150 THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE. 
the Peruvian Indians under the reign of the Incas, almost the 
only, if not the only, instance known to history, of a pure 
Theocracy, for rulers and subjects alike believed implicitly in 
the divine origin of the Inca, that he was veritably the child 
of their god the Sun, the purity of the Divine race being kept 
up by the compulsory marriage of the Inca with his sister. 
His will was, without question, law, and, if the forces of 
Nature could have been disregarded with ultimate sucess, 
nothing could have been wiser than his government. 
Each man’s dwelling, occupation and marriage were ordained 
by the State, and there was such a perfect law of registration in 
force, that no one could escape its purview. The occupation of 
the land was re-arranged yearly, so that each family had not 
only sufficient for a comfortable livelihood, but also enough to 
enable them to pay their contribution to the state. Wool for 
clothing was also issued in exact accordance with numbers. 
Idleness was forbidden under severe penalties, while the hours 
of work were regulated, so that they were burdensome to no 
one, and time was given for rest and recreation. Misfortune 
and sickness were provided for at the expense of the State, 
and, to the receipt of this relief, no stigma of disgrace was 
attached. Great public works, good roads and bridges, were 
executed, and every square inch of ground which could be cul- 
tivated, was irrigated by means of immense aquaducts, partly 
subterranean, and some four or five hundred miles in length. 
All this was done by a people who had no wheeled vehicles, 
whose only beast of burden was the Llama—an American 
sheep, which at the most can carry a load of but one hundred 
pounds—and who were ignorant of the use of iron. 
The laws were enforced by the frequent visits of government 
inspectors, who even entered the houses to see that each 
woman spun her due share of wool; crime scarcely existed, 
for every tenth man was a magistrate, and made responsible for 
nine of his fellows, and any magistrate failing to bring a crim- 
inal to justice, himself suffered the penalty due for the crime. 
