A TREATISE ON MAN AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIS FACULTIES. By M. a. QUETELET, rERI'lCTL AL SECRKIARY OK THE UOVAL ACADEMY OE BRfSSEL.-;, CORKK^rO.NDlXO MEMBER OF THE l.NSTITUIE OF FRANCE, ETC NOW FinST TRANSLATKU INTO ENGLISIL EDINBURGH: PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS. 1842. EDINBURGH : W. AND E. CHAMBERS. -HS5' PUBLISHERS' NOTICE, The present work was first printed and issued in Paris in 1835, with the title, " Sur L'Homme, et le Developpement de ses Facultes, par M. A. Quetelet, Secretaire Perpetuel de TAcademie Eoyale de Bnixelles," &c. &c. (2 volumes 8vo.) Previous to its appearance, the author had attained a high reputa- tion among men of science, being distinguished peculiarly by the cautious, accurate, and comprehensive character of all his researches, and by his skill and acumen in applying the important science of numbers to every subject which he investigated. The treatise " Sur L'Homnic" brought him a large accession of well-merited fame. It was the first attempt made to apply the art of calculation to the social movements of the liuman being, and to examine by it his moral anatomy, with the view of detecting the real sources and amount of the evils under which he labours, and, ulteriorly, of remedying them when known. Of the nature of the remarkable truths developed by M. Quetelet, it would not be proper here to speak ; nor is it necessary, as the work itself will sufficiently indicate and explain them. Suffice it to state, that the impres- sion made by the treatise over the whole of continental Europe, through criticisms, republications, and translations, has been very great. Fully convinced of its value, Messrs Chambers gladly embraced a proposal which was made to them to publish an English translation, and to present it in such a form and at such a price as might be most calculated to promote its diffusion throughout all sections of the community. On learning that a British edition was in progress, M. Quetelet came forward in the most handsome manner, and proffered a new preface, which accordingly is presented here in a translated form. In this composition, the object of the author has been, at once to defend his treatise from objections brought against it subsequently to the issue of the original Parisian edition, and also to point out in what manner he intended, in his projected continuations of the work, to follow up and elucidate the principles already laid down by him. It will probably be admitted by the majority of readers, that he has most ably defended his views and estimate of the physical, moral, and intellectual qualities of man, with their results upon his position in society. He has refuted the objections brought against his mode of reasoning ; and has cleared himself of the charge of being either a materialist or a fatalist. He shows, also, that he is no theorist or system- maker, but simply wishes to arrive at truth by the only legitimate way, namely, the examination of facts — the incontrovertible facts fuxnished by statistical data. Lastly, he conveys the important information, that the experiencer of every additional year, since the first publication of his treatise, proves, in the most remarkable manner, the accuracy both of his statistical tables and the inferences founded upon them. His section on crime, in particular, however startling it may have appeared to the world, has been shown, by fresh statistical information, to merit credit in every particular. On these accounts, the pub- lishers are confident that the prefatory matter with which they have been favoured by the distinguished Belgian philosopher, will be felt by the public greatly to enhance the value of the present edition. It seems only necessary to add, that the present translatioA has been effected under the able superin- tendence of Dr R. Knox, F.R.S.E., Corresponding Member of the French Academy of Medicine, and Lecturer on Anatomy in Edinburgh ; and that the work, in its passage through the press, has been indebted to the editorial care of Mr Thojias Smibert, who has also translated the manuscript preface of M. Que- telet. Considering its native value, and these acquired advantages, the publishers present it with the confident hope that it wiU form a valuable addition to the philosophical literature of their country. Edinburgh, Aoye/H^er 5, 18-11. 786697 CONTENTS. Page PREFACE TO THE PRESENT EDITION, BY JI. QUETELET, -- - - - - -V INTRODUCTORY, -.---..-. 5 BOOK FIRST. DEVELOPMENT OF THE PHYSICAL QUALITIES OF WAN, - - « - 9 CHAPTER I. — OF BIRTHS IN GENERAL, AND OF FECUNDITY, ----- IQ CHAPTER II. OF THE INFLUENCE OF NATURAL CAUSES ON THE NUMBER OF BIRTHS, - - 11 CHAPTER III. OF THE INFLUENCE OF DISTURBING CAUSES ON THE NUMBER OF BIRTHS, - 21 CHAPTER IV. OF STILL-BORN CHILDREN, - - - - -- -24 CHAPTER V. OF THE INFLUENCE OF NATURAL CAUSES ON MORTALITY, - . . 26 CHAPTER VI. OF THE INFLUENCE OF DISTURBING CAUSES ON MORTALITY, - - - 37 CHAPTER VIL — RELATIONS OF POPULATION TO SOCIAL PROSPERITY, - . . 48 BOOK SECOND. — DEVELOPMENT OF STATURE, VTEIGHT, STRENGTH, &C., - - - - 57 CHAPTER L OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HEIGHT, - . . . . 53 CHAPTER II. OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AVEIGHT, AND OF ITS RELATIONS TO THE DEVELOP- MENT OF THE HEIGHT OF THE BODY, - - - - - --63 CHAPTER HI. OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF STRENGTH OR POWER, - . . _ 67 CHAPTER IV. — INSPIRATION, PULSATION, SWIFTNESS, &C., - - - - - 70 BOOK THIRD. DEVELOPiMENT OF THE MORAL AND INTELLECTUAL QUALITIES OF MAN, . - 72 CHAPTER I. DEVELOPMENT OF THE INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES, - - - - 74 CHAPTER IT. DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL QUALITIES, - - . . . 78 CHAPTER III. OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROPENSITY TO CRIJIE, - - - - 82 BOOK FOURTH. OF THE PROPERTIES OF .THE AVERAGE MA^N, OF THE SOCIAL SYSTEM, AND OF THE FINAL ADVANCEMENT OF THIS STUDY, ------- 96 CHAPTER I. PROPERTIES OF THE AVERAGE MAN, ------ 96 CHAPTER II. — OF THE ULTIMATE PROGRESS OF OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE 1.AW OF HUMAN DEVE- LOPMENT, ---------- 103 author's APPENDIX, .......... 109 translator's APPENDIX, - - - - - - - -- 119 PREFACE OF M. QUETELET, DUA^^^s- up expressly por the people's! edition op his avork on man. TuE plan which has been pursued by me in the com- position of this work, is a vast and comprehensive one. It was tlierefore natural, that, before drawing up a sequel to it, I should endeavour to learn the opinions of competent persons respecting the charac- ter of my researclies, and the mode of execution whidi had been adopted in my treatise.* ]5ut in presenting?, as it were, only the vestibule of the edifice, I might justly entertain fears lesi sufficient light had not been cast on the matter, and lest I should not have been able to make it clear how all the portions of tlie vast whole were to arrive at agreement and consistency among tliemselves. In this state of things, it struck me tliat I could not do better tiian show, by particu- lar examples, in wliat manner it is expedient in gene- ral to proceed in tliis line of inquiry, and in what light I viewed tlie analysis of man, under tlie triple relations of his pbysicid, moral, and intellectual quali- ties. Tlie development of the tlirce examples which I have chosen, will themselves give birth to as many works, the materials of which 1 am collecting with all tlie activity and speed that otlier engagements inci- dent;d to my position will permit. Whilst waiting till I can terminate these hibours, I have deemed it right to give here an indication of them, and this will afford me, at the same time, an opportunity of clearing up some points in my published treatise, which may liave been imperfectly understood. As regards the plii/sujue of man, subjects of research are not wanting ; but, besides that many of these sub- jects — as, for example, that of population — have fre- quently been discussed, and l)y men of great ability, tliej' do not appear to me to be all equally suited to the end which I propose to attain ; some are even complicated by their intimate dependence on moral phenomen;u and these I wish to steer clear of as far as possible. The interest excited b}' the first researches into the growth of the human being, and the happy applications made of them in England, determined my choice of a subject, leading me to direct attention to the proportions of the human frame at different ages, and the causes which modify them. The subject ap- pertains at once to science and the fine arts ; and my relations in society permitted me to count upon the assistance of men of enlightenment, who promised to co-operate with me in my inquiries. The study of the proportions of the human frame was carried very far by the Grecian artists, but they have left us no other monuments of their knowledge than those admirable works of sculpture, which the moderns regard to this day as models, and to which they resort for their finest inspirations. The principal artists of the era of the revival of letters, such as Leon Baptista Albert!, ilichael Angelo, Leonai'do da Vinci, Albert Durer, with many others who comprehended what art ought to borrow from science, felt the neces- * The work upon M.in was published at Paris in 18;15. In tlie year following, a copy of it was printed at Brussels ; and, in 1SJ8, Ur Uiccke gave a German translation of the work, enriched with notes. The Brussels copy was published without my participa- tion, and indeed ai;ainst my will ; such was not the case witli the Gerniiui version, conoji-ning which I had commurucations with Dr Riocke. sity of resorting to observation, in order to rebuild in some sort the ruined monument of ancient artistical skill. They studied nature in a philosophical manner ; sought to strike out the limits withm which they ought to confine themselves in order to be truthlike, without taking away from each age, and one ma}- say from any passion, its individual character ; and from those profound studies which kept them ever before the foce of nature, they deduced original views and new models, destined to distinguish for ever that celebrated age. The proportions of the human body did not alone attract their attention : anatomj', perspectiAT, and chemistry, formed parts of their studies ; nothing was neglected ; and some of these great artists even gained for tliemselves a first place among the geometers of their day. Their successors have not devoted themselves to such serious studies, and hence it so frequently happens that they are re- duced to content themselves, either with copying front those who went before them, or with working after individual models, whose proportions they modify according to mere caprice, without having any just or iiroper ideas of the beautiful. It would bo an error, doubtless, to suppose that science mti/ws the artist ; yet it lends to him the most l)0werful assistance. In general, it is difficult to keep it within due limits ; and I shall even freely admit, that Albert Durer, in his work upon tlie proportions of the human frame, has imparted to it a certain scien- tific dryness, which lessens its utility. One finds there more of the geometer than the artist, and the geometer, moreover, such as he was at a time when it had not yet been discovered how much the rules of style enhance the value of scientific works, and, above all, of those which appertain at the same time to the domain of the fine arts. After the example of Leon Baptista Albert!, whom he followed closely in the order of time, Alljurt Durer commences by stating the divisions of tlie body, in parts or proportions of the total height taken by him as unit]/. Changing afterwards his measure of pro- portions, he takes as unity the size of the head, and assigns successively the proportions of several in- dividuals, giving them seven, eight, nine, and even ten heads of height [or, in other words, a body cor- responding to the measurement of so many heads]. The scale thus formed by him has been received into all studios ; and, without reverting very often to the measurements which their predecessors had taken from nature or from the works of the Greeks, artists have, for the most part, bound themselves down to follow a blind routine. Xoble exceptions, however, have presented themselves. Nicholas Poussin, one of the most profound thinkers whom the arts have pro- duced, took care to correct and regulate by the antique the proportions which Leon Baptista Alberti and Albert Durer had given from the living model. At a later period, also, some labours have been under- taken on this subject; and I may mention, in particu- lar, those of the sculptor. Shadow of Berlin. Jly aim has been, not only to go once more through the task of Albert Durer, but to execute it also on an extended scale. The German artist had Ids art ex- clusively in view, and confined himself to the obser- PREFACE. vation and exhibition of man when fully developed, and at an age Avhen he presents himself under the most advantageous forms. In order to keep faithfully by the plan which I had chalked out, I have viewed the individual from the hour of his birth ; I have sought to determine, for that epoch, the different rela- tions of bulk, subsisting between the various parts of his frame ; and to ascertain how far these relations become modified during his development, what they are in the flower of his age, and in what position they remain up to the instant of decay. It is only by long and laborious stud}', and by the comparison of a vast number of individuals, that it will be possible to suc- ceed in establishing correct average proportions for each age, and in settling the limits betwixt whicli they can be made to vary, without ceasing to be accurate and faithful to nature — our first and great guide in this diflScult study. If the inquiry into the average bodily proportions be of high importance, in order to attain to the type of beauty in the arts, not less great is the interest attached to the subject of the limits within Avhich variations of them must be kei)t, in order not to shock the taste, and in order to retain the means of giving character to individual forms, of shadowing forth strength, grace, and dignity of figure, and of preserv- ing to art that variety which constitutes its principal charm. Although artistical limits A^'ill always be less extended than the natural limits, yet it is to be ob- served that, by the term natural limits, I understand those within which the human proportions may vary, not only without constituting deformities and mon- strous aberrations from nature, but also without wounding the eye by a Avant of harmony. In order that the taste may be satisfied, it is necessary to present to it a Avhole of which it can seize readily all the parts, and mark their relations of bulk. But what are the natural limits spoken of? They are doubtless difficult to establish ; nevertheless, every one has an idea of them, more or Ifess exact, which he carries with him in his decisions. It is to determine these in a more precise manner that our endeavours ought to be directed. " This statue is beautiful," people will sa}' ; but they will agree in finding that the arms are too long. Without such a defect, it would have possessed more grace. The defect, at the same time, does not constitute a monstrosity, not even an anomaly ; it may be conceived to exist in nature, and even without dis- pleasing the taste ; but it wounds the eye in a work of art, open to more severe rules of judgment. In order to discover to what extent tastes and forms might vary in different countries, I have endeavoured to compare the proportions of the models, which, in the opinion of the artists of Paris, Rome, Belgium, and other places, united the most perfect graces of form ; and I have been surprised to find how little variety of opinion exists, in different places, regarding what they concurred in terming the beautiful. Changes of bodily proportions characterise nations to a much smaller degree than differences in physiognomical expression, in delicacy and suppleness of members, and in ease, greater or lesser, of gait — all of them qualities modified singularly by education, climate, and habitudes. Nor am I to confine myself, in my extended inquiry, to the comparison of actual models, estimated as types of the beautiful ; I propose also to unite my results to those which artists left to us at the revival of the arts, and, above all, to Avhat we can gather of the knowledge of the ancients on this jioint, from a study of their works. These comparisons, I conceive, will present hints interesting to liistory and art ; they will prove of not less importance to the natural history of man. Analogous Labours, undertaken in different quarters of the globe, woiUd enable us to appreciate all that distinguishes race from race, and to discover the rela- tive points of bulk most liable to variation ; they would also furnish for the future valuable elements of comparison, not yet possessed by science. All the sciences tend necessarily to the acquirement of greater precision in their appreciations. The study of diseases, and of the deformities to which they give place, has shown the benefit derivable from corporeal measurements, effected under enlightened views ; but in order to recognise whatever is an anomaly, it is essentially necessary to have established the type con- stituting the normal or healthy condition. In order to be of use to science, I have deemed it necessary to direct my researches in a particular manner to the dimensions of the chest, which seem most fre- quently to merit consideration in the state of illness ; and the same region is the one where the greatest malformations are most often to be observed. The relative proportions of the human head merit equally oiu" serious attention, serving, as they do at this da}^ for a basis, so to speak, of a new science. One of the individuals whose writings have spread the greatest interest respecting the study of phreno- logy, Mr George Combe, addressed to me, on the sub- ject of the work on Man, the following words, which I shall beg leave to transcribe here, on account of the ingenious hints Avhich they convey on the subject under consideration : — " Allow me to observe, that I desire much to see the ph}^siology of the brain made the basis of such investigations, because I am con- vinced that the size, quantity, and proportions of the brain in individuals, have an influence over the de- velopment of their fticulties, which is fundamental — that is to say, the brain determines the strength and the bent of the natural dispositions, and also the kind and degree of the intellectual capacity ; and all exter- nal influences merely direct these to certain objects in preference to others, excite them to action, or im- pede their manifestations, but without changing the primitive character. Criminals, for instance, have the animal organs largely developed, and those of the moral and intellectual faculties, or at least the moral, deficient; and the causes of the regularity in the number of crimes will be found in the causes which produce a given number of defective brains annually ; and crimes must be diminished by lessening the pro- duction of imperfect brains, or by treating those who have them as moral patients, and preventing them from abusing their propensities. Your researches are exceedingly interesting and useful, and all that I mean to say is, that this elempnt is Avanting to render them complete." Nothing, doubtless, could be more interesting, above all in studying the moral development of man, than to be able to follow simultaneoiisly the development of the organs Avhich seem most directly connected with our actions, and to estimate to what extent the instrument is in concord Avith the effects produced by it. But for that purpose, it Avould be necessary that the science should be farther advanced than it really is ; and that Ave should knoAv the modifications which tlie head and brain of man undergo, from birth to the period of complete development, as avcU as the epochs at Avhich the diA^ers organs, regarded as the seats of such and such passions and propensities, manifest themselves, and Avhat are their degrees of increase, actual and proportionate. This science, it seems to me, leaves as yet much to desire, and for the mere reason that it is yet in its infancy. I conceive that, in its actual condition, time Avould be more profitably expended in separating two kinds of studies Avhich, in their results, might respectively control each other, than in seeking to amalgamate them, by Avhich miglit be incurred the risk of falling into theoretic ideas, and quitting the path to truth. I shall explain myself by an example. Observation shows, that, in our state of society, it is about the age of twenty-five Avhen the propensity to crime is at the maximum, especially as far as murder is concerned ; this is a fact fidly esta- blished, and of Avhich ncAv evidence is given every year by the statistical records of France. Now, sup- posing that phrenology had made sufficient inquiries PREFACE. into the development of the organs, it might be pos- sible to determine whether or not the age of twenty- five is really that at which the destructive organs have reached their greatest development, and if they sustain a progressive diminution afterwards, or are repressed by other and more powerful organs. In considering matters under this point of view, it would be necessary first to study the progressive and proportionate growth of the brain and its several parts, and the development also of our moral and intellec- tual qualities. Compai'isons might then be established to determine if the development of the faculties, and of the cerebral organs regarded as specially connected with them, takes place in a simultaneous manner. But to explain the actions by the organs, to render the one subordinate to the exercise of the other, would be to ramble widely from the course I have followed ; for I am less desirous to explain phenomena than to establish their existence. ^ I have always comprehended with difficulty, more- over, how persons, pre-occupied doubtless by other ideas, have seen any tendency to materialism in the exposition of a series ot facts deduced from statistical documents. In giving to my work the title of Social Pliysics, I have had no other aim than to collect, in a uniform order, the phenomena affecting man, nearly as physical science brings together the phenomena apper- taining to the material world. If certain deplorable facts present themselves Avith an alarming regularity, to whom is blame to be ascribed ? Ought charges of materialism to be brought against him who points out that regularity ? What I have read and heard on the subject of my work, proves to me that I have not carried conviction to every mind, and that I have frequently been judged with prejudice. Judgments upon books are formed with even more haste and levity than judgments upon men. Writin gs are tjil ked of without Jbeing known; and people take up an opi- nion for or against, in consequence of decisions of which it would cost them some trouble to determine the source. These are evils which must be borne with patience, and the more so because they are common. " There are few works on i)olitical econoni}'," said Malthus to me, "which have been more spoken of and less read than mine." All the absurdities which have been spoken and written respecting the illus- trious English author, are well known. Certainly, by an appeal against such decisions, he would have all to gain, and nothing to lose, before a less prejudiced tribunal. One of the facts which appears to have excited the greatest alarm, out of all pointed to in my work, is naturally that relating to the constancy with which crime is committed. From the examination of num- bers, I behoved myself justified in inferring, as anatural consequence, that, in given circumstances, and under the influence of the same causes, we may reckon upon witnessing the repetition of the same effects, the reproduction of the same crimes, and the same convic- tions. What has resulted from this exposition ? Timo- rous persons have raised the cry of fatalism. If, how- ever, some one said, " Man is born free ; nothing can force his free-will; he underlies the influence of no external causes ; cease to assimilate him to a machme, or to pretend to modify his actions. Therefore, ye legislators, repeal your laws ; overturn your prisons ; break j'our chains in pieces ; your convictions and penalties are of no avail ; they are so many acts of barbarous revenge. Ye philosophers and priests, speak no more of ameliorations, social or rehgioiis ; you are materialists, because you assume to mould society like a piece of gross clay ; j'ou are fatalists, because you believe yourselves predestined to influ- ence man in the exercise of his free-will, and to direct the course of his actions." If, I say, any one held such language to us, we should be disgusted with its excessive folly. And wherefore? Because we are thoroughly convinced that laws, education, and reli- gion, exercise a salutary influence on society, and that moral causes have their certain eiMfcts. Am I a fata- list, then, when I declare that you have greater reason for so thinking than you had imagined ? That is the real state of the question ; we differ only about de- grees. Which of us is in error ? To determine this, it is necessary to examine our motives for conviction. Mine, like yours, rest first of all on observation. We both caU in experience to the support of our opinions ; but, in your case, the experience is based on vague uncertainties, whilst I, more circumspect, strive never to lose sight of those scientific principles which ought to guide the obsei'ver in all his investigations. My aim is not to defend systems, or bolster up theories ; I confine myself to the citation of facts, such as society presents to our view. If these facts be legitimately established, it follows that we must accept of and acpommodate our reason to them.." SNow, what do these facts teach us ? I repeat, that in a given state of society, resting under the influence of certain causes, regular effects are produced, which oscillate, as it were, around a fixed mean point, with- out undergoing any sensible alterations. Observe, that I have said under the influence of the same causes; if the causes were changed, the effects also would necessarily be modified. As laws and the principles of religion and morality are influencing causes, I have then not only the hope, but, what you have not, the positive conviction, that society may be ameliorated and reformed. Expect not, however, that efforts for the moral regeneration of man can be immediately crowned with success ; operations upon masses are ever slow in progress, and their effects necessarily distant. But, it may be again asked, what becomes of human free-will and agency ? In the face of facts, I have not to occupy myself with that question, so often debated. I cannot altogether pass it by, nevertheless, in silence, because it .seems to me to involve one of the most admirable laws of conservation in nature — a law M'hich presents a new proof of the wisdom of the Creator, and of M'hich you have not caught even a glimpse in your narrow views of the moral organisation of man. It is necessary, then, to admit that free-will exer- cises itself within indefinite limits, if one wishes not to incur the reproach of denying it altogether. But, with all the follies which have passed through the head of man, with all the perverse inclinations which have desolated society, what would have become of our race during so many past ages ? All these scourges have passed by, and neither man nor his faculties have undergone sensible alterations, as far at least as our observations can determine. This is because the same finger which has fixed limits to the sea, has set similar bounds to the passions of men — because the same voice has said to both, " Hitherto shalt thou come, and no farther ! " What! when it is necessary to take the most simple resolve, we are under the domination of our habitudes, our wants, our social relations, and a host of causes which, all of them, draw us about in a hnndred diffe- rent ways. These infiuences are so powerful, that we have no difficulty in telling, even when referring to persons whom we are scarcely acquainted with, or even know not at all, what is the resolution to which they will lead such parties. Whence, then, this cer- tainty of foresight, exemplified by you daily, if you were not convinced, at the outset, that it is ex- tremely probable the empire of causes will carry it over free-will. In considering the moral world a priori, you give to this free-will the most entire latitude ; and when you come to practice, when you speak of what passes around you, you constantly fall into contradic- tion with yourselves. You foretell the conduct of individuals, in whose case oscillations may take place within limits so large, that it woidd be contrary to all the principles of the theory of probabilities to take them for the types of calculations, or to foimd upon PREFACE. lliem the most petty iiifereuces. Be uiorc consistent witli yourselves. Coiild you possibly be afraid of applying the calcu- lation of cliances to moral phenomena, and of the afflicting consequences which may be inferred from that inquiry, when it is extended to crimes and to quarters the most disgraceful to society ? " I should guard myself," said a scientific friend, whose philan- thropic views I otherwise respect — " I shoidd guard myself, had I arrived at the afflicting results of which you speak, against grieving others with the relation of thein. Draw a veil over the hideous spectacle ; and if you believe that you jjossess the truth, imitate with resj^ect to it the sage circumspection of Fonte- )U!lle." But is the anatomy of man not a more pain- ful science still? — that science wliich leads us to dip our hands into the blood of our fellow-beings, to pry ^vith impassible curiosity into parts and organs which once palpitated with life? And yet who dreams at this day of raising liis voice against the study ? Who does not applaud, on the contrary, the numerous ad- vantages which it lias conferred on humanity? Tlie time is come for studying the moral anatomy of man also, and for uncovering its most afflicting aspects, with the view of jiroviding remedies. CThis study is a difficult one. Speculative philoso- phy has long been occupied with it ; but there are questions not to be resolved by such means ; specula- tion has its limits, as observation also has. Every propensity and every passion, develops itself in a man- ner more or less rapid, attains a degree of maximum intensity, and declines in general by shades not yet fully recognised. It is with the intellectual as with the moral faculties of man ; they both have their laws of development. With regard to some of them, these laws march in a parallel relation ; others are interwoven in their growth, or stand in manifest opposition. ISTow, these ai-e the laws which it is necessary to ascertain and comprehend, not in a vague manner, but with such precision as to enable us to establish numerically tlie degree of intensity for each age. There lay, if I do not deceive myself, the novel feature of my labours ; thence sprung, at least, the chief meed of praise, and the criticisms which I have received ; and it is this principle which I muat strive to justify by my ulterior labours, because I was compelled to limit myself, in a first essay, to simple indications^ ^The analysis of the moral man through his actions, and of the intellectual man through his productions, seems to me calculated to form one of the most inte- resting parts of the sciences of observation, applied to anthropology. It may be seen, in my v.ork, tliat the course Mdiich I have adopted is that followed by the natural philosopher, in order to grasp the laws that regulate tl»e material world. By the seizure of focts, I seek to rise to an appreciation of the causes Mhence they spring.