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CHAPTER IX. DEVELOPMENT OF THE “FAMILY.”
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Mr. M’Lennan has remarked, in relation to the curious customs of capturing women for wives found among peoples in all parts of the world, that “in almost all cases the form of capture is the symbol of a group-act—of a siege, or a pitched battle, or an invasion of a house by an armed band, while in a few cases only, and these much disintegrated1, it represents a capture by an individual. On the one side are the kindred of the husband; on the other the kindred of the wife.”250 Whatever may be the true explanation of the origin of exogamy, with which the custom referred to is connected, there can be no doubt of the truth of the statement that the wife-capture is now usually, although it sometimes has relation solely3 to the individual, the symbol of a group-act. This may not be in the sense intended by Mr. M’Lennan, who looks upon exogamy and polyandry as referable to one and the same cause, and who regards “all the exogamous races as having originally been polyandrous.”251 The phenomena4 of wife-capture prove conclusively5, however, that the family group to which the woman belonged possessed6, or thought themselves entitled to, certain rights over her—rights of which they resisted the invasion, whether by an individual alone, or by193 a group of persons, or by an individual aided by the other members of a group. It is important to notice that the groups in question appear to consist, not of strangers to each other, or to the man or woman more immediately concerned, but of persons bound together by certain ties of blood. This is shown to be so by the fact that the capture is atoned7 for by the payment to the relations of the woman of the marriage-price, if this has not been agreed on beforehand.252 It is required, moreover, by the conclusion arrived at by Mr. M’Lennan, that the tribes among whom the system of wife-capture prevails are chiefly those whose marriages are governed by the law of exogamy.253 By exogamy is meant the practice of marrying out of the tribe or group of kindred,254 and it is founded on a prejudice against marriage with kinsfolk.255 There is some uncertainty8 as to the nature of M’Lennan’s primitive9 group, but, judging from his statement that “promiscuity10, producing uncertainty of fatherhood, led to the system of kinship through mothers only,”256 we may suppose that it consisted of a number of persons, all of whom, as the result of promiscuity, were related by blood. The first division into which he classes uncultured peoples, according to their marriage-rules, is that where tribes are separate, and all the members of the tribes are, or feign11 themselves to be, of the same blood.257 Mr. Morgan very properly criticises this definition, which, he says,194 “might answer for a description of a gens; but the gens is never found alone, separate from other gentes. There are several gentes intermingled by marriage in every tribe composed of gentes,”258 a fact which would seem to distinguish the primitive group of M’Lennan, although consisting of consanguinei, from a gens or clan12 proper. Moreover, as Mr. Morgan shows, exogamy has relation to a rule or law of a gens, considered as “the unit of organisation13 of a social system,” and therefore the gens (of which, as an institution, the rules are prohibition14 of intermarriage in the gens, and limitation of descent in the female line259), or rather the family from which it has sprung, may be regarded as the earliest social group of which we have any knowledge.

It is of the greatest importance to the discovery of the nature of the primitive human family to understand the origin of the gens or clan. As defined by Morgan, it is “a body of consanguinei descended15 from the same common ancestor, distinguished16 by a gentile name, and bound together by affinities17 of blood.” Mr. Morgan affirms that the gens originated in three principal conceptions, “the bond of kin2, a pure lineage through descent in the female line, and non-intermarriage in the gens.”260 The most essential feature is that of tracing kinship through females only, and the discovery of the origin of this custom will throw light on that of the clan-institution itself, and therefore on the nature of the primitive family.

Mr. M’Lennan finds the origin of kinship through females only in the uncertainty of paternity, arising195 from the fact that, in primitive times, a woman was not appropriated to a particular man for his wife, or to men of one blood as wife.261 The children, although belonging to the horde18, remain attached to their mothers, and the blood tie observed between them would, as promiscuity gave place to polyandry of the ruder kind in which the husbands are strangers in blood to each other, become developed into the system of kinship through females.262 An earlier writer, Bachofen, was so much struck with certain social phenomena among the ancients, that he believed women to have, at an early period, been supreme19, not only in the family but in the state. He supposed that woman revolted against the primitive condition of promiscuity, and established a system of marriage, in which the female occupied the first place as the head of the family, and as the person through whom kinship was to be traced. This movement, which had a religious origin, was followed by another resulting from the development of the idea that the mother occupied a subordinate position in relation to her children, of whom the father was the true parent. Mr. M’Lennan very justly objects to this theory that, if marriage was, from the beginning, monogamous, kinship would have been traced through fathers from the first.263 He adds that196 “those signs of supremacy20 on the woman’s part were the direct consequences (1) of marriage not being monogamous, or such as to permit of certainty of fatherhood; and (2) of wives not as yet living in their husband’s houses, but apart from them, in the homes of their own mothers.”264 The meaning of this is, that the phenomena referred to by Bachofen were due to the former prevalence of a system of polyandry, such as still exists among the Nairs of Southern India. It is very improbable, however, that kinship through the female only could have had the origin supposed by Mr. M’Lennan. According to him one cause of the supremacy of woman referred to by Bachofen was the fact of wives living apart from their husbands in the homes of their own mothers. This custom must, therefore, have preceded the supremacy of woman, assuming this to have existed, and the tracing of kinship through females which gave rise to it. We must believe that originally women lived alone with their daughters (and their sons also, until these set up a separate establishment for themselves, taking with them probably their favourite sisters, as with the Nairs at the present day),265 there being no male head of the family. If, however, we trace our steps back in thought to the most primitive period of human existence, we shall see that such a domestic state as that here supposed cannot have been the original one. Among savages21 there is never that subordination of the man to the woman which we should have to assume. We cannot suppose that the primeval group of mankind consisted of a woman and her children, and if the woman had a male companion we cannot doubt, judging from what we know of savage22 races, that he would be the head197 and chief of the group. The very notion, however, of the family group having a male as well as a female head is inconsistent with Mr. M’Lennan’s theory, and we must trace the origin of female kinship as a system to a different source from the polyandry to which he ascribed it.

