care for offspring first awakens. And this is natural, for the eggs have been formed in her body; she has laid them, and has been conscious of them; they form, in a way, an integral part of her individuality.... With insects maternal forethought sometimes amounts to a sort of divining prescience which the doctrine of evolution alone can explain.[46]

Among the males of mammals below man the love of offspring seems to be almost entirely wanting.

We must here remark, that whatever the form of sexual association among mammals, the male has always much less affection for his young than the female. Even in monogamous species, when the male keeps with the female, he does so more as chief than as father. At times he is inclined to commit infanticide and to destroy the offspring, which, by absorbing all the attention of his female, thwart his amours. Thus, among the large felines, the mother is obliged to hide her young ones from the male during the first few days after birth, to prevent his devouring them.[47]

The fact is obvious that among the orders of life below man but little paternal affection has been developed, and with a more extended knowledge of the past history of the human race comes the assurance that under earlier conditions of society, and in fact, until a comparatively recent time, little notice was taken of the paternal relation—that kinship and all the rights of succession were reckoned through the mother. In other words, motherhood was the primary bond by which society was bound together.

Although under higher conditions of civilized life, males have at length come to manifest much interest in the well-being of their offspring, yet that paternal affection is not a primary instinct is shown by the fact that such interest, even at the present time, extends only to those individuals born in wedlock. Men are solicitous only for the welfare of those who are to succeed to their names and fortunes; hence, although in later times the paternal instinct has been considerably re-enforced, it is plain that the interest of fathers for their offspring has in the past been largely the result of custom, association, pride, desire for self-perpetuation or duplication, or some other form of self-aggrandizement.

Mr. Darwin says: “The feeling of pleasure from society is probably an extension of the parental or filial affections, since the social instinct seems to be developed by the young remaining for a long time with their parents.”[48] Although Mr. Darwin does not admit it, from his reasoning it is plain that the maternal instinct is the root whence sympathy has sprung, and that it is the source whence the cohesive quality in the tribe originated. Regarding the importance of association or combination in early groups Mr. Darwin remarks:

When two tribes of primeval man, living in the same country, came into competition, if (other circumstances being equal) the one tribe included a great number of courageous, sympathetic, and faithful members, who were always ready to warn each other of danger, to aid and defend each other, this tribe would succeed better and conquer the other.... Selfish and contentious people will not cohere, and without coherence nothing can be effected. A tribe rich in the above qualities would spread and be victorious over other tribes.... Thus the social and moral qualities would tend slowly to advance and be diffused throughout the world.[49]

Since, then, it has been proved by scientists that without an association of interests and the coherence of the tribe the social instincts must have remained weak, and since it has been shown by them that without concerted action the higher faculties, including the moral sense, could not have been developed; and since, furthermore, the influences which have led to this development are those growing out of the maternal instincts, may we not conclude that all of those qualities which make man pre-eminently a social animal—his love of society, his desire for the good-will of his kind, his perception of right and wrong, and, finally, that sympathy which at last gradually extending beyond the limits of race and country proclaims the brotherhood of man and the unity of life on the earth—all these characteristics, are but an extension of maternal affection, an outgrowth of that early bond between mother and child, which, while affecting the entire line of development, still remains unchanged and unchangeable.

[CHAPTER V]
THE SUPREMACY OF THE MALE

An unprejudiced review of the facts relative to the differentiation of the two sexes, as set forth by naturalists, reveals not only the primary principles involved in human progress, but shows also the source whence these principles originated. These facts serve also to explain that “mental superiority” of man over woman observed by Mr. Darwin and others in the present stage of human growth.

Notwithstanding the superior degree of development which, according to the facts elaborated by scientists, must belong to the female in all the orders of life below mankind, Mr. Darwin would have us believe that so soon as the human species appeared on the earth the processes which for untold ages had been in operation were reversed, and that through courage and perseverance, or patience, qualities which were the result of extreme selfishness, or which were acquired while in pursuit of animal gratification, man finally became superior to woman. The following furnishes an example of Mr. Darwin’s reasoning upon this subject. He says:

The chief distinction in the intellectual powers of the two sexes is shown by man’s attaining to a higher eminence, in whatever he takes up, than can woman—whether requiring deep thought, reason, or imagination, or merely the use of the senses and the hands. If two lists were made of the most eminent men and women in poetry, painting, sculpture, music (inclusive both of composition and performance), history, and philosophy, with half-a-dozen names under each subject, the two lists would not bear comparison....