* As I could only indicate this course summai'ilj^ and the difficulties embarrassing it, I have been desirous to show, by two examples, selected and \* This appreciation is in general vci-j' difficult, and has given rise to grave errors. One of the chief causes of these errors seems to me to spring from the incomplete enumerntioiu, made when it ij sought to give an iiccount of the causes which have led to any result. Thus, it is recognised that in some locality crimes are very numerous, .ind an attempt is made to explain that un- favourable state of tilings. IIow do most writers and even sta- tisticians proceed in such a case ? In ph)ce of passing in review all the cau.<;es which can lead to crime, of weighing their in- fluences, .and of inquiring into those, above all, which have there acted with the greatest energy, they only attend, in the prejudiced state of their minds, to one alone, often the Iciii-t influential of all, to v^hich they ascribe the cfVects produced by the wliole. They have been led in this manner to conclude that popular instruction produces crime, because, in such and such a liingdoui, the provinces wliere it chieny aboiuids send the greatest numberof children to schools ; as if the degree of instruc- tion, and the Icind of instruction, and other elements, did not ail enter equally into the question. The true talent of the ob- server, it seems to me, whatever be the phenomen.i of wliich he treated in a searching manner, liow the course in question should be followed. The one has for its ob- ject the examination of works of literature, philosophy, science, the fine arts, &c., and of the ages at which they have been produced, with the results to be de- duced from the whole. The other example concerns the development of the propensity to crime, upon a scale more extended than I had yet had an opportunity of forming. After these last new researches, I con- ceive I may now confidently say, that the tables of criminality for different ages, given in my published treatise, merit at least as much faith as the tables of mortality, and verify themselves within perhaps even narrower limits ; so that crime pursues its path with even more constancy than death. Twelve 3'ears have elapsed since the data furnished by the tri- bunals of justice in France were collected with great care and exactitude, and since the ages of criminals Avere first marked ; and, in each succeeding year, they have reckoned from about 7000 to 8000 indivi- duals accused before the courts of assize ; and it is still betwixt the ages of twenty-one and twenty-five, that, all things being equal, the greatest number of per- sons are to be found in that position. I have taken, for the same years, and for the city of Paris, the morta- lity of a period of ten years, and have found, that, thougli my observations included a much larger num- ber of persons, and these pertaining to a much more homogeneous population, the mortality of the capital proceeded with less regularity than the crimes of tlie kingdom, and that each age paid a more uniform and constant tribute to the jail than to the tomb.'^ An objection has been made to my views, whic-h appears somewhat valid at a first glance. It has been forcibly reproduced by a writer of merit, who, while treating my work with liberality, has drawn together all the gravest objections brought forward against it. I shall take leave to cite his words. " We now reach the most delicate portion of M. Quetelet's work — tlie development of the intellectual and moral qualities, the social system. Here the field is not the same ; we have no longer to do ^^'ith phenomena vital and regidar, or witli those laws to which man is sub- jected along with the brutes, and -which operate con- tinually without his intervention, or constitute in- stincts in him too powerful to be resisted. We have to consider things which he is at liberty to do or not to do — acts which he may consummate or not consum- mate at choice. We enter into the domain of the human will — free, bold, and independent. Can science follow man in this new route ? Will it be able to ap- preciate, in a manner at once comiarehensive and exact, the results of the physiological and moral constitution of the mind and soul which distinguish him from other animals ? Contented to follow, up to this point, the material phenomena revealed by evident facts, can science sound the heart of man, dive into the mysteries of spiritual being, and tear away for the human race the veil which the morahst can with sccUs to estimate the causes, consists in a complete enumeration of these, and in distinguishing between such as arc entitled to weight, and such as may be overlooked without inconvenience. It is tliis fine insight, this delicate tact, principal attributes of superior intelli.ficuces, which constitute the great observer, the true philosopher. To wander from this course is to step into error, and to become entangled in those interminable disputes which afflict the sciences, and, above .ill, those whose phenomena are most complex. The medical sciences offer sad examples of tliis evil. Blaladics are in general the result of an infinity of causes ; and wherefore attribute them, llien, to one of these more than to another? It may be conceived that two physicians, in citing each a diflerent cause as the origin of one disease, may be both in the right, since each may have found the cause stated by him to h.ave predominated in the cise under his notice; they only err in neglecting the other influential causes which they have not had the chance of observing, because the number of their observations w.as too limited. This is the history of many of the tl\eorie3 and systems, alternately adopted and rejected in mcd le tl\er icinev PREFACE. difficulty raise in order to judge one iiulividaal? Kisks she not being stranded in the conllict Avitli these supreme mysteries of intelligence ? Upon what constant facts, upon what fundamental points, can she lean for support? The facts of birth, growth, and decay, are the same for all men ; but what are held by one people to be intelligence, genius, morality, and ci'ime, will these not be deemed by another people error, poverty of intellect, immorality, and lawful actions ? Finally, will not the free-will and agency of man disconcert all calculations ? Or, at least, will not the errors in such calculations be too considerable in number and extent to leave them any real value ? "* I have already spoken of free-will, and have shown how little it influences the number of crimes, and the ages of criminals ; I shall not retm-n, therefore, to that subject. The next most serious objection M-hich seems to present itself here is, that the facts upon Avhich one is compelled to rest have not the same identical value, as in the case of birth, death, and marriage, when the population is treated of; but that these facts may vary through many different shades, and may even be qualified amongst different nations, in conse- quence of what is crime with one being viewed as something lawful with another. MVe must here understand ourselves fidh'. I can admit that a certain act, whicli is punislied before the French tribunals, may not be so in other places, or have been so in other times. This is, then, an error of denomination which should be corrected, and which would but prove at most that virtues and crimes, esti- mated in relation to different times, have a contingent value merely, not an absolute one. The essential point here is, that the fact, qualified in one manner or another, should be the same. But it will be said, that it is not identically the same, and that even where the laws take care to specify and define different crimes, those which are ranged under the same head may still vary within pretty extensive limits, tfhis is equivalent to saying, that the observations have not all the precision neces- sary, and that tlie estimate cannot be perfect. Xow, this is a fact which I myself readily admit and regret ; for, if the observations were precise, I should march on, in the new path which I have sought to open up, Avith as much assurance as in other quarters of the vast field of the sciences of observation. In every instance, it is not my method tlmt is defective ; projjer observations alone fail me. But will it be ever impos- sible to have theni perfectly i^rccise .•" I believe tliat even at present we have them sufficiently so to enter, at least, on the great problem under consideration. Name them as you will, tlie actions which society stamps as crimes, and of Avhich it punishes the authors, are reproduced every year, in almost exactly the same numbers ; examined more closely, they are found to divide themselves into almost exactly the same categories ; and, if their number were sufficiently large, we might carry farther our distinctions and subdivisions, and should always fiud there the same regularity. It will then remain correct to say, that a given species of actions is more common at one given age than at any other given age.^; Is it really true, moreover, that the designation of crime may be so very arbitrary, and that that which lias been set down as poisoning or assassination, for example, may testify to no evil inclination ? Although we are here in a new field, where facts cannot be estimated mechanically, as in the physical sciences, tlie difference, nevertheless, is not to be held so great as it may appear at first sight. Even the physical sciences sometimes rest on facts which are not iden- tically the same, as deaths and births should be ; and which may lead to appreciations and conclusions more or less great. "With the use even of an instru- ment, when one wishes to discover a temperatm'e, a magnetic declination, or the force and direction of a * Bibliotheque Univcr-ellc de Genfevc, -Tuly IPA"), p. .3in. Ar- ticle of M. E. Mallet. wind, does one really find the quantities wliich are sought? When one measures an individual, is the real height positively discovered ? Errors, greater or lesser, may be committed ; and observation alone can recognise the limits within which they range. Has the consideration of the average life of man been re- jected, because that average rests upon numbers which vary, without doubt, within Umits as extended as can be conceived ? But, to reply by the same argument brought against myself, if, in place of reckoning diseases, one wished to specify their nature, andtoindicate, as statisticians do, the number of voluntary, violent, and accidental deaths, as well as those produced by natm'al maladies, without entering at all into the classifications which might be formed of these, woidd not one lie open to the same objections? » Must we refrain from making up a list of suicides, because death may there have been caused by unknown hands, or by accidents of which no one is cognisant, or by some natural means which have operated instantaneousljs and left no visible traces behind? And how often does it happen that the author of a suicide only lends his hands involuntarily to a crime of which another has guiltily reduced him to become the victim ? One Avould require to re- nounce entirely the sciences of observation, if every such difficulty in the waj' were to be admitted as a let and barrier ; and tliese are only more apparent in my researches, becaiise we are less ftimiliarised with their characterr! The same writer whom I have cited, combats me on another point. I have attempted to give an ex- ample of tlie analysis of the development of the passions, ■which tends to show that their maximum energy is reached about the age of twenty-five years. " So that," said I, " if there existed an art which, in its exercise, developed itself in a ratio with the pas- sions, and without requiring preliminary studies, its maximum of development would occur about the age of twenty -five." * " To this reasoning let us oppose an example," says the Genevese philosopher. " If there has been a writer who has shone brilliantly, and deeply impressed the public, by reason, not of his works and learning, but of the impidses of the passions, certainly Jean Jacques Eousseau is that man. Now, it was not before the age of forty, fifteen A-ears later than the period signalised as the maximum one of his passions, that Rousseau commenced to Avrite." What would be the reply of the autlior now quoted, whose writings on population arc justly esteemed, if I were to say to him in my turn, that the death of J. J. Rousseau did not take place till after the age of G.5 j-ears ; tliat is to sny, a long period after the epoch signalised by the law of mortality calculated for Geneva, and after he had long passed the average life of man. Must Ave then conclude that the tables of mortality for Geneva sliould be rejected? What does one individual ex- ample prove in such matters ? I Avould remark, besides, that the words cited from my work, when viewed isolatedly, are far from ex- pressing the idea Avhich I wished to attach to them. The works of genius upon which our judgments bear are in general complex ; for there is no work, con- structed by genius, which does not suppose the exer- cise of various of its faculties. A skilful analysis could alone make out the part of each of them ; I would suggest for this purpose the idea of a work Avhich should have for its object the analytic exami- nation of the development of our intellectual faculties for each age. Now, I have aimed to present, in the work here reproduced, only an essaj% only a particu- lar example, of such an anah^sis, " which tends to show that the maximum of energy of the passions occurs about the age of twenty-five." The minimum is not then determined ; and even when it shall be, by a suffi- cient number of observations, one will no more be able to apply it to anj' given individual in particular, than * '• On ^r.in," vol. ii. pnrre 110, r.nissels ofliti"ii. PREFACE. one could make iise of a table of mortality to determine the period of his decease. It shoidd he well understood that social physics never can pretend to discover laws which will verify themselves in every particular, in the case of isolated individuals. The science will have rendered a service sufficiently vast, in giving more precise views upon a host of points, of which vague ghmpses only were before possessed.'^ Thus, men speak generally of the age of the passions ; they admit, then, that there is an epoch of the life at which the passions act with greater energy? How knoAv they this? Doubtless, by the observation of man. "Well, it is observation which the science of social physics wiU employ, but observation conducted in a more certain manner, after scientific principles, and not resting on fugitive glances of wliich one can pre- serve no durable traces. I trust I may be permitted to notice here another objection which has been made, on the subject of the value which I believed it proper to attribute to ave- rage qualities. " You believe, then," it lias been said to me, " that the type of health would be a mean be- twixt all the constitutions existing— all the states of health ? But then you must grant at least that your type would be more perfect if the aA^erage were struck upon those alone who were in health." This argu- ment may appear at first sight an embarrassing one ; but, when examined more closely, it may easily be shown to rest upon no solid foundations. I believe I might even say, retorting in some measure the argu- ment, that, if the average were taken upon all men, the healthy excepted, it would remain still the same. This only would result, that, in order to obtain that average with an equal degi-ee of precision, it Avould be necessary to draw it from an infinitely greater num- ber of individuals. We may consider maladies like deviations from the normal state, be it more or be it less ; and it is betwixt these contrary conditions that the state of health would be found. We aim at a target — an end — marked by a point. The arrows go to right and left, high or low, accord- ing to the address of the shooters. In the mean time, after a considerable number of trials, the butt, which has not yet been touched, perhaps, a single time, be- comes so well pointed out by the marks around it, that they would aid at once in rediscovering it, if it should chance to be lost sight of Nay, more than this ; even aims the most unfortunate may be made to conduce to this end ; commencing with those marks which are farthest away, if they be sufficiently nume- rous, one may learn from them the real position of the point they surround. This figurative reasoning is applicable, it may easih' be conceived, to all inqiiiries into the physical sciences, and even the moral also, Avhere the point in view is to arrive at means or averages. As stated in the con- siderations presented at the close of my work, every quality, taken -vvithin suitable limits, is essentially good ; it is only in its extreme deviations from the mean that it becomes bad. The study of these devia- tions or anomalies may serve to aid in the determi- nation of the normal state, if it cannot be established in a direct manner. This presimies, it is true, that human nature, in its aberrations, has not a tendency to deviate from the mean in one sense in preference to another, as those who aim at a mark might have a tendency to shoot always too high or too low, Now, nothing proves the existence of any such tendency, i It may be imagined, after the preceding remarks, how much importance I attach to the consideration of limits, which seem to me of two kinds, ordinary or natural, and extraordinary or beyond the natural. The first limits comprise within them the qualities which deviate more or less from the mean, without attract- ing attention by excess on one side or the other. When the deviations become greater, they constitute the extraordinarj' class, having itself its limits, on the outer verge of which are things preternatural, or monstrosities. Thus, the men who fall, in respect of height, outside of the ordinary limits, are giants or dwarfs ; and if the excess or the deficiency of height surpasses the extraordinary limits, they may be re- garded as monstrosities. From the view of the human constitution, also, we may find the state of health and of sickness, and also a condition to be called exti-aor- dinary or preternatural. We must conceive the same distinctions in the moral world."' Narrow as may be the natural limits, they are yet too extended, as I have pointed out, Avhen we wish to approach the beautiful in the arts. Artistical limits do not tolerate certain proportions, which nevertheless constitute neither physical defects nor infirmities. The consideration of limits, upon Avhich I insist, has convinced me more an*& more of the important part which they play in the social order. One of the most interesting observations which I have had occasion to make, is, that thej'- narrow themselves through the infiuence of civilisation, which affords, in my eyes, the most convincing proof of human perfec- tibility. On the one side Ave approach more closely to Avhat is good and beautiful ; on the other, vice and suffering are shut up within narrower limits ; and Ave have to dread less the monstrosities, physical and moral, Avhich have the power to throAV perturbation into the social fraiucAvork. The distinctions Avhich I had already established Avitli care in my Avork, ought to have proA'cd, metliinks, to some less prejudiced judges, hoAv far I am from a blind fatalism, Avhich Avould regard man as unfit to exercise free-Avill, or meliorate the future condition of his race. ON MAN. INTRODUCTORY. Man is born, grows up, and dies, according to certain laws wliich have never been properly investigated, either as a whole or in the mode of their mutual reactions. Hitherto, the science of Man has been limited to researches, more or less complete, respect- ing some of its laws, to results deduced from single or insulated observations, and to theories often based on mere glimpses ; and these constitute pretty nearly all tlie materials it possesses. It must be admitted, how- ever, that for nearly two centuries various distinguished men have studiously inquired into the rate of repro- duction and mortality of mankind ; the differences which age, sex, profession, climate, and seasons, pro- duce in regard of births and deaths, have been assidu- ously studied. But they have neglected to put forward, with sufficient prominence, tlie study of his physical development (bodily gmvtii), rogressiA'e movement, tends to approach a happier physical condition.* ^he forces Avhich characterise man, are living forces in their nature ; but do they act iu a constant man- ner, and has man, at all epochs, possessed the same quantity — in a Avord, does there exist any thing ana- logous to the active or living forces in nature ? What, moreoA'er, is their destination? Can they influence the progress of the svstem . or compromise its exist- ence? or, perhaps, like the internal forces of a system, may they not modifj' in something its progress, or the conditions of its stability ? Analogy leads us to believe, that in the social state avc may expect to find in general all the principles of conservation observed in the natural phenomena?? Plants and animals appear to obej', like the planets, the eternal laAvs of nature, and Avere it not for the intervention of man, these laAvs could be verified just as easUy in the one case as in the other ; but man exercises, both on himself and on aU around, a dis- turbing action, the intensity of which takes a develop- ment in in-oportion to his intellect, and the effects of which are such, that society does not resemble itself at any tAvo different epochs. It Avould be important to detennine, in all the laAvs affecting the human species, Avhat belongs to nature and Avhat belongs to the distmrbing force of man ; it appears at least certain, that the effects of this force are sIoav, and might almost be called sectilai- pertur- bations. HoAvever this may be, if they really Avere * Buflfon explains verj' well the power possessed by man in modifying nature's Avorks :—" All these modern and recent ex- amples prove, that man has but recently known the extent of his power, and that even yet he does not Icnow it sufficiently ; it de- pends entirely on the exercise of his intellect : thus, the more he observes, the more he will cultivate nature, and the more extensive will be his means to subject nature's works to himself. And what might he not eft'ect upon himself — I mean on his own species — if the will were ahvays governed by the judgment ? A\lic> could predict limits to the moral and physical perfectibility of human nature?" liC.—Epoques ilc la Nature. ON MAN. developed with inucli rapidity, we coiild not, with the few elements Ave possess in respect to the past, draw important conclusions in regard to the future. Wc must then do as astronomers have done in the theory of arbitrary constants — and as the early statis- ticians did in calcidating the laws of human mortality —make an abstraction at first of the effects of the dis- turbing force, and return to it afterwards when a long series of documents permits us to do so. Thus, to bring out my meaning, in calculating the different tables of mortaUty, the medium duration of human hfe has been shown to vary for different coun- tries, and even for difierent provinces, though these may be quite contiguous. But these differences might depend as much on the natiu:e of the cUmate as on man himself ; and hence the necessity of determining what belonged to the one, what to the other. Tor this pur- pose, one might select an assemblage of circumstances proving that the forces of nature remam the same ; and if the results obtained at different epochs were also identical, then foUows the natural conclusion that the disturbmg force of man amounted to nothing. Now, this attempt has been made, and at Geneva, for ex- ample, it has been found that the average duration of life, or the medium life, has successively become longer. Now, Ave are at least entitled to conclude from this the existence of the disturbing force of man, and to form the first idea of the energy of its effects on this point of the globe, so long as it is not proved that causes foreign to man may have altered the fertility of the soil, the state of the atmosphere, temperature, or given rise to some other alteration in the chmate. But hitherto Ave know only the result of different forces, which it Avould be impossible to estimate indi- vidually, and of Avhich Ave cannot even furnish a com- plete list. Thus Avc are disposed to beUeve that the forces Avhich haA^e prolonged at Geneva the duration of the average life of man, have arisen from the cir- cumstances of his having improved his habitations, rendering them more healthy and more commodious ; of his having ameliorated his pecuniary circumstances, his food, and institutions ; of his liaAdng been able to Avithdraw himself from the influence of certain dis- eases, &c. ; and it might even have happened that the disturbing force of man may have altered for the bet- ter the nature of the climate, by drainage, clearing the forests, or by other changes. Of the Object of this Work. The purpose of this Avork is to study in their effects the causes, Avhether natural or disturbing, Avhich in- fluence human development ; to endeavour to measure the influence of these causes, and the mode according tawhich they mutually modify each other. \ \ It is not at aU my intention to propose a Theory of Jlan, but merely to ascertain by proof the facts and .