PARENT AND OFFSPRING 137 



tribe with more than three or four children; and it 

 is also regarded as a mark of selfishness in her to give 

 way to her maternal instinct, which might influence 

 her to save her child's life. It should be noted, how- 

 ever, that the baby is killed immediately after birth, 

 before parental affection has become too powerful. 

 If a child has been allowed to live a few weeks, its 

 life is generally safe. The Dyaks often destroy de- 

 formed or idiot children. Among the Eskimos, if the 

 mother dies and no woman can be found to nurse the 

 child, it is painlessly put to death. The killing of 

 one or both of twins has already been alluded to in 

 a previous chapter. 



Infanticide was practised by most of the peoples 

 of ancient civilizations, such as, e.g., those of Persia, 

 Babylonia, India, China, etc. In China it still exists, 

 or did so until quite lately, although prohibited by 

 law. Until recently, the same was true of India and 

 Japan. The ancient Roman and Greek law also per- 

 mitted infanticide. The public sacrifice of children 

 for religious purposes existed in Rome so late as the 

 time of the wars against Carthage. In Greece the 

 children were killed by exposure; for public opinion 

 was against the direct shedding of blood. Among the 

 Spartans, however, if a child survived this trying 

 ordeal it was allowed to live, having given proof of 

 its power of endurance. Aristotle laid it down as a 

 law that no imperfect or maimed child should be 

 brought up. There is a similar utterance from the 

 mouth of Seneca, a Roman philosopher, who said: 

 " Children if weak or deformed we drown, not through 

 anger, but through the wisdom of preferring the 

 sound to the useless." Many uncivilized peoples 