Now, when two men are put into competition, or a man with a woman, both possessed of every mental quality in equal perfection, save that one has higher energy, perseverance, and courage, the latter will generally become more eminent in every pursuit, and will gain the ascendency. He may be said to possess genius—for genius has been declared by a great authority to be patience; and patience, in this sense, means unflinching, undaunted perseverance.[50]

Doubtless, for the purpose of strengthening his position, Mr. Darwin quotes the following from John Stuart Mill: “The things in which man most excels woman are those which require most plodding and long hammering at single thoughts.” And in summing up the processes by which man has finally gained the ascendency over woman he concludes:

Thus man has ultimately become superior to woman. It is, indeed, fortunate that the law of the equal transmission of characters to both sexes prevails with mammals; otherwise it is probable that man would have become as superior in mental endowment to woman, as the peacock is in ornamental plumage to the peahen.[51]

Notwithstanding this conclusion of Mr. Darwin, in view of the facts elaborated by himself, we cannot help thinking that it is indeed fortunate that the law of the equal transmission of characters to both sexes prevails with mammals, otherwise it is probable that man would never have had any higher ambition than the gratification of his animal instincts, and would never have risen above those conditions in which he struggled desperately for the possession of the female. All the facts which have been observed relative to the acquirement of the social instincts and the moral sense prove them to have originated in the female constitution, and as progress is not possible without these characters, it is not difficult to determine within which of the sexes the progressive principle first arose. Even courage, perseverance, and energy, characters which are denominated as thoroughly masculine, since they are the result of Sexual Selection, have been and still are largely dependent on the will or choice of the female.

In his zeal to prove the superiority of man over woman, and while emphasizing energy, perseverance, and courage as factors in development, Mr. Darwin seems to have overlooked the importance of the distinctive characters belonging to the female organism, viz., perception and intuition, combined with greater powers of endurance, the first two of which, under the low conditions occasioned by the supremacy of the animal instincts, have thus far had little opportunity to manifest themselves. A fairer statement relative to the capacities of the two sexes and their ability to succeed might have been set forth as follows:

When a man and a woman are put in competition, both possessed of every mental quality in equal perfection, save that one has higher energy, more patience, and a somewhat greater degree of physical courage, while the other has superior powers of intuition, finer and more rapid perceptions, and a greater degree of endurance (the result of an organism freer from imperfections), the chances of the latter for gaining the ascendency will doubtless be equal to those of the former as soon as the animal conditions of life are outgrown, and the characters peculiar to the female constitution are allowed expression. Mr. Darwin’s quotation from J. Stuart Mill, that the things in which man excels woman are those which require most plodding and long hammering at single thoughts, is evidently true, and corresponds with the fundamental premises in the theory of development as set forth by all naturalists. The female organism is not a plodding machine, neither is the telephone nor the telegraph, yet these latter devices accomplish the work formerly done by the stagecoach much more rapidly, and in a manner better suited to civilized conditions. So soon as women are freed from the unnatural restrictions placed upon them through the temporary predominance of the animal instincts in man, their greater powers of endurance, together with a keener insight and an organism comparatively free from imperfections, will doubtless give them a decided advantage in the struggle for existence. While patience is doubtless a virtue, and while during the past ages of human experience it has been of incalculable value to man, it will not, under higher conditions, be required in competing for the prizes of life.

Woman’s rapid perceptions, and her intuitions which in many instances amount almost to second sight, indicate undeveloped genius, and partake largely of the nature of deductive reasoning; it is reasonable to suppose therefore that as soon as she is free, and has for a few generations enjoyed the advantages of more natural methods of education and training, and those better suited to the female constitution, she will be able to trace the various processes of induction by which she reaches her conclusions. She will then be able to reason inductively up to her deductive conceptions.

The worthlessness of Mr. Darwin’s comparison between men and women in performing the various activities of life is already clearly apparent. Although less than half a century has elapsed since The Descent of Man was written women are already successfully competing with men in nearly all the walks of life both high and low, and this too notwithstanding the fact that these occupations have heretofore been regarded as belonging exclusively to men. We have seen that Mr. Darwin mentions music as a vocation in which man’s superiority over woman is manifested, yet already in the United States, there is not one male musician who would be willing to match his skill against that of any one of the four best woman performers.

It is a well understood fact that neither individuals nor classes which upon every hand have been thwarted and restrained, either by unjust and oppressive laws, or by the tyranny of custom, prejudice, or physical force, have ever made any considerable progress in the actual acquirement of knowledge or in the arts of life. Mr. Darwin’s capacity for collecting and formulating facts seems not to have materially aided him in discerning the close connection existing at this stage of human progress between the masculinized conditions of human society and the necessary opportunities to succeed in the higher walks of life; in fact, he seems to have forgotten that all the avenues to success have for thousands of years been controlled and wholly manipulated by men, while the activities of women have been distorted and repressed in order that the “necessities” of the male nature might be provided for. Besides, it seems never to have occurred to him that as man has still not outgrown the animal in his nature, and as the intellectual and moral age is only just beginning to dawn, the time is not yet ripe for the direct expression of the more refined instincts and ideas peculiar to the female organism, and, as thus far, only that advancement has been made which is compatible with the supremacy of the lower instincts, woman’s time has not yet come.