^ the phenomena which affect him, and to endeavoiu-, by observation, to discover the laAvs forming the con- nectmg links of these phenomena. The social man, Avhom I here consider, resembles the centre of gravity in bodies : he is the centre around which oscillate the social elements — in fact, so to speak, he is a fictitious being, for whom every thing proceeds con- formably to the medium results obtained for society in general. It is this being whom avc must consider in estabhshing the basis of social physics, throAving out of vicAv peculiar or anomalous cases, and disre- garding any inquiry tending to show that such or such an individual may attain a greater or less de- velopment in one of Ids facultiesT? •^ Let us suppose, for example, that Ave endeavoured to discover the chstiu'bing influence of man in modify- ing his physical strength. By means of the dynamo- meter (measurer of strength), we may first estimate the strength of the hands, or of the loins, in a great number of persons of different ages, from infancy to extreme old age, and the results obtained in this way for a country Avill give tAvo scales of forces deserving of our confidence in the direct proportion of the num- ber of observations made, and in the care Avitli which they have been made. By comparing at a later period these scales, obtained by the same means and under the same influences, but at different periods of time, Ave shall discover Avhether the disturbing action or influence of man has diminished or augmented the quantity of this strength. Now, it is this variation Avhich the whole system undergoes, that it is impor- tant to point out in social physics. We may even m this way determine changes happening m the different classes of societj'', but Avithout descending to indivi- duals. A man, in consequence of gigantic height, or by herculean strength, may attract the attention of the naturaUst or the i^hysiologist ; but in social phy- sics his importance would disappear before that of another individual, who, after having ascertained ex- perimentally the means of developing advantageously the height and strength, may succeed in putting them in practice, thus producing results either affecting the Avhole system or one of its parts. After having considered man at different epochs, and as belonging to different nations — after having successively ascer- tained the several elements of his physical and moral condition, and pointed out, at the same time, the varia- tions in the quantity of materials which he produces and which he consumes, in the. increase or decrease of his wealth, and the changes occurring in lus position with respect toother nations — we must next determine the laws to which man has been subject in the differ- ent races, fi'om their origin ; that is to say, we must follow the progress of the centres of gravity in each part of the system, just as Ave determined the laAvs relating to man in each nation, by the entire mass of the observations made upon the individuals composing that nation. Under this point of vicAV, nations Avould be, in respect to the social system, what individuals are in respect to nations ; each woidd have their laAvs of increase and decrease, and have a sliare, more or less important, in the pertui-bations of the system. NoAV, it is only fi'om the whole of the laws which relate to different races, that we can afterwards decide on what belongs, whether to the equUibriura or to the movement of the system; for we do not know at ijresent which of these tAvo states actually exists. What we see daily proves to us sufficiently the effects of internal actions and forces reacting on each other ; but the centre of gravity of the system, if avc may so say, and the direction of the movement, are un- knoAvn ; it may even happen, that Avhilst the motion of all the parts of the sj^stem is progressive or retro- grade, the centre may remain unvaryingly in equili- brio. Perhaps we may be asked, how it can be possible to determine absolutely the value of the disturbing power of man — that is to say, the differences, more or less great, which the social system produces, from that state or condition in Avhich he would be jilaced if left to the forces of nature alone ? Such a problem, if it could be solved, Avould unquestionably bo interesting, but scarcely useful, since such a condition does not exist in nature, seeing that man has at all times been in possession of an intellectual force, and has ncA'er been reduced to live merely as animals do. It is of more consequence, indeed, to determine if the effects of his disturbing power vaiy in a manner more or less ad- vantageous. Fi-oni Avhat we have said, the object of scientific research, then, should be to inquire — M, What ar^! the hiAvs of human reproduction, growth, and physical force — growth of his intellec- tual poAvers, and of his disposition, more or less great, to good or evil ; the laAvs regulating the development of his passions and tastes ; the mode of succession of tlie materials he produces or consumes ; the laAvs of human mortality, &c. 2. AVhat uifluence has nature over man ; Avliat is the measure of its influence, and of its disturbing ON MAN. 9 forces ; what have been theu* eflects for such and such a period ; and what the social elements cliiefly affected by them. 3. Finally, can hmnan forces compromise the sta- bihty of the jocial system ? I am not siure if these questions may ever be answered ; but to me it seems that their solution would form some of the noblest and most interesting results of human research. Con- vinced of tliis truth, I have already made some efforts to reply to the first series of these questions ; and still more, to make my ideas understood, and to point out the route which ought to be followed, I have endeavoured also to demonstrate how to detect the influencmg causes, and to determine the degree of their respective actions. Whatever idea may be formed of these researclies, I trust it will still be ad- mitted, that in respect to the development of the human faculties, a great number of observations and results have been accumulated wliich science did not previously possess^ I wish it also to be understood, that I consider this work as but a sketch of a vast plan, to be completed only by infinite care and immense researches. I have room, therefore, for hope that the leading idea, as to the composition of the work, may be alone criticised ; and that, in respect to the filUng up of the details, necessarily very incomplete in some parts, from want of materials, a lenient criticism may also be vouch- safed. I have thought it my duty, however, in the suitable place, to point out these deficiencies. On the Importance or Dignity of the Inquiries Relative to Man. The nature of the researches in this work, and the view which I have taken of the social system, have in them a something i^ositive, which at first sight may startle some minds. Some may be disposed to see in it a tendency to materialism ; others, misunderstanding my ideas, may view them as an attempt to exagge- rate the field of the exact sciences, and to place the geometrician upon ground which does not belong to hira ; they may reproach me for engaging in absurd speculations, and with inquiring into measures where things do not admit of being measured. In respect to the charge of materialism, it has been reproduced so often and so regailarly on every occasion when science attempted to make a new step, and -when the spirit of philosophy, breaking through its ancient barriers, attempted a new road, that it seems almost superfluous at the present day to reply to it, the more especially that the fanatical sphit is no longer backed with chains and tortures. It can scarcely now be esteemed an insult to the Divinity, that man exercises ^he noblest of his faculties by directing his medita- tions towards the sublimest laws of the universe, by endeaA'^ouring to explain the admu-able economy and the infinite wisdom which presided at its formation. Who would ventine to accuse of dryness those philo- sophic minds, which have substituted for the narrow and paltry world, as known to the ancients, the knoAv- ledge of our magnificent solar system, and have so vastly removed the limits of our starry heaven, that genius can no longer guess its extent but with reli- gious awe? Certainly, the knowledge of the won- derful laws which regulate the system of the world, gives us a nmch nobler idea of the power of the Divi- nity, than that of the world which sublime supersti- tion wished to impose upon us. If the animal pride of man be lowered, on observing how small the spot is which he occupies upon the grain of dust of which he at one time made his universe, how much, on the other hand, ought his intelligence to be pleased at the extent of its power, shown in investigating so deeply the secrets of the heavens ! Having thus observed the progress made by astro- nomical science in regard to worlds, why should not we endeavour to follow the same course in respect to man ? Would it not be an absurdity to suppose, that, | whilst all is regulated by such admirable laws, man's existence alone should be capricious, and possessed of no conservative principle ? We need not hesitate in asserting, that such a supposition, and not the re- searches we propose making, would be injustice to the Creative Power. In respect to the second objection, I shall endeavour to answer it when estimating the moral and intellec- tual faculties of man. BOOK "FIRST. DEVELOPMENT OP THE PHYSICAL QUALITIES OP MAN. 1. The Determination of the Average Sliin in General. Wk have said that, in the course of our researches, the first step to be made would be to determine the average man, amongst different nations, both physical and moral. Perhaps the possibility of such an appre- ciation of physical quaUties, which admit of direct measurement, will be granted us : but Avhat is the course to be pursued in regard of the moral qualities ? How can we ever maintain, without absurdity, that the courage of one man is to that of another as five is to six, for example, almost as we shoidd speak of their stature ? Should we not laugh at the pretension of a geometrician, who seriously maintained that he had calculated that the genius of Homer is to that of Virgil as three to two ? Certainlj^ such pretensions would be absurd and ridiculous. It is proper, then, first of all, to agree upon the meaning of words, and to examine if that wliich Ave aim at is i^ossible, not in the actual state of science, but in such a state as science Avill some day arrive at. We cannot, indeed, demand from those Avho employ themselves Avith social physics, more than Ave should haA'e done from those who foresaAV the possibihty of forming an astronomical theory, at a i}eriod Avhen defective astronomical obser- vations and false theories, or their total absence, Avith insufficient means of calculation, only existed. It Avas especially necessary to be certain of the means of performing such a task ; it Avas afterAvards necessary to collect i^recise observations Avith zeal and perseve- rance, to create and render pei-fect the methods for using them, and thus to prepare all the necessary ele- ments of the edifice to be erected. Now, this is the course Avhich I think it proper to pm'sue in forming a system of social physics. I hold that Ave should ex- amine if it is possible to obtain the means of per- forming the desired task, and, firstly, if it is possible to determine the average man. This determination will be the subject of the three first books of this Avork. We shall, first of all, con- sider man in a phj'sical relation ; then Ave shall con- sider him with respect to his moral and mtellectual quahties. 2. Of the Determination of the Physical Qualities of the Average Man. Amongst the elements pertaining to man, some are susceptible of a direct appreciation, and the numbers Avhich represent them are true mathematical quan- tities : such are, in general, the physical qualities. Thus the Aveight and stature of a man may be mea- sm-ed directly, and we may aft^rAvards compare them with the Aveight and stature of another man. In com- paring the different men of a nation in this manner, we arrive at average values, Avhich are the weight and stature proper to be assigned to the average man of this nation : as a sequel to such an inquiry, we might then say that the Englishman is of greater height and larger size than the Frenchman or Italian. This mode of proceeding is analogous to that pursued 10 ON MAN. in physics,* in tletermining the temperature of dif- ferent countries, and comparing them with each other : tlius, we say justly, that at Paris, the mean temperature of the summer is 18 degrees cent., al- though the thermometer has almost always been either higher or lower than tliis point. We conceive, raoi'cover, that the ratio which exists between the A\-eight or stature of the average man peculiar to one of the three mentioned countries, may vary in course of time. In certain cases, we employ non-material measures, as when we attempt to appreciate the average dura- tion of life for any particular nation, or to estimate at what age the average man of that nation ceases to exist. Life is measured by duration, and this mea- surement admits of quite as much precision as we employ in physics. Lastly, we may employ conventional measurements, as Avhen Ave estimate the riches, productions, and con- sumption of one country, and compare them with those of another. All these calculations have already been made by economists, with greater or less accu- racy ; therefore they cannot appear strange to us. There are elements iDcrtaining to man, Avhich can- not be measured directly, and which are only appre- ciable hy their effects : of this number is the ;?trength of man. "We are of opinion that it is not absurd to say that such a man is twice as strong as another when pressing with his hands, if this pressure, ap- plied against an obstacle, produces efiects which are as two to one. Only, it then becomes necessary to admit that causes arc pi'oportionate to effects ; and it is necessary to take great care, in estimating the effects, to place the individuals in similar circum- stances. Thus, for example, we might make serious errors in employing the dynamometer of Rcgnier in- discriminately for all persons, because the size of tlie hands, or the height of the stature, may have some influence, so that one handles the instrument with a greater or less degree of facility. It results from what has preceded, that, in the determination of the average man, considered with respect to physical qualities, the greatest difficulty consists in collecting exact observations in sufficient number to arrive at results Avhich deserve some de- gree of confidence. In the first book, avc shall examine all Avhich relates to the life of man, liis reproduction, and mortality ; in the second, we shall be occupied with the development of ills stature, weight, strength, and his physical qua- lities in general. CHAPTER I. OF ISIRTHS IN GENERAL, AND OF FECUNDITY. 1. Of Births. The act of birth is connected with conception, in the same manner as the effect is connected with the cause which prodvices it: to the first we attach tlic idea of necessity, and to the second tliat of free will.f As in other subjects, Ave generally lose sight of causes Avhicli have acted long anterior to the effects Ave observe ; our attention is not attracted to the regularity Avith winch births are produced — Ave arc accustomed to regard them as natural phenomena, Avith Avhich the Avill of man is but feebly concerned. If Ave observe the influ- ence of seasons, places, years of abundance or scarcity, &c., it is rather as acting on our physical than on our moral qualities — it is as modifying the facility and not the volition Avhich avc have in reproduction. * [The term physics, as here used, is synonynious vvitli the terms nntural or experimental philohophy, as used in tiiis country.] f We generally consider tlic duration of pregnane}' to be nine months. 1 do not know whetlier researches liave been made to ascertain if any causes exist influencing this duration, and if their influence luas been calculated. IMoreover, Ave have a very natural dislike to consider our Avill as influenced by physical causes. Whatever be the nature <^f the causes Avhich produce births in greater or less number, Avith more or less regularity, the thing most important to be knoAvn is the result Avhich folloAvs ; Ave shall afterwards be able to inquire Avhat nature performs, and Avhat belongs to the disturbing action of man. In order to facilitate this inquiry, Ave shall first examine successively hoAV births are produced, taking into consideration the times, places, sexes, seasons, hours of the day, and other causes Avhich are external to the man ; and thereby Ave shall be more able to compare the influ- ence of these causes Avith those Avhich man exercises, in virtue of his mode of existence and of his political and religious institutions. 2. Of Fecundity. Taken in an absolute sense, the annual number of births of a country has only an indifferent degree of importanc'c, but it acquires a very great value when Ave compare it Avith the other elements of population of this country. We may first employ it to measure the fecundity, by comparing it Avitli the actual number of the population or Avith the annual number of mar- riages. In the first case, Ave obtain a measure of the fecundity of the population, and in the second case of that of the fecundity of marriages. Statisticians avail themselves of both these measures or data, Avhich nevertheless require to be used Avith great care. When Ave compare two countries Avith respect to the fecunditj' of marriages, Ave must be veiy cautious only to compare the numl^er of legitimate births with the nimiber of marriages. We conceive, indeed, that in a country Avhere all the births Avere indiscriminately reported, Avith the number of registered marriages, the fecundity would appear too great, and the error Avould be more considerable, according as there Avere more illegitimate births and fewer marriages regularly con- firmed. The opposite error Avould take place in a country Avhere more importance Avas giA'en to esta- blishing the annual number of marriages than tliat of births. In general, it is necessary to distrust the num- ber expressing the fecundity of the marriages of a country, Avhen the civil records are cai-elessly kept, or Avhen the registrations are not made imiformly. I think England may be especially pointed out as pre- senting luimbers Avhich have often led those inquirers into error Avho have availed themselves of them.* JMalthus observes, that the ratio of births to mar- riages, taken as a measure of fecundity, supposes a stationary population : if the popidation Avere increas- ing, for example, its increase would be more rapid, and the real fecundity of marriages Avould the more exceed the proportion of births to marriages.f This able economist points out several otlier circinnstances wliich it is proper to consider in estimating fecundity', such as marriages for the second or third time, late marriages sanctioned by local customs, and frequent emigrations or immigrations. J As it respects political economy, the number Avhicli expresses the fecundity of a population is perhaps more important than that Avhich expresses the fecun- chty of marriages. Indeed, the economist is generally more concerned Avith the increase which the popula- tion receiA'cs tlian Avith tlic manner in Avhich this increase takes i)]ace. The fecundity of marriages miglit be exactly the same in t\\ o diflerent countries, Avitiiout the popttlation being tlie same. In countries, for example, Avhere prudent foresight renders mar- riages less numerous, there AviU be fcAver births ; ou * Jlaltlnis— Essjii sur le Trincipc dc Population, tome ii. p. 212. (Jeneva Edition : ll).'iO. •! The words of Mr Malthus arc (Md cd., vol. ii. p. G)— " The more rapid is the increase of population, the more will the real prolificncss of marriiiges exceed the proportion of births to mar- riages in the registers." % Ibid., tome ii. p. 219. English Kditicm, book ii. cU. 9. ON MAN. 11 the contrary, in countries wliose inhabitants are im- provident and careless, and in new countries, where the immigrations are numerous and wliere tlie settlements are formed by persons generally at a reproductive age, we find a great fecundity in the population. These are important distinctions to be made, to avoid all kinds of error, either in making estimates or in the approximating of numbers. Another very common error in statistical Avorks proceeds from an erroneous estimate of the population : scarcely sufficient attention has been hitherto paid to this subject. Wlien census are not accurately made, we generally obtain too small a number as the amount of the populjition, and the fecundity, calculated from it, must appear too great. This is an error which I point out here, because I have committed it myself in my first essays on statistics and in speaking of the fecundity of the ancient kingdom of tlie Netherlands : it resulted from this circumstance that certain pro- vinces were found in a very unfiivourable state com- pared with others ; but a deeper examination has shown me what caused my mistakes, and has led me to solicit the government, with active entreaty, for a census, henceforth become necessary ; which was effectually accomplished in 1829. There is one particular case in M-hich the ratio be- tween the fecundity of one country and that of another remains exactly the same, whether we estimate it ac- cording to the population or according to the annual number of marriages ; this is Avhen the populations of the countries which we compare are homogeneous or composed of the same elements — when, on both sides, we annually count the same number of marriages to the same number of inhabitants.* I thought I ought to present the prcceiling obser- vations on the calculation of fecundity, before examin- ing all wliich relates to births. We shall now proceed more safely in endeavouring successively to appreciate the influence which natural and dialurbiiig cnus<:s exer- cise over births. CHAPTER 11. OF TUE LM'LUENCE OF NATURAL CAUSES ON THE NUJIBER OF BIRTHS. 1. Influence of the Sexes. TuERE is a very remarkable fact, which has been long ago observed, although we do not yet know the true causes of it. It is this — that more boys are born annually than girls. Now, since the proportion of male to female births does not differ much from unity, or is almost the same for the different comitries for which it has been calculated, it has been necessary to have recourse to numerous obsei'vations to deter- mine it •with some precision. After more than four- teen and a half millions of observations made in * Some calculations which I shall advance will make tliis easily understood. Let / be the fecundity of a coimtry, )i the annual number of births, m that of marriages, c the remainder of the population, and./'', «', m', and c', respectively, the same numbers for another country ; we shall have for the feemidity of marriages the proportion /:/'::^:4. m III Xow, if the populations be homogeneous, as in the case which wo are supposing, wc shall also have 111 m' c + in C + 111'' Now, if we multiply both terms of the latter ratio of the propor- tion by this equality, we shall have ■^ •' c + m c' + m" — a result agreeable to what is advanced in the text, since the tci-ms of the latter ratio represent the fecimdity of the popula- tion. li France, from 1817 to 1831, the value of this ratio If as- been as 106-38 to 100 ; and its average value has varied but little, taking one year with another.* To know whether climate influences the ratio in question, thirty of the most southern departments of France have been considered separately. The births in these departments, from 1817 to 1831, have been 2,119,162 males, and 1,990,720 females ; the ratio of the first number to the second is as 105-95 to 100 — nearly the same as for the Avhole of France. This result would lead us to conclude, that the superior number of male to female births does not depend, in any sensible degree, on climate.f However, in order to ascertain more decidedly the influence exercised by climate, it will be proper to extend our researches beyond the limits of France. Taking our data from the principal European states, we find the following results, according to M. Bickes, who has collected more than seventy millions of observations : % — Males to States and Provinces. lOO Females. Itussia, ...... 108-91 The province of Milan, .... 107-61 Mecklenburg, - - . . . 107-07 France, -.-... l06-55 Belgium and Holland, .... 106-44 IJrandenburgand Pomerania, ... 106-27 Kingdom of tlie Two Sicilies, - - - , 106-18 Austrian Monarchy, ..... 106-10 Silesia and Saxony, .... 10605 Prussian States («i »?!(?.«<;), .... 105'94 Westphalia and Grand Dutcliy of the Rhine, - 105-86 Kingdom of Wurteniburg, .... 105-60 Fastern Prussia and Dutchy of Posen, - - 105-66 Kingdom of Bohemia, .... 105-38 Great Britain, ..... 104-75 Sweden, - - - - - - 104-62 -\verage for Em'ope, - 106. Some travellers have thought that hot climates are more favourable to feniale births ; but numbers have not confirmed this opinion, at least from what we have just seen in Europe. However, more observa- tions than we possess are necessary, and especially observations collected near the efiuator, Ijefore we can affirnr that the influence of climates is absolutely in- sensible. The following are the observations made at the Cape of Good Hope, on the white population § residing there, and also on the slave population : || — Free Births. Slave Births. 1 ears. Males. Females. Males. Females. 1813, 686 70(j 1118 234 1814, - " - 802 025 230 183 1815, 888 894 221 193 1810, - 8(15 892 325 294 1817, 918 927 487 467 ,1818, - 814 H-!2 516 482 1819, 810 815 506 509 18:20, - 881 898 463 464 Total, 66(14 6789 2936 2826 Thus, among the free births, the females numeri- cally exceed those of the males ; and this result is reproduced every year.^ * Annuaire du Bureau des Longitudes, 1034. f Ibid. t Jlemorial Encycl. Mai 1832. § Journal Asiatiquc, Juillet 1826 ; and Sadler, tome ii. p. 371. II Elements of Medical Statistics, by Hawkins, p. 51. ^ [It appears to the translator, that the predominance of female over male births, amongst the white race of the Cape of Good Hope, is not so much owing to climate as to the peculiarity of race : the free white population of the Cape are, as near as may be, purely Saxon, descended from the old Dutch families, who originally settled there about two hundred and seventy years ago. They have preserved the purity of their blood with great care. 12 ON MAN. It appears that residence in town or country is not without its influence on the ratio of births of tlie two sexes, as we may judge fi'om the Belgic documents: — Years. Births in the Towns. Births in the Country. Boys. Girls. Ratio. Boys. Girls. Ratio. 1815 to 1824, 1825 to 1829, 164,376 87,516 164,110 83,122 106-66 105-29 472,221 256,751 441,502 241,989 106-96 106-10 The number of boys, compared with that of girls, has then been smaller in town than in the country : it is to be observed, that both ratios have sensibly diminished during the latter period. This influence of town residence, tending to diminish the proportional number of births, is also observed in other countries. This is seen in the following table, in which M. Bickes has found another kind of in- fluence, namely, legitimacy of birth : * — States and Provinces. Boj'S to 100 Girls. Legitimate. Illegitimate. France, 106-69 104-78 Austrian monarchy, - - 106-15 104-32 Prussian monarchy. 106-17 102-89 Sweden, - 104-73 103-12 "VVurtembxu-g, 105-97 103-54 Bohemia, - - . - 105-65 100-44 Province of Milan, 107-79 102-30 Eastern Prussia and Posen , - - 105-81 103-60 Brandenburg and Pomerania, 106-65 102-42 Silesia and Saxony, - - 106-30 103-27 Westphalia .and the Dutchy of the Lower Rhine, 106-07 101-55 Cities. Paris, 10.'i-82 103-42 Amsterdam, ... 105-00 108-83 Xeghorn, 104-68 93-21 Frankfort-on-the Maine, 102-83 107-84 leipsic, . . . . 