SEXUAL SELECTION IN RELATION TO MAN 759 



expiation for marriage as an infringement of tribal rites, 

 since, according to old ideas, a man had no right to appro- 

 priate to himself that which belonged to the whole tribe." 

 Sir J. Lubbock further gives a curious body of facts show- 

 ing that in old times high honor was bestowed on women 

 who were utterly licentious; and this, as he explains, is in- 

 telligible, if we admit that promiscuous intercourse was the 

 aboriginal, and therefore long revered, custom of the tribe.* 

 Although the manner of development of the marriage tie 

 is an obscure subject, as we may infer from the divergent 

 opinions on several points between the three authors who 

 have studied it most closely, namely, Mr. Morgan, Mr. 

 M'Lennan, and Sir J. Lubbock, yet from the foregoing 

 and several other lines of evidence it seems probable' that 

 the habit of marriage, in any strict sense of the word, has 

 been gradually developed; and that almost promiscuous or 

 very loose intercourse was once extremely common through- 

 out the world. Nevertheless, from the strength of the feel- 

 ing of jealousy all through the animal kingdom, as well as 

 from the analogy of the lower animals, more particularly 

 of those which come nearest to man, I cannot believe that 

 absolutely promiscuous intercourse prevailed in times past, 

 shortly before man attained to ' his present rank in the 

 zoological scale. Man, as I have attempted to show, is 

 certainly descended from some ape-like creature. With 

 the existing Quadrumana, as far as their habits are 'feriolmy 

 the males of some species are monogamoug,»b'iu live during 

 only a part of the year with the fgm^les; of this the orang 

 seems to afford an instance." Several kinds, for example 

 some of the Indian and American monkeys, are strictly 

 monogamous, and associate all the year round with their 



' "Origin of Civilization," 18t0, p. 86. In the several works above quoted, 

 there will be found copious evidence on relationship through the females alone, 

 or with the tribe alone. 



^ Mr. C. StanUand Wake argues strongly (" Anthropologia, " March, 1874, 

 p. 191) against the views held by these three writers on the former prevalence 

 of almost promiscuous intercourse ; and he thinks that the classificatory system 

 of relationship can be otherwise explained. 



