CHAPTER XIV 



SOCIAL PROGRESS 



MAN is a gregarious animal, and it is, then, in the 

 herd, rather than in the family, that we should 

 search for the foundations of our social fabric. 

 We may perhaps discover some of its primaeval 

 features in the behaviour of a troop of monkeys. 

 Amongst them there is neither marriage nor 

 private property ; all things are in common, save 

 for the interference of superior strength or 

 courage. These qualities are respected, as also 

 is age. There is generally a leader of the troop 

 who must be strong and courageous : he must 

 also, it seems, be old, and he is generally ill- 

 tempered. 



The first beginnings of exclusiveness were due, 

 we may believe, to the predilections of woman, 

 who, naturally disliking to be at any man's 

 disposal, reserved her attractions to certain 

 members of the herd. This introduces us to the 

 custom of polyandry, which is still a living force 

 in some respectable communities ; it has, for 

 instance, maintained itself amongst certain 

 peoples of India and Tibet. Woman took a 

 further step when, following the dictates of her 

 heart, she denied herself to more than one 

 man, whom she accepted, more as her custom- 

 ary lover than as her legal husband. Amongst 

 a very intelligent tribe of Assam, marriage is 

 still in this embryonic stage. A man does not 



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