The idea of a special relationship subsisting23 between a woman and her children might no doubt be originated during the period when the men of a group, “in the spirit of indifference25, indulged in savage promiscuity,”266 if such a condition of things ever existed, but that alone would not be sufficient to establish kinship through females only. It may be questioned, indeed, whether there ever was a time when the uncertainty of paternity, which Mr. M’Lennan’s whole theory requires, was so pronounced as to prevent kinship through males being acknowledged. Mr. Morgan agrees with Mr. M’Lennan so far as to say that, “prior to the gentile organisation, kinship through females was undoubtedly26 superior to kinship through males, and was doubtless the principal basis upon which the lower tribal27 groups were organised.” He affirms truly, however, that “descent in the female line, which is all that ‘kinship through females only’ can possibly indicate,” is only the rule of a gens, and that relationship through the father is recognised as fully28 as that through the mother.267 I have elsewhere, however, given reasons for believing that this statement does not go far enough, and that the earliest forms of the classificatory system of relationships, on which Mr. Morgan198 bases his special theory, require actual kinship, and not relationship merely, through the male quite as fully as through the female.

It is surprising that Mr. Morgan says little as to the origin of descent in the female line. He says: “The gens, though a very ancient social organisation founded upon kin, does not include all the descendants of a common ancestor. It was for the reason that, when the gens came in, marriage between single pairs was unknown, and descent through males could not be traced with certainty. Kindred were linked together chiefly through the bond of their maternity30.”268 We have here apparently31 two reasons stated for the establishment of kinship through females, the absence of marriages between single pairs, and the uncertainty of paternity. Both of these conditions are found by Mr. Morgan to exist in the consanguine family groups which he supposes to have been formed when promiscuity ceased. The Polynesian peoples, among whom he finds traces of the consanguine family, have preserved the recollection of female kinship, although, according to Mr. Morgan, the gens is unknown to them.269 The classificatory system of relationships, the origin of which he traces to the consanguine family, can, however, receive a totally different interpretation32, and the existence of that family itself is very doubtful. Further, the difficulty of tracing descent through males, which Mr. Morgan supposes, is the result only of the polyandrous unions his theory requires, and if they ever really existed they could supply no further199 explanation of the origin of female kinship than the polyandry of the Nairs. He would have done better to have sought to connect it, as Mr. M’Lennan does, with the special relation supposed to exist between a mother and her child.

Mr. Herbert Spencer shows how this idea may have arisen. Unlike the other writers I have referred to, he does not think that promiscuity in the relation of the sexes ever existed in an unqualified form.270 He thinks, indeed, that monogamy must have preceded polygamy, although, owing to the extension of promiscuity, and the birth of a larger number of children to unknown fathers than to known fathers, a habit would arise of thinking of maternal33 kinship rather than of paternal34, and where paternity was manifest children would come to be spoken of in the same way.271 Mr. Spencer adds, that the habit having arisen, the resulting system of kinship in the female line would be strengthened by the practice of exogamy.272 The defect of this explanation lies in its requiring uncertain paternity, and I shall show that the system of female kinship has not arisen from the simple association in thought of a child with its mother in preference to its father. It is, moreover, inconsistent with the fact mentioned by Mr. Spencer himself, that where the system of female kinship now subsists35 “male parentage is habitually36 known.”273 It is true that he supposes male kinship to be disregarded, but this conclusion appears to me not to be supported by sufficient evidence.

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That there may have been a short period of barbarism in which the intercourse37 between the sexes was unrestrained by any law of marriage is possible. Probably, as female chastity before marriage is even now but slightly regarded among most uncultured peoples, all sexual alliances were allowable, so long as the rule as to consanguinity38 was not infringed39, and so long as no offspring resulted from the alliance,274 where this was entered into without the consent of parents. This consent would be necessary in all cases where such alliances were formed by females for marital40 purposes, and the sanction required would be that of the family head at the early period we are treating of. Judging from what we observe among modern savages we cannot doubt that self-interest chiefly would govern the father in connection with his daughter’s marriage. He would make certain requisitions as the price of his consent. Whether the marriage was to be a permanent or a terminable engagement, the father would stipulate41 that his daughter should continue to live with or near him, and that her children should belong to the family group of which he is the head. In this case not only would the children form part of the family to which their mother belonged, but the husband himself would become united to it, and would be required to labour for the benefit of his father-in-law.

A custom still prevalent among the New Zealanders may be cited in illustration. The Reverend Richard Taylor says:201 “Sometimes the father simply told his intended son-in-law he might come and live with his daughter; she was thenceforth considered his wife, he lived with his father-in-law, and became one of his tribe or hapu to which his wife belonged, and in case of war was often obliged to fight against his own relatives.” Mr. Taylor adds, that so common is the custom of the bridegroom going to live with his wife’s family, that it frequently occurs; when he refuses to do so, she will leave him, and go back to her relatives.275 When the wife left her father’s house to reside with her husband he had to purchase the privilege by giving her father and other relations handsome presents.276 As among the New Zealanders, children belonged to their father’s family, the fact of the wife going to reside among her husband’s relations meant the loss by her father’s family of the children. The presents may, therefore, be supposed to represent the price given by a man for his wife’s offspring to her relations. This opinion is confirmed by reference to the marriage customs of a West African people. Mr. John Kizell, in his correspondence with Governor Columbine, respecting his negotiations42 with the chiefs in the River Sherbro, says:202 “The young women are not allowed to have whom they like for a husband; the choice rests with the parents. If a man wishes to marry the daughter, he must bring to the value of twenty or thirty bars to the father and mother; if they like the man, and the brother likes him, then they will call all their family together, and tell them, ‘we have a man in the house who wishes to have our daughter; it is that which makes us call the family together, that they may know it.’ Then the friends inquire what he has brought with him? the man tells them. They then tell him to go and bring a quantity of palm wine. When he returns, they again call the family together; they all place themselves on the ground, and drink the wine, and then give him his wife. In this case, all the children he has by her are his, but if he gives nothing for his wife, then the children will all be taken from him, and will belong to the woman’s family; he will have nothing to do with them.”277

Mr. Taylor says that the ancient and most general way of obtaining a wife among the New Zealanders was “for the gentleman to summon his friends, and make a regular taua, or fight, to carry off the lady by force, and ofttimes with great violence.”278 A fight also took place if, when a girl was given in marriage, the friends of another man thought he had a greater right to her, or if she eloped with some one contrary to her father’s or brother’s wish. Even if all were agreeable, “it was still customary for the bridegroom to go with a party, and appear to take her away by force, her friends yielding her up after a feigned43 struggle; a few days afterwards, the parents of the lady, with all her relatives, came upon the bridegroom for his pretended abduction; after much speaking and apparent anger, it ended with his making a handsome present of fine mats, &c., and giving an abundant feast.”279 In this case the affair ended in the same manner as the203 African marriage already referred to, and the idea was no doubt the same in both—the giving of compensation to the parents and relations of the woman for the loss sustained by them through her offspring being removed from the family group; probably the widespread custom of pretended forcible marriage was originally connected with the rights of the woman’s relations, although sometimes the capture is due to the desire to obtain for nothing what could otherwise be acquired only by a purchase fee.