Although women are still in possession of their natural inheritance, a finer and more complex organism comparatively free from imperfections, and although, as a result of this inheritance, their intuitions are still quicker, their perceptions keener, and their endurance greater, the drain on their physical energies, caused by the abnormal development of the reproductive energies in the opposite sex, has, during the ages of man’s dominion over her, been sufficient to preclude the idea of success in competing with men for the prizes of life. Although an era of progress has begun, ages will doubtless be required to eradicate abuses which are the result of constitutional defects, and especially so as the prejudices and feelings of mankind are for the most part in harmony with such abuses.

If we examine the subject of female apparel, at the present time, we shall observe how difficult it is to uproot long-established prejudices which are deeply rooted in sensuality and superstition; and this is true notwithstanding the fact that such prejudices may involve the comfort and even the health of half the people, and seriously affect the welfare of unborn generations. An examination of the influences which have determined the course of modern fashions in woman’s clothing will show the truth of this observation.

Of all the senses which have been developed, that of sight is undoubtedly the most refined, and when in the human species it is cultivated to a degree which enables its possessor to appreciate the beautiful in Nature and in Art, we are perhaps justified in designating it as the intellectual sense. In point of refinement, the sense of hearing comes next in order, yet among creatures as low in the scale of being as birds, we find that females not only appreciate the beautiful, but that they are charmed by pleasing and harmonious sounds, and that if males would win their favour it must be accomplished by appeals through these senses to the higher qualities developed within them.

Although the female of the human species, like the female among the lower orders of life, is capable of appreciating fine colouring, and to a considerable extent the beautiful in form, the style of dress adopted by women is not an expression of their natural ideas of taste and harmony. On the contrary, it is to Sexual Selection that we must look for an explanation of the incongruities and absurdities presented by the so-called female fashions of the past and present. The processes of Sexual Selection, which, so long as the female was the controlling agency in courtship, worked on the male, have in these later ages been reversed. For the reason that the female of the human species has so long been under subjection to the male, the styles of female dress and adornment which have been adopted, and which are still in vogue, are largely the result of masculine taste. Woman’s business in life has been to marry, or, at least, it has been necessary for her, in order to gain her support, to win the favour of the opposite sex. She must, therefore, by her charms, captivate the male.

With the progress of civilization and since women as economic and sexual slaves have become dependent upon men for their support, no male biped has been too stupid, too ugly, or too vicious to take to himself a mate and perpetuate his imperfections. This unchecked freedom of the male to multiply his defects is responsible for present conditions.

As for thousands of years women have been dependent on men not only for food and clothing but for the luxuries of life as well, it is not singular that in the struggle for life to which they have been subjected they should have adopted the styles of dress which would be likely to secure to them the greatest amount of success. When we remember that the present ideas of becomingness or propriety in woman’s apparel are the result of ages of sensuality and servitude, it is not remarkable that they are difficult to uproot, and especially so as many of the most pernicious and health-destroying styles involve questions of female decorum as understood by a sensualized age.

Mr. Darwin calls attention to the fact that women “all over the world” adorn themselves with the gay feathers of male birds. Since the beautiful plumage of male birds has been produced according to female standards of taste, and since it is wholly the result of innate female ideas of harmony in colour and design, it is not perhaps remarkable that women, recognizing the original female standards of beauty, should desire to utilize those effects which have been obtained at so great an expenditure of vital force to the opposite sex, especially as men are pleased with such display, and, as under present conditions of male supremacy, the female of the human species is obliged to captivate the male in order to secure her support.

Ever since the dominion of man over woman began a strict censorship over her dress has been maintained. Although in very recent times women are beginning to exercise a slight degree of independence in the matter of clothes, still, because of existing prejudices and customs they have not yet been able to adopt a style of dress which admits of the free and unrestricted use of the body and limbs. It is believed that woman, the natural tempter of man, if left to her own sinful devices, would again as of old attempt to destroy that inherent purity of heart and cleanliness of life which characterize the male constitution. Woman’s ankles and throat seem to be the most formidable foes against which innocent man has to contend, so the concealment of these offending members is deemed absolutely necessary for his protection and safety. Ecclesiastics, a class whose duty it has ever been to regulate and control the movements of women, seem to think that the ankles and throats of women were intended not for the use and convenience of their possessors but as snares to entrap holy men.