106-16 105-94 Thus all the documents relative to states agree in giving a larger proportional number of boys for legi- timate than for illegitimate births. This difference is much less conspicuous for towns. M. Bickes has extended his researches concerning legitimate births to a great number of cities ; and the average of the ratios, which I have calculated, gives 104'74, a value which is very sensibly inferior to that which all the European states give. M. Poisson, some years ago, made researches into this singular circumstance, that the ratio of male to female births, for natural children, differs sensibly from the general ratio of Prance taken altogether ; and he has obtained, from the documents of 1817 to 1826 inclusively, 21-20ths instead of 16-15ths. M. Mathieu also had arrived at a similar result.f With the view of throwing more light on this interesting subject, Mr Babbage has also carefully collected the numbers of several different countries, and presented them, with all the desirable details, in^ a letter, which is inserted in Brewster's Journal of Sciences, new series. No. I. I have extracted the principal results. intermingling as little as possible with the dark races, whether CafTre or Hottentot. Generally speaking, they hold the mulatto in great dislike and contempt ; so that, amongst the pure Dutch of the Cape, a mulatto, however slightly tinged, has hitherto had little chance of acquiring a proper status in society. AVith respect to M. Quetelet's table of births, it seems prob.ablo that an excess of boys over girls is a law chiefly with the Celtic and Sarmatian races, and that in respect to the pure S.axon race, there exists cither an opposite law, namely, the excess of females over males, or, perhaps, as near as may be, an equality; but the translator inclines to the opinion that the excess will be in the females with respect to the S.axon race.] * Zeitung fur das Gesammte Medicinal wesen. Also, An. dc Hygiene, Oct. 1832. t Annuaire et lo tome ix. dcs M(!moirc3 dc I'Acadcmie des Sciences, p. 239. Legitimate Births. Number of Births observed. Illegitimate Births. Number of Births Female. Male. Female. Male. observed. France, Naples, Prussia, Westphalia, Montpellier, 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,657 10,452 10,609 10,471 10,707 9,656,135 1,059,055 3,672,251 151,169 25,064 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,484 10,367 10,278 10,039 10,081 673,047 51,.-i09 212,804 19,950 2,735 Averages, 10,000 10,575 10,000 10,250 In quoting these numbers, M. Prevost observes, that, independently of the physiological cause which gives a greater facility to male births, there exists an accessory cause in legitimate births especially, which stni further increases this facility, and which he at- tributes to a sort of preference generally given to children of the male sex. "Is not the end of this preference," says he, " to prevent, after male births, the increase of the family, and consequently to in- crease the proportional ratio of the latter ? Parents have one son : if different causes impede the increase of their family, they will perhaps be less uneasy at this privation, when their first wish is accomplished, than they would liaA^e been if they had not had male children. Would not this diminution of births, after one or two sons, tend to increase the ratio of male births ?" * Without denying the influence which this moral restraint may exercise in certain cases, I think it altogether insufiicent to explain the results which I shall soon advance. M. Giron dc Buzareignes has also commmiicated to the Parisian Academy of Sciences some researches made in Prance, on the births of children of both sexes.f He divides society into three classes : the first is composed of persons whose occupations tend to develop the physical qualities ; the second, of persons Avhose occupations tend to weaken tliese powers ; and, lastly, the third, of persons whose occupations are of a mixed kind. According to this observer, the pro- portional number of male births in the first class will 1)0 greater than that which Prance furnishes in gene- ral ; in the second class, it will be the contrary ; and in the third, both numbers will be equal. Thus, agri- cultural occupations are favourable to the develop- ment of male births, whilst commerce and manufac- tiu'cs produce an opposite effect. This observation agi'ees very well with the results which have been previously pointed out for town and country, but it does not sustain an equal examination when applied to the different states of Europe. M. Bickes, who is much inclined to question the opinion advanced by M. Giron de Buzareignes, has presented a new explanation of the causes which occasion the ratio of tlie sexes to vary. According to him, " It is in the blood (the constitution, the race) of people or nations, who differ more or less from each other in this respect, that the powers or causes reside, whatever they may be, Avhich determine the produc- tion of many boys. Political and civil institutions, customs, habitual occupations, mode of life, wealtli, indigence, &c. — all these things liavc no influence on the respective ratio according to which the two sexes come into the world." We should liave much difli- culty to explain by this means hoAv, in tlie same people, the ratio of births of the two sexes presents such sensible differences in town and country. As to the effect of legitimacy on tlie preponderance of female births, M. Bickes thinks that the first cause of it cannot be demonstrated.^ We shall soon find other obstacles to his hyiiothesis. Professor Hofiicker has made some researches in Germany, on the influ- ence of the age of parents on male and female births, whence it results, that in general, when the mother is older than the father, fewer boys than girls are * Bibliothfeque ITniverscUe de Genfcve. Oct. 1829, p. 140, eiseq. ■\ Bulletin de M. Fc^-rassac, tomexii. p. 3. :]: Annales de Hygiene, Oct. 1832, p. 4.59. ON MAN. 13 born ; the same is the case when the parents are of equal ages ; but the more the father's age exceeds that of the mother, so is the ratio of boys greater. The different results of M. Hofacker are brought together in the following table : — observe any difference of facility in producing infants ^of one sex rather than of another. This facility, accord- ing to liim, only depends on the relative ages of the parents : tliis he deduces from the following numbers, extracted from registers of marriages : — Ages of the Man and Woman'. The man being younger than the woniEin, as old as the woman, ... older from 3 to 6 years, ... • • from 6 to 9 years, - from 9 to 18 years, by 18 years and upwards. The man from 24 to 36 — the woman from 16 to £6 years, 36to46 •• • ■ 30 to 48 years, 48 to CO years. young, middle-aged, - older, - middle-aged, - older, - Boys to 100 Girls. 90-6 - 900 103-4 - 124-7 143-7 - 200'0 116-6 - 95-4 176-9 - 114-3 109-2 - 190-0 164-3 If these results were deduced from sufficiently numerous observations, and so accurate as to deserve enth-e confidence, and if they were verified iia other countries, they would present a very powerful argu- ment in favour of the hypothesis, that the births of one or the other sex can be made to predominate at will. We must regret that there are still so few proper documents to elucidate this delicate question ; the only ones which I have succeeded in procuring are found in the work of IMr Sadler on the " Law of Population." I shaU first present a table extracted from the registers of the peers of England, and let it be observed that it only includes first marriages :— Difference of Ages : the Number of MaiTiages. Eirths. Ratio of Births. being — Male. Female. Male. Female. Younger, As old, - Older from I to 6 years, 6 to 11,- - II to 16, - 16 and iip- wai-ds, - 54 18 126 107 43 33 122 64 .166 327 143 93 141 57 353 258 97 67 865 948 1037 1267 1474 1632 lOO 100 100 100 100 100 Total, 381 1105 963 Children by each Marriage. 4-87 617 5-71 5-47 5-58 These results agree perfectly with those of M. Hofacker. I have calculated in the latter column the fecundity of the marriages, which has likewise a value depending on the respective ages of the espoused. Li examining the influence of the age of the parents on births, Mr Sadler has been led to the following conclusions : — The ratio in which the sexes are born is regulated by the difference of age of the parents, in such a manner that the sex of the father or the mother will preponderate beyond the average of the total number of births, according to the party which has the excess of age. On the other hand, the sex which is in excess Avill have a mortality depending on the period which separates tlie age of the parents, so that the sexes will be balanced in numbers, towards the ordinary period of marriage. It is thus that jNIr Sadler explains how the propor- tional nmnber of male births is not so great in the manufacturing towns of England as in the country, where men marry later, and present a greater diffe- rence of age to the women whom they espouse.* He also extends his exiilanation to the difference which is observed between legitimate and illegitimate births. Mr Sadler, moreover, finds, that m considering the age of the father or the mother separately, we do not * It is a fact which appcai-s well established by several statis- ticians, and by Mr Jlilne in particular (Traitd des Annuit<;s, vol ii. p. 493), that precocious marriages generally produce a greater munbcr of daughters. Age of the Couples at Number of Marriages. Births. Ratio of Births. the time of Marriage.* Male. Female. Male. Female. Under 21, 54 143 124 1153 1000 21 to 26, 307 668 712 938 1000 26 to 31, 284 696 609 1143 1000 31 to 3G, 137 298 263 1133 1000 36 to 41, 80 149 151 987 1000 41 to 46, 58 93 83 1120 1000 46 to 51, 51 79 83 952 1000 51 to 61, 30 27 17 1588 1000 61 and up- wards. 16 " 8 625 ICOO Total, 1027 2158 2050 1052 1000 Fecundity. 4-94 4-50 4-59 4-10 3-33 3-04 317 1.47 0-81 Ages of the Wives of the Couples. Under 16, 16 to 21, 21 to 26, 26 to 31, 31 to 36, 36 and up- wards. Total, Number of Marriages. 13 177 191 60 21 471 Male. Female 37 502 512 115 40 33 387 485 92 36 Ratio of Births. Male. Female. 1121 1299 1055 1250 1110 1000 lOOO 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 Fecvmdity. 5-38 5-02 5-22 3-43 3-62 2-89 Since these numbers aire generally small, it would perhaps have been better had they been arranged imder fewer heads. It appears to me that we might reduce them to the three following: under 26 years, from 26 to 36 years, and upAvards of 36 years. We then obtain respectively 970, 1140, 1032 male births for 1000 female ones, when taking the couples ; and 1161, 1211, 1000, Avhen taking the wives. We see that the period between 26 and 36 years gives a few more male births. Lastly, in extending his researches to widows and widowers, Mr Sadler further finds, from the registers of English couples, that the widowers tend to produce more female children. Age of the Widowers or Widows at the time of Slarriage. Number of 2d & 3d Wedlocks. 22 to 27, - 27 to 32, - 32 to 37, - 37 to 42, - 42 to 47, - 47 to 52, - 52 and up- wards, - Total, Births. Ratio of the Births. 107 Male. Female. 33 39 66 32 38 43 Male. Female. 91-3 84-6 77-3 90-6 790 69-9 66-7 79-7 100 100 100 100 100 100 Children by Marriage. 4-00 4-87 3-58 4-25 4-87 2-08 The ratio is so marked, that we find it almost corre- sponds to the different ages. It results from the examination of the probable causes which may produce the inequality between the births of male and female children which has just been pointed out, that the most influential, if we may trust to the few documents Avhicli science at present possesses, is evidently that which the difference of age of the parents produces: Ave might even think that the other causes which have been pomted out, are in some manner the effects of it. Lideed, it ge- * All the numbers of this and the following tabic have been t.ilien from fruitful first marriages. 14 ON MAN. nerally liappeus tlirougliout Europe, tliat men, ■when they marry, are five or six years older than Avoraen, f!d that tiie preponderance of male births Avill be almost the same, as is established by the researches of Hofacker and Sadler, Avho give, as the ratio of births of both sexes, the number 103-5 nearly, when the father is from 1 to 6 years older than the mother. Now, Ave think that this ratio Avill be larger or smaller, according as the difference of age of the parents is greater or less in the different nations, in town or country, among the persons whose connexions are legitimate or illegitimate ; and, lastly, according to all the circumstances which may cause the ages to vary at which production takes i^lace ; so that the age of the parents Avill be the principal regulator which determines the magnitude of the ratio between tiie births of the two sexes. Hence we see how impor- tant it is to direct our researches to the age at Avhich marriage takes place, especially since the greater or less mortality of childi-en depends on these ages.* 2. Influence of Age on the Fecundity of Jlarriages. "VVe have .iust seen that the relative age of the parties exercises a sensible influence on tlie ratio of male births : it is natural to suppose, that it will have still more influence with regard to the number of births, or the fecundity. I am not acquainted with much on this subject besides the researches of Mr Sadler, which were undertaken Avith tlie design of shoAving that the age of parents, considered apart, has no influence on the ratio of male to female births. I liaA^e introduced them above, taking care to calcu- late the number expressing the fecundity in the last column. HoAvever, since the numbers of Mr Sadler are generaUy small, I have thought proper to receive fcAver divisions of ages, which will give a greater pro- bability to my particular results : Ave may sum up all these results in the following table : — According to tlie Registers of English Number of Children procreated by one Individual ; being at tlie time of Marriage — ■ Couples. Under 26 years. Between 20 and SO. Jlore than .3G years. Husbands, Wives, Widowers & Widows. 511 r,\3 8 no t 4-4.3 3-49 4 -.50 2-84 2-8;) 3(i() We see that the fecmidity of marriages, all things being equal, diminishes in proportion to the increas- * [Assuming as a, fact, an assertion Avhich has been often made, that thoughtless and premature marriages, that is, Avhcn both sexes are very joung, take place to a much greater extent in Ireland than in most otlier countries, records of such marriages Avould go far to solve the difficult question proposed above by J\I. Quotelet : such records, if they exist, might be compared Avith tliose of Holland, where it is presmned that a moral condition of the people exists, which is the antithesis to the Irish character. A comparison of these records Avitli eacli other avouM go far to solve the question. Sliould it bo found that the male sex still predominates in births in Ireland, it would then be clear tliat the theory of age proposed by M. Buzarcigiios, and supported by I\I. Quetelet, would be at fault, whilst that of Bickes, or the theory of race, Avhich is the view supported by tlic translator, Avould be the true one. It is quite possible, however, that both causes may have their influence ; but a glance at the table, page 12, proves indisputably, as far as such records go, that, commencing in Eastern Europe Avith the Sclavonic race, amongst whom we find the dispropor- tion of boys to girls greatest, and passing through the mixed Sclavonic and Saxon races of Prussia, and through the Celtic nations of France and the north of Italy, to Westphalia, Great Britain, and Sweden, where the Saxon rilce exists in its greatest purity, Ave find the disproportion between boys and girls constantly decreasing, and are entitled, therefore, to conclude, that whatever other causes may be in operation, blood or race comes in for at least a considerable share in the efl'ccts.] t This number being founded on five mari'iages only, which pvoduced 44 children, cannot be entitled to much conftdoncc. ing age of the parties. To observe the influence of age itself on the fecundity of individuals, it woifld be necessary to compute the probability of life in mar- rying; for it is very evident that he who has yet twice as long to live as another person, may hope, all things being equal, to procreate more children. It is very true, on the other hand, that tliose Avho marry young have some fear lest they should have too numerous a ttimily ; Avhich is not the case Avhen per- sons marry at a more advanced age. In supposing, as a kind of limit, that, all things being equal, the fecundity depends on the probability of life, it Avould be necessary for each age to divide each of the ratios previously found by the corresponding number Avliich expresses the length of the probable life. Now, in admitting approximatively 36, 32, and 21 years, as the probability of life of the individuals of the first class ; afterwards, for the women, 40, 34, and 23 years ; and, lastly, for the widows, 38, 33, and 22 years, Ave shall have, as the relative values of fecundity — According to the Registers of English Number of Children procreated by one Individual ; being at the time of IMarriage — Couples. Under 26 years. Between 26 and 36. More than 36 years. Husbands, Wives, AVidowers & Widows, 0-142 0-128 0-131 0-130 0103 0-136 0-1.35 0-125 0-166 These numbers, Avhich only express the relative fecundity, serve, moreover, to shoAv that the greatest aptitude for reproduction is evidently, among the in- dividuals whom Ave are considering, before the age of 26 years ; moreover, Ave see tliat it is not sensibly diminished in men until the 36th year. The data for females are too fcAv to be relied on, since they only include nine Avonien more than 36 years of age. When Ave consider the respective ages of the hus- bands, Ave find, stUl availing ourselves of the numbers furnished by Mr Sadler, and which we have quoted above, that the fecundity of marriages reaches its greatest value Avhen the ages of the married persons are the same, or Avhen the man is from 1 to 6 years older than the woman : it does laot sensibly diminish, if the difference of age does not exceed 16 years; but Avhen it is greater, or Avhcn the man is younger than the woman, the fecundity seems to be at its minimum. These are resiflts Avhich it is in some measirre easy to foresee. Moreover, I only proposed to point out these researches, Avithout pretending to go deeply into them, since adequate data are stUl Avanting. ]\Ir Sadler, in another part of his work, has ascer- tained the nmnber of children produced by the Avives of those couples in England Avhose ages at the time of marriage he has been able to determine : putting down all the marriages this time, Avhether they Avere fruitful or not, or were born during the first or second time of Avedlock ; and these are his results : — Age at the time of Marriage. Number of Marriages. Number of Children. Mortality of Children be- fore the Mar- riageable Age. Births by Mai-riagc. Deaths for one Birth. 12 to 15, 16 to 19, 20 to 23, 24 to 27, 32 172 198 86 141 797 10.3.3 467 40 166 195 180 4-40 4-63 5-21 S-43 0-283 0-208 0-188 0-171 We see here that, from 12 to 27 j'ears, the fecun- dity of Avomen continues to increase. At first view, this result appears contrary to those Avhich have been previously obtained ; but it is proper to observe, that he is considering marriages in general, and not, as Ave have previously supposed, fruitful marriages in par- ticular. We have seen that, on this latter hypothesis, the fecundity of women does not perceptibly vary under the age of 26 years. We can then only attri- ON MAN. 16 liute the diflcronce to this, that many women, married hite in Hfe, continue barren. Moreover, it results from the calculations of i\Ir Sadler, that the children procreated by too premature marriages are more sub- ject to mortality than others. It is, besides, very odd, that the statistician, who has calculated the preceding tables witli a definite object, has not extended their application beyond the age of 27 years. It is also nuich to be desired that he had ascertained the ratio of fruitful to barren women, for the different ages at which marriages have taken place. Not to choose the individuals Avliom he examines from a privileged class, Mr Sadler has also given a table from 2860 cases of child-birth, attended by Dr Granville in several of the principal benevolent esta- blishments in London : we shall quote it here. to o tc o C h O a5 £ t^ o. a |3 lire ^1 S ■■ 3 :3 "^ o 3 " U O o i« l.-JtolC, 74 376 209 lfi7 0-44 0-46 508 17 to 20, 354 1307 751 55G 0-43 0-.W 3.70 21 to 24, 2ai 823 474 .•wg 0-42 0-52 2-91 25 to 28, J 10 2»7 170 117 0-41 55 2-61 29 to 32,* 38 G7 Hi 31 0-31 0-59 2-03 This table deserves to be carefully examined. We first observe that the mortality of children is some- what less, in proportion as the marriages are less precocious ; afterwards, the numbers of the seventh column, which Islr Sadler gives as having been cal- culated by 'Mr Finlayson from accounts taken of the ages of the delivei'cd women, whom he does not know or of whom he takes no account, would tend to show that fecundity is greater as the woman is younger, and on this side of the term of ."52 years. Never- theless, from the last column, which I have added, and which I have made from the numbers of the table, it is easy to see that, if the annual fecundity be less, the fruitful women Avho \\n\c married early, all tilings being equal, have produced more children; wliich brings us l3ack to the observation already made on the wives of peers. It is singular that ^Ir Sadler should not have examined the fecundity in both these cases : it seems to me, that he would have found less solid arguments in favour of the law of population which he endeavours to establish. "We certainly sec, from the numbers of ^Mr Finlay- son, that there is a somewhat greater annual fecun- dity for women married late ; but it does not compen- sate for the excess of absolute fecundity of those who have married early. Generally, when a man marries a woman verj' young, he endeavours to take care of her, and her family may become numerous without his object being to make it so : on the contrarj', if he marry a person groM-n up, he no longer thinks care so necessary ; and, on the other hand, if he wishes to have a family, the time becomes more precious to him, as the age of his wife is advanced.f It seems to me that the following consequences naturally follow from what has been said : — 1. Too premature marriages bring on sterility, and I)roduce children who have less likelihood of living. 2. A marriage, if it be not barren, produces the same number of births, at whatever period it takes place, provided that the man's age does not exceed .■J3, or that of the woman 26 years. After these ages, the number of children produced diminishes. 3. From the preceding result, and from a conside- ration of the probability of life, we may infer that it * It is evident that there are errors in this line, wliieh we thought necessarj' to copy exactly. t The table of Jlr Finlayson, wliieh is more extended than that of Mr Sadler, gives 0-78 as the annual fecundity of a woman from 33 to 30 years of age, and M2 for one from 37 to 39 years of nge. is before the age of 3.1 years of the man, and 26 of the woman, that we observe the greatest fecundity. 4. If we may reckon the respective ages of married persons, we find that, all things being equal, the mar- riages most productive are those in which the man is at least as old as the woman, or older, yet not much exceeding her time of life. After these observations, it becomes interesting to examine if man, in our climate, conforms to the laws which natm-e appears to have attached to fecundity, and if he reproduces at the most appropriate period of life. To establish this period, it would be necessary to know the age of parents at the time of the birth of their children. From the want of these documents, we may recur to the ages at which marriages take place, and admit, with sufficient probability, as an average term, that the birth of the first-born takes place within the first year which follows marriage. In this lu'pothesis, it will be necessary to recm' to tables of population ; and some calculations, foimded on the probability of life, will assist us in determining the marriage ages. The following table will explain the course which we have followed. The second and the fourth columns, from the Belgic population table, inform us of the number of men and women who are married, and who are of the age stated in the first column ; moreover, also, whether they are yet mar- ried, or in the state of widoM'hood. The third and fifth columns point out what becomes of the same individuals in the period which follows, taking their mortality into account. The calculations have not been extended beyond 56 j'ears, since the results after that period could only be very doubtful. Slarried Jlen or INIarried Women Widowers. or AVidows. Age. Number Number Number Number of when of when tlie Tables. Reduced. the Tables. Reduced. From 14 to 16, - 4 4 . • 10 to 20, - BO 91 403 987 • • 20 to 25, - 3,278 3,029 5,981 5,594 • . 25 to 30, - 14,025 13,175 16,256 15,204 • • 30 to 35, - 20,879 19,628 21,928 20,552 • • .35 to 40, - 19,374 18,140 22,660 21,143 • • 40 to 45, - 18,951 17,512 22,138 20,566 • • 45 to SO, - 18,a50 10,583 19,950 18,312 • • 50 to 53, - 11,708 10,804 12,453 11,607 • • 53 to 56, - 9,925 9,087 10,130 9,432 Now, to arrive at the number of marriages which have taken place between 20 and 25 years among the men, it will be sufficient to take from the number of married individuals of this age the number of those who -were so before arriving at the age of 20 xexrs : it will be necessary, moreover, to take into conside- ration the mortality of the latter ; so that from 3278 we take away 91: the remainder, 3187, gives the number of marriages which have been made. In the same manner, the nmnber of marriages which have been made between 25 and 30 j-ears, will be calculated by taking 3029 from 14,025. We proceed in the same manner with the succeeding numbers ; for the two classes which exceed fifty years, we must remember that they only include three years. To avoid any con- fusion in the calculation, we have, in the following results, employed the numbers of an average year of each period. Age. From 14 to 16 years, .. 16 to 20 •• - • . 20 to 25 • • .. 25 to 30 •• - • • 30 to 35 ■ • . . 35 to 40 ■ ■ - • • 40 to 45 • • . • 45 to 50 • • - . . 50 to 53 . . .. 53 to 56 •• - Marriages which have taken place. Men. Women. 2 - 24 80 6.17 1118 - 2190 2132 1541 l.-HS - 51 422 102 209 - 169 123 586 489 - 313 522 16 ON MAN. Some negative quantities are presented among tliese numbers, which may arise from a greater mortality than that which we have supposed ; or from this ck- cumstance, that at certain times there are lacuna, or voids, in the population ; or stUl more from the decla- rations of married persons having heen made falsely, to conceal their age, or from other motives. We observe, indeed, that of the four negative numbers, three of them fall near the period of 50 years, which is overrated. Several persons, to give a round num- ber, as is observed in other population-tables, will pro- bably have declared themselves to be 50 years old, when they had not attained that term by some months, or even A^hen they had already passed it by some years. As to the negative number between 35 and 40 years for the men, it corresponds to tlie du'eful period of the French wars, in which the Belgians took part : the men of this age entered on their 19th year some time between 1808 and 1813. Considering what has just been said, we see that men in Belgium do not marry before 16, and probably not before 18 years of age : some Avomen have mar- ried between 14 and 16 years of age. The greatest number of marriages, both of men and loomen, take place between their 2Qth and 30th years : women, however, reach the adult period earlier tlian men ; the maximum would seem to fall about the 29th year for men, and after the 27th for women. The number of marriages diminishes very sensibly after the 35th year ; and it may be considered as almost nothing, for females at least, after the 40th j-ear. Indeed, the total, between 40 and 56 years, is only 53. The number 53 is only relative to tlie numbers of the table, and not to what really takes place. Of the men, there is a certain number who marry at even more advanced ages : thus, the preceding table gives 162 from 40 to 45 years, 169 from 45 to 50, and 273 from 50 to 53 years. From this research, it would result that a man's first child Avould be born to him when he was about 30 years of age, and the woman bemg about the age of 28 : this Avoiild give the duration of a generation in Belgium; it is also the average duration of life nearly. We shall especially insist on this coinci- dence. It is also very remarkable, that marriages only be- come frequent when men have passed the stormy period of the passions, and of the greatest tendency to crime, which happens aboiit the 24th j^ear : this is also the time when the development of the physical qualities has terminated, and the intellectual ones attain a greater energy. According to M. Friedlauder, to Avliom we are in- debted for the article MortuUtd in the Dictionnaire des Scioiccs Medicales, it would be about the 30th year that the greatest number of accouchements take place in Sweden and Finland. The following are the results Avhich he has presented, from sixteen years' observation, made prior to 1795 : — Age of the Average Annual Number of Ratio of Women Number of Number Women to AVomen to Delivered. Women alive. of Births. 