Ch. xiv. among the Romans. 255 



their populousness.* But the contrary inference 

 of the two appears to be the more probable. 

 When the difficulties attending the rearing a family- 

 are very great, and consequently many persons 

 of both sexes remain single, we may naturally 

 enough infer that population is stationary, but by 

 no means that it is not absolutely great ; because 

 the difficulty of rearing a family may arise from 

 the very circumstance of a great absolute popu- 

 lation, and the consequent fulness of all the chan- 

 nels to a livelihood; though the same difficulty 

 may undoubtedly exist in a thinly-peopled coun- 

 try, which is yet stationary in its population. 

 The number of unmarried persons in proportion 

 to the whole number, may form some criterion by 

 which we can judge whether population be in- 

 creasing, stationary, or decreasing; but will not 

 enable us to determine any thing respecting ab- 

 solute populousness. Yet even in this criterion 

 we are liable to be deceived. In some of the 

 southern countries early marriages are general, 

 and very few women remain in a state of celibacy ; 

 yet the people not only do not increase, but the 

 actual number is perhaps small. In this case the 

 removal of the preventive check is made up by 

 the excessive force of the positive check. The 

 sum of all the positive and preventive checks 

 taken together, forms undoubtedly the immediate 

 cause which represses population; but we never 

 can expect to obtain and estimate accurately this 



* Essay xi. 