It would thus appear that the present fashions for female apparel have a deeper significance than we have been in the habit of ascribing to them. We are still living under conditions peculiar to a sensual age, and have not yet outgrown the requirements which condemn women to a style of dress which hinders the free movements of the body and which checks all the activities of life. In one way the woman of the present time may be said to resemble the male Argus pheasant, whose decorations, although they serve to please his mate, greatly hinder his power of motion and the free use of his body and limbs.

When we consider that apparel is but one, and a minor one, of the strictures under which women have laboured during the later era of human existence and when we consider all the ignoble and degrading uses to which womanhood has been subjected, the wonder is not that women have failed in the past to distinguish themselves in the various fields of intellectual labour in which men have achieved a limited degree of success, but that they have had sufficient energy and courage left to enable them even to attempt anything so far outside the boundary of their prescribed “sphere,” or that they have been able to transmit to their male offspring those powers through which they have gained their present stage of progress.

With regard to Mr. Darwin’s comparison of the intellectual powers of the two sexes, and his assertion that man attains to a higher eminence in whatever he takes up than woman—that, for instance, he surpasses her in the production of poetry, music, philosophy, etc., the facts at hand suggest that if within mankind no higher motives and tastes had been developed than those derived from selfishness and passion, there would never have arisen a desire for poetry, music, philosophy, or science, or, in fact, for any of the achievements which have been the result of the more exalted activities of the human intellect. However, because of the subjection of the higher faculties developed in mankind, the poetry, music, and painting of the past betray their sensuous origin and plainly reveal the stage of advancement which has been reached, while history, philosophy, and even science, judging from Mr. Darwin’s methods, have not yet wholly emerged from the murky atmosphere of a sensuous age.

It will be well for us to remember that the doctrine of the Survival of the Fittest does not imply that the best endowed, physically or otherwise, have always succeeded in the struggle for existence. By the term Survival of the Fittest we are to understand a natural law by means of which those best able to overcome the unfavourable conditions of their environment survive and are able to propagate their successful qualities. We must bear in mind that neither the growth of the individual nor that of society has proceeded in an unbroken or uninterrupted line; on the contrary, during a certain portion of human existence on the earth, the forces which tend toward degeneration have been stronger than whose which lie along the line of true development.

We are assured that the principles of construction and destruction are mutually employed in the reproductive processes, that continuous death means continuous life,—the katabolic or disruptive tendencies of the male being necessary to the anabolic or constructive habits of the female. As it is in reproduction, so has it been through the entire course of development. Side by side, all along the line, these two tendencies have been in operation; the grinding, rending, and devouring processes which we denominate Natural Selection, alongside those which unite, assimilate, and protect. As a result of the separation of the sexes there have been developed on the one side extreme egoism, or the desire for selfish gratification; on the other, altruism, or a desire for the welfare of others outside of self. Hence, throughout the later ages of human existence, since the egoistic principles have gained the ascendency, may be observed the unequal struggle for liberty and justice, against tyranny, and the oppressors of the masses of the human race. From present appearances it would seem, that the disruptive or devouring forces have always been in the ascendency. The philosophy of history however, teaches the contrary. With a broader view of the origin and development of the human race, and the unexpected light which within the last few years has been thrown upon prehistoric society and the grandeur of past achievement, a close student of the past is able to discern a faint glimmering of a more natural age of human existence, and is able to observe in the present intense struggles for freedom and equality, an attempt to return to the earlier and more natural principles of justice and liberty, and so to advance to a stage of society in which selfishness, sensuality, and superstition no longer reign supreme.

The status of women always furnishes an index to the true condition of society, one or two superficial writers to the contrary notwithstanding. For this phenomenon there is a scientific reason, namely: society advances just in proportion as women are able to convey to their offspring the progressive tendencies transmissible only through the female organism. It is plain, therefore, that mankind will never advance to a higher plane of thinking and living until the restrictions upon the liberties of women have been entirely removed, and until within every department of human activity, their natural instincts, and the methods of thought peculiar to them be allowed free expression. The following is from Mr. Buckle’s lecture on “The Influence of Women on the Progress of Knowledge”:

I believe and I hope before we separate to convince you, that so far from women exercising little or no influence over the progress of knowledge, they are capable of exercising, and have actually exercised an enormous influence; that this influence, is, in fact, so great that it is hardly possible to assign limits to it; and that great as it is, it may with advantage be still further increased. I hope, moreover, to convince you that this influence has been exhibited not merely from time to time in rare, sudden, and transitory ebullitions, but that it acts by virtue of certain laws inherent in human nature; and that, although it works as an undercurrent below the surface, and is therefore invisible to hasty observers, it has already produced the most important results, and has affected the shape, the character, and the amount of our knowledge.