What those rights are may be ascertained44 from the information given us by Mr. Morgan as to the privileges and obligations associated with the membership of a gens. Among them is an obligation not to marry in the gens, mutual45 rights of inheritance of the property of deceased members, and reciprocal obligations of help, defence, and redress46 of injuries. “The functions and attributes of the gens,” says Morgan, “gave vitality47 as well as individuality to the organisation, and protected the personal rights of its members,”280 who, as being connected by the ties of blood relationship, may be regarded as forming an enlarged family group, or rather a fraternal association based on kinship.

The gens would, however, form too large a group for ordinary social purposes, and a smaller group would be composed of those more immediately allied48 by blood. Thus, although theoretically the effects of a deceased person were distributed among his gentile relations, yet Morgan admits that204 “practically they were appropriated by the nearest of kin.”281 Among the Iroquois, if a man died leaving a wife and children, his property was distributed among his gentiles in such a manner that his sisters and their children, and his maternal uncles, would receive the most of it. His brothers might receive a small portion. An analogous49 rule prevailed when a woman died. The property remained in the gens in either case,282 although its division was restricted to a small number of gentiles. It could not have been otherwise where the members of the gens are numerous or widely distributed. The same principle would apply in relation to rights over children, who in a low social stage are looked upon in the light of property. Among the aborigines of America each gens had personal names that were used by it alone, and, says Morgan, a gentile name conferred of itself gentile rights. Now, although a child was not fully christened until its birth and name had been announced to the council of the tribe, its name was selected by its mother with the concurrence50 of her nearest relatives. Morgan says nothing of any right of the gens over the marriage of its members, and it would seem not to have any voice in the matter. The formation of the alliance is usually left to the two individuals more immediately concerned or to their near relations,283 and the marriage price belongs to the parents and near kin of the wife. This, in the absence of the marriage price, would be the case also with the children born of her marriage, on the principle that205 “children are the wealth of savages.” Reference to the custom of blood revenge confirms the view that, for certain purposes, a smaller family group than the gens is recognised by the peoples having that organisation. Mr. Morgan thinks the practice of blood revenge had “its birthplace in the gens,” which was bound to avenge51 the murder of one of its members. He says further that it was “the duty of the gens of the slayer52, and of the slain53, to attempt an adjustment of the crime before proceeding54 to extremities55.” It rested, however, with the gentile kindred of the slain person to decide whether a composition for the crime should be accepted, showing that they were considered the persons more immediately concerned. The crime of murder is, as Mr. Morgan says, “as old as human society, and its punishment by the revenge of kinsmen56 is as old as the crime itself.”284 This is hardly consistent with the preceding statement that the practice of blood revenge had its birthplace in the gens. It preceded the development of the gens, and originated with the smaller family group which, as we have seen, is more immediately connected with property and children and the marriage of its female members. Those who are liable to the obligations of the law of blood revenge in any particular case must be identified, and, as they can hardly comprise all the members of the gens, we must suppose them to be restricted to the smaller group consisting of near blood relations. Judging from what we know of the habits of the Australian aborigines in relation to the lex talionis, we cannot doubt that the persons subject206 to retaliation57 in any particular case are well defined.

The example of the Polynesian Islanders, who are said not to have risen to the conception of the gens, shows that before this was developed, not only was the lex talionis recognised, but the law of marriage and the rights of parents over their children were fully established. These are, therefore, not dependent on the gens, but are incidental to a simpler group of blood relations—that on which the gens itself is based. The idea of “brotherhood58” is at the foundation of all these early social organisations. Mr. Morgan says, in relation to the Iroquois phratry, that “the phratry is a brotherhood, as the term imports, and a natural growth from the organisation into gentes. It is an organic union or association of two or more gentes of the same tribe for certain common objects. These gentes were usually such as had been formed by the segmentation of an original gens.”285 So also, a gens forms a fraternal association, as it consists of “a body of consanguinei descended from the same common ancestor, distinguished by a gentile name, and bound together by affinities of blood.”286 If we trace the ascent59 until we come to the common ancestor, we shall have a group of kinsmen who compose the simplest form of “brotherhood,” that of a parent and his or her children. Originally this would be a mother and her daughters, as when the sons formed marriage associations the daughters only and their children would be left under the parental60 roof. It is evident, therefore, that the primitive family cannot have207 originated within the gens or clan. On the contrary, the clan was based on the family or group of kinsmen, without which it could not have existed. Moreover, it by no means follows that, because the common ancestor of the members of the gens or clan was a female, the primitive group of kinsmen had not a male as well as a female head. Considered as a “fraternal association,” the father may have been excluded, but for the purposes of the brotherhood it was of no importance whether paternity was certain or uncertain. The result would have been the same in either case. For other than brotherhood purposes kinship to the father may have been fully recognised. The obligations of the lex talionis, the right to property, and the control of children in marriage, may have concerned only the kinsmen by the mother’s side, but those on the father’s side may have been equally affected61 by the law of marriage. That such was the case I have sought to establish elsewhere, as evidenced by the classificatory system of relationships, and that view is confirmed by various facts showing that kinship by the male side is fully recognised among savages.

