The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-08-14

victors please-where. when not stolen or
gained BY contest. they are bought II Il mani
fest that. the willis OF women being In abey-
ance. the unchecked egoism OF mon must con-
nict with the growth OF chastity. Again. In the
settled polygamy OF societies which lose great
numbers OF men In battle. the large harems
OF kinRs and chiefs. the buying OF
female slaves-all Of these things character
istio OF the militant type-we similarly
SEQ relations ofthe sexes adverse to any moral
restriction. II We member that the extreme
prohigacy OF Rome was reached after long
centuries OF contest: II we remember that
there survived during the foudal organization
resulting from war the jus primo nocns-if Of
Russia. exclusively organized for war. we read
that any girl on his estate was until recently
atthe lords disposal We see further ground
for suspecting that the militant tyne OF society
Is unfavorable to elevated relations OF the
sexes. 1t Is not to be inferred. however. that
chastity always characterizes society OF the
non militant tyne. Though some OF the peace
full tribes enumerated by Mr. Spencer are dis
tinguished from uncivilized tribes at large by
the purity OF their sexual relations. 1t is not so
with other tribes equally unwarlikc. The
Esquimaux. for instance. among whom there
Is an interchange Of wives. do not even know
what war 10.
1t remains for Mr. Spencer to emphasize the
truth discernible amid all perplexitcs and
varieties that without a prevailing chastity
one does not find good social state. Though
a comparison Of intermediate types OF society
may not make this cloar. 1t is demonstrated by
| comparison OF extreme types. and corroborative
| evidence Is furnished by comparison OF diff
! ierent stages OF civilized nations. There arc
| manifestly several ways In which chastity fur
theirs superior social state Tho first is its
| conducivencss to tho nurture OF offspring.
| Nearly everywhere. but especially where the
stress OF competition makes the rearing Of
children difficult lack OF help from tho
| father must leave the mother over
taxed and entail inadequate nutrition Of
progeny. Upchastity therefore. tends toward
production OF inferior individuals and II it
prevails widely must cause decay Of tho socie
| ~ In the second place. unchastity. conflict
| Ing as 1t does with tho establishment OF
normal monogamfc relations. Is adverse to
those higher sentiments prompted by such
| relations. In societies characterized by info
rior forms Of marriage. or by irregular con-
| nections. there cannot be developed to any
great extent that powerful combination OF feel
ing-affection. admiration. sympathy-which
In so marvellous manner has grown out OF the
sexual instinct 1t Is fully recognized by the
author Of the synthetic philosophy that in the
absence OF this complex passion which mani
testify presupposes a relation between ono
| man and ono woman. the supreme interest in
| lifo disappears and leaves behind relatively
| subordinate interests Evidently prevalent
unchastity sewers the higher from the lower
components Of the sexual relation; tho root
may produce q few leaves. but no true flower
Nor is it less clear to Mr.. Spencer that sundry
| ofthe keenest aesthetic pleasures must at tho
same time be undermined. We need but to
call to mind what q predominant part In 40
ton. DRAMA poetry. and music Is played by
| the romantic element In love. to see that any
thing which initiates against it tends to
| diminish. II not to destroy. the chief gratifca-
tions which should fill the leisure part Of life.
Nv.
In the third part Of tho present volume.
| which deals with the ethics OF individual life
one turns with especial interest to see what
views OF marriage and parenthood are taken
by the expounder of evolutionary morality. In
his principles of sociology Mr.. Spencer had al
ready reached the conclusion that with the
ascent from lower to higher types Of men we
tend toward An ideal family in which tho NOR
| tally between birth and the reproductive
| age falls to minimum. while the lives OF
| adults have their subordination to the rearing
OF children reduced to the smallest DOS
sible measure. To the last however.
| the antagonism between individuation
and reproduction persists-persists in q
direct way because OF the physical tax which
reproduction imposes. and in IN indirect way
| because OF the tax. physical and mental. ne
cessitatcd by rearing children-s tax which.
| though it is pleasurably paid in fulfill
| mcnt Of tho appropriate instincts and ono
tons. and is so far fulillment of individual
life. is nevertheless Tux which restricts indi-
vidual development In various directions. In
| the authors judgment. however the truth
which it chiefly concerns US to note is that.
| assuming tho preservation Of the race to be
desideratum. there results certain kind Of
| obligation to pay this tax and to sub
nit to the sacrifice. Moreover. some
| thing like natural equity requires that
as each individual is indebted to past individ-
uas for tho cost OF producing and rearing
| him. he shall be ut some equivalent cost for
| the benefit OF future individuals. 1t must at
the same time be acknowledged that in large
nations where multiplication is rather an evil
than benefit. this obligation lanses: and tho
| individual may in many cases fifty discharge
his or her Indebtedness In some other way
than by adding to the population. Yet such
considerations seem to pertain rather to social
ethics than to the ethics of individual
life which constitute the particular sub
ject OF Mr.. spencer's inquiry at this
time. The celibacy which may be en-
tirely compatible with the welfare OF
given community. may be at tho same time
harmful to tho individual. Such part of
human beings organization as Is devoted to
the production OF offspring can scarcely be
left inert and leave the rest OF the organiza-
ton unaffected. The not infrcuuent occurrence
OF hysteria and chloross shows that women.
in whom the reproductive functions bear a
larger ratio to the totally OF the functions
than it docs in mon. are apt to suffer grave
constitutional evils from that incompleteness
OF life which celibacy impies-grave evils to
which there probably correspond smaller
and unperceived evils In numerous
cases. That tho physiological effects OF
O completely celihate lite on either sex
arc to some extent Injurious seems to Mr..
Spencer an almost necessary implication Of
tho natural conditions. But whether or not
there DO disagreement on this question there
can in his opinion be no doubt that the effects
OF celibate life are mentally hurtful. large
part Of tho naturs-rartly intellectual but
chiefly emotlonal-fnds its sphere OF action