Through the processes involved in the differentiation of sex and the consequent division of functions, it has been possible during the past six thousand or seven thousand years (a mere tithe of the time spent by mankind upon the earth) for women to become enslaved, or subjected to the lower impulses of the male nature. Through the capture of women for wives, through the exigencies of warfare, the individual ownership of land, and the various changes incident to a certain stage of human existence, the finer sensibilities which characterize women have been overshadowed, and the higher forces which originated within them and which are transmitted in the female line, have been temporarily subdued by the great sexual ardour inherent in the opposite sex; it is not, therefore, singular that the degree of progress attained should appear to be wholly the result of male activity and acumen. Yet, notwithstanding the degradation to which women in the position assigned them by physical force have been obliged to submit, their capacity for improvement has suffered less from the influences and circumstances of their environment than has that of men. As the higher faculties are transmitted through women equally to both sexes, in the impoverishment of their inheritance on the female side, men have suffered equally with women, while, through their male progenitors, they have inherited appetites and habits (the result of a ruder and less developed structure) which weaken and degrade the entire constitution.

Doubtless, so soon as women have gained sufficient strength to enable them to maintain their independence, and after the higher faculties rather than the animal propensities rule supreme, men, through the imperfections in their organism, and the appetites acquired through these imperfections, will, for a considerable length of time, find themselves weighted in the struggle for supremacy, and this, too, by the very characters which under lower conditions are now believed to have determined their success.

It is not unlikely, however, that through Sexual Selection the characters or qualities unfavourable to the higher development of man will in time be eliminated. The mother is the natural guardian and protector of offspring; therefore, so soon as women are free they will doubtless select for husbands only those men who, by their mental, moral, and physical endowments are fitted to become the fathers of their children. Only those women will become mothers who hope to secure to their offspring immunity from the giant evils with which society is afflicted. In this way, and this way only, may these evils be eradicated.

Under purer conditions of life, when by the higher powers developed in the race the animal propensities have become somewhat subdued by man, we may reasonably hope that the “struggle for existence,” which is still so relentlessly waged, will cease, that man will no longer struggle with man for place or power, and that the bounties of earth will no longer be hoarded by the few, while the many are suffering for the necessities of life; for are we not all members of one family, and dependent for all that we have on the same beneficent parent—Nature?

Although the two principles, the constructive and destructive, are closely allied, the higher faculties have been acquired only through the former—the highest degree of progress is possible only through union or co-operation, or, through the uniting and binding force, maternal love from which has been developed, first, sympathy among related groups, and later an interest which is capable of extending itself not only to all members of the human race, but to every sentient creature. There is, therefore, little wonder that for thousands of years of human existence, the female principle was worshipped over the entire habitable globe as the source of all light and life—the Creator and Preserver of the Universe.

We are only on the threshold of civilization. Mankind may as yet have no just conception of their possibilities, but so soon as, through the agencies now in operation for the advancement of the race, the “necessities” of the male nature no longer demand and secure the subjection of women and the consequent drain on the very fountain whence spring the higher faculties, a great and unexpected impetus will be given to progress.

The fact that a majority of women have not yet gained that freedom of action necessary to the absolute control of their own persons, nor acquired a sufficient degree of independence to enable them to adopt a course of action in their daily life which they know to be right, shows the extent to which selfishness, twin brother to sensuality, has clouded the conscience and warped the judgment in all matters pertaining to human justice. So closely has women’s environment been guarded that in addition to all the restrictions placed upon their liberties, a majority of them are still dependent for food and clothing on pleasing the men, who still hold the purse-strings. Yet Mr. Darwin, the apostle of original scientific investigation, concludes:

“If men are capable of decided prominence over women in many subjects, the average mental powers in men must be above those of women.”

[PART II]
Prehistoric Society

[CHAPTER I]
METHOD OF INVESTIGATION

If the theory of the development of the human race, or more particularly that of the two diverging lines of sex demarcation as set forth in the foregoing chapters be correct, it is plain that by it a new foundation is laid for the study of mankind.