10 Births. 1000 Births. ]S to 20 years, 134,548 3,298 408 33- 20 to 25 •• 129,748 10,507 78 165- 2.'-. to 30 •• 121,707 20,329 40 263- 30 to 35 • • 111,373 25,618 43 250- 35 to 40 •• 97,543 18,093 54 181- 40 to 45 . . 90,852 8,618 \m 05- 45 to 50 . . 78,897 1,694 405 17- TTpwards of 50 years, G9,2G8 39 17,760 0-4 1000-4 It is to be desired that such observations as these, which may be obtained Avith sufficient accuracy from the registers of the civil state, were more numerous ; and that all which relates to the age of the parents, and to the period of the conception or bu'th of their children, might be stated more carefully for the futm'e. 3. Influence of Places. One of the first subjects of investigation presented to the mind, when studying the circumstances con- nected with births, is the determination of the influ- ence of cUmate on fecundity. Unfortunately, the data which Ave possess on this important subject are so incomplete, and modified by so many accessory causes, that it is almost impossible to separate them from matter foreign to the question, and lay hold of results deserA'ing of confidence. Opinions, also, vary much on tills subject; and we are still ignorant whether, all things being equal, the north or the south is most faA^ourable to fecundity. If it be the fecundity of the population Avhich we compare, Ave find, CA^en in neighbouring countries, the most striking discordances ; because, errors of numbers being taken away, the accessory causes are almost ahvays more active than the influence of climate. To give an exami)le of this, I shall quote the ratio of the births to the population of different countries, from the medical statistics of Mr Hawkins.* States and Colonies. Iceland, 1819, - England, - - - Cape of Good Hope, 1820, France, . - - Sweden, Isle of Bourbon, - The Two Sicilies, Prussia, ... Venice, United States, Number of Inhabitants to one Birth. 37-0 350 33-7 31-6 270 24 5 240 23-3 22-0 20-0 It would be impossible to find any agreement be- tween these numbers and the degrees of latitude to which they refer, which might indicate the influence of climate. Even without going beyond France, Ave find very great discordances for some selected depart- ments. Thus, the ratio for that kingdom is one birth to 32 inhabitants ; whilst the ratio for the departments of Orne and Finisterre has been one to 44'83, and 25'97 respectively, for the five years 1826-30. On the other hand, taking the most southern departments of France indiscriminately, we do not find any sensible difference from those of the north. There is a pro- A'ince in America, called Guanaxuato, Avhich in 1825 had one birth to 16'08 inhabitants : f this ratio, and that of the department of Orne, may almost be con- sidered as forming the limit of the known ratios of different countries. Since the examination of the influence of climate on the fecundity of the population is rendered per- plexing by the existence of powerful influences of other kinds, Ave ouglit first to endeavour to ascertain the latter, in order to be able to judge what Avould be the fecundity of the same population, placed in tAvo different climates. Moreover, the difiiculty of obtain- ing an exact enumeration of the population, adds to the singular complexity of this research. By taking the fecundity of marriages into account in considering the hypotliesis of a homogeneous popu- lation, and only making use of the ascertained num- ber of marriages and legitimate births, Ave may hope to arrive at more conclusive results on the influence of climate. ]M. Benoiston de Chateauneuf considered this interesting question in a notice " On the Intensity of the Fecundity of Europe at the Commencement of * Elements of Medical Statistics, by E. Bisset Hawkins. Lon- don : 1029. t Bibliothdqne UniverseUe, 1833, On the Proportional Morta- lity of Norman Populations, by Sir F. PTvernnis. ON MAN. 17 the Nineteenth Century." * We shall take this phi- losopher as oxti guide iu our remarks on the fecundity of marriages. " If we divide Europe into two climates only — one of which, commencing at Portugal and terminating at the Low Countries, will tlius extend from the 40th to the 50th degree of north latitude, and represent the southern di^dsion ; whilst the other, going from Brussels to Stockholm, or from the .50th to the 67th degree, will represent the northern division — we shall find that, in the former, 100 marriages give 457 births ; and in the latter, the same number of unions only produces 430. The difference becomes still greater, if we merely compare the two extreme temperatures with each other. In Portugal, 5' 10 children are born to each marriage ; in Sweden, 3-62 only Finally, ^vithout going out of France, we may find new proofs of tliis observation. ' The fecundity,' says Moheau, 'increases from the north to the south of France. There, the average number of births by marriage is annually 5"03, and in the provinces of the north it is only 4"64/ What was true in our case, fifty years ago, is also true now. The average of births, taken for five years (1821-25), is 4'34 by marriage in our provinces in the south (Dauphiny, Languedoc, Provence), and in Flan- ders and Picardy it is only 4'OO.f These facts sufiice to show that we ought not to accuse those writers of inaccuracy who first affirmed that fecundity was greater in warm than in cold cli- mates : they were in the right. But if we extend these researches — and if, in extend- ing them to many coimtries, we generalise still more — then the differences of climate, temperature, and position disappear, their influence ceases to be mani- fested, and nature obeys other laws." According to M. Benoiston, there are born, each j'car, by marriage — States an'd Provinces. Children to one Marriage. In Portugal, .... - 5-14 • • the provinco of Bergiutiasco (Italy), C-24 • • the government of Venice, - 5-45 • ■ Savoy, .... 5-65 • • Roussillon (Eastern Pyrenees), - 5-17 ■ • a part of Dauphiny, 5-39 Lyonnais, - 5-68 Anjou, 509 Poitou, 5-4G Brittany, 5-52 Franche-Comti.', - 501 Alsace, - 6-03 • • the canton of Friboiirg, - 5-35 • • a part of Scotland, 513 • • Bohemia, . - . - - 5-27 • • Muscovy, - - - - 5-25 • • Eastern and Western Flanders, - 5-27 " These dilit^rcnt countries present a vei'y great fecundity, and we may observe that eight of them are mountainous (Brittany, Franche-Comte, Roussillon, Comte de Nice, Savoy, Fribom-g, Bohemia, Berga- masco) : we also see that these are in general fertile comitries, where the produce of the ground is adequate to the necessities of the people. It appears that in maritime countries the births are also more numerous than in inland states ; and the same is successively the case for wine, pasturage, corn, and forest countries." The following table for Belgium presents some in- teresting details : — * Annalcs des Sciences Naturelles, Dec. 1826. t M. Benoiston de Chateauneuf informs us that he has de- ducted a cei-tain number for natui-al children, hut he does not say whether the same Las been done for the rest of Europe, Provinces. lo ■3" §•■3 Births: 1825-29. 1^ Inhabitants III To one 1 To one 33S (2 S Birth. Mar. O g Antwerp, - 354,974 11,018 2,392 32 149 4-48* Brabant, - 556,146 18,803 4,035 29 137 4-68 Flanders, East 733,938 24,148 4,246 30 173 519 . . West, 601,678 20,315 4,145 30 169 4-90 Liege, - - 369,937 11,837 2,382 31 155 4-72 Hainan, - 604,957 20,016 4,323 30 140 4-51 Limbourg, - 337,703 10,589 2,422 32 139 4-37 Namur, - 212,725 11,018 1,378 32 154 4-57 Luxembourg.t 292,151 10,477 2,278 28 128 4-67 Kingdom, - 4,064,209 135,140 28,076 30 144 4-72 We see at first that the fecundity, estimated either in the ratio of the population or of the marriages, presents little difference, which is an evidence that the population is so far homogeneous ; and we shaU truly find this to be the case a little farther on. Luxembourg and Brabant, which have produced the greatest number of births in proportion to the popu- lation, are also the two provinces which, all things being equal, present the greatest number of mar- riages. The Flemings have fewer marriages, but the marriages are more fruitful there than in the rest of the kingdom, which explains why the ratio of births is exactly equal to that of the whole of Belgium. Moreover, it becomes difl[icult, from the small extent of this country, to recognise the effects of some of the influential causes which have been pointed out above, and especially difference of climate. It is here necessary to make an essential remark, which is, that generally, in estimating the fecundity of marriages iu Belgium, the total number of births has been compared with the total number of marriages, without making any deduction for illegitimate chil- dren ; and I myself confess that, owing to the want of documents, I have not made this deduction in my works. I have reason to think, from some partial data, that the proportion of illegitimate to legitimate births would differ very little from that of France, where 100 marriages produce 408 births, taking them indiscriminately, and of these only 379 are legitimate births, that is to say, 29 less. In supposing, then, that legitimate and illegitimate children are in the same ratio to each other in Belgium as in France, the figure expressing the fecvmdity of marriages woiild not be more than about 4*4, which still gives it a very high value compared with other countries. The distinction of first, second, and third times of wedlock, becomes equally important to enable us to work out the share of each of the influential causes Avith precision. In countries, indeed, Avhere successive marriages are easily accomphshed, the figure express- ing the fecundity of marriages should be very small, for the fecundity of -woman is not without limits ; and the ratio of births to marriages should neces- sarily change, if the marriages become more nu- merous, while the number of bu-ths yet remains the same. Among the causes influencing the number which expresses the fecundity, we ought to rank the cir- cumstance of a town or coimtry residence. During the decennial period of 1803 to 1813, the only one for which Ave may form calculations in Belgium, Ave find that 100 marriages have produced 484 births in the town, and 450 in the country ;$ but we might still reasonably object, that, legitimate not liaA'iug been * The fecundity of marriages has been calculated for the years between 1803 and 1829 : the numbers of this province are not very accurate, since the population is not exactly knoAvn. t The population of Luxembourg is that of 1825 : the average of the marriages for this province and for Limbourg has only been taken for three instead of five years ; the same also for the king- dom. t Recherches sur la Reproduction et la Mertalitc. 18 ON MAN. distinguished from illegitimate births, this difference can only be deceptive. If we seek to establish the ratio of the energy of fecundation to the population, Are generally find, taking only the figure of the fecundity of the great cities of Europe, that it lias a superior value to that of the adjacent country districts. We may see, in the JBuUetin des Sciences Geographiques for April 1831, a table of the changes of the population of the princi- pal cities of Europe, which, if the elements of it are exact, gives one birth for 22-4 inhabitants, as the average of 78 cities there noted. Tlie cities which present the extremes of the series are — Utrecht, 19"0 ; Liverpool, 18-0; Oporto, 19-6; London, 40-8 ; St Pe- tersburg, 467.* 'Wlien we make the distinction between city and country for Belgium, we also find that the number of births, compared to the population, is greater in the cities: it has been 1 to 29"1 between the years 1825 and 1829. In the country, its value has been 1 to 30"4 : and hence it Avould really appear, that there is a more active cause of fecundity in cities than in the country. M. Villerme, in his work on Monthly Births,f has shown that unhealthy periods, principally those of epidemics produced by marsh miasmata, are unfa- voiirable to fecundity. This philosopher has found a direct proof of it in the number of conceptions, which diminishes at those periods of the year when marshy emanations are most intense. Mr Sadler, in his Avork on the Law of Population, has examined the relation which exists between the number of marriages, of births, and of deaths : in ex- tending his comparisons to the numbers of different countries, and especially to those of England, Prance, and the old kingdom of the Low Countries, he has generally found, that places ivhich annually produce the greatest number of marriages are those ivhere the fecun- dity of marriages is the smallest, being, as it were, a sort of compensation which prevents the population of a country making too rapid an advance. The same author finds, tliat the countries where marriages are i^ery numerous, are also those which have a greater mor- taliti/. We may form some idea of his results from the following table, which is a summary of the values obtained for France : — Table showing that the rreventive Obstacle diminislies the Fecundity of Marriages, and that the Fecundity is regulated by the amount of Blortalitj'. Proportion of Marriages. 1 to no to 120 Inha- bitants, • • 120 to 130 ■ • 130 to 140 • • • • 140 to LW • • 150 to 1«0 • • 16f) to 170 ■ • 170 and more. ,, , , Legitimate > umber of Births to one Departments, j^i^rriage. 3-70 ,-!-7!> 4-17 4-30 4-43 4-48 4-84 Inhabitants to one Death. 3.r4 3IJ-2 3;)-0 400 40-3 42-7 4G-4 These facts, established by Mr Sadler, are verified by the numbers which the difft-rent parts of England furnish. Mr Sadler lias also availed himself of the documents which I had given for the ancient king- dom of the Low Countries, and found a new confir- mation of his results. I shall also present this table, which is instructive on many points. In comparing countries with each othei% after hav- ing compared the parts of which they are composeil, and in making use of the data whicli would seem to deserve most confidence, we find : — * The sniallness of this ratio for St Petersburg, is owing to the peculiar state of the population, wliich contains a much greater number of men than of women. t Annalcs de Hygiene, Janvier 1831. Inhabitants Kingdoms. For one JIarriage. For one Birth. For one Death. Fecundity. Prussia,* England, t - France, f Belgium, § ■. 102- 128- 131-4 144- 231 34-0 32-2 30-0 .36-2 49-0 39-7 430 4-23 3-77 3-79 472 These results do not so well agree with the prin- ciples which Mr Sadler has deduced from his parti- cidar observations. Limbourg, One marriage for less than 100 inhabitants Holland, Northern, Southern, Zealand, Utrecht, - One marriage for 100 to 120 inhabitants, Overyssel, - Friesland, Dreut, Guelderliind, - Hainan , Flanders, 'VA'estern, One mairiage for 120 to 140 inhabitants. 104-4 113-3 113-7 118-2 121-9 128-7 130-3 131-1 136-5 137-7 Brabant, Southoni, Antwerp, Groningen, Luxembourg, - Brabant, Northern, Liege, One marriage for 140 to IGO inhaljitants, Flanders, Eastern, - One marriage for IGO or more inhabitants, 142-2 142-9 149-3 149-9 150-0 1541 2 o •- 4-50 4-74 5-49 4-8G 4 -CO 5-75 4-69 4-75 4-98 501 29-78 5-45 4-65 .517 5-37 514 5-33 Average 4-75 4-75 34-5 35-5 31-4 36-3 137- 48-5 4(i-l 55-0 53-7 51-1 40-7 38-2 48-8 493 53-8 51-4 46-2 287-7 .\verage. 47-9 After considering all the documents produced by ]\Ir Sadler in support of his observation, it seems to me that we might truly admit as very probable, that a great mortality induces many marriages, and that marriages are less productive in proportion as they are more numerous. But I think that the author is too eager to draw arguments from them against the anti-popula- tionist, whom he strives to defeat when attempting to make particular theories prevail. It seems to me that the facts which he cites, in order to acquire all the im- portance which he is desirous of giving them, should be supported by another statistical document, namely, the number of marriages of the first, second, and third wedlocks. It is said that deaths make way for mar- riages; this is what the researches of Mr Sadler prove : it is also said that mortality increases fecundity ; and Mr Sadler opposes the i-esults at which lie has arrived to this assertion. It is here, I think, that the error * Babbage in Brewster's .Toum.al of Sciences, No. I., new series, t Bickman — Preface to the Abstract of the Population, 1821, % Annuaire du Bureau des Longitudes de Paris. § Annuaire de I'Observatoire dc Bruxelles. ON MAN. 19 Avill be found. Firstly, it is necessary not to confound the fecundity of the marriages with the feciuidity of the population : then, on the other hand, in a coun- try where the mortality would be very great, espe- cially among adult persons, the marriages of second and thu'd wedlocks would be more numerous, and each marriage would thus produce, diu'ing its conti- nuance, a fewer number of children ; although, in point of fact, the fecundity of the population were very great. For example, in the provinces of France which have the least mortality, and, as Mr Sadler observes, the fewest marriages, we find the greatest mmiber of children to each marriage. This latter observation appears to me to be a necessary conse- quence of the former : a woman, who has five children by one marriage, might, the mortality being greater, have these five children by two successive marriages, or even by a greater number. It would be very na- tural, then, that the fecundity of marriages should appear to have diminished. It is even evident, ac- cording to the mode of reasoning I have just employed, that it would be necessary to admit that, all things being equal, in a country where mortality becomes greater, marriages should become more numerous, and the fecun- dity of marriages, on the contrary, decrease. This result, which I deduce from purely rational considerations, is found to be supported by the facts brought forward by Mr Sadler ; but it does not follow that the absolute fecundity of this country should decrease, or that the country shoiild have a smaller annual number of births. I think the contrary, and believe that I can prove it a-little farther on. I What so often renders statistical results difficult of \ interpretation is, that facts are assumed as simple |which in their nature are complex. Thus, it appears to me impossible to determine any thing concerning tlie fecundity of the women of a country merely from the ratio of marriages to legitimate births : we neces- sarily ought to consider the mortality of the country we are examining, and take the marriages of second or third M'edlocks into acco\mt. I regret that INI. Benoiston de Chateamieuf, in his interesting Avork on the Fecundity of Europe, has not paid attention to this element : I think he might have overcome se- veral difficulties which his subject presented to him, (which was extremely complex), and have cxplabied some apparent anomalies. It will also be necessary henceforth, in all researches on fccmidity, to consider the age of marriage in the different localities. For examiile, it is evident, if persons do not marry at the same age in the country as in citie*, that, all things being equal, we ought to expect to find different numbers for the fecundity of marriages. The same will be the case when we com- pare certain northern states, M'here marriage takes place very late, with southern countries, where it oc- curs very early. I repeat again, that the more Ave study the phenomena of population, the more com- plexity Ave find in them ; but, at the same time, Ave have the hope of succeeding, by an analysis conducted Avith sagacity, and by using good materials, in ascer- taining the causes on Avhich they depend, and in esti- mating the degree of influence of each of these causes. 4. Influence of Years. We possess different documents, Avliich inform us of the fecundity of marriages of the same country at different periods, and Avhich thus allow us to judge . whether, all things being eqiial, this fecundity has undergone variations independent of the annual changes resulting from a more or less prosperous state of things, such as those Avhich would arise from changes in the nature of the climate, or from the progressive advance- ment of civilisation. In making use of the Prussian documents furnished by Sl'issmilch, and retaining the periods of this jiliilosopher, Ave find at first : Average Number ^ Baptisms. Periods. r ■> to one of of of Marriage. Marriages. Baptisms. Deaths. l(i!)3 to 1007, - 5,747 19,715 14,802 3-43 1698 to 1702, - 9.070 24,112 14,474 3-97 1703 to 1708, - 6,082 26,896 16,430 4-42 170!) to 1711, - 5,835 18,833 85,955 3-23 1712 to 17I6, - 4,965 21,603 11,948 4-35 1717 to 1721, - 4,324 21, ,396 12,039 4-95 1722 to 172G, - 4,719 21,452 12,863 4-55 1727 to 1731, - 4,808 20,559 12,825 4 '28 1732 to 1735, - 5,424- 22,692 15,475 4-18 1736 to 1737, - 5,522 20,394 25,425 3-69 1738 to 1742, - 5,582 22,099 15,255 3-96 1743 to 1746, - 5,469 25,275 15,117 4-62 1747 to 1761, - 6,423 28,235 17,272 4-40 1752 to 17.'i6, - 5,599 28,392 19,154 5-07 1816 to 1823, - 109,237 480,632 307,113 5-40* 1827, 106,270 524,062 368,578 4-93 t The numbers belonging to the commencement of this century are births in general, Avhilst those of Sussmilch only include baptisms ; Avhich may cause a difference, the amount of Avhich I do not knoAv hoAv to obtain. In order to arrive at the accidental causes, I have taken periods somewhat more extended than the preceding. From 1693 to 1708, •• •• 1709 to 1721, • . 1722 to 1735, - • ■ 1736 to 1746, • • 1747 to 1756, - • • 1816 to 1823, •• 1827, Average, 3-94 baptisms to one marriage. 4'18 A-m 4-09 4-73 4 -40 births to one marriage. 4-93 4-37 For England, Ave find, according to Messrs Eickman and Sadler, vol. ii. p. 478— 1700, 1770, 1780, 1785, 1790, 1795, 1800, 1805, 1810, Average, 30G baptisms to one marriage. 3 61 .. 3-56 366 3-59 3.53 3-40 3-50 3-60 3-57 j\Tr Sadler giAX'S, for the fecundity of the ye.ars 1680 to 17.30, the numbers 4*65 and 4'25, Avhich Avould seem to prove that the fecundity has diminished ; but it might also happen that this apparent increase de- pended on the manner in Avliich the numbers have been collected. J SAveden gives the foUoAving results :§ — From 1749 to 1758, . . 1759 to 1764, . . 1821 to 1826, 4-20 births to one marriage. 4-05 . . 4-03 .. Average, - 4.009 And I have found for the ancient kingdom of the TjOav Countries — From 1803 to 1812, . . 1815 to 1824, . . 1825 to 1830, 460 births to one marriage. 4-74 . . 4-831 . . Average, - 4-72 It would result from the examples Avhich have been presented, that the fecundity of marriages does not sensibly vary in the same country and in the course of a century, Avhen we include periods of time suffi- * Babbage, in Brewster's .Journal of Sciences, No. I., new series. t Bulletin des Sciences, Janvier 1830. ij: AVe might also attribute it to greater prudence and circum- spection. It has also been observed, that the proportional num- ber of marriages, for the last half century, has progressively diminished in England. — (Say — Cotirs d'Econoinie Politique, p. 7, ch. 2. § Sadler, vol. ii. pp. 258, 2G3, 20 ON MAN. ciently great to remove the accidental causes attending years of greater or less prosperity. It is remarkable that epidemics, periods of great scarcity, and all severe scourges, do not merely exer- cise a sensible influence on the number of deaths, but also on the amount of marriages and Ijirths. It does not certainly follow that, because provisions are rather dearer one year, that there should necessarily be fewer births and marriages, because the influence of this increase of price may he masked by some other cause ; but when the dearness of provisions is very decided, and when there is truly a scarcity', we have the great- est likehhood of finding it manifested in the books of marriages and births. This is what we shall easily find on inspecting the foUo-\ving table for the kingdom of the Netherlands : — Birtlis. Deaths. Mar- Price Half a Hecto- "iears. riages. of \Mieat. litre Town. Country. ToM-n. Country. of Rye. florins. florins. J815, - 59,737 135,625 49,007 88,592 48,854 4-90 3-50 ]81G, - 68,095 138,507 47,327 88,796 40,801 9'56 7-17 1817, ■ 55,207 122,348 55,240 97,368 33,881 6-79 4-28 1818, - 55,665 128,041 49,169 91,247 39,218 5-18 3-82 ]8!9, - 61,788 143,504 49,738 98,659 42,401 3-72 2-52 1030, - 61,263 133,685 50,001 94,496 43,258 3-74 208 1821, - 65,356 145,003 49,706 88,414 44,796 3-71 1-87 1822, - 67,794 151,747 52,078 95,475 40,949 3-30 2-46 1823, - 65,318 148,299 48,815 91,877 45,424 2-95 1-96 1BV4, - 67,030 151,636 47,662 87,253 44,665 2-48 1-51 1825, - 68,078 153,813 60,689 95,449 47,097 3-12 2-08 1826, - 67,919 153,970 58,749 110,155 48,054 4-02 2-96 Total, 753,250 1,706,178 608,861 1,127,781 525,398 Aver., 62,770 142,182 50,739 93,981 43,783 4-48 3-03 The year 1817 presents a much greater number of deaths, "for the cities and country, than the preceding years, Avhilst the births and marriages, on the contrary, have been much fewer : this year was really a year of scarcity, as was also the preceding one. We may observe that, during the period from 1709 to 1711, the same effect took place in Prussia, according to the numbers of Siissmilch, which have been quoted above, but from another cause — the pestilence which ravaged that country in 1710. The increase of morta- lity, also, has been accompanied by a falling oif in the number of baptisms, and that of marriages has like- wise fallen, but more particularly in the succeeding years, wliich has undoubtedly been owing to the va- cuity which Avas formed in the class of adult persons. A singular mistake in figm-es, led one of the first economists of this century to conclude that the births were multiplied, as if to make up for the void left by the pestilence : indeed, after such scourges, it is not imusual to see the population regain its relation to the means of subsistence by an increase of births. In general, privations are not only mortal to the human species, but even arrest its development : their influence is not always felt immediately — we often perceive that a long time after the cause has ceased to operate. In 1826, the price of bread rose again in Belgium, and we also see that the mortality became greater, and the number of marriages and birtlis which the preceding year presented, imderwent a sensible diminution.* However, these latter elements, espe- cially the figure of births, are, from their nature, less subject to variation than the number of deaths. On the contrary, in the years 1821 and 1824, the price of grain was at the lowest, and these are the years which, with respect to the increase of the popu- lation, have presented the least degree of mortality ; they are also followed by years which present more marriages and births. The changes in the price of bread have also as marked an influence in the country as in town : it is perhaps less observable iu the births. * We have for the following years : — Years. Births in Town. Births in Countrj'. Marriages. 1827, - - 64,liKl 143,288 45,632 182I!, . . 68,674 153.166 47,400 5. Influence of Seasons. The seasons have a marked influence on all the relations of man ; they operate on his physical as well as his moral nature. Thus, the vehemence of his jmssions, and the intensity of his inclination to crime, are modified according to temperature and chmate; and the same also holds in respect to his reproductive faculty and mortality. Physiologists have already observed the influence of the seasons on the births and deaths of mankind ; biit their results, in general, do not agree much with each other, because they are modifled by the locality, the period, and the habits of the people to whom they applied. In 1824, I published some particitlar researches on tliis interesting subject, in the Nouveaitx Memoires de VAcademie de Biux- eJles* The result of these researches Avas, that the number of births and deaths increases and decreases alternately ; and that these numbers reach their maxi- mum towards the month of January for deaths, and towards the month of Pebruary for bu'ths ; and their minimum about six months after, in July.f These conclusions were afterwards confirmed by the prin- cipal cities of the Low Countries ; and the general results of the kingdom were found to agree with the numbers first obtained for Brussels. These researches became the subject of several interesting letters from M. VniermtsJ who, in the Annales de Hygiene, has since treated the same subject to its fullest extent, and has shown that the periods of maximum and minimum approach or recede according to the climate and habits of the people. We shall commence by stating the number of births in the cities and country of the ancient kingdom of the Low Countries, during the twelve years from 1815 to 1826 inclusive. Por the better understanding of these numbers, we have taken into account the un- equal length of the months, and have taken quantities corresponding to months of 31 days : we have also assumed as miity, m the two last columns, the ave- rage of the total number of births, both for town and coimtry. JNIonths — 1815 to 1826. January, February, March, April, JLay, - June, July, - August, September, October, November, December, Births. Town. Country 68,255 71,820 69,267 66,225 62,102 58,730 57,151 59,620 62,731 62,500 64,273 65,120 159,787 1/0,699 164.851 147,118 134,446 125,026 121,512 131,657 144,389 146,362 146,285 148,186 Births. To>vn. Country. 