I have already had occasion to refer to Mr. M’Lennan’s admission that, if “marriage was, from its beginning, monogamous, kinship would certainly (human nature being as it now is) have been traced through fathers, if not indeed through fathers only, from the first.”287 Mr. Herbert Spencer, although apparently thinking that promiscuity in the relations of the sexes was originally extensive, yet supposes that it was accompanied by monogamic connections of208 a limited duration. He says that “always the state of having two wives must be preceded by the state of having one,” and he looks upon the preference for the maternal kinship rather than paternal kinship as a habit, arising from the fact that the former is observed in all cases, whilst the latter is inferable only in some cases.288 Mr. Spencer’s admission that where the system of female kinship now subsists, “male parentage is habitually known, though disregarded,” greatly weakens his position, the more so as we are not told why or when it is disregarded.289 Mr. Morgan goes far towards supplying an explanation of the fact, although his theory is defective62. He affirms that gentile kin were superior to other kin only because it conferred the rights and privileges of a gens, and not because no other kin was recognised. “Whether in or out of the gens, a brother was recognised as a brother, a father as a father, a son as a son, and the same term was applied63 in either case without discrimination between them.”290 Mr. Morgan does not, however, admit of certainty of paternity, although he states that “they did not reject kinship through males because of uncertainty, but gave the benefit of the doubt to a number of persons—probable fathers being placed in the category of real fathers, probable brothers in that of real brothers, and probable sons in that of real sons.”291 This explanation is plausible64 but insufficient65, if, as Mr. Morgan says, descent in the female line is only a rule of a gens.292 In this case, female descent209 cannot have existed before the gens, and recognition of kinship through the father may have subsisted66 prior to the formation of the gens, together with that of the relationship between mother and child on which such descent is founded. This would seem to be required by the facts mentioned by Mr. Morgan in relation to the social institutions of the American aborigines. He says “an Indian tribe is composed of several gentes developed from two or more, all the members of which are intermingled by marriage, and all of them speak the same dialect. To a stranger the tribe is visible and not the gens.”293 Originally, therefore, the tribe consisted of two gentes, that is of the descendants from two female common ancestors, and, as the gentes are not visible to a stranger, we must suppose that the tribe originally represented the male head of the primitive family group to which the female common ancestors belonged. On this supposition the primitive group consisted of a male and two females, the former being the recognised representative of the group, although the descent of its members is traced through the latter. This view is quite consistent with the explanation I have elsewhere given of the classificatory system of relationship, which undoubtedly requires the full recognition for certain purposes of blood relationship through both the father and the mother.

The conclusion thus arrived at is confirmed by what we know of the opinions entertained by peoples among whom the gentile organisation is fully developed. Carver, as quoted by Sir John Lubbock, states that among the Hudson’s Bay Indians, children always take210 the name of their mother. The reason they give for this is, “that as their offspring are indebted to the father for their souls, the invisible part of their essence, and to the mother for their corporal and apparent part, it is more rational that they should be distinguished by the name of the latter, from whom they indubitably derive67 their being, than by that of the father, to which a doubt might arise whether they are justly entitled.”294 The reason given by the Hudson’s Bay Indians why children are called after their mothers shows that the system of female kinship is quite consistent with the recognition of kinship through the male. No doubt the mother is regarded by savages as having a closer physical relationship to her child than their father, but it is incredible to suppose that the latter could ever be looked upon as having no closer relationship to it than a stranger in blood. If the mother had several husbands the actual paternity may not be certain, but, as the father must be one of several well-ascertained individuals, the paternity is only rendered less certain, and the child may be regarded as having several fathers, and claim kinship through them all. If they are sons of the same father, that kinship will be with the same persons as though its mother had but one husband. Under the conditions I have supposed, however, where a woman takes, as her husband, a man who lives with her among her own relations, there would not be any uncertainty as to paternity, and therefore the stronger relationship supposed between mother and child must have originated in the close physical connection211 observed to subsist24 between them. This does not, however, explain the origin of clan relationship based on kinship through females only, which is connected with the fact of the members of a woman’s clan possessing certain rights over her and her children. These rights would not be affected, even if the primitive custom of the woman continuing to live among her relations after marriage were departed from. Before this took place, the system of female kinship would have become firmly established, and it would be confirmed, although it could not be originated, by the idea that, as the wife may not be faithful to her husband, there is more certainty about maternity than paternity.

The fact that a man’s heirs are usually his sister’s children, shows that consanguinity is of great importance in the eyes of uncultured peoples, and what has been advanced is quite sufficient to account for that fact without assuming the existence of a state of promiscuity in the relations between the sexes. Such a state is not consistent with the abhorrence68 which even savages show to the marriage of persons of near blood relationship, and it has no support at all in the observed phenomena of savage life. The punalua custom of the Polynesian Islanders, which has its counterpart among the Todas of the Neilgherries, and traces of which may perhaps be found, on the one hand, in the fraternal polyandry of the Tibetans, and, on the other hand, in the sororal polygamy of the North American aborigines, is neither promiscuous69 nor incestuous in the proper sense of these words. The possession by several brothers of wives in com212mon, who may themselves be sisters, or by several sisters of husbands in common, who may be brothers, may, as I have elsewhere suggested, have originally been due to the feeling that marriage has a spiritual as well as a physical significance. Punalua was really an application of the idea of brotherhood to marriage, and it is not surprising that, among uncultured peoples, the having wives or husbands in common should be considered a high mark of friendship.

It is important to notice that among the peoples who have developed or perfected the gentile institution, a rule of which is descent in the female line, the husband is the head of the household, and the wife little more than a servant, so long as they continue to live together. It is true, as Lahontan states,295 that the wife has the same power of divorce as the husband, but so long as she remains70 in his cabin she is treated by him as a drudge71 and a mere29 child-bearer. As women they have some influence in the tribe, but this is only when they have children to give them dignity. The Polynesian Islanders not having risen to the conception of a gens, it is, perhaps, not surprising that woman is usually regarded by them as an inferior creature. Her position as a woman is, however, better than that of a wife, in which capacity she is cared for as little as among the American aborigines. Her condition is mitigated72 only under the influence of the Areoi Institution, and where she enters into the punaluan engagement. If it is true, as Mr. Morgan states, that213 “the Australians rank below the Polynesians, and far below the American aborigines,” we cannot wonder that the position of woman among the Australian aborigines is one of great inferiority. In fact, among them wives are considered as articles of property, and not only do they suffer great privations, but they are most barbarously treated. The last-named people practice the simplest form of obtaining wives, that of capture by cunning and personal violence, but in most of their tribes descent is in the female line, and the gens or clan is developed more or less perfectly73. And yet the Australian aborigines possess marriage regulations which seem formed for the express purpose of preventing the intermarriage of blood relations, and which fully recognise kinship by the male line.

A modern French writer of great authority, Fustel de Coulanges, affirms that the ancient family was constituted chiefly by religion, the first institution of which was marriage. The family gives rise to the gens, and “with its elder and younger branches, its servants and dependents, formed possibly a very numerous group of persons.” Such a family, says de Coulanges, “thanks to the religion which maintained its unity74, thanks to its special privileges which rendered it indivisible, thanks to the laws of protection which retained its dependents, formed in time a widespread society under an hereditary75 chief.”296 This view of the primitive family possesses much truth, although it leaves out of sight one of the most essential features of the family among uncultured peoples. The same may214 be said in relation to the patriarchal family of Sir Henry Maine. This writer says that “the earliest tie which knitted men together in communities was consanguinity or kinship,” and that “there was no brotherhood recognised by our savage forefathers76, except actual consanguinity regarded as a fact.”297 He adds, that “kinship, as the tie, binding77 communities together, tends to be regarded as the same thing with subjection to a common authority.” The notions of power and consanguinity are blended, a mixture of ideas which is seen “in the subjection of the smallest group, the family, to its patriarchal head.”298 “This group,” says Sir Henry Maine, “consists of animate78 and inanimate property, of wife, children, slaves, land and goods, all held together by subjection to the despotic authority of the eldest79 male of the eldest ascending80 line, the father, grandfather, or even more remote ancestor. The force which binds81 the group together is power. A child adopted into the patriarchal family belongs to it as perfectly as the child naturally born into it, and a child who severs82 his connection with it is lost to it altogether.” The patriarchal family of Maine thus differs from the ancient family of de Coulanges in its binding force, which in the one case is power, and in the other religion, forces which are, nevertheless, reconciled by the fact that the chief element in this religion is the ancestral idea which is at the base of the patriarchal family. This view of the nature of the ancient family would be complete if215 it provided for the fact, revealed by the study of primitive institutions as now exhibited among uncultured peoples, that descent was originally traced by the female line in preference to the male line. The defect thus revealed will, however, be removed if it can be shown, as I have endeavoured to do, that descent through the male is, for certain purposes, recognised equally with that through the female. Mr. Herbert Spencer, in his “Principles of Sociology,” refers,299 as follows, to a suggestion made by Mr. Fiske, which contains an important truth bearing on the subject of this paper: “Postulating the general law that, in proportion as organisms are complex, they evolve slowly, he infers that the prolongation of infancy83 which accompanied development of the less intelligent primates84 into the more intelligent ones, implied greater duration of parental care. Children, not so soon capable of providing for themselves, had to be longer nurtured85 by female parents, to some extent indeed by male parents, individually or jointly86; and hence resulted a bond holding together parents and offspring for longer periods, and tending to initiate87 the family. That this has been a co-operating factor in social evolution is very probable.” The bond thus formed shows its influence even among the lowest savages, in the natural affection which subsists between a mother and her children, when these escape the not unusual fate of infanticide. Natural affection is less operative with male parents, but there are other feelings which have relation chiefly to male children which tend to form an equally binding tie. Mr. Spencer216 remarks that “to the yearnings of natural affection are added, in early stages of progress, certain motives88, partly personal, partly social, which help to secure the lives of children, but which, at the same time, initiate differences of status between children of different sexes. There is the desire to strengthen the tribe in war; there is the wish to have a future avenger89 on individual enemies; there is the anxiety to leave behind one who shall perform the funeral rites90 and continue oblations at the grave.”300 These motives must have been influential91 from the earliest period at which mankind consisted of more than a few small and isolated92 groups, and, therefore, we must assume that in these groups the male element was equally as strong as the female element, if, indeed, they had not a male head. Mr. Spencer remarks further that those motives, “strengthening as societies passed through the earlier stages, gradually gave a certain authority to the claims of male children, though not to those of females.”301 These ideas are quite inconsistent with the notion that the family group ever consisted only of a female ancestor and her children, or that the woman was originally the head of, and supreme in, the family. The custom of tracing descent by the female line shows, however, that for certain purposes the woman occupied an important position, although it may, when the practice of wives going to reside among their husband’s relations become established, have tended to confirm that of female infanticide, as the children would be lost to the217 mother’s family group. One of the motives referred to by Mr. Spencer would, after the idea of special kinship through females had become established, affect more especially the persons bound together by a maternal tie. Where the gentile organisation is established the duty of revenging private injuries is confined to the other members of the common gens. The duty of defence against the external enemy belongs, however, to the tribe, which here undoubtedly stands in the place of the original family group, in which both male and female kinship, with their special duties, was recognised, represented by its male head. This group we must suppose, therefore, had much in common with Sir Henry Maine’s patriarchal family. Under the head of the oldest living male ancestor, it embraced wife or wives, children and dependents. The repugnance93 to marriages between blood relations, which seems almost instinctive94 to man, would prevent such alliances between the members of the group. The male children, when they reached the age of manhood, would leave the paternal roof, and obtain wives from other groups, with which they would become associated on the principle of adoption95, while, on the other hand, young men from other groups would take their places as the husbands of the female children. It would be during this primitive period that the idea of a special relationship subsisting between a mother and her children, on which the custom of tracing descent through the female is founded, would become formed, as already mentioned. The importance attached to female kinship would be increased by the development of a fraternal feeling among the children of the same218 mother, a feeling which would be strengthened if, as would probably not seldom be the case, men, after some years of cohabitation with their wives, left their children solely to the mother’s care. Under the influence of these various ideas and circumstances the custom of tracing kinship for certain purposes in the female line would be developed by the time that the habit had been formed of wives leaving their parents to reside among their husband’s family. As when this took place, the custom would be firmly established under the influence of polygamy, the development of the gentile organisation would almost necessarily follow. The primitive idea of kinship through the father would, however, still remain in full force with the attributes which originally appertained to it—namely, the headship in the family group of the eldest male ancestor, whose authority is practically represented by the tribe, and the non-intermarriage of those thus connected.


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1 disintegrated e36fb4ffadd6df797ee64cbd05a02790     
v.(使)破裂[分裂,粉碎],(使)崩溃( disintegrate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The plane disintegrated as it fell into the sea. 飞机坠入大海时解体了。
  • The box was so old;it just disintegrated when I picked it up. 那箱子太破旧了,我刚一提就散了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 kin 22Zxv     
n.家族,亲属,血缘关系;adj.亲属关系的,同类的
参考例句:
  • He comes of good kin.他出身好。
  • She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。
3 solely FwGwe     
adv.仅仅,唯一地
参考例句:
  • Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
  • The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。
4 phenomena 8N9xp     
n.现象
参考例句:
  • Ade couldn't relate the phenomena with any theory he knew.艾德无法用他所知道的任何理论来解释这种现象。
  • The object of these experiments was to find the connection,if any,between the two phenomena.这些实验的目的就是探索这两种现象之间的联系,如果存在着任何联系的话。
5 conclusively NvVzwY     
adv.令人信服地,确凿地
参考例句:
  • All this proves conclusively that she couldn't have known the truth. 这一切无可置疑地证明她不可能知道真相。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • From the facts,he was able to determine conclusively that the death was not a suicide. 根据这些事实他断定这起死亡事件并非自杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 possessed xuyyQ     
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的
参考例句:
  • He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
  • He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。
7 atoned 25563c9b777431278872a64e99ce1e52     
v.补偿,赎(罪)( atone的过去式和过去分词 );补偿,弥补,赎回
参考例句:
  • He atoned for his sin with life. 他以生命赎罪。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • She had atoned for everything by the sacrifice she had made of her life. 她用牺牲生命来抵偿了一切。 来自辞典例句
8 uncertainty NlFwK     
n.易变,靠不住,不确知,不确定的事物
参考例句:
  • Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
  • After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后,压力开始产生影响了。
9 primitive vSwz0     
adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物
参考例句:
  • It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
  • His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。
10 promiscuity nRtxp     
n.混杂,混乱;(男女的)乱交
参考例句:
  • Promiscuity went unpunished, divorce was permitted. 乱交挨不着惩罚,离婚办得成手续。 来自英汉文学
  • There is also no doubt that she falls into promiscuity at last. 同时无疑她最后也堕入性乱。 来自互联网
11 feign Hgozz     
vt.假装,佯作
参考例句:
  • He used to feign an excuse.他惯于伪造口实。
  • She knew that her efforts to feign cheerfulness weren't convincing.她明白自己强作欢颜是瞒不了谁的。
12 clan Dq5zi     
n.氏族,部落,宗族,家族,宗派
参考例句:
  • She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
  • The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以,中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。
13 organisation organisation     
n.组织,安排,团体,有机休
参考例句:
  • The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
  • His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。
14 prohibition 7Rqxw     
n.禁止;禁令,禁律
参考例句:
  • The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
  • They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。
15 descended guQzoy     
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的
参考例句:
  • A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
  • The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。
16 distinguished wu9z3v     
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的
参考例句:
  • Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
  • A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。
17 affinities 6d46cb6c8d10f10c6f4b77ba066932cc     
n.密切关系( affinity的名词复数 );亲近;(生性)喜爱;类同
参考例句:
  • Cubism had affinities with the new European interest in Jazz. 主体派和欧洲新近的爵士音乐热有密切关系。 来自辞典例句
  • The different isozymes bind calcium ions with different affinities. 不同的同功酶以不同的亲和力与钙离子相结合。 来自辞典例句
18 horde 9dLzL     
n.群众,一大群
参考例句:
  • A horde of children ran over the office building.一大群孩子在办公大楼里到处奔跑。
  • Two women were quarrelling on the street,surrounded by horde of people.有两个妇人在街上争吵,被一大群人围住了。
19 supreme PHqzc     
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
参考例句:
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
20 supremacy 3Hzzd     
n.至上;至高权力
参考例句:
  • No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员,无人能胜过她。
  • Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说,她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。
21 savages 2ea43ddb53dad99ea1c80de05d21d1e5     
未开化的人,野蛮人( savage的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • There're some savages living in the forest. 森林里居住着一些野人。
  • That's an island inhabited by savages. 那是一个野蛮人居住的岛屿。
22 savage ECxzR     
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人
参考例句:
  • The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
  • He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。
23 subsisting 7be6b596734a881a8f6dddc7dddb424d     
v.(靠很少的钱或食物)维持生活,生存下去( subsist的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Perfect God and perfect man, of a reasonable soul and human subsisting. 衪是完全的神又是完全的人,且有理性的灵魂和人类血肉之躯。 来自互联网
  • The benevolence subsisting in her character draws her friends closer to her. 存在于她性格中的仁慈吸引她的朋友们接近她。 来自互联网
24 subsist rsYwy     
vi.生存,存在,供养
参考例句:
  • We are unable to subsist without air and water.没有空气和水我们就活不下去。
  • He could subsist on bark and grass roots in the isolated island.在荒岛上他只能靠树皮和草根维持生命。
25 indifference k8DxO     
n.不感兴趣,不关心,冷淡,不在乎
参考例句:
  • I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
  • He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。
26 undoubtedly Mfjz6l     
adv.确实地,无疑地
参考例句:
  • It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
  • He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。
27 tribal ifwzzw     
adj.部族的,种族的
参考例句:
  • He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
  • The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。
28 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
29 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过
参考例句:
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
30 maternity kjbyx     
n.母性,母道,妇产科病房;adj.孕妇的,母性的
参考例句:
  • Women workers are entitled to maternity leave with full pay.女工产假期间工资照发。
  • Trainee nurses have to work for some weeks in maternity.受训的护士必须在产科病房工作数周。
31 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
参考例句:
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
32 interpretation P5jxQ     
n.解释,说明,描述;艺术处理
参考例句:
  • His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
  • Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。
33 maternal 57Azi     
adj.母亲的,母亲般的,母系的,母方的
参考例句:
  • He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
  • The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。
34 paternal l33zv     
adj.父亲的,像父亲的,父系的,父方的
参考例句:
  • I was brought up by my paternal aunt.我是姑姑扶养大的。
  • My father wrote me a letter full of his paternal love for me.我父亲给我写了一封充满父爱的信。
35 subsists 256a862ff189725c560f521eddab1f11     
v.(靠很少的钱或食物)维持生活,生存下去( subsist的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • This plant subsists in water holes only during the rainy season. 这种植物只有雨季在水坑里出现。 来自辞典例句
  • The hinge is that the enterprise subsists on suiting the development of data communication. 适应数据通信的发展是通信企业生存的关键。 来自互联网
36 habitually 4rKzgk     
ad.习惯地,通常地
参考例句:
  • The pain of the disease caused him habitually to furrow his brow. 病痛使他习惯性地紧皱眉头。
  • Habitually obedient to John, I came up to his chair. 我已经习惯于服从约翰,我来到他的椅子跟前。
37 intercourse NbMzU     
n.性交;交流,交往,交际
参考例句:
  • The magazine becomes a cultural medium of intercourse between the two peoples.该杂志成为两民族间文化交流的媒介。
  • There was close intercourse between them.他们过往很密。
38 consanguinity TY4yJ     
n.血缘;亲族
参考例句:
  • Aside from a thorough medical family history,there is no need to offer any genetic testing on the basis of consanguinity alone.除了需要一份详尽的家庭病史之外,没有必要仅根据有血缘关系这一条理由就进行任何的基因测试。
  • The identity in the primitive society was based on consanguinity.原始社会存在的身份是建立在血缘基础之上的。
39 infringed dcbf74ba9f59f98b16436456ca618de0     
v.违反(规章等)( infringe的过去式和过去分词 );侵犯(某人的权利);侵害(某人的自由、权益等)
参考例句:
  • Wherever the troops went, they never infringed on the people's interests. 大军过处,秋毫无犯。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • He was arrested on a charge of having infringed the Election Law. 他因被指控触犯选举法而被拘捕。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
40 marital SBixg     
adj.婚姻的,夫妻的
参考例句:
  • Her son had no marital problems.她的儿子没有婚姻问题。
  • I regret getting involved with my daughter's marital problems;all its done is to bring trouble about my ears.我后悔干涉我女儿的婚姻问题, 现在我所做的一切将给我带来无穷的烦恼。
41 stipulate shhyP     
vt.规定,(作为条件)讲定,保证
参考例句:
  • International rules stipulate the number of foreign entrants.国际规则规定了外国参赛者的人数。
  • Some manufacturers stipulate the price at which their goods are to be sold.有些制造商规定出售他们生产的商品的价格。
42 negotiations af4b5f3e98e178dd3c4bac64b625ecd0     
协商( negotiation的名词复数 ); 谈判; 完成(难事); 通过
参考例句:
  • negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
  • Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。
43 feigned Kt4zMZ     
a.假装的,不真诚的
参考例句:
  • He feigned indifference to criticism of his work. 他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。
  • He accepted the invitation with feigned enthusiasm. 他假装热情地接受了邀请。
44 ascertained e6de5c3a87917771a9555db9cf4de019     
v.弄清,确定,查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The previously unidentified objects have now been definitely ascertained as being satellites. 原来所说的不明飞行物现在已证实是卫星。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I ascertained that she was dead. 我断定她已经死了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
45 mutual eFOxC     
adj.相互的,彼此的;共同的,共有的
参考例句:
  • We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
  • Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。
46 redress PAOzS     
n.赔偿,救济,矫正;v.纠正,匡正,革除
参考例句:
  • He did all that he possibly could to redress the wrongs.他尽了一切努力革除弊端。
  • Any man deserves redress if he has been injured unfairly.任何人若蒙受不公平的损害都应获得赔偿。
47 vitality lhAw8     
n.活力,生命力,效力
参考例句:
  • He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后,身强体壮,充满活力。
  • He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。
48 allied iLtys     
adj.协约国的;同盟国的
参考例句:
  • Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
  • Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。
49 analogous aLdyQ     
adj.相似的;类似的
参考例句:
  • The two situations are roughly analogous.两种情況大致相似。
  • The company is in a position closely analogous to that of its main rival.该公司与主要竞争对手的处境极为相似。
50 concurrence InAyF     
n.同意;并发
参考例句:
  • There is a concurrence of opinion between them.他们的想法一致。
  • The concurrence of their disappearances had to be more than coincidental.他们同时失踪肯定不仅仅是巧合。
51 avenge Zutzl     
v.为...复仇,为...报仇
参考例句:
  • He swore to avenge himself on the mafia.他发誓说要向黑手党报仇。
  • He will avenge the people on their oppressor.他将为人民向压迫者报仇。
52 slayer slayer     
n. 杀人者,凶手
参考例句:
  • The young man was Oedipus, who thus unknowingly became the slayer of his own father. 这位青年就是俄狄浦斯。他在不明真相的情况下杀死了自己的父亲。
  • May I depend on you to stand by me and my daughters, then, deer-slayer? 如此说来,我可以指望你照料我和女儿了,杀鹿人?
53 slain slain     
杀死,宰杀,杀戮( slay的过去分词 ); (slay的过去分词)
参考例句:
  • The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
  • His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。
54 proceeding Vktzvu     
n.行动,进行,(pl.)会议录,学报
参考例句:
  • This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
  • The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。
55 extremities AtOzAr     
n.端点( extremity的名词复数 );尽头;手和足;极窘迫的境地
参考例句:
  • She was most noticeable, I thought, in respect of her extremities. 我觉得她那副穷极可怜的样子实在太惹人注目。 来自辞典例句
  • Winters may be quite cool at the northwestern extremities. 西北边区的冬天也可能会相当凉。 来自辞典例句
56 kinsmen c5ea7acc38333f9b25a15dbb3150a419     
n.家属,亲属( kinsman的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Kinsmen are less kind than friends. 投亲不如访友。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • One deeply grateful is better than kinsmen or firends. 受恩深处胜亲朋。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
57 retaliation PWwxD     
n.报复,反击
参考例句:
  • retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
  • He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
58 brotherhood 1xfz3o     
n.兄弟般的关系,手中情谊
参考例句:
  • They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
  • They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。
59 ascent TvFzD     
n.(声望或地位)提高;上升,升高;登高
参考例句:
  • His rapid ascent in the social scale was surprising.他的社会地位提高之迅速令人吃惊。
  • Burke pushed the button and the elevator began its slow ascent.伯克按动电钮,电梯开始缓慢上升。
60 parental FL2xv     
adj.父母的;父的;母的
参考例句:
  • He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
  • Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。
61 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
62 defective qnLzZ     
adj.有毛病的,有问题的,有瑕疵的
参考例句:
  • The firm had received bad publicity over a defective product. 该公司因为一件次品而受到媒体攻击。
  • If the goods prove defective, the customer has the right to compensation. 如果货品证明有缺陷, 顾客有权索赔。