If, contrary to the generally accepted idea, within the female organism have been developed those elements which form the basis of human progress, or, if the higher faculties are transmitted through the mother, henceforth all examinations into primitive conditions and all research into the causes which underlie existing institutions must be carried on with reference to this particular fact. Only through a thorough understanding of the principles or forces which govern human development, and a just appreciation of the source whence these principles have sprung, may we hope to gain a clear understanding of the past history of the race, or to perceive the true course to be pursued toward further development. Through the investigation of facts revealed in the records of Geology, and through the study of comparative Embryology and Anatomy, or through an understanding of Zoölogy and Anthropology, man has well-nigh solved the problem of his origin, or has almost proved his connection with and development from the lower orders of life, but of the countless ages which intervened between the era of our ape-like progenitors and the dawn of organized society, little may be known without a correct knowledge of the inheritance received by mankind from creatures lower in the scale of being. Only by a careful study of the constitutional bias acquired throughout the entire line of development, are we enabled to note the motives or forces by which primitive society was controlled, or to form a just conclusion relative to the early conditions of human society and its subsequent progress.

Through the attention which in these later years has been directed toward surviving tribes in the so-called middle and later stages of savagery, and in the three successive periods of barbarism, have doubtless been revealed many of the processes by which mankind have reached their present condition. Much of the information, however, which has been obtained by these inquiries still lacks that accuracy in detail demanded by exact science; but, so soon as the array of facts which the last half-century has brought to bear upon this subject shall have been correctly interpreted, logically arranged, intelligently classified, and without prejudice brought into line with the truths involved in the theory of natural development, there will doubtless be approximated a system of truth which will furnish a safe and trustworthy foundation for a more thorough research into the history of the human race.

Although the facts relative to existing undeveloped races, which have been laid before the reading public through the patience and industry of investigators in this particular branch of inquiry, have been of incalculable value as furnishing a foundation for a correct understanding of the origin of the customs, manners, ceremonies, governments, languages, and systems of consanguinity and affinity of a primitive race, and although without these efforts little knowledge of the early history of mankind could be obtained, yet, as a majority of the theories built upon these observations have been based on long-established prejudices relative to the earliest conditions surrounding human society and the forces by which it was controlled, many false conclusions have been the inevitable result.

We have seen that owing to the ascendency which the masculine element in human society gained during the period designated as the Latter Status of barbarism, the popular ideas evolved since that time concerning the origin and development of government, social usages, religion, and law, have been in accordance with the then established assumption that within the male organism lies not only the active, aggressive element, but the progressive principle as well. It is not, therefore, singular that at the present time all the lines of investigation which are being directed toward man in a primitive state, or which are being conducted for the avowed purpose of ascertaining the successive steps by which our social, civil, and religious institutions have been reared, should continue to be carried on under the a priori assumption that the male organism is by nature superior to that of the female.

As in all the theories relative to the development of species the male is the principal factor, so in the theories brought forward to explain the development of human institutions the female has played only an insignificant part; but, as all later facts bearing upon this subject furnish indisputable evidence of the early importance of the female element, not only among the lower orders of life but under earlier human conditions as well, we may reasonably expect from these data the establishment, in the not distant future, of a complete chain of evidence in support of a more rational and consistent theory of development than has yet been put forth, not only of the origin of the higher faculties, but of the organization of human society and the growth of its various institutions.

As, hitherto, all the theories advanced relative to the evolution of the human race and the establishment of society on a political and territorial basis have been founded on preconceived notions of the superiority of the characters peculiar to the male, it is believed, or at least assumed, that the ascendency gained by man over woman during the Latter Status of barbarism constitutes a regular, orderly, and necessary step in the direct line of progress; and, as under masculine supremacy, a certain degree of advancement has been possible, it is assumed that the nobler animal, man, having gained the ascendency over the weaker animal, woman, his progress in the future is to increase in a sort of geometrical ratio, while she, still bound by physical disabilities and weighted by the baneful effects of past limitations and restrictions, must continue far in the rear of her better endowed and more thoroughly equipped male mate. However, in this conception of the facts of biology, woman is not left without a crumb of comfort; for, in the forlorn and helpless condition to which it condemns her, she is given to understand that if for many successive generations girls be constantly trained in masculine methods, they may eventually be able to admire, and possibly in a measure to comprehend, some of the less stupendous mental achievements of their brothers; but, according to the savants, any attempt on the part of women to compete with men in the higher walks of life must result in increased physical weakness, in the immediate degeneration of the female sex, and in disaster and ruin to the entire race.

When we remember that investigations into the conditions surrounding primitive society have for the most part been conducted under the influence of prejudices similar to those which have prompted the above assumptions, it is not singular that in a majority of cases in which the early status of women has been discussed, and in which the organization of society, the fundamental principles of government, the origin of the institution of marriage, the monogamic family, and the growth of the god-idea, have been the topics under discussion, the conclusions arrived at have been not wholly warranted by the facts at hand.

