If, contrary to the generally accepted idea, within the female organism have been developed those elements which form the basis of human progress, or, if the higher faculties3 are transmitted through the mother, henceforth all examinations into primitive4 conditions and all research into the causes which underlie5 existing institutions must be carried on with reference to this particular fact. Only through a thorough understanding of the principles or forces which govern human development, and a just appreciation6 of the source whence these principles have sprung, may we hope to gain a clear understanding of the past history of the race, or to perceive the true course to be pursued toward further development. Through the investigation7 of facts revealed in the records of Geology, and through the study of com96parative Embryology and Anatomy8, or through an understanding of Zo?logy and Anthropology9, man has well-nigh solved the problem of his origin, or has almost proved his connection with and development from the lower orders of life, but of the countless10 ages which intervened between the era of our ape-like progenitors11 and the dawn of organized society, little may be known without a correct knowledge of the inheritance received by mankind from creatures lower in the scale of being. Only by a careful study of the constitutional bias12 acquired throughout the entire line of development, are we enabled to note the motives13 or forces by which primitive society was controlled, or to form a just conclusion relative to the early conditions of human society and its subsequent progress.
Through the attention which in these later years has been directed toward surviving tribes in the so-called middle and later stages of savagery14, and in the three successive periods of barbarism, have doubtless been revealed many of the processes by which mankind have reached their present condition. Much of the information, however, which has been obtained by these inquiries15 still lacks that accuracy in detail demanded by exact science; but, so soon as the array of facts which the last half-century has brought to bear upon this subject shall have been correctly interpreted, logically arranged, intelligently classified, and without prejudice brought into line with the truths involved97 in the theory of natural development, there will doubtless be approximated a system of truth which will furnish a safe and trustworthy foundation for a more thorough research into the history of the human race.
Although the facts relative to existing undeveloped races, which have been laid before the reading public through the patience and industry of investigators16 in this particular branch of inquiry17, have been of incalculable value as furnishing a foundation for a correct understanding of the origin of the customs, manners, ceremonies, governments, languages, and systems of consanguinity18 and affinity19 of a primitive race, and although without these efforts little knowledge of the early history of mankind could be obtained, yet, as a majority of the theories built upon these observations have been based on long-established prejudices relative to the earliest conditions surrounding human society and the forces by which it was controlled, many false conclusions have been the inevitable20 result.
We have seen that owing to the ascendency which the masculine element in human society gained during the period designated as the Latter Status of barbarism, the popular ideas evolved since that time concerning the origin and development of government, social usages, religion, and law, have been in accordance with the then established assumption that within the male organism lies not only the active, aggressive element, but98 the progressive principle as well. It is not, therefore, singular that at the present time all the lines of investigation which are being directed toward man in a primitive state, or which are being conducted for the avowed21 purpose of ascertaining22 the successive steps by which our social, civil, and religious institutions have been reared, should continue to be carried on under the a priori assumption that the male organism is by nature superior to that of the female.
As in all the theories relative to the development of species the male is the principal factor, so in the theories brought forward to explain the development of human institutions the female has played only an insignificant23 part; but, as all later facts bearing upon this subject furnish indisputable evidence of the early importance of the female element, not only among the lower orders of life but under earlier human conditions as well, we may reasonably expect from these data the establishment, in the not distant future, of a complete chain of evidence in support of a more rational and consistent theory of development than has yet been put forth, not only of the origin of the higher faculties, but of the organization of human society and the growth of its various institutions.
As, hitherto, all the theories advanced relative to the evolution of the human race and the establishment of society on a political and territorial24 basis have been founded on preconceived notions of the superiority of the characters peculiar25 to99 the male, it is believed, or at least assumed, that the ascendency gained by man over woman during the Latter Status of barbarism constitutes a regular, orderly, and necessary step in the direct line of progress; and, as under masculine supremacy26, a certain degree of advancement27 has been possible, it is assumed that the nobler animal, man, having gained the ascendency over the weaker animal, woman, his progress in the future is to increase in a sort of geometrical ratio, while she, still bound by physical disabilities and weighted by the baneful28 effects of past limitations and restrictions29, must continue far in the rear of her better endowed and more thoroughly30 equipped male mate. However, in this conception of the facts of biology, woman is not left without a crumb31 of comfort; for, in the forlorn and helpless condition to which it condemns32 her, she is given to understand that if for many successive generations girls be constantly trained in masculine methods, they may eventually be able to admire, and possibly in a measure to comprehend, some of the less stupendous mental achievements of their brothers; but, according to the savants, any attempt on the part of women to compete with men in the higher walks of life must result in increased physical weakness, in the immediate33 degeneration of the female sex, and in disaster and ruin to the entire race.
When we remember that investigations34 into the conditions surrounding primitive society have100 for the most part been conducted under the influence of prejudices similar to those which have prompted the above assumptions, it is not singular that in a majority of cases in which the early status of women has been discussed, and in which the organization of society, the fundamental principles of government, the origin of the institution of marriage, the monogamic family, and the growth of the god-idea, have been the topics under discussion, the conclusions arrived at have been not wholly warranted by the facts at hand.
