MARRIAGE 
of five to three; so tliat there is the chance 
of three to two, and in some circumstances 
even a greater ciiance, that tlie woman 
shall be the survivor of a marriage, and not 
the man ; and this difference cannot be ac- 
counted for merely by the difference of 
age between husbands and their wives, 
without admitting the greater mortality of 
males. In the district of Vaud in Switzer- 
land, it appears, that half the females do 
not die till the age of 46 and upwards, 
though half the males die under 36. It 
is likewise an indisputable fact, that in the 
beginning of life, the rate of mortality 
among males is much greater than among 
females. From a table formed by Dr. 
Price, from a register kept for 20 years at 
Gainsborough, it appears, that of those rvho 
lived to 80, the major part, in the propor- 
tion of 49 to 32, are females. M. Depar- 
cieux at Paris, and M. Wargentin in Swe*’ 
den, have further observed, that not only 
women live longer than men, but that mar- 
ried women live longer than single women. 
From some registers examined by M. Mu- 
ret in Switzerland, it appears, that of equal 
numbers of single and married women, be- 
tween 15 and 25, more of the former died 
than of the latter, in the proportion of two 
to one. With respect to the difference be- 
tween the mortality of males and females, 
it is found to be much less in country pa- 
rishes and villages than in towns; and 
hence it is inferred, that human life in 
males is more brittle than in females, only 
in consequence of adventitious causes, or of 
some particular debility that takes place in 
polished and luxurious societies, and espe- 
cially in great towns. From the inequality 
above-stated, between the males and fe- 
males that are born, it is reasonable to in- 
fer, that one man ought to have but one 
wife ; and yet that every woman, without 
polygamy, may have a husband : this sur- 
plus of males above females being spent 
in the supplies of war, the seas, &c. from 
which the women are exempt. Perhaps, 
says Dr. Price, it might have been ob- 
served with more reason, that this provision 
had in view that particular weakness or de- 
licacy in the constitution of males, which 
makes them more subject to mortality; and 
which consequently renders it necessary 
that more of them should be produced, in 
order to preserve in the world a due pro- 
portion between the two sexes. TSat this 
is a work of Providence, is well made otrt 
by the very laws of chance, by Dr. Arbuth- 
not, who supposes Thomas to lay against 
John, that for 82 years running more males 
shall be born than females ; and giving all 
allowances in the computation to Thomas’s 
side, ho makes the odds against Thomas, 
that it does not so happen, to be near five 
millions of millions of millions of millions to 
one ; but for ages of ages, according to the 
world’s age, to be near an infinite number 
to one. According to M. Kerseboom’s o’o- 
servations, there are about 325 children 
born from 100 marriages. M. Kerseboom, 
from his observations, estimates the dura- 
tion of marriages, one with another, as in 
the following table. 
Those 
whose ages. 
taken together, make 
40, live together between 24 and 25 years. 
50 
23 
60 
70 
19. 
80 
17, 
18 
90 
14, 
15 
too 
“ Phil. Trans.’’ No. 468. 
Dr. Price has shown, that on De Moivre’s 
hypothesis, or tliat the probabilities of life 
decrease uniformly, the duration of survi- 
vorship is equal to the duration of marriage, 
when the ages are equal; or, in other 
words, that the expectation of two joint 
lives, the ages being equal, is the same with 
the expectation of survivorship ; and, con- 
sequently, the number of survivors, or 
(which is the same, supposing no second 
marriages) of widows and widowers, alive 
together, which will arise fi-om any given 
set of snch marriages constantly kept up, 
will be equal to the whole number of mar- 
riages, or half of them (the number of wi- 
dows in particular) equal to half the num- 
ber of marriages. Thus, the expectation 
of two joint lives, both 40, is the third of 
46 years, or their complement, i. e. 15 
years and four months ; and this is also the 
expectation of the survivor. That is, sup-i 
posing a set of marriages between persons 
all 40, they wall, one with anothdr, last just 
this time, and the survivors will last the 
same time. In adding together the years 
which any great number of such marriages, 
and their survivorships, have lasted, the 
sums would be found to be equal. It is ob- 
served further, that if the number express- 
ing the expectation of single or joint lives, 
multiplied by the number of single or joint 
lives whose expectation it is, be added an- 
nually to a society or town, the sum gives 
the whole number living together, to which 
such an annual addition would in time 