1-067 1122 1083 1035 0-971 0-918 0-ffi)3 0932 0-980 0-977 1-005 1-018 1-102 1-177 1137 1 0J4 0-927 0-8G2 0-a38 0-908 0-995 1-009 1-009 1-022 Let us first observe, that the influence of the seasons is much more apparent in the country than in town ; which appears natural, since, in the latter case, there are fewer means of maintaining an equality of tempe- rature. The maximum of births in Pcbruary sup- poses the maximum of conceptions to happen in the month of May, when the vital powers regain all tlieir activity, after the rigours of winter. * Sur Us Lois des Naissances ct (Je la MortalHif a Bruxclles, tome iii. p. 501. See also the Correspondance Mathematiquc et Physique, tomes i. and ii. t The thirty-fourth volume of the Memoires de VAcademie Royalede Turin, published in 1830, contains two letters of Pro- fessor Vanswindcn on the same subject, which inform us that this philosopher had already arrived at the same result as early as 1798. It is to be regretted that we were not sooner acqiiainted T\ith these, as also with the researches of M. Balbo, Sur Vlnjlmnce des Saisons. It would appear from these researches that deaths have not so regular a coiu-se as with us. i See the letters addressed to me by M. Villerm^ in the Corres- pondance Mathematiqucel Physique, tome ii., and in the Rccherches sur la Population, ks Naissances,^c., dms le Roi/aHmc des Pays Bos, p. 13. ON MAN. 21 Should vre not be correct in concluding, from the preceding results, that climates most favourable to fecundity are those which enjoy a mUd temperature, and that excess of cold or heat should prove unfavour- able to human procreation. This induction is in ac- cordance with the results which have been made known above, on the influence of climates. Now, if we wish to estimate the different causes which may modify the influence of seasons, we cannot follow a better guide than M. ViUerme ; and, not to modify the conclusions which he has deduced from his laborious researches concerning climates, we shall copy them verbatim, referring for them to the work of this savant, De la Distribution par Mois des Con- ceptions et des Naissances de I'Homme. {Ann. de Hy- qiene.) " The direct or indirect influence of the annual revolution of the earth around the sun, of the great changes of temperature which this revolution causes, and of certain meteorological conditions, on concep- tion, and consequently on the births of the human race, appears, then, very evident. But this induction, well fomided as it may be, can only l)e really proved when, at the other side of the equatorial line, where the seasons succeed each other in the same order as on this side, but at contrary times, we see the periodic return of similar results occurring at similar seasons. Well, in the republic of Buenos Ayres, the only coimtry of the southern hemisphere of which I have been able to procure monthly results of births, the latter are so distributed that the greatest monthly numbers occur in July, August, and September, that is to say, in Avinter ; and the fewest numbers in Ja- nuary and May, or in simimer. The alternation of maximum and minimum foUows that of the seasons precisely. The influence of the different positions of the sun with respect to the earth, on the monthly distribution of conceptions, and consequently of births, is therefore very certain. There is another consequence : the maximum and minimum periods of conception approach each other in hot countries, and recede from each other in cold ones, especially the period of minimum. Finally, it results from aU the facts which have been cited, that in our state of civilisation we are, at least in some measure, subjected to the different pe- riodic influences of the kind we are considering, which are manifested by plants and animals." 6. Influence of the Hours of the Day. Curiosity led me to investigate, if there existed any relation between the different hours of the day and the moments of births :* I have been assisted in this department by the data which M. Guiette, then con- nected with the Lying-in Hospital, Brussels, commu- nicated to me ; these data are the result of eleven years' observations, from 1811 to 1822. I have since communicated them to M. Villerme, who has found them perfectly analogous to the results obtained at the Lying-in Hospital of Paris, but which are still unpublished, so far as I know. With these observations, which, up to the present time, are very few, I present the indications of still- born children, at periods of six hours, according to the mmibers observed by JI. Guiette in 1827-28. After midnight, - Before mid-day, After mid-day. Before midniglit, Total, - Births : 18U-1822. 798 614 574 G94 StiUhom: 1811-1022. Buths : 1827-182R. 143 110 11!) 148 "We see, from these data, that births are more numerous during the night than in the day-time: the ratio for the years between 1811 and 1822 is 1492 to 1188, or 1-26 to 1 ; and for the two years of the observations of M. Guiette, 293 to 238, or 1-23 to 1 : therefore, about five children are born during the night to every four born during the day. These observations have given rise to similar ones : Dr Buek of Hamburg, treating the same subject, has arrived at the following results : * the numbers are reduced to 1000 : — Births. Winter. Spring. Summer. Autumn. Average. After midnight, Before mid-day, After mid-day, Before midniglit. 325 270 190 215 320 252 13G 292 291 256 189 264 312 216 225 247 312 249 183 256 These numbers give the ratio of night to day, as 1 '31 to 1. It would appear from these particular data, that births are generally most numerous towards the hours of midnight and mid-day. As to still-born children, the hourly difference is not appreciable, from the small number of observations which have been collected. * Correspondance Mathematique et Physique, 1827. tome iii. p. 42 ; and Recherches 8\ir la Population, p. 21. CHAPTER in. or THE IXFLUENCE OF DISTURBING CAUSES O.V THE NUMBER OF BIRTHS. 1. Influence of Professions, Food, &c. If it be true that every thing which has a direct influence on the physical constitution of man, either weakening or strengthening it, has also an influence on his reproductive tendency, and causes the num- ber and kind of births, and also the times at which they take place, to vary, we cannot doubt the influ- ence of professions, trades, and modes of life, minor causes necessarily included in the preceding general ones. It is to be regretted, however, that we have no particidar researches on this interesting point. M. Benoiston, in his M^moire snr VIntensit6 de la F£con- dite en Europe, has felt the importance of it, and has laboured to verify one particular fact, which seems to require further examination. We generally think that the fecundity of marriage is low among fisher- men, and ascribe it to the phosphorus contained in the fish on Avhich they live. But deeper researches have shown, that the alleged fact is at least doubtful ; for it is found that the maritime departments of France, inhabited by fishermen, have almost exactl}' the same fecundity as the rest of the kingdom. M. Yillerme, in his work Sur les Naissances par Mois, has endeavoiu*ed to ascertain if the usual severe labour of the coimtry diminishes fecundity, or changes the periods of conception ; but he has not been able to obtain any conclusive results. It appears that the influence of professions is gene- rally masked by other modifying causes, which act so powerfully', that, considering the statistical elements which we possess, we cannot appreciate the influence of profes5)ions in a satisfactory manner. All that we can decide, from researches which have hitherto been made, is, that it is weak, and especiallj' depends on the quantit}^ and nature of the food, and the develop- ment of the physical powers. " There is no principle of political economy on which authors are more fully agreed," M. Benoistonf says, " than that the ijopula- tion of a state is always in proportion to the amount of its produce. It is by virtue of tliis law, which has * Xachrieht von dera Gesundheits— Zutan^e der Stadt Ilara- hurg, von N. H. Julius. Hamburg : 1829. t f?ur rinfluence de la FOcondltc;' en Eumiip, 22 ON MAN. few exceptions, that we do not see a great number of births among a poor and oppressed peoiile, Avho have neither agriculture, industry, nor liberty. So far is such from being the case, that slave populations de- cline instead of increase. It is an acknowledged fact, that in St Domingo, in 1788, three marriages among the blacks only produced two childi-en, whilst each marriage of the^ white people produced three." * I do not know whether it is an unfounded prejudice, that in Protestant states, clergymen have generally a larger family than the other professions — at least, this opinion was generally believed in the ancient kingdom of the Low Countries. But the fact may be explained, not onl}' from the nature of the profes- sion, but also because the income of clergymen often increases with the number of their children. 2. The Influence of Morality. When speaking of legitimate and illegitimate births, we showed that a state of concubinage tends to pro- duce fewer male children : tlie same would be the effect of aU habits which enervate the powers — they also diminish the number of conceptions. It also seems to be well established, that i)rostitutes either produce fewer children or are barren. The too early approximation of tlie sexes induces similar effects, and produces children wliich have a less ijrobability of life. Habits of order and foresight ought also to exercise a considerable influence on the number of marriages, and consequently of births. The man whose condi- tion is unsettled, if he allow himself to be governed by reason, dreads to divide with a family the vicissi- tudes of fortune to wliich he is exposed ; many econo- mists have also maintained, and with reason, that the most eflicacious mode of preventing an excess of popu- lation in a country, is to diffuse knowledge and senti- ments ,of order and foresight. It is evident that the people of a country would not seek so much to con- tract alliances and load tlie future with trouble, if each individual found a difficulty in providing for his own subsistence. The great fecimdity of Ireland has been cited as an example of the influence which de- pression and improvidence may exercise over produc- tiveness.f When man no longer reasons, when he is demoralised by misery, and just lives from day to day, tlie cares of a family no more affect him then than the care of his own existence ; and, impelled by momentary gratification, he begets children, careless of the future, and, if we may use the expression, re- signs to that Ti-ovidence who has supported him, all the care of the progeny to which he has given exist- ence. Foresight may also render marriages less fruitful, because a man is less eager in reproduction if he fears that his family, becoming too numerous, may one day feel the finger of distress, or be under the necessity of undergoing privations arid renouncing a certain degree of ease to which they have been accustomed. I do not doubt but that particular researches, imder- takcn with the design of elucidating this interesting point, will some daj^ confirm these conjectures : they would be of the greatest utility in pointing out the course to be pursued in the instruction which it is proper to give to the people. One of the most striking examples of the effects of the indolence, poverty, and demoralisation of a people, is given by the province of Guanaxato in Mexico, where 100 births take place annually for everj' 1G08 inhabitants, and 100 deaths for every 1970. " Some traveller," says 'M. DTvernois, " who lias observed the sad concurrence of excessive mortality, fecundity, and poverty, in Mexico, attributes it to the banana, which almost ensures them an adequate quantity of * Ti-aite du Commerce 1 282 1825, - 29,253 10,03!) 2-<)l 1826, - 29,970 10,5U2 2-05 1827, - 29,81 K5 10,392 2-8G 1828, 29,G01 10,475 2-81 1829, - 28.721 9,953 2-88 law, 28,587 10,0(17 2-85 ia»,* - - £9,530 10,378 2-83 1832,* - 26,283 9,237 2-8t Averafre, - 287,fi.33 101,010 204 Tims, for 28 births there have been almost exactly 10 illegitimate children : I think this ratio is the most unfavourable of any which has hitherto been made known.f * In these numbers, 1099 and 10G5 children, acknowledge;! and Icffitimatised subsequent to birth, are not included. t [The views of JI. Quetelet on this subject do not appear to embrace all the causes of illegitimacy. It may happen that in countries where the means of subsistence are of diflicult attain- ment, parties, from prudential considerations, will not enter the married state. This is visibly the case in Scotland, where the illegitimate births are very nimierous, but, from the want of national registers, cannot be stated. The ratio of illegitimates, we have reason to believe, is nmch greater in Scotland than in Ireland, where matrimony is entered upon with little regard for the future. Thus, e.\treme prudence may be said to lead to immorality. The possibility of effecting retrospective marriage (that is, dating it from before the birth of the illegitimate chil- dren), is another frequent cause of illegitimacy in Scotland; and it may bo added, that tlic demand for wet-nurses by the higher class of mothers for their infants, forms another prevailing cause of illegitimacy, at least in large towns. For the purpose of throwing light on this important subject in social statistics, we beg to subjoin the following passages from the Sixth Annual Ueportof the Poor-Law C'onmiissionersof Kngland, for 1840 : they occur in the report handed in from Sir ICdmund Head on the Law of Bastardy : — " MrLaing, in his recent Tour in Sweden, gives most instructive evidence as to the number and causes of illegitimate births in that country. It appears that the proportion of illegitimate to legitimate births in all Sweden, from 1820 to 1)W, is as 1 in U'O, and in Stockholm as high as 1 to 2 3. 5Ir Laing goes on to remark — ' There are two minor causes, both, however, showing a degraded moral feeling, which were stated to me as contributing mucli to this lax stiiteof female morals. One is, that no woman in the middle or higher ranks, or who can afford to do otherwise, ever nurses her own child. A girl who has got a child is not therefore in a woi-se, but in a better situation, as she is pretty sure of getting a place for two years, which is the ordinary time of nursing. The illegitimacy of the child is in this community rather a recommendation of the mother, as the family is not troubled with the father or friends. As to the girl's own child, there is a foundling hospital, the second minor cause; in that it can be reared at a trifling expense, dur- ing the time the mother is out nursing. The imchasteare, there- fore, in point of fact, better off than the chaste of the female sc.x; in this town.'^Laiiit/'s Swokn, pp. 115, 117. It is well known that the results of the unrestricted reception of bastard children into the foundling hospitals in Belgium made it necessary for the government to take steps, in lit.34, for discouraging the operation of, if not for repealing, the law under which it took place. I do not know what the present state of this question in that coimtry is.— (See Senior, Forciijn Poor-Lairs, p. 1.37.) The legislation of the French Republic, by the laws of 27th Frimaire year 5, and 3()th VentOse year 5, explamed by an edict of 19th January 1811, was most favourable to the mothers of bastards, and relieved them from all care of their own offspring. 5L de Beaumont says— ' On sait qu'une loi de la revolution r^compcnsait les filles m^res d'enfanti naturels.' — {L'lrlaii'lr, ii. 122, note 2.) Under the influence of these laws, which only carried out the principle involved in our foraier practice, the illegitimate children increased from l-47th (which they were, on an average of seven years, in 1780) to l-14th, in 1825. (See Senior, Foreign Poor-Laws, p. 120; M'Culloch, notes to Adam Smith, p. 102, n.) — Malthus (voL i. p. .375) reckoned the illegitimate bu:ths in France, at the time he was writing, as 1-llth of the whole. Since writing the above, I have received the Aiiniiaire du Bureau (leg Lono'ihides. for 1840, which gives the most recent iuformation on French statistic?. 3. The Influence of Political and Religious Institutions. Nothing appears more adapted to multiply the population of a state, -without inducing injury, than miiltiplying the products of agriculture and iiidustry, and, at tlie same time, ensuring a prudent de.Srree of liberty, -which may be a guarantee for tlie public con-- fidcnce. The absence of liberal institutions, which excite the activity of man, and at the same time increase his energy and coiufort, must produce the effects which are observed in the East, Avhere popula- tion languishes and decreases. On the contrary, in the United States, population increases Avith a rapidity which has no parallel in Europe. M. Villermc* ob- serves, that at the period of the French revolution, " when the tithes, duties on wine, salt, feudal tenures, &c., and corporations and wardenships, had just been abolished (that is to say, when petty workmen and cultivators, in a word, the persons of no property, bj' far the most numerous class in the nation, found themselves all at once in a state of unaccustomed case and competency, which they cclebi-ated through the greatest i)art of the territory by feasts, and re- joicings, and more abundant food), the number of births increased, to diminish gradually afterwards." Years of war and peace have likewise a marked influence on the population : we shall only quote one example at present. Erom the date of the wars of the empire, it was insimuited that tiic French popu- lation, far from being reduced, only made greater increases. ^I. DTverneis, who has succeeded in pro- curing the number of births and deaths for this period, has endeavoured to verify this assertion, so often re- peated, and he has found that it was essentially in- correct : he has, moreover, established two remarkable facts, t " Whoever investigates births, learns that, It appears that in 1838 the number of births in Paris was pf. »,„ (2tl,4.")4 legitimate. "'' I 9,20'J illegitimate. The illegitimate were therefore 31-2 per cent., or, to the legiti- mate, as 1 to 2-2— a proportion larger thiin that existing at Stock- holm. In the whole of France, in 1(137, The total number of births was 913,319i^;'!'f?2 !fP'!'l''i*<; ' I 69,829 illegitimate. That is, 74 per cent., or as 1 to 12-5. The ' niouvenient moyen' of the population, calcuLited on the twenty-one years from 1817 to 1837, gives, as the annual number of births, n,:o -..,j0!)9,451 legitimate, ''t 69,301 illegitimate. That is, the illegitimate to the legitimate as 1 to 12-;»79. It thusappears that the proportion of illegitimate births is greater in France than in Sweden, the former being as 1 to 12-979, and the latter as 1 in 14-6, according to Jlr Laing (p. 115), while the morality of France would seem to have deteriorated since the calculation of Pcuchet. I fear thatthere are rural districts in this country in which the proportion of illegitimate to legitimate births is far more unfavourable than that existing in the French empire. The population of the county of Radnor, in 1831, was 24,«jl. According to Mr Rickman, the number of baptisms re- gistered in 1830 was (M9 '26 add for unentered births and baptisms. 675 total. The number of illegitimate children born in 103' die SlerbUchlieit dcr Kinder in Bcrliit^Bietracie zur Medicinischen Ste- tistiek, SfC. 8vo. Berlin : 1825. ON MAN. 25 and 533 girls came into the world without life. M. Casper says the ratio appears to be 28 to 20 ; it is, then, exactly the same as for Western Flanders. This new identity of results is very remarkable ; and it will be interesting to inrestigate the causes of a cir- cumstance which is so imfavourable to the male sex. If we were desirous of guessing at this point, we might say, with those who suppose that a male conception requires a certain excess of energy iu the woman, that this excess of energy was absent or wanting during the growth of the foetus, and that energy failing, the child would suffer more from it, if a boy, than a girl. Hence the disproportion of dead births between the two sexes ; hence, also, the greater mortality of boys immediately after birth, and during the period of suckling, at which time they are still in some mea- sure connected Avith the mother. It is also evident that women in town, wlio are more deUcate than those in the country', will be more liable to bring forth still children, and especially when they are pregnant of boys. We possess statistical documents of still-births for the city of Amsterdam,* which it will be interesting to compare with the preceding. The following are the original numbers furnished for the years from 1821 to 1832 :— Number of Still-Births and of Births for Amsterdam. Still-Births. Births. Boys. Girls. Total. Boys. Girls. Total. 1821, - 288 SAG 634 3,742 3,600 7,342 1822, - 280 222 .'-.02 3,887 3,713 7,600 1823, - 268 198 466 3,734 3,448 7,182 1824, - 266 216 482 4,011 3,849 7,860 1825, - 207 128 335 3,802 3,550 7,352 1826, - 231 173 404 3,803 3,635 7,«a 1827, - ■ • 3,524 3,366 6,890 1828, - 3,079 3,529 7,208 1829, ■ 3,7a5 3,018 7,403 1830, - 241 lao 410 3,727 3,579 7,306 1831, - 208 108 376 3,843 3,499 7,342 1832, - 210 151 361 3,351 3,101 6,452 Average, 244 186 430 3,741 3,541 7,283 We therefore calculate 1 still-birth for 16"9 births, which is a very unfavourable proportion from Avhat we have seen above. The number of still-births of the male sex likewise here exceeds that of still-births of the other sex ; and this would appear to be a gene- ral law, since none of the papers which have been quoted are contrary to it, and in all cases the diffe- rence is very considerable, and nearly about the same. Here the average numbers are in the ratio of 244 to 186, or 13 to 10 nearly. The Annuaires du Bureau des Longitudes give the following data for Paris : — StiU-Birth s. Births. Boys. Girls. Total. Boys. Girls. Total. 1823, - 847 662 1,509 13,752 13,318 27,070 1824, - 810 C77 1,487 14,647 14,165 28,812 1825, - 846 675 1,521 14,989 14,264 29,253 1826, - 810 737 1,547 15,187 14,783 29,970 1827, - 904 727 1,631 15,074 14,732 29,806 1828, - 883 743 1.026 15,117 14,484 29,601 1829, - 925 788 1,713 14,760 13,961 28,721 1830, - 943 784 1,727 14,488 14,099 28,587 1831, - 954 755 1,709 15,110 14,414 29,530 f 1832, - 9!)4 726 1,720 13,494 12,789 26,283 Average, 8,910 7,274 16,190 146,624 141,009 2fJ7,639 * .Taarboekje par Lobatto. See also a memoir by M. Engeltrum, a prize-essay at Utrecht, and printed in 1830. The author counts, for the hospital at Amsterdam, from 1821 to 1826 — Births— Legitimate, 488 Dcid births, 28 Ratio, 17 to 1 Illegitimate, 1770 •• •• 151 •• 12 to 1 t In these numbers, 1099 and 1005 children, who were acknow- ledged and legitimatised after birth, are not included. From this table, we calculate the still-births to births, in Paris, as 1 to 177 — almost the same as for Amsterdam and Berlin. Tliis ratio does not seem to differ much fi'om that of large towns, which may be generally considered as 1 to 18. We see here, also, that the dead births of the male are more numerous than those of the female sex : the ratio is 12 "2 to 10. The official tables for the Prussian monarchy in 1827, and for Denmark iu 1828, furnish the following results :* — Prussian Monarch v, Demnark-{Bo>-; " These numbers, also, are similar to those which have been already given. K we regard the influence of the seasons on still- births, the following are the data of Berlin, and for Western Flanders, durhig the five years from 1827 tu 1831 inclusive: — Births. StiUBu-ths. Ratio. 490,660 19,954 18,840 16,720 882 690 29tol 23tol 27tol Still-Births Still Births in Flanders. at Berlin. To^vn. Country. Total. Januarj-, 117 140 225 365 Februarv, - 123 141 V)7 338 March, - 120 115 205 310 April, 112 100 160 200 May, - 110 102 162 264 June, 98 104 162 266 July, - 92 117 153 270 August, 108 108 136 244 September, • 89 100 139 247 October, - 104 110 152 262 November, - 124 90 143 233 December, - 121 100 179 285 1,305 1,341 2,013 3,354 These data tend to show that the number of still- births is greater during winter, and at the end of winter, than in summer. M. Casper has examined some particular circum- stances wliich may influence the number of still-births, such as illegitimate conceptions, venereal diseases, the abuse of strong drinks, &c. Thus, at Gottingen, in 100 births, there are 3 dead births of legitimate children, and 15 of illegitimate children. At Berlin, the dead births in 100 illegitimate births have been, for half the last century, three times as numerous as the dead births among 100 legitimate children : and this state of things has not improved ; for, during the four years fi-om 1819 to 1822, it is computed there were — Living Children. Dead Childi-en. Ratio. Legitimate births, - 22,643 937 25 Illegitimate births, - 4,002 317 12 f Lideed, a woman generally takes less care to pre- serve the child which she carries in her bosom, when it is illegitimate. Moreover, it is necessary to add, that those children, who are almost always the fruit of misconduct, presuppose less vigour and soundness in the parents. M. Duges says, that at the Venereal Hospital in Paris, he has found two premature births to six or seven accouchements. J At Hamburg, during the year 1820, in one house which contained scarcely any but public women affected with the venereal dis- ease, of 18 illegitimate births, 6 were dead births ; and in another house in the same city, hkewise partly occupied by public women, the still-births were 1 1 out of 93. These different examples prove too well the great influence which the condition of mothers exercises over the children of which they are pregnant, and * Bulletin de M. Fenissac, Janv. and Mai 1830. t The official tables of the whole Prussian monarchy for 1827 gave IBiiUetin de M. Fenissac, Janv. 1830, p. 118) 490,660 births, of which 16,726 were still-births, a ratio of 29 to 1. t Rccherches sur les Maladies des Nouveaux Ncs. Paris: 1824. 26 ON MAN. convince us of the utility of researches into still-births, and the causes -which may multiply the number of them. Wliile considering the mortaUty of new born chil- dren, it is proper also to examine the fate of the mothers. According to "Willan, the mortality in the great L}dng-in Hospital of London, into which about 5000 women were annually admitted, was — Of the Mothers. Of the Children. From 1749 to 1758, - - 1 in 42 1 in 15 • • 1759 to 1768, - - 1 in 50 1 in 20 • • 1769 to 1778, - - 1 in 55 1 in 42 ■ • 1779 to 1788, - - 1 in 60 1 in 44 • • 1789 to 1798, - - 1 in 288 1 in 77 * Mr Hawkins observed the mortality in the London Hos{)ital in 1826, to be 1 in 70. According to the same statistician, in the Lying-in Hospital of Dublin, from the time of its foundation in 1757 to 1825 — The loss of children has been, still-birtlis, mothers, 1 in 19 linl7 1 in 89 At the same hospital, also, twin cases have occurred in the proportion of 1 to 60 accouchements ; and three or more childi'en in the proportion of 1 to 4000. According to Tenon, at the end of the last century the mortality at the Hotel-Dieu of Paris, was I woman in 15, and 1 still-born child to 13 births ; but in 1822, the mortality at La ISIaternitc was not more than 1 woman in .30. At the same time, in the INIaternite of Stockholm, the proportion was almost the same as at Paris, or 1 woman in 29. At the Lying-in Hospital of Edinburgh, during the years 1826, 27, and 28, the loss was only I woman in 100. According to Casper,t the mortality of confined Avomen at Berlin, has been — I^rom 17.58 to 1703, • ■ 1/64 to 1774, • • 1785 to 1794, • • 1819 to 1822, 1 in 95 - 1 in 82 1 in 141 - 1 in 152 Here, again, we see how much the mortality de- ])ends on the care taken of the woman and child at the time of confinement. The greatest mortality wliich lias been noticed, was that of the Hotel-Dieu of Paris at the end of the last century: it was 1 woman in 15 for the mothers, whilst in London it was reduced to 1 in 238, or nineteen times less. CHAPTER V. O.N TItE INFLUENCE OF NATURAL CAUSES ON MORTALITY. 