In an investigation of the subject of human development, we must bear in mind the fact that all the principal existing institutions have sprung from germs of thought which originated under primitive conditions of the race. Government, language, marriage, the modern family, and our present system of the accumulation and distribution of wealth, have all been evolved from the necessities of early human existence, or from primitive ideas conceived according to the peculiar bias which had been given to the female and male organisms prior to the appearance of mankind upon the earth, and which have since been developed in accordance with the laws which govern human growth.

With their reasoning faculties still undeveloped, and, according to our guides, wholly destitute of a moral sense, human beings at the outset of their career could have had no guiding principle other than those instincts which they inherited from their mute progenitors. Therefore, in order fully to understand the status of the human race as it emerged from its animal conditions, we must bear in mind the nature of the inheritance which it had received during its passage from a formless lump of carbon, or an infinitesimal jelly dot in the primeval sea, to a creature endowed with sympathy, affection, courage, and perseverance. We must not lose sight of the fact that passion, the all-absorbing quality developed in males belonging to the orders lower in the scale of being, must have been conveyed without diminution or material change to man. Neither must we forget that those qualities in the female which had been developed for the protection of the germ, and by which she was enabled to hold in check the abnormally developed appetites of the male, were still in operation.

That Nature disdains arbitrary rules, and that she pays little heed to the proprieties established by man, are facts everywhere to be observed among the lower orders of life. She nevertheless jealously guards the germ and the young of the species. The mother is the natural guardian of prenatal and infant life, and as such, under natural conditions, is usually able to control the sexual relation.

Failing to note the fact that among the orders of life below mankind the female chooses her mate, and failing also to observe that through the natural adjustment of the sexual relations his instincts are checked by her will, nearly if not all the writers upon this subject have declared that women and men at the outset of the human career lived in a state of “lawlessness” or “promiscuity,” similar no doubt to that which at the present time would prevail in a community in which women were utterly devoid of influence, and in which there were no laws regulating the intercourse of the sexes.

By the most trustworthy writers on the subject of the primitive conditions of the human race, it is believed that the most archaic organization of society was that founded on the basis of sex, but, as in the infancy of the race, prior to the inauguration of the system based on sex, and during the long ages which were spent merely in gaining a subsistence, no organized form of society existed, it is held that the order which is observed among creatures lower in the scale of life was suspended, and that the universal law which had hitherto regulated the relations of the sexes, and which throughout the ages of life on the earth had held in check the lower instincts of the male, became immediately inoperative.

Here the common ground of belief ceases, and each writer branches off upon his own peculiar line of argument, appropriating and arranging the facts observed by explorers and investigators in the various lines of inquiry according to his own preconceived notions, or as best suits the particular scheme of development which he essays to establish.

In the following pages the attempt will be made to show that the facts which in these later years have been brought to light concerning the development of the human race are in strict accord with the facts as enunciated by scientists relative to the development of the orders of life below man, and that together they form a connected chain of evidence going to prove not only that the higher faculties had their origin in the female but that the progressive principle has also been confided to her.

[CHAPTER II]
THE RELATIONS OF THE SEXES AMONG EARLY MANKIND

We have seen that an investigation of the instincts and habits of creatures lower in the scale is necessary to an understanding of the relations which must have existed between the sexes among primitive races.

Among birds and mammals, the greater differentiation of the nervous system and the higher pitch of the whole life is associated with the development of what pedantry alone can refuse to call love. Not only is there often partnership, co-operation, and evident affection beyond the limits of the breeding period, but there are abundant illustrations of a high standard of morality, of all the familiar sexual crimes of mankind, and every shade of flirtation, courtship, jealousy, and the like. There is no doubt that in the two highest classes of animals at least, the physical sympathies of sexuality have been enhanced by the emotional, if not also intellectual, sympathies of love.[52]

It has been observed that among the orders of life below mankind, except among polygamous species, the female chooses the individual which is best endowed—the one whose beauty appeals to her æsthetic taste, or which through his stronger development is best fitted to assist her in the office of reproduction.