In an investigation of the subject of human development, we must bear in mind the fact that all the principal existing institutions have sprung from germs of thought which originated under primitive conditions of the race. Government, language, marriage, the modern family, and our present system of the accumulation and distribution of wealth, have all been evolved from the necessities of early human existence, or from primitive ideas conceived according to the peculiar bias which had been given to the female and male organisms prior to the appearance of mankind upon the earth, and which have since been developed in accordance with the laws which govern human growth.
With their reasoning faculties still undeveloped, and, according to our guides, wholly destitute35 of a moral sense, human beings at the outset of their career could have had no guiding principle other than those instincts which they inherited from101 their mute progenitors. Therefore, in order fully36 to understand the status of the human race as it emerged from its animal conditions, we must bear in mind the nature of the inheritance which it had received during its passage from a formless lump of carbon, or an infinitesimal jelly dot in the primeval sea, to a creature endowed with sympathy, affection, courage, and perseverance37. We must not lose sight of the fact that passion, the all-absorbing quality developed in males belonging to the orders lower in the scale of being, must have been conveyed without diminution38 or material change to man. Neither must we forget that those qualities in the female which had been developed for the protection of the germ, and by which she was enabled to hold in check the abnormally developed appetites of the male, were still in operation.
That Nature disdains39 arbitrary rules, and that she pays little heed40 to the proprieties41 established by man, are facts everywhere to be observed among the lower orders of life. She nevertheless jealously guards the germ and the young of the species. The mother is the natural guardian42 of prenatal and infant life, and as such, under natural conditions, is usually able to control the sexual relation.
Failing to note the fact that among the orders of life below mankind the female chooses her mate, and failing also to observe that through the natural adjustment of the sexual relations his instincts are checked by her will, nearly if not all the writers102 upon this subject have declared that women and men at the outset of the human career lived in a state of “lawlessness” or “promiscuity,” similar no doubt to that which at the present time would prevail in a community in which women were utterly43 devoid44 of influence, and in which there were no laws regulating the intercourse45 of the sexes.
By the most trustworthy writers on the subject of the primitive conditions of the human race, it is believed that the most archaic46 organization of society was that founded on the basis of sex, but, as in the infancy47 of the race, prior to the inauguration48 of the system based on sex, and during the long ages which were spent merely in gaining a subsistence, no organized form of society existed, it is held that the order which is observed among creatures lower in the scale of life was suspended, and that the universal law which had hitherto regulated the relations of the sexes, and which throughout the ages of life on the earth had held in check the lower instincts of the male, became immediately inoperative.
Here the common ground of belief ceases, and each writer branches off upon his own peculiar line of argument, appropriating and arranging the facts observed by explorers and investigators in the various lines of inquiry according to his own preconceived notions, or as best suits the particular scheme of development which he essays to establish.
In the following pages the attempt will be made103 to show that the facts which in these later years have been brought to light concerning the development of the human race are in strict accord with the facts as enunciated49 by scientists relative to the development of the orders of life below man, and that together they form a connected chain of evidence going to prove not only that the higher faculties had their origin in the female but that the progressive principle has also been confided50 to her.
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1
diverging
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| 分开( diverge的现在分词 )； 偏离； 分歧； 分道扬镳 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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4
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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underlie
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| v.位于...之下，成为...的基础 | |
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6
appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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7
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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anatomy
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| n.解剖学，解剖；功能，结构，组织 | |
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anthropology
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| n.人类学 | |
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countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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progenitors
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| n.祖先( progenitor的名词复数 )；先驱；前辈；原本 | |
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12
bias
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| n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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savagery
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| n.野性 | |
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15
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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investigators
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| n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 ) | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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consanguinity
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| n.血缘；亲族 | |
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affinity
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| n.亲和力，密切关系 | |
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inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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21
avowed
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| adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
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22
ascertaining
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的现在分词 ) | |
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23
insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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territorial
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| adj.领土的，领地的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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supremacy
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| n.至上；至高权力 | |
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advancement
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| n.前进，促进，提升 | |
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baneful
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| adj.有害的 | |
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restrictions
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| 约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则） | |
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30
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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31
crumb
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| n.饼屑，面包屑，小量 | |
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32
condemns
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| v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地 | |
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33
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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34
investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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37
perseverance
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| n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠 | |
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38
diminution
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| n.减少；变小 | |
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39
disdains
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| 鄙视，轻蔑( disdain的名词复数 ) | |
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40
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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41
proprieties
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| n.礼仪，礼节；礼貌( propriety的名词复数 )；规矩；正当；合适 | |
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42
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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43
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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44
devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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45
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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46
archaic
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| adj.(语言、词汇等)古代的，已不通用的 | |
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47
infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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48
inauguration
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| n.开幕、就职典礼 | |
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49
enunciated
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| v.（清晰地）发音( enunciate的过去式和过去分词 )；确切地说明 | |
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50
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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