1. Influence of Locality. We possess, in general, fewer documents respecting births than respecting deaths ; for this reason, per- haps, that man takes less interest in wliat regards his entry into life than his exit from it. The laws re- giUating births he views more as an object of ciurio- sity, wiiilst it is of the highest moment for him to know all his chances of life and death. Nevertheless, in inquiring into the mortality, it behoves us to pro- ceed with the greatest caution, and not to hold, as many authors have done, all numerical statements to be of the same importance. The mortality is generally estimated by the ratio of deaths to the population. Now, if it be in general difficult to ascertain, by the registers of a countr3'-, the precise number of deaths, it is still more difficult to determine exactly the total numbers of the i)opu- lation. A census is a very delicate operation, wliicli can be executed only from time to time, and will be found productive of very different results, according * From Elements of Medical Statistics, by Mr Hawkins, t Bcitrage, p. 180, to the care bestowed in its execution. In places, for example, where there may exist an interest for con- cealment of numbers, we should naturally expect to find a low estimate of tlie peoi:)le, and in consequence too high an estimate of the mortality ; hence tlie ne- cessity for extreme caution in comparing one country with another, or the same coimtry with itself at difie- rent periods. The influence which climate exercises over the mortality of the human species, deserves to be first considered. But climatology^ taking the word in its most extended sense, is a science still too little ad- vanced to engage our attention here :* ive absolutely want data, and particidarly comparative data, with respect to countries out of Europe, and even some European countries themselves, where pohtical sciences have not been sufficiently cultivated. It becomes thus impossible to appreciate at all correctly the effects of temperature, and its relations to moisture and dryness, the direction of the winds, of running streams, &c. We ought, therefore, in our first view, to leave out these latter circumstances, and busy ourselves only with the most general results. If we, in the first place, consider only Europe, and if we divide this part of the globe into three principal regions, with a view of setting aside as far as jjossible accidental causes, we may arrive at means to solve the problem wliich now occupies us. It would be better, also, to adopt the resiilts of late years, thus giving a more extended comparison. Countries. Periods. 1 Death in Authorities. Jiorth of Europe. Sweden & Norway, 1820 4M jMarshall. Denmark, 1019 45-0 Moreau de Jonnes. t Russia, about 1829 27-0 Sir F. D"Ivernois4 England, 1821 to 1831 51-0 Potter & Eickmiin. Central Europe. Prussia, - 1816 to 1823 36-2 Babbagc. Poland, 1829 44-0 Moreau de Jonnes. Germany, 1825 to 1828 45-0 Belgium, 1825 to 1829 431 An.dcl'Ob.deBrux. France, - 1817 to 1831 39-7 An. du B. de Long. IlolUind, - 1815 to 1825 380 (Rech. Statistique 1 sur les Pajs Bas. Austrian Empire, 1828 400 iloreau de Jomies. Switzerland, - 1827 to 1820 400 South of Europe. Portugal, - 1815 to 1819 400 Spain, - 1801 to 1826 40-0 Italy, 1822 to 1828 300 Greece, 1828 30-0 Turkey in Europe, 1828 30-0 Naples and .Sicily, 1822 to 1824 32-0 Bisset Hawkins. As several of the authors just quoted have merely given ratios, without tlie numbers from which these were deduced, I have been forced to take the averages from the ratios themselves, and not from the numbers, which would have been more exact. Upon the whole, wc sliall probably approach the truth in statmg the mortality in Europe to be as follows : — In the North of Europe, Central Europe, - Southern Eui-opc, 1 Death for 41-1 Inhabitants. 40-8 3;j7 Whatever distrust the numbers relating to morta- lity may excite in us, I beUeve it may be admitted, that upon the whole the mortality is greater in the * See the Researches of Sir J. Clarke in England on the Influ- ence of Climate on Clironic Diseases — (Annates d'Hyfjicne, Avril ia30.) Sec also La Fliilosopliic de la Statistique, par Melchoir Gioja, 2 vols. 4to, 1826. t The numbers of M. Moreau de Jonnes are taken from a notice on the Mortidity of the Difierent Countries of Europe : it is to be regretted that the author has not stated the somces of his information. ± Dibliothc>]ue Universcllc, Oct. 1833, p. 154. ON MAN. 27 south of Eiu'ope than in the north or centre, without anticipating the cause of this difference, and whether it depends on tlie political institutions or on the nature of the climate itself. It is England which turns the balance in favour of the north of Europe ; and were it left out, the centre of Em-ope would pre- sent the least mortality. If we now quit the limits of Europe to consider those localities nearer the equi- noctial hne, and more exposed to extreme temperature, we have, according to 51. IMoreau de Jonues* — Under the Latitude Places. G" W Batavia, 1 Deatli for 2C Inhabitants 10= ](»' Trinidad, 27 i3= 54' St Lucia, 27 14° 44' Martinique, 28 15° oy fluadaloui)e. 27 18° 3(5' Bombay, 20 23=11' Havaim^h, 3.1 This last table seems to pi'ove that the mortality increases as Ave approach the equinoctial line. Still, these numbers must Ije received with distrust, because amongst the places referred to there are several cities, and the mortality in cities, as we shall shortly see, is generally greater than in the country. We must also regret that we have so few data in respect to places stiU nearer the equinoctial line. According to M. Thomas, the mortality of Avhites in the island of Bourbon is only 1 in 44'8 ; and from documents pub- lished in England in 1826, b}- order of the House of Commons, the mortality at the Cape of Good Hope is still less.f Amongst the local causes which influence mortality, I have mentioned that of a town or country residence ; this influence is sufficiently well marked. In Belgium, for example, the following have been the results of late years : — Cities, - Country, Population. 998,118 3,066,091 Average Number of Deaths. 27,026 65,265- 1 Death to 3(!-0 Inhabitants. 46-9 We see that the ratios of mortality are almost as 4 to 3. This difference will be particularly apparent, if we examine the mortality of the principal cities of Europe. * In Iceland, from 1825 to 1831, it has been computed that there ia 1 death for 30-0 inhabitants, which would tend to show that excess of cold is as injurious to man as excess of heat. — Bihlio- thique Vniversclle, Oct. 1833, p. 177- t Elements of Medical Statistics, p. 51. [The reader will be pleased to observe, that the question of the influence of climate on mortality is a more intricate one than perhaps our distin^iished author was fully aware of. Firstly, it involves the simple question as to the influence of climate over the mortality of any particular race of men, who have been known to inhabit that countrj' from time immemorial, or at least be3'ond the usual historic periods ; secondly, it involves the question of the influence of climate over the mortality of another race foreign to the country, or wlio have migrated to it within liistoric periods. The numbers, for example, in the above table, placed opposite Batavia, have nothing whatever to do with the eSects of climate over the native Javanese, but express merely the fearful morta- lity wliich sweeps off the Saxon foreigners migrating to a climate which nature never intended they should inhabit. On the other hand, the climate at the Cape of Good Hope, the healthiest per- haps in the world, seems equally favourable to all the three races inhabiting the colony and its frontier, namely, the aboriginal Hottentot and the invading Caffre and Saxon. "We shall after- wards endeavour to show, that by putting the above table in comparison with the preceding one, a great and important ele- ment of statistics has been left out, and Quetelet has given us the statistics of .Java and Bombay, as if the native inhabitants had ceased to exist ; whereas it is manifest that the effects of cli- mate over the migi-atory part of the human race, the Celt and Saxon, should be stated apart, and not mingled up with, or rather substituted for, the natural statistics of countries wliich pi-o- bably they can never retain possession of, v.hatever be the extent of their cmigi-ations.] C Inhabitants to 1 Death, Inhabitants to 1 Birth . Cities. according to according to Czoeming. B. Hawkins. / — Czoeming. 1 B. Hawkins. Sarth if Europe. London, 51-9 40-0 40G 29-5* Glasgow, - 46-8 27-7 St Petersburg, 34-9 37-0 467 Moscow, - .■«•(» 28-5 Copenhagen, - 30-3 30-0 Stockholm, - 24-3 24-9 27- 24-8 Central Europe. Lyons, - .32-3 320 27-5 Amsterdam, - 31-0 24-0 26-0 Paris, - 30-6 32-5 270 Bordeaux, 29 240 Hambiu-g, - .300 25-5 Dresden, - 27-7 23-0 Brussels, 25-5 96'0 21-0 Berlin, - 25-0 .34 21-0 Prague, 24-5 24-4 23-3 Vienna, - 22-5 22-5 200 i SouthernEurope. r Madrid, 36-0 35-0 26-0 Leghorn, - 350 310 • 25-5 Palermo, 33 24 Lisbon, 31 1 28-2 23-3 52-5 Naples. 29'0 520 24-0 250 Barcelona, 27-0 24-8 27-0 Rome, • 24-1 31-0 23-6 Venice, 19-4 26-5 Bergamo, - 18-0 20-0 30-2 Comparing this table with the preceding one, it is easy to observe that the mortality of cities is generally much greater than that of those countries to which they belong. I tliink this fact established, not^vith- standing the inaccuracies inherent in such calcula- tions. We venture to conclude, then, with a high degree of probability, that in the actual state of things the mortality is less in temperate climates than in the north or south, and that it is greater in cities than in the country.f If we consider each country in pai'ticular, we shall afterwards find, according to the localities, very great differences. Thus in France, in the department of the Orme, there is 1 death for 52-4, and in that of Finisterre, there is 1 for 30-4 inhabitants — a remark- able difference for places so near each other. In the foi-mer kingdom of the Low Countries, and during the period from 1 8 1 5 to 1 834, in the province of Zea- land, there was 1 death for 28-5 inhabitants, and in the province of Namur, 1 for 51-8 inhabitants. We must here remark, that a great mortahtj' keeps pace with the great fecundity. In the localities just quoted, for example, there were — Countries. Inhabitants r for one Birth. for one JIaiTiage. for one Death. Department of Oi-nie, - Finisterre, Province of Namur, Zealand, 44-8 260 30-1 21-9 147-5 11 3-9 141-0 113-2 52-4 30-4 51-8 28-5 * Topographisch-Historich Besehreibung von Reichenberg. See Bulletin des Sciences Geographiqucs, Avril 3833. t SI. Villerm(5 informs me that he has arrived at the same conclusion, in an unpublished work, On the Laics of Population, or the Relation of Medicine to Political Economy. [ There is an inherent inexactness in these calculations which it is extremely difficult to get rid of. Norway, for example, and Sweden, and even the northern parts of Russia in Europe, are each of them inhabited by two races of men , of whom it is impos- sible to say, from a want of historic evidence, which foi-med the primitive race. The Fins, inhabiting the north of Sweden and Norway, and even of Russia, and perhiips also the Laplanders, are perfectly distinct races froni their Scandinavian and Sarma- tian masters, and of course their statistics ought to be considered apart.] 28 ON MAN. Thus Zealand and the department of Fmisterre had more marriages, births, and deaths, than the de- partment of Orme and the province of Namur. I declare that I have often been tempted to attribute these discrepancies to a faulty census of the popula- tion ; but more attentive researches have induced me to believe that tliis state of things is dependent on local causes. In the province of Zealand, for example, continually buried in a humid atmosphere, there pre- vail fevers and other diseases causing this excess in the mortality ; and this, reacting on the amount of subsistence, naturally increases the marriages and births. What -we have observed in these provinces may also be noticed in other coimtries, where we equally observe a great mortality and a great fecundity. Of this truth, England and the republic of Guanasuato offer striking examples :— States. Inhabitants c to one Marriage. to one Birth. 1 to one Death. England, . - - - Guanaxuato,* 134-00 6976 35-00 16-08 50-00 19-70 These are, so to speak, the two extreme limits in the scale of population, and, we may also add, in the scale of civilisation. It may be said, that a country proceeds onwards to a more prosperous condition, when fewer citizens are produced, and when those existing are better pre- served. The increase then is entirely to its advan- tage ; for, if the fecundity be less, the useful men are more numerous, and generations are not renewed with such rapidit}^ to the great detriment of the nation. Man, during his early years, lives at the expense of society ; he contracts a debt which ought one day to be paid ; and if he dies before having been enabled to do so, his existence has rather been a loss, or cost, to his fellow-citizens than an advantage. Is it desired to know what he costs ? Let us take the lowest price : from birth to the age of twelve or sLxteen, the expenses attending the support of a child in the hospitals of this kingdom (the Low Countries) amounted to about 1110 francs, say 1000 only, and this rate is certainly not too high, even for France.f Every person, then, who escapes from infancy, has contracted a kind of debt, of which the minimum is 1000 francs, which society pays for the support of a child abandoned to its cha- rity. Now, there are born in France annually more than 960,000 children, of whom 9-20ths are cut off previous to tlieir having become of the smallest uti- lity to the state ; these 432,000 unfortunate persons may be viewed as so many friendless strangers, who, without fortune and without industry, have come to take part in the consumption of the general produce, and have then \vithdrawn themselves, leaving only, as traces of their existence, sorrowful adieus and eternal regrets. The expense they have caused, with- out reckoning the time devoted to them, amounts to the enormous sum of 432,000,000 of francs. And if we consider, on the other hand, the griefs caused by their departure, griefs which no human sacrifices can compensate, it is easy to see how worthy this subject is of tlie attention of the statesman and of the true philosopher. We cannot too often repeat, that the prosperity of states consists less in tlie multiplica- tion than in the conservation of the individuals com- posing it. The assertion that a great mortality unhappily coexists with a great fecundity, seems opposed to the * According to M. D'lvDmois {BibliotMque Vniverselle de Geneve, 1833.) t [In this countn,', the cost of bringing up a child to the age of twelve, on the lowest calculation, could scarcely be considered as lower than £'144. We of course mean that he shall be brought up with due regard to his future health and strength.] observations of Mr Sadler; but, as I liaA'e already remarked, the fecundity of marriages must not be confounded with the fecundity of the population ; I have even shown, that, all things being equal, a great mortality is rather productive of a less fecimdity of marriages, because second and third marriages are more multiplied, and the duration of marriages be- comes then less. To examine the question which now occupies us, the absolute number of births and of deaths must be compared with that of the population. The following table contains some results in respect to the different countries already quoted : — States. England, Sweden, Belgium, France, Holland, Prussia, Sicily and Naples, Guanaxuato, Inhabitants For one Death. For one Birth. 51-0 47-0 > 431 ; 39-7 330 36-2 32-0 19-7 51-0 45-0 197 35-0 27-0) 30-0/ 31-6 27-0 23-3 24-0 16-1 35-0 28-5 I regret that the actual state of statistics does not allow me to present the observations of a greater number of countries. Still I think that these data prove an intimate ratio to exist between the morta- lity and the fecundity. And this ratio exists also between the different provinces of the same country. In classing the cities according to their mortahty, we find, according to the medium value of the num- bers given above, leaving out St Petersbm'g, in re- spect to which there is evidently some error : — Cities. Inhabitants Inhabitants to one Death. to one Birth. London, - 46-0 1 ^c 1 40-8 1 ,^ -, Glasgow, 46-8) ^ 29-5 i - Madrid, - - - 36-0^ 26-0^ Leghorn, 35-0 25-5 Moscow, - 33-0 28-5 Lyons, 32-2 27-5 Palermo, 320 )■ 32-3 24-5 I 27-0 Paris, 31-4 27-0 Lisbon, - 31-1 28-3 Copenhagen, - 30-3 30-0 Hamburg, 30-oJ 25-5J Barcelona, 29-5~ 27-0~ Berlin, - 29-0 210 Bordeaux, 29-0 24-0 Naples, ... 28-6 23-8 Dresden, 27-7 23-0 Amsterdam, 27-5 I 26-6 26-0 I 24-2 Brussels, 25-8 21-0 Stockholm, 24-6 27-0 Prague, 24-5 23-3 Rome, 24-4 306 Vienna, 22-5^ 20-0 A''cnice, - - - Bergamo, 19-4 18-0 18-7 26-5, 20-0 23-2 The numbers thus cited tend, then, to show, that there exists a direct relation between the intensity of the mortaUty and that of the fecimdity, or, in other terms, that the number of births is regulated by tlie number of deaths. This confirms fully the ideas of the economists who admit that the population tends alwaj's to a certain level, regulated by the quantity of the products. And in those localities where there exist particular causes of a greater mortality, it must liappen that the generations arc shorter, and succeed each other more rapidly. AVe may remark, moreover, that in the countrie.s we have just compared, the number of deaths is less than that of births; and this happens also in respect to the cities, with the exception of Stockholm, Eome, Venice, and Bergamo. It may, moreover, be ob- served, that these numbers have a greater tendency to become equal in proportion to the direct extent of ON MAN. 29 the mortality, with the exception of England and its cities ; we have, in fact, for the Localities. Ratio of Births to Deaths. England, - - - - - 1-46 Sweden and Belgium, - - - 1'58 France, Holland, Prussia, Naples and Sicily, 1-37 The republic of Guanaxuato, - - 1-23 Cities having more than 40 inhabitants to 1 death, 1'15 30 to 40 .. .. 1-20 20 to 30 • • • • 1-10 less than 20 ■ ■ • • 0-!)l In studying the influence of localities on a less extensive scale, and in comparing the different parts of the same province, we frequently arrive at very dissimilar results : thus, as the country is level or mountainous, intersected with forests or marshes, the numbers which the mortality maj'- offer will be found to differ very sensibly. M. Bossi, in the Statistique du Department dc I'Ain, gives a striking example : with a view to study the influences of localities, he divided the department into four portions, and from documents collected during the years 1812, 1813, and 1814, he obtained the following results : — Inhabitants Inhabitants Inhabitants to one Death to one Marriage to one Birth annually. annually. annually. In mountain parishes, 38-3 179 34-8 On the sea-side, ■ 36 6 145 28-8 In corn districts, - 24-6 135 27-5 In stagnant and marshy districts,- - 20-0 U>7 261 These remarkable results offer a new confirmation of the direct ratio which exists generally between deaths, marriages, and births. It may be seen, also, how the neighbourhood of marshes and stagnant waters may become fatal. M. ViUermc cites a re- markable example of the influence of marshes. " At Vareggio," observes M. Villerme,* " in the principality of Lucca, the inhabitants, few in num- ber, barbarous, and miserable, were annually, from time immemorial, attacked about the same period with agues ; but in 1741, floodgates were constructed, which permitted the escape into the sea of the waters from the marshes, preventmg at the same time the ingress of the ocean to these marshes, both from tides and storms. This contrivance, Avhich permanently suppressed the marsh, also expelled the fevers. In brief, the canton of Vareggio is at the present day one of the healthiest, most industrious, and richest on the coast of Tuscany ; and a part of those famihes whose boorish ancestors sunk under the epidemics of the arria cativa, without knowledge to protect themselves, enjoy a health, a vigour, a longevity, and a moral character, imknown to their ancestors." Similar epidemics prevail at fixed epochs on the borders of the Escaut, producing what are there called the fevers of the polders : these fevers foUow great heat, and cause Zealand to approach the condition of Vareggio, and of the marshy comitries quoted by M. Bossi. M. Villerme pointed out to me a new example of the increase of mortality caused by the influence of marshes. In the Isle of Ely, from 1813 to 1830 in- clusive, in 10,000 deaths, from birth to the most advanced age, there were 4732 before the age of 10, whilst in all the other agricultural districts of Eng- land together there were but 3505 deaths. In the Isle of Ely, also, there were 3712 deaths from 10 to 40 years in 10,000 deaths, which took place from 10 years to extreme old age ; and only 3142 in the other agricultural districts which were not marshy.f * Des Epidemics (An. d'Hj-giene, Janv. 1833, p. 9.) t See the letter of M. Villerm^ inserted in the Bulklin dc V Academic de BruxcUcs, No. 23, for June 1834. We owe, also, to M. Villerme a very curious memoir on the mortality of Paris and other large cities,* showmg that wealth, independent circumstances, and misery, constitute, in the actual state of things, in respect to the inhabitants of the different quarters of Paris, the principal causes to whicli must be attri- buted the striking differences observed m the rate of mortality. The distance or proximity of the Seine, the nature of the soil, its depression to the east or west, the elevated grounds shutting in Paris to the north or south, the pecuHar exposure of certain quar- ters, tlie different kinds of water made use of— are all circumstances modifying in some measure the general climate of the city ; yet they do not seem to produce sensible differences in respect to the mortality. To make this more apparent, I have collected in a single table the principal results arrived at by M. VUlermo : the numbers refer to the periods from 1822 to 1826. ;fU.S c3 flJ ir 1 « 0-75 0-55 0-57 0-46 0-59 0-.55 0-82 0-62 60 0-53 0-46 0-64 metres. 26 15 65 19 ■ 7 22 11 13 16 ■ 46 47 37 «-H- 0-11 007 0-11 0-22 015 0-19 0-22 0-21 0-31 0-23 0-32 0-38 ^1 francs. 605 426 498 226 328 258 217 242 172 285 173 148 Taxed Localities. Personal Contri- bution. 0-40 0-38 0-49 0-28 0-23 0'30 0'29 0-20 0-26 0-46 0-25 0-19 By a patent of more than 30 francs. 0-47 0-44 0-35 0-36 0-49 0-32 0-3.5 0-45 0-30 0-24 0-31 0-29 2. Influence of Sexes. The influence of the sexes is extremely evident in every thing which pertains to death ; it has already ])een shown to be so before the birth of the chUd. Dm'ing the four years from 1827 to 1830, there have been in Western Flanders 2597 stiU-born children, 1517 of which were males and 1080 females, which gives a ratio of about 3 to 2. This difference is con- siderable, and as we find it appear annually, it must have a special cause. Again, this mortality affects male children not only before their birth, but pretty nearly during the ten or twelve months which follow that event ; that is to say, pretty nearly during the period of lactation, as may be seen from the following documents respecting Western Flanders : — * An. d'Hygi6ne, July 1830. t The 2d arrondissement comprises the following quarters : — Chauss<5e d'Antin, Palais-Royal, Feydeau, and Faubourg Mont- martre ; the 3d, Montmartre, Faubourg Poissonnifere, St Eus- tache, and Mail ; the 1st, Roule, ChampsElys^es, Place-Ven- d6me, and Tuileries ; the 4th, St Honors, Louvre, Marches, and Banque ; the 5th, Faubourg St Denis, Porte St Martin, Bonnc- Nouvelle, and Mont-Orgueil ; the llth, Luxembourg, Ecole de Bledicine, Sorbonne, and Palais-de-Justice ; the 7th, St Avoie, Mont-de-Pi6t^, March^ St Jean, and Arcis ; the 6th, Porte St Denis, St Martin-dcs-Champs, Lombard, and Temple; the 9th, He St Louis, Hotcl-de-Ville, Cit(J, and Arsenal ; the 10th, Monnaie, St Thomas d'Aquin, Invalides, and Faubourg St Ger- main; the 8th, St Antoine, Quinze-Vingts, Marais, and Popin- court ; the 12th, Jardin du Roi, St Marcel, St Jaques, and L'Observatoire. :j: All the locations of each quarter have been reduced to 100, so as to show how many of that number there are who pay no tax, how many are taxed by personal contribution, and how many by patent. The untaxed localities represent the poor. 30 ON MAN. Ages. Cities. 6 Country. .2 Boys. Girls. Boys. Girls. « to 1 month, lto2 .. 2 to 3 .V 3 to 4 . . 4 to S . . StoB .. 6 to 8 . . 8 to 12 . . 1 to 2 yeais, 2to3 .. 3 to 4 '■: *to5 .. 3,717 830 607 532 403 34G 569 1,148 2,563 1,383 908 556 2,786 682 500 382 322 329 508 1,030 2.409 1,337 908 683 1-33 1-3G 1-21 1-39 1-25 1-05 112 Ml 1-06 1-03 1-00 1'96 8,180 2,012 1,480 1,192 908 831 1,331 2,505 4,994 2,927 1,600 1,200 5,769 1,609 1,161 984 774 707 1,117 2,453 4,920 2,879 1,748 1,184 1-42 1-25 1-27 1-22 1-25 1-18 1-20 1-02 1-02 1-02 0-92 0-99 It appears, then, beyond doubt, that there is a par- tici/hr cause ofmortalitij ivhich attacks male children, by ■preference, before a7id immediately after their birth. The effects are such, that the ratio of" deaths before birth is as 3 to 2 ; during the two first months after birth the ratio is 4 to 3 ; during the third, foui-th, and fifth months, 5 to 4; and after the eighth or the tenth month, a difference scarcely exists. The inequaUty in the number of deaths for childi-en of both sexes, towards the period of birth, is a remark- able fact in the natural history of man, and merits the attention of physiologists. It cannot be attributed to the excess of male births over female bh'ths, seeing that the ratio of these last numbers is scarcely from 20 to 19 ; this ratio could, at the most, explain the difference of mortaUty in ages beyond the first year. The influence of sex shows itself at different ages in a manner more or less curious : an idea may be formed of this by an inspection of the following table, constructed from numbers collected in the different provinces of Belgiiun : — Age. StiU-bom, From to . . 1 to . . 2 to ai ale Deaths to one Female Death. City. Country 1-33 1-70 1-33 1-37 1-37 1-20 1-22 1-21 1-24 116 l-0(i 103 1-06 0-97 l-(ll) 0'94 0-9-.) 0-93 002 0-75 0-98 0-92 1-24 Ml 1-00 0-86 0-88 0-63 r02 0-83 1-07 M8 0-96 1-05 0-77 1-00 0()8 052 1 month, 2 . . 3 .. . . 3 to C . . . . 6 to 12 . . 1 to 2 years, . . 2 to 5 . . . . 5 to 14 . . .. 14 to 18 . . . . 18 to 21 . . .. 21 to 26 . . . . 26 to 30 . . . . ,30 to 40 . . . . 40 to 50 . . . . 50 to 60 . . . . 60 to 70 . . . . 70 to 80 . . .. SOtolOO .. - ■ This table gives the ratio between the deaths of the two sexes for eacli year, without regard to population. The numbers for the country may, moreover, be con- sidered as representing faithfully the amount of the relative mortality, because at each age tlie individuals of both sexes are nearly equal in number, Avhich is not the case in cities, at least with respect to aged men. The ratioof cities in respect to the population is in gene- ral very great for those of advanced years ; there exist, nevertheless, the same alternations of increase and of decrease as in the ratio calculated for the country. Thus, about the period of l)irth, tliere die more males than females ; about the age of two years, the mortality of both sexes becomes pretty nearly equal ; that of women thereafter increases, and becomes sen- sibly greater between the ages of 14 and 18 years, that is to say, after puberty; between 21 and 20, \\\c most active epoch of the passions, the mortality of the male exceeds that of the female i from 2G to 30, epoch of marriage, the mortality is once more equalised, but becomes sensibly greater for women during the whole period of fecundity : when that period ceases, the mortality diminishes, and this condition or ratio con- timies until the final iieriod of existence for both. The great mortality of the female peasantry (femmes de la campatine) during the period of child-bearing, may be owing to the laborious duties of their station, which the}' are thus called on to perform at a period requiring the greatest care.