Among the more intelligent species of birds, genuine affection has been observed, strict monogamy and life-long unions having been established between mated pairs. Among others, although the conjugal bond is not life-lasting, so long as the mother-bird is caring for her brood, constancy to one another is the undeviating rule. We are assured that with the female Illinois parrot, “widowhood and death are synonymous,” and that “when a wheatear dies, his companion survives him scarcely a month.”[53]

All eagles are monogamous. Golden eagles live in couples and remain attached to one another for a hundred or more years, without even changing their domicile.[54] The conjugal unions of bald-headed eagles, although they are under no “legal restrictions,” last until the death of one of the partners. Among birds, although incubation rests with the mother, the father usually assists his companion. He not only takes her place if she desires to leave the nest for a moment, but also provides her with food.[55] So perfect is the bird family life that Brehm declares that “real genuine marriage can only be found among birds.”[56] Upon this subject we are informed that “examples of wandering fancy are for the most part rare among the birds, the majority of whom are monogamous, and even superior to most men in the matter of conjugal fidelity.”[57]

Concerning mammals, it is observed that although polygamy is frequent “it is far from being the conjugal regime universally adopted; monogamy is common, and is sometimes accompanied by so much devotion that it would serve as an example to human monogamists.”[58] Bears, weasels, whales, and many other animals choose their mates and go in pairs. Several kinds of monkeys are strictly monogamous.[59] Chimpanzees are sometimes polygamous and sometimes monogamous. It is stated what when a strong male has succeeded in driving away the other males of the group, the females, although in a position to subjugate him, are nevertheless kind and even tender toward him. They are doubtless too much occupied with their legitimate functions to rebel, but so soon as the young of the horde are grown, the usurper is driven from their midst. A little observation will show us that even among polygamous species, it is affection rather than strength which keeps the members of a group together. Although among most of the lower orders the female exercises a choice in the selection of her mate, still among animals of polygamous habits the female is said to manifest genuine affection for the father of her offspring.

The polygamic regime of animals is far from extinguishing affectionate sentiments in the females towards their husband and master. The females of the guanaco lamas, for example, are very faithful to their male. If the latter happens to be wounded or killed, instead of running away, they hasten to his side, bleating and offering themselves to the shots of the hunter in order to shield him, while, on the contrary, if a female is killed, the male makes off with all his troop; he only thinks of himself.[60]

Although among animals a stray male will sometimes drive away or kill all the other males of the group, and himself become the common mate of all the females, they peaceably accepting the situation, so far as I can find, female insects, birds, and mammals, although they generally control the sexual relation, have never been given to polyandry; the reason for this can be explained only through a careful analysis of the fundamental bias of the female constitution. We must bear in mind that although among the orders of life below mankind the male is ready to pair with any female, she, on the other hand, when free to choose, can be induced to accept the attentions only of the one which by his courage, bravery, or personal beauty has won her favours. We have noted the fact that in the earliest ages of the human race this choice was exercised by women, but we have no reason to believe that anything resembling “promiscuity” ever prevailed among primitive races. It is true that under earlier conditions the institution of marriage as it exists at the present time had not appeared; yet the law which had been impressed on the higher organism of the female, until overcome by males through means which will be treated of later in these pages, had sufficed to keep the animal instincts under subjection, or at least on a level with those of the lower species which structurally had been left behind.

From facts to be gathered, not alone from among the lower orders, but from observations among human beings as well, it would seem that any degree of affection for more than one individual at the same time is contrary to the female nature. A female insect, or bird, which feels a preference for a particular mate will pair with no other, hence, among orders where the female instincts control the relations between the sexes, “lawlessness” or promiscuity would not prevail.

A little observation and reflection, I think, will show us that the affection of the female is a character differing widely from the sex instinct of the male—that, while selfishness constitutes the underlying principle of the latter, the former involves not only care for the young and the unity of the group, but, when human conditions are reached, it involves also country, civilization, and the ultimate brotherhood of mankind.

If we bear in mind the conditions surrounding the orders of life from which the human race has sprung, and if we remember the nature of the characters inherited by mankind from these orders, together with the important fact that the lower instincts among them were under subjection to the higher faculties, we shall be enabled to see that the more degraded of the extant savage tribes cannot represent the primitive race as it emerged from the animal type.

Mr. Tylor must have been mindful of the altruistic character of early races when he remarked: “Without some control beyond the mere right of the stronger, the tribe would break up in a week, whereas in fact savage tribes last on for ages.”[61]

Concerning the relations of the sexes under unorganized society nothing may be known from actual observation, as, at the present time, no tribe or race is to be found under absolutely primitive conditions. Perhaps from no extant people is there so little information in reference to the earliest human state to be gleaned as from the lowest existing races. Among many of these tribes the rules which it has been necessary to establish for the regulation of the relations between the sexes are rigorously enforced, while among others a laxity prevails which would seem to indicate an almost total lack of those higher instincts which are observed among nearly all the lower orders of beings. The following fact, however, in regard to these races, has been observed: the more primitive they are, or the less they have come in contact with civilization, the more strictly do they observe the rules which have been established for the governance of the sexual relation. On this subject Mr. Parkyns says: