"MANKIND IN THE MAKING" 27 



munity, came into being ; and among the earliest laws to be 

 framed, we may be certain, were those for the regulation 

 of marriage. These, as we may gather from the history 

 of savage races to-day, did not concern themselves with 

 chastity, at any rate before marriage, it was enough if 

 they secured the right of possession, and excluded the 

 dangers of close intermarriage. Promiscuity in the past 

 was never the practice of any race, its existence to- 

 day, among both savage and civilized people, is due 

 in part to imperfections in the social scheme, and in part 

 to the vagaries of individur.ls. 



That the sexual instincts form the bed-rock on which 

 depends the survival of all races of animals, which, for 

 their propagation, require the co-operation of separate 

 sexes, is beyond dispute. And it is no less certain that 

 in so far as the evolution of man is concerned, jealousy 

 has been a powerful integrating factor. 



Among the higher animals apart from Man, both poly- 

 gamy and polyandry are met with, and this with no 

 apparent detriment to the race. It is significant, how- 

 ever, that polyandry is never met with among the 

 mammals, and but rarely among the birds, when, as will 

 be shown, this form of sexual relationship has been 

 accompanied by a profound modification of the behaviour 

 of the sexes in regard, not only to courtship, but to the 

 offspring. The male has lost his masculinity, and the 

 female her femininity. In human society both forms of 

 marriage prevail, and there can be no doubt, from the 

 history of such customs, that of the two types, polygamy 

 is much to be preferred. It is certain that no race which 

 practices polyandry can do more than hold its own, and 

 that in a low grade of development. This cannot be 

 said of polygamy, which might indeed be commended 