* These laborious agri- cultural emploj^ments are, on the contrary, from their regularity, very far from being equalh^ jirejudicial to man. The male inhabitants of towns suffer much at this period of life from irregular conduct, and the facilities offered for following the dictates of passion. 3. Influence of Age. Of aU the causes Avhich modify the mortality of man, none exercises a greater influence than age. This influence is universally acknowledged, and its appreciation is one of the first objects to which the doctrine of the calculation of probabiUties was directed. The first table of mortality appears to be dated in 1693; it was composed by the astronomer Hallej^ who constructed it from documents of the city of Breslaw. Similar tables have been constructed since that time for the principal European comitries ; yet there are few in which the distinction of the sexes has been observed. Even France does not possess a general mortaUty table keeping in view this distinc- tion ; and all the assurance societies continue to base their calcidations on the hypothesis that the morta- lity is the same for both sexes. Nevertheless, the English have observed the necessity for modifying their rates of insurance ; and Mr Pinlaysou, secretary for the national debt, has perfectly shown that the greater mortality of men ought to be kept in view. The tables which I give here for Belgium, keep in view not only the distmction of the sexes, but notice, for the first time, the differences caused by a town or country residence. I have taken care, also, to indi- cate the mortality during the early months folloAving birth. The data emploj^ed in the construction of these tables have been collected with care for a period of three years, from the registries of the ciAal state in Belgium. To enable the reader to compare these results, I have taken the same basis, and calculated the mortality, assuming 10,000 births for each of the sexes in town and country. A fifth table shows the mortality of the kingdom, without regard to the dif- ferences just alluded to. Table of Mortality General of Bel gium. Table : Town and Countrj- ; Age. Town. Country. Men and AVomen. Men. Women. Nen. Women. Birth, 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,(XiO 100,000 1 month, 8840 9129 8926 9209 90,a96 2 ■• 8.550 8916 8664 8988 87,936 3 ■■ 83(m 6176 60.38 6395 61,166 7 •• 5547 60,05 .5939 6299 60,249 8 •■ .5481 6(^26 5862 6215 59,487 9 •• .5424 mm 6792 6147 58,829 111 .. 5:m .5916 57.14 6082 58,258 11 •• .5.-i52 5i!73 mH3 6018 57,749 12 •• 5.i23 5838 SCM 59(i0 57,289 13 •• .5298 6807 5509 5908 66,871 14 •• 5271 5/71 6546 5862 .56,467 15 • • .5241 6732 5603 67.96 56,028 * [Tlie reader will be pleased to observe that M. Qtietelet •alludes here to the whole period of child bearing in the female peasantry, as contrasted with the habits of to^\-ns ; on the other hand, it is a fact generally admitted, although we know not the precise data on which the opinion is founded, tliat the indivi- dual accouchements are not only safer but much easier in the country than in towns.] ON MAN. 31 Age. IG years, 17 Table of Mortality of Belgium — ( Contintiol.) Men. 5209 5171 5131 .W87 5(138 4,978 4908 4827 4740 4()G2 4590 4523 4459 4397 4335 4275 4214 4154 4094 4034 3976 3918 3860 38(>2 3744 3078 ^ni ^77 3411 a?52 3293 3233 3174 3115 3040 2962 2881 2810 2/39 2667 2583 2499 2415 2329 2239 2146 2051 1956 1859 1754 1649 1556 1466 1372 1279 im 108/ 989 891 806 721 631 541 463 394 332 273 225 184 150 120 93 69 49 37 28 18 11 9 Women SC89 5645 560O 5551 .5500 5445 5387 5326 52G4 5201 5138 5074 5010 4946 4881 4816 4751 4680 4622 4558 4490 4418 4347 4277 4208 4148 4088 4027 3967 3907 3846 3783 3720 3656 3592 3520 »t48 .^375 a300 3225 3150 3080 3010 2939 28(a 27:9 2689 2595 2498 23;;7 2292 2187 2085 1983 1864 1741 1627 1514 1389 1261 11»4 101 1 900 789 682 585 495 411 ai6 289 2.39 192 150 116 86 65 47 33 24 18 12 8 4 2 1 Country. Men. Women. 5456 5408 5357 53(>2 5242 5178 5109 5036 4958 4881 4805 4734 4673 4620 4572 4525 4478 4431 4384 4337 4296 4255 4215 4174 41.34 4090 4044 3995 3!M3 3;J87 3(J27 3767 37f»7 3fA7 3588 3512 34.35 3358 3276 3194 ,3111 3(86 29.39 2U51 2767 2677 2587 2495 2387 2277 2163 2049 1942 I»15 1713 1587 1474 1358 1236 1114 996 882 770 664 566 4a> 414 353 294 239 191 152 117 88 67 48 .38 27 20 14 10 7 4 2 5668 5608 5546 5484 5421 5.356 5289 5222 5153 5085 5016 4948 4880 4812 4744 4677 4609 4542 4474 4401 4329 4257 4185 4112 4041 mi 3901 .3831 3761 3701 3G40 3579 3519 .'J458 ;i392 3323 3256 3187 3118 .3049 2982 2912 2840 27(i2 2677 2586 2495 2405 2310 2-2IX) 2086 1983 1875 17.58 1()42 1530 1420 13(J0 1182 1061 940 832 723 619 5.35 460 390 323 262 211 168 1.32 !)7 71 54 40 .32 24 18 12 General Table : Town and Country ; Men and AVomen. 55,570 55,087 54,575 54,030 53,450 .52,810 52,172 51,465 50,732 49,995 49,298 48,602 47,965 47,350 46,758 46,1/0 45,584 44,996 44,409 43,823 43,2.36 42,650 42,064 41,476 40,889 40,.300 3.'»,(;!i7 39,io(; .38,504 ■37,900 37,295 3(),690 .36,084 35.477 34.789 .•U,153 a3,418 .32.676 .31,9.30 31,179 3f),42i 29,656 28,875 28,081 27,242 26,.356 25,423 24,465 23,478 22,462 21,362 20,263 19,219 18,175 17,017 15,860 14,749 13,638 12,461 11,273 10,120 9014 7910 68.53 5867 5031 4299 3627 3016 2464 1989 158^ 12X3 '.m 6*2 510 387 282 2(»7 1.53 105 7 4 67 39 2 20 10 ■ 5 2 An inspection of tliis tabic shows that the probable value or duration of life after birth is in general about 25 years, that is to say, that at the age of 25, the number of children born at the same time is reduced to one-half. Keeping in view the distinction of the sexes, Ave find that the probable life of girls (filles, unmarried females) is longer than that of boys (un- married males) ; in fact, it is 27 years in the country, and more tlian 28 in cities, whilst for unmarried males it is less than 24 years in the country, and less than 21 in cities. Towards the age of five years, the chances of pro- longed life are the greatest, whatever be the sex or place of abode ; at this epocli, the probable duration of life of women in city, and men in the country, is 50 years, and of 48 years for Avomen in the country and men in the city. ' ' This age of five years, Avhen the more urgent dan- gers of infancy have ceased, is very remarkable in the natural history of man : in proportion as we recede from it, the probable duration of life becomes sliorter and shorter ; thus, at the age of 40, it is only 27 years for the inhabitants of the country, and for Avomen in- habiting towns, and of 25 years only for men inha- biting tOAvns ; for tiiose Avho haA-e reached 60 years, the probable duration of life is from 12 to 13 A^earsj and Avith the octogenarian it is reduced to four years! In general, the mortality is greater for man inha- biting t0A\Tis, oAving, Avithout doubt, to the irregu- larities and excesses to Avhich he is exposed. The value, then, of the average life in Belgium is 32-15 years; for men inhabiting cities, 29-24, and for the male agricultural population, 31-97; for women inhabiting cities, 33-28, and 32-95 in the country. According to Mr Eickman's last Avork, the average life in England Avould be 33 years, 32 for the men and 34 for the Avomen.* In France, it is estimated at 32-2, calculated from the numbers of birtlis. f Finally, these calculations presume the population to be stationary, and Ave shall afterAvards have occasion to see that they lead to serious errors. I shall next make a more attentive examination of the different critical periods of man and woman, as well as of the degrees of duration of life (viability, existibiliti/) at different ages. What first occupies our attention, is tlie great mor- tality of children after birth : to have an accurate idea of this, it is sufficient to consider that, in toAvn as well as country, four times as many children die Avithin the first month after birtli as in the second ; and almost as many as during the second and third years, although tlie mortahty then is very great. Indeed' the table of mortahty shows, that one-tenth die Avithin the first month after birth. TJiis number is equal to tlie aggregate number of deaths of tlie survivors between 7 and 24 years of age, or betAveen 24 and 40 years ; or, still further, it is equal to the number of surA-ivors Avho reach the age of 76 years. MM. Milne Edwards and Villerme have made some inte- resting researches on the mortality of new-born chil- dren ; Toaldo, in Italy, attributes it chiefly to the custom of taking the infants to church immediately after birth, Avhere they often endure the severest cold, and are exposed naked to the waters of baptism. The mortality is so great, especially for male chil- dren, that, from the first year after bu-th, the number is already reduced one-fourth. The loss of boys in toAvns is such, that at tlie fifth year, out of 10,000, there are only 5738 remaining. The age of five years is very remarkable, because the mortahty, wliicli until that time is very great, is suddenly reduced, and becomes extremely small until the age of puberty. At tlie age of fiA-e years, the probability of hfe attains its maximum, that is to say, man may reckon upon a longer existence. The epoch Avhich precedes puberty, and Avhicli * Preface to tbe Abstract, &c., p. 46. + Anniiaire du Bureau des Longitudes for 1H.34, p. 102. 32 ON MAN. commences at 13 in town and 14 in tlie country, is equally deserving of attention : it also presents a maximum of a peculiar kind — it might be called the maximum of viability ; it is the period when man can most depend upon his actual existence, and when he can wager with most probability that he will not die the moment after. After the age of puberty, the mortality becomes greater, especially among women : tliis increase is even perceptible among women in the country. Towards the age of 24, there is a peculiar circimi- stance connected with men ; namely, a maximum which is not observed in the curve of the mortality of women. (See the table of curves at the end of the volume). The period of this maximum coincides with that when man shows the greatest inclination to crime;* it is the stormy age of passion, which occu- pies a most conspicuous place in the moral life of man. The mortality afterwards diminishes insensibly, and reaches for men in town and covmtry a new minimum about the age of 30. The reason why these periods of maximum and minimum are not observed in the curve of female mortahty, proceeds undoubtedly from the circum- stance, that the effect which the development of the passions in woman might have over the deaths is combined with the effect resulting from the dangers of childbearing ; for, after the age of 24 years, the deaths of women continue to increase, and, taken from 28 to 45 years, exceed the number of deaths of men. The difference is very apparent between 30 and 40 years.f From 60 to 6.5 j^ears, also a remarkable period, viability loses much of its energy, that is to say, the probability of life becomes very small. Lastly, the length of one century appears to be the limit of man's existence. Very few exceed this bound. On the 1st of January 1831, of sixteen centenarians found in Belgium, fourteen of them lived in the three provinces of Hainault, Namur, and Luxembourg. Lim- bourg and Eastern Flanders had each one, and none were found in the provinces of Brabant, Anvers, Western Flanders, and Liege. The three oldest in- dividuals were 104, 110, and 111 years— they belonged to the province of Luxembourg ; the others did not exceed 102 years. Of the sixteen centenarians, nine belonged to the male sex ; none of them liad been soldiers : it is re- markable that all these persons had been, or still were married, and generally were living in very ordinary cir- cumstances. It is generally thought that the greater number of centenarians are males, although the ave- rage life of females is longer. A German physiologist, M. Biu'dach, has pubhshed some very singular approximative comparisons of human mortality and the periods of human life. J This philosopher divides hfe into 10 periods of 400 weeks each ; and thus makes an age of the first dentition, of adolescence, of youth, &c. ; in the first period is found a secondary one of 40 weeks, the age of lactation. To complete the documents relative to mortality at different ages, it would be necessary to consider the dangers to which man is exposed every moment. Indeed, when we say that the infant at birth has a probable life of 25 years, we know nothing of the dangers to which he may be exposed durmg this period. It is for the purpose of considering these dangers that I have constructed the following table, which points out the actual degree of mortality of * Recherchcs sur le Penchant au Crime au.\ differens Ages. See also the third book of this work. t It haa long been thought that the time of cessation of the monthly period was more fatal to women than the other periods of life. M. Benoiston de Chateaimeuf has shown that this opi- nion is groimdless, in a Memolre sur la MorlaliU cles Femines de rAgedei0d50Aiis. Paris: 1822. t Die Zeitrecbnnng des Menschliehcn-rebens. Licpsic : 1820. each age, that is to say, the probability of dying within a very limited period. This table is calcu- lated from the one on mortality : the inverse ratio of each number, placed opposite, may be considered as the relative degree of the duration of the life of man at different ages, or the relative probability of living : — Age. Degrees. Age. Degrees. < 1 ! 1 of of of of Mortality. Viability. Mortality. Viability. 1 month, 960 1 23 12 85 2 •• 273 4 24 12 82 3 •• 200 5 25 12 83 4 ■• 168 6 30 11 95 5 135 7 35 11 90 6 •• 127 8 40 12 83 1 year. 115 9 45 13 77 77 13 50 15 67 3 ■• 60 17 55 20 50 4 •• 27 37 60 27 37 5 ■• 21 48 65 39 26. 6 •• 15 67 70 57 18 7 •• 12 83 75 187 11 8 •• 10 100 80 29 8 10 ■• 8 131 85 174 6 14 ■• 6 161 90 250 4 15 •• 7 155 95 283 3 20 •• 10 100 100 4217 2 I have endeavoured to render these numbers sen- sible to the eye by the construction of a curve abode. (See Plate 2, placed at the end of the volume). The greater or less divergence from the axis A B, indicates the greater or less degree of viability. Thus we see that, about the age of 14, viability is greatest : it after- wards presents an anomaly between the 15th and 30th years. This curve lias been constructed for men and women mdiscriminately : the dotted line serves for females. Its form is more regular than that of males alone : it descends in a continuous manner from the point m, which corresponds to the 13th year, to the point 7i, corresponding to the 50th, where it is confounded with the other curve. We see that viabi- lity after puberty dimmishes more rapidly in females than males ; it is also less during the time of child- bearing, from the 27th to the 45th year, but greatest at the age of the passions, about the 24th year. The curve of viability has a striking similarity to that of the propensity to crune, and a still greater similarity to that showing the development of the physical powers. The age of shortest viability would be then imme- diately after birth, and the age of longest viability immediately before puberty : the viability of the child after the first month of life is gi'eater than that of the man near 100 years old. Towards the 75 th year, it is scarcely greater than for the infant about the sixth month after birth. We shall add to what has already been said, the law of the duration of diseases, expressed in weeks and fractions of a week, as M. VUlerme has given it in the Annalcs d'Hi/giene for January 1830, according to the documents of the philanthropic Highland So- ciety of Scotland. Age. Weeks of sickness Age. Weeks of sickness for one Person. for one Person. 21st year, •■ 0-575 65th year, - 1-821 25th • • 0-585 57th • • 2-018 30th • • - 0-621 60th • • - 2-246 35th •• 0-6/5 63d •• 3100 40th .. - 0-758 65th . • - 4-400 45th .. 0-962 67th •• 6-000 50th .. - 1-361 70th .. - - 10-701 The committee of the Scotch Society which has collected these data, thinks that below the age of 20 the average annual duration of diseases ought to be estimated at three days, or nearly ; and above 70 ON MAN. S3 years, also, for the working class, about 4 montlis, or 16i weeks. These researches coincide very well with the measures of viabilit}' given above. M. Villerme has also been investigating the law of mortality of each age during epidemics,* and he has been led to conclude that it seems to agree Avith the general law of mortality according to age, that is to say, that those who, all things being equal, have the least probability of life, are those who fall most readily, ■when attacked by epidemics : f thus, one epidemic attacks more particularly children, another old per- sons. Well, of an equal number of diseases at each age, the mortality of children is greater the younger they are, and when old persons are attacked, the older they are. This observation is confirmed by the researches of DuviUard on death caused by the small-pox ; by those which have been collected after the sweating miliary fever, which was epidemic in 1821 in the department of Oise ; and by several others quoted by M. Villerme. " According to the unanimous accounts from diffe- rent parts of Germany," says this philosopher, " ac- counts which fully confirm the official report on the ravages of cholera-morbus in the city of Paris and department of the Seine, the children rmder four or five years, and the old persons of advanced age, attacked by this malady, almost always die, wliilst young people less frequently fall under it. Indeed, some researches Avhich I have made on the influence of marshes, show that the same circimistance attends the fevers or epidemic maladies resulting from them (marshes) ; for of an equal number of sick per- sons, more young children died than of all the others, and after these the old persons. The influenza, or catarrhal fever, Avhich prevailed through a great part of France during the spring and summer of 1831, and which especially attacked adults and old persons, at least in Paris, has principally been fatal to the latter Avlien very old. All these facts concerning diseases so different, render it extremely probable that the mortality occa- sioned by epidemics commonly follows, as has been already stated, for the sick persons Avho are attacked by them, the general law of the mortality according to age. Hence the inference, that epidemics which attack the two extremes of Ufe, are, every tiring considered, the most fatal and deadly." 4. Influence of Years. It has been observed that the annual number of deaths may, in certain circumstances, be considerably modified by scarcity, wars, and other scourges. The influence of famine had been confirmed long ago; nevertheless, an English statistician, Mr Sad- ler, recently thought he perceived in the relative numbers of England almost the opposite of what his predecessors found. Similar discordances between the results of observers have often been quoted by superficial persons to establish the small importance of statistical inquiries, instead of seeMng for the true cause of them. Now, to explain the difficulty which here presents itself, it is necessary to observe, in the first place, that mortality does not increase just at the moment when bread becomes dearer — the excess of mortality is only induced by the diseases and privations which poor people are obliged to endure at periods of distress ; so that, diu-ing the greater part of the time, the influence of the scourge on the registers of mortality only be- comes visible several months, and sometimes a year, after its commencement. The consequences, more- over, do not stop suddenly : the price of bread may * An. d'Hygifene, Janv. 1833, p. 31. t [Typhus fever, which occasionally spreads epidemically, seems to form an exception to this law.] have resumed its ordinary course, or even become lower, and yet the excess of deaths may be stiU very sensible. AVe sliould be wrong in admitting, also, that the smallest fluctuations ki the prices of bread ought proportionally to show themselves in the number of deaths : in the midst of so many causes modifying mortality, a single one, in order to leave manifest traces, must be strongly marked. We must not, then, ascribe, as Mr Sadler has done, the same importance to every year from the time that the price of grain had somewhat exceeded the average— we must keep to those years in which there was a positive scarcity; and, above all, we must not suppose the mortality to proceed equall}^ with the price of provisions. An examination of the tables showing the movement of the popiilation in Belgium from 1815 to 1826 inclu- sive, will point this out. We may there observe, that the price of wheat and rj'e reached their maximum in 1816 ; but the effects of the scarcity over the deaths and births became apparent only the year following. Were we to follo\v Mr Sadler's plan, the calamitous year of 1816 would be arranged among the happy ones, since, comparatively to the other years, there were fcAver deaths. To proceed as Mr Sadler has done, we ought to compare the deaths of the four years from 1815 to 1818, during which the prices of grain exceeded the average, with those of the four following years, and Are have as a medium of each period — Average of Deaths — In To^vn. In Country. Tcirs of famine, - plenty, 50,186 - 51,015 91,501 95,222 Observe how this conclusive table would lead to re- sults entirely opposed to those we have obtained. We cannot be too much on our guard against con- clusions drawn from statistical documents, and espe- cially against the methods of reasoning which may be employed. The greatest sagacity is necessary to distinguish the degree of importance to be attached to each influencing element; and we have frequent proofs that even clever men have been led into ab- surdities by ascribing to certain causes influences pro- duced by other causes which they had neglected to take into consideration. The fatal influence of the years 1816 and 1817 shows itself not only in the general results of deaths for all Belgium, but also, as has been remarked,* in the particular resiilts in the foundling hospitals, and in houses of refuge. This may be judged of by the following numbers : — Years. 1815, - 1816, 1817, - 1818, 1819, - Foundling Hospitals. Population. Deaths. 10,739 11,176 11,829 12,813 13,248 1,597 1,459 1,793 1,290 1,346 Mendicity Houses : Inhabitants to one Death. 8'25 1015 5-49 6 79 9-29 We ought to attribute this greater mortality to the individuals admitted into the hospitals and mendicity houses having been already sufferers from the famine, and not to the privations which they had to undergo in these establishments. The number of admissions of foundlings, which, one year with another, never ex- ceeded .3000, reached to 3945 in 1817: it is this which has rendered the mortality greater, because the in- * Page 35 of Recherches sur la Poptilation, les Naissances, 4 in the year 1838. No alteration of consequence has since taken place in the annual expenditure on this score.] ON MAN. 39 the troops on land have a still smaller mortality than tlie seamen. M. Benoiston de Chateaunenf has also been occupied with investigations on the mortality of the French army compared with that of the rest of the popula- tion, and lie has been led to several curious results, which I shall endeavour to state succinctly.* M. de Chateauneuf here likewise finds that the pri- vileged class is that which is the best fed, and under- goes the least fatigue : thus, according to the docu- ments of France, the mortality of the soldier was a little greater than that of the mass of the people ; the guard has fewer deaths than the army ; and the sub- ofEcer dies more rarely than the soldier, both in the guard and army. If we investigate the influence of seasons on the mortahty of soldiers, the following are the results wliich we obtain for the deaths of the infantry from 1820 to 1826:— Seasons. Blonths. Winter. January, February, March, Spring. April, May, June, - - - Summer. July, August, September, Autmnn. October, November, December, The maximum of deaths falls in summer. But without taking notice of the astronomic calculation which fixes the period of the seasons, if we determine the seasons by their influence on the atmosphere alone, after the manner of several German and Italian phy- sicians, Ave have a new division as follows : — Seasons. Jlontlis. Deaths. Winter. Df'ccmber, .January, February, - 3-09r, Spring. Starch, April, Blay, - - . - 4-;So7 Summer. .June, July, August, . - - 4-143 Autumn. September, October, November, - - 4'.")!)(j The maximum of deaths is no longer in sunnner, but takes place in autumn. Thus, in whatever way we divide the year, whether into half-years, quarters, or seasons, the intensity of mortality reaches its minimum in Avinter. Taking the numbers of each month, we find two minima and two maxima : these results differ less from those of civil life than IM. de Chateauneuf thinks, who, moreover, when he composed his memoir, was not acquainted with the influence of seasons on different ages. We may form an opinion of it by bringing together the numbers of France, and those which I have found for Belgium. Deaths in France from Deaths in Bclgimn 18^0 to 1820. From 16 to 20 From 20 to 25 Years. Years. Januarv, - 1-4(12 0-93 0-97 February, i-a34 0-94 1-00 JMarcb, - 1-432 1-07 1-09 April, - - 1-475 1-18 1-02 May, - - 1-450 1-15 1-09 •June, - - 1-257 1-03 0-96 July, - - 1-279 1-00 0-90 August, l-fi07 0-99 0-92 September, 1-577 0-89 0-96 October, - 1-C38 0-87 0-95 November, 1-381 0-95 1-03 December, 1-ifiO 1-01 Ml Total, - 17-092 12-00 12-00 We see, however, that after the great heats of sum- mer, the soldier is exposed to a degree of mortality which is not observed in civil life. If we consider the different regions of France, Ave shall find that the inhabitants of the provinces in the ♦ Essai sur la Jlortalitd de I'lnfanterie Franyaiso {An. d'lli/- yiine, tome x. 2d part.) See also a memoir by M. le Comte Jlorozo, Sur la Mortality dcs Troupes Pidmontaises, in the IMc- moires de VAcailcmk tie Turin. north are more capable of bearing the fatigues of ser- vice than those of the soiith ; but none appear less fitted for service than tliose of the centre. M. de Chateauneuf has also endeavoured to inves- tigate Avhat causes the increase of mortality of the soldier, and he has examined the influence of several causes, such as duels, A'enereal diseases, suicides, nos- talgia, phthisis, &c. This able statistician had already examined in another work the influence of certain professions on the development of pulmonary plitliisis,* and he had arrived at several interesting conclusions. M. Lombard of Geneva has since been occupied with the same subject of reseavch,f and has collected a great number of facts, of the principal results of Avhich Ave ought not to be ignorant. After having discussed the data afforded him by five different lists, formed for Paris, Hamburg, Vienna, and Geneva, M. Lombard has put them together, and divided the professions into three classes, according as they are favourable, indifierent, or unfavourable to the development of phthisis, or, in other terms, accord- ing as they have a greater, equal, or smaller number, than the general average. The folloAving is the general list : — I. — PROFESSIONS PLACED ABOVE THE AVERAGE, A. — Among Men. 1. In all the lists. — Sculptors, printers, hatters, jjo- lishers, gendarmes, brushmakers, soldiers, jeAvellers, tailors, millers, mattress-makers, lacemen or embroi- derers, lemonade-makers, domestics, and hairdress- ers. 2. In the mcijority of the lists. — Copy -writers, cooks, turners, joiners, barbers, shoemakers, and coopers. 3. Jii one list only. — Ironmongers, vinedressers, J commissioners, old - clothesmen, tinmen, porteurs de lessive, pavicrs, engravers, mechanics, calico-printers, doorkeepers, shoAvmen, springmakers, enamellers, design-painters, street-sweepers, pastry-cooks, show- makers, instructors, carters, brokers, sundial-makers, showpillar-makers, upholsterers, Protestant minis- tcrs,§ iron-merchants, lime-makers, basket-makers, shepherds, teachers of arithmetic, police-officers, ser- vants in place, feather-sellers, crystal-cutters, gauze- Aveavers, sportsmen, and ribbon-makers. B. — Among Women. 1 . In all the lists. — Seamstresses, shoemakers, glovers, and embroiderers. 2. In the majority of the lists. — Polishers. 3. In one list only. — Makers of Avatch -needles, clock- makers, milliners, teachers, laundi'csses, old-elothes- women, toilet and niercer-Avomen, hatters, bookbind- ers, knitters, jewel-makers or dealers, feather-makers or dealei's, florists, brushmakers, and lacemakers. II. — PROFESSIONS AVITIIIN THE LISTS, SOMETIMES ABOVE THE AVERAGE, SOMETIMES BELOAV IT. A. — Among Men. Students, plasterers, stone-cutters, saddlers, delvers, clockmakers, waggoners, cellarmen, |1 goldsmiths, stocking - makers, charcoal-makers, