212 BIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF HUMAN PROBLEMS 



tion. At last polygamy yielded to a great extent 

 to monogamy in a higher state of civilization. Here, 

 again, the reasons for monogamy are at least in part 

 of a practical nature rather than a sentimental 

 nature. With higher civilization comes a decrease 

 in wars. This lowers the death rate of men to a 

 point where it is more nearly like that of women, 

 thus removing that disproportion of the sexes which, 

 amongst warlike peoples, makes polygamy a bio- 

 logical necessity. The desire for offspring also grows 

 less pressing, for a large family tends to become a 

 burden rather than a help in the struggle for existence. 

 Again, domesticated animals and machinery take the 

 place of a plurality of wives. A most serious prac- 

 tical drawback to polygamy is the difficulty in giving 

 individual paternal attention to the education of 

 numerous children of varied heredity. In Egypt 

 the superior position of the Copts, as compared with 

 the Arabs, is due mainly to the better education that 

 is possible within the monogamous Christian sect. 

 Finally, a less practical consideration is the fact that 

 the conditions of modern civilized life give women a 

 better chance to maintain their health and beauty 

 a powerful influence in holding the husband in a state 

 of contentment with one wife. Indeed, it is the 

 strength of this personal attraction that determines 

 the permanence of monogamy as an institution. 

 As men have grown more intelligent and refined, 

 they have grown more sensitive to all kinds of femi- 

 nine charm, and hence more anxious to respect the 



