144 THE FAMILY AND THE NATION 



marriages be tabulated according to the subjects studied, 

 mathematics gives a markedly lower average than any 

 other. 



From the point of view of the sociologist, the 

 importance of this branch of our inquiry lies in the 

 question of which is the cause and which the effect. If 

 these figures indicate that certain women, early realising 

 their unfitness for the primary duties of motherhood 

 and family life, decide to take up and devote themselves 

 to another career, usually the teaching profession in 

 secondary schools, in which they are more likely to 

 succeed, the result need not give rise to surprise or 

 anxiety. But if these figures mean that exceptionally 

 capable women, attracted by the intellectual life of the 

 Universities, are thereby rendered unfit or unwilling 

 to discharge their natural functions, the whole matter 

 requires very serious reconsideration. From what has 

 been said in the chapters on the inheritance of ability 

 and the rise of families, it is evident that, for the sake 

 of future generations, the ability of the mothers is 

 at least of as much importance as that of the fathers. 

 It must be remembered that the movement in favour 

 of the higher education of women on the same lines as 

 that of men, and their utilization in many spheres of 

 employment, is a recent movement, and is growing 

 rapidly in all Western communities. The problem of 

 " cause or effect " is therefore of the gravest import. It 

 is a well-known fact that the decline of the birth-rate 

 among married women teaching in the elementary 

 schools is very great, though no statistics can be given. 

 We have now clear evidence that the marriage-rate 

 among those who are capable of teaching in secondary 



