334 THE ASCENT OF MAN 



families, the members of each family being more, 

 closely connected with one another than with the 

 rest of the tribe. The Family, consisting of 

 parents, children, and often also their next de- 

 scendants, is a universal institution among existing 

 people. And it seems extremely probable that 

 among our early human ancestors, the Family 

 proved, if not the Society itself, at least the 

 nucleus of it. I do not, of course, deny that the 

 tie which bound the children to the Mother was 

 much more intimate and more lasting than that 

 which bound them to the Father ; but it seems 

 to me that the only result to which a critical in- 

 vestigation of facts can lead us is, that in all 

 probability there has been no stage of human 

 development where marriage has not existed, and 

 that the father has always been, as a rule, the 

 protector of his Family." ^ 



But the process is not yet quite completed. 

 With the longer time together husband and wife 

 may get to know and lean upon one another a 

 little, but the time is still too short for deep 

 affection, and there remain one or two serious 

 obstacles to remove. Indeed, unless some further 

 steps are taken, this first achievement must end 

 in failure. As a matter of fact, it has often ended 

 * Op. cit.^ pp. 42-50, 



