12 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS 



social questions, from Plato and Aristotle down to Darwin 

 and Herbert Spencer. 



Failure to grapple with it successfully seems to have 

 been the chief cause of the decline of manv ancient 



+f 



empires, the names of which have come down to us out 

 of the remote past, or whose remains still lie scattered 

 over the surface of the earth. This was almost certainly 

 the case with Ancient Rome and Greece, for even where 

 there has been no actual decline of population there has 

 been a replacement of the homogeneous native race by 

 a heterogeneous collection of aliens. Neither of these 

 alternatives can be contemplated by a high-spirited 

 nation with equanimity ; yet either may overtake the 

 leading nations of the world within a measurable period 

 unless the problem of the birthrate be successfully grappled 

 with. This work will have fulfilled its purpose if it assists 

 inquiries directed towards that end, and if the problem 

 is brought one step nearer solution. 



/ would like, to express here my obligations to Dr. 

 Halford Ross, Dr. John Brownlee, and Dr. Leonard Hill, 

 who have been among the foremost in pointing out the 

 inadequacy of the " race-suicide " theory to explain the 

 facts, and to whom I am indebted for valuable help in 

 various ways. They are, of course, in no way committed 

 to the particular theories and interpretations expounded 

 in this work. Also I am indebted to old friends in 

 particular to Mr. Horace F. Bastings, Mr. W. H. 

 Trimble, and Mr. G. Richardson in Dunedin, New 

 Zealand. 