63 applied Tz2zXA     
adj.应用的;v.应用,适用
参考例句:
  • She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
  • This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。
64 plausible hBCyy     
adj.似真实的,似乎有理的,似乎可信的
参考例句:
  • His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
  • Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。
65 insufficient L5vxu     
adj.(for,of)不足的,不够的
参考例句:
  • There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
  • In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代,科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。
66 subsisted d36c0632da7a5cceb815e51e7c5d4aa2     
v.(靠很少的钱或食物)维持生活,生存下去( subsist的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Before liberation he subsisted on wild potatoes. 解放前他靠吃野薯度日。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Survivors of the air crash subsisted on wild fruits. 空难事件的幸存者以野果维持生命。 来自辞典例句
67 derive hmLzH     
v.取得;导出;引申;来自;源自;出自
参考例句:
  • We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
  • We shall derive much benefit from reading good novels.我们将从优秀小说中获得很大好处。
68 abhorrence Vyiz7     
n.憎恶;可憎恶的事
参考例句:
  • This nation has an abhorrence of terrrorism.这个民族憎恶恐怖主义。
  • It is an abhorrence to his feeling.这是他深恶痛绝的事。
69 promiscuous WBJyG     
adj.杂乱的,随便的
参考例句:
  • They were taking a promiscuous stroll when it began to rain.他们正在那漫无目的地散步,突然下起雨来。
  • Alec know that she was promiscuous and superficial.亚历克知道她是乱七八糟和浅薄的。
70 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
参考例句:
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
71 drudge rk8z2     
n.劳碌的人;v.做苦工,操劳
参考例句:
  • I feel like a real drudge--I've done nothing but clean all day!我觉得自己像个做苦工的--整天都在做清洁工作!
  • I'm a poor,miserable,forlorn drudge;I shall only drag you down with me.我是一个贫穷,倒运,走投无路的苦力,只会拖累你。
72 mitigated 11f6ba011e9341e258d534efd94f05b2     
v.减轻,缓和( mitigate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The cost of getting there is mitigated by Sydney's offer of a subsidy. 由于悉尼提供补助金,所以到那里的花费就减少了。 来自辞典例句
  • The living conditions were slightly mitigated. 居住条件稍有缓解。 来自辞典例句
73 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
74 unity 4kQwT     
n.团结,联合,统一;和睦,协调
参考例句:
  • When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结,并非一团和气。
  • We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前,我们必须加强团结。
75 hereditary fQJzF     
adj.遗传的,遗传性的,可继承的,世袭的
参考例句:
  • The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。
  • In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。
76 forefathers EsTzkE     
n.祖先,先人;祖先,祖宗( forefather的名词复数 );列祖列宗;前人
参考例句:
  • They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left. 它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • All of us bristled at the lawyer's speech insulting our forefathers. 听到那个律师在讲演中污蔑我们的祖先,大家都气得怒发冲冠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
77 binding 2yEzWb     
有约束力的,有效的,应遵守的
参考例句:
  • The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
  • Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。
78 animate 3MDyv     
v.赋于生命,鼓励;adj.有生命的,有生气的
参考例句:
  • We are animate beings,living creatures.我们是有生命的存在,有生命的动物。
  • The girls watched,little teasing smiles animating their faces.女孩们注视着,脸上挂着调皮的微笑,显得愈加活泼。
79 eldest bqkx6     
adj.最年长的,最年老的
参考例句:
  • The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
  • The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。
80 ascending CyCzrc     
adj.上升的,向上的
参考例句:
  • Now draw or trace ten dinosaurs in ascending order of size.现在按照体型由小到大的顺序画出或是临摹出10只恐龙。
81 binds c1d4f6440575ef07da0adc7e8adbb66c     
v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 );装订;捆绑;(用长布条)缠绕
参考例句:
  • Frost binds the soil. 霜使土壤凝结。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Stones and cement binds strongly. 石头和水泥凝固得很牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》
82 severs eb765f65d3310773d977468629157a1d     
v.切断,断绝( sever的第三人称单数 );断,裂
参考例句:
  • He shut his eyes to the severs reality. 对于这严峻的现实,他是闭着眼睛不肯看的。 来自《用法词典》
  • It practically severs the Mediterranean. 实际上是将地中海分开。 来自辞典例句
83 infancy F4Ey0     
n.婴儿期;幼年期;初期
参考例句:
  • He came to England in his infancy.他幼年时期来到英国。
  • Their research is only in its infancy.他们的研究处于初级阶段。
84 primates 9536f12c27d026e37c108bd6fc53dbba     
primate的复数
参考例句:
  • Primates are alert, inquisitive animals. 灵长目动物是机灵、好奇的动物。
  • Consciousness or cerebration has been said to have emerged in the evolution of higher primates. 据说意识或思考在较高级灵长类的进化中已出现。
85 nurtured 2f8e1ba68cd5024daf2db19178217055     
养育( nurture的过去式和过去分词 ); 培育; 滋长; 助长
参考例句:
  • She is looking fondly at the plants he had nurtured. 她深情地看着他培育的植物。
  • Any latter-day Einstein would still be spotted and nurtured. 任何一个未来的爱因斯坦都会被发现并受到培养。
86 jointly jp9zvS     
ad.联合地,共同地
参考例句:
  • Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
  • She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。
87 initiate z6hxz     
vt.开始,创始,发动;启蒙,使入门;引入
参考例句:
  • A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
  • They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。
88 motives 6c25d038886898b20441190abe240957     
n.动机,目的( motive的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
  • His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。
89 avenger avenger     
n. 复仇者
参考例句:
  • "Tom Sawyer, the Black Avenger of the Spanish Main. “我乃西班牙海黑衣侠盗,汤姆 - 索亚。
  • Avenger's Shield-0.26 threat per hit (0.008 threat per second) 飞盾-0.26仇恨每击(0.08仇恨每秒)
90 rites 5026f3cfef698ee535d713fec44bcf27     
仪式,典礼( rite的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • to administer the last rites to sb 给某人举行临终圣事
  • He is interested in mystic rites and ceremonies. 他对神秘的仪式感兴趣。
91 influential l7oxK     
adj.有影响的,有权势的
参考例句:
  • He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
  • He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。
92 isolated bqmzTd     
adj.与世隔绝的
参考例句:
  • His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
  • Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。
93 repugnance oBWz5     
n.嫌恶
参考例句:
  • He fought down a feelings of repugnance.他抑制住了厌恶感。
  • She had a repugnance to the person with whom she spoke.她看不惯这个和她谈话的人。
94 instinctive c6jxT     
adj.(出于)本能的;直觉的;(出于)天性的
参考例句:
  • He tried to conceal his instinctive revulsion at the idea.他试图饰盖自己对这一想法本能的厌恶。
  • Animals have an instinctive fear of fire.动物本能地怕火。
95 adoption UK7yu     
n.采用,采纳,通过;收养
参考例句:
  • An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
  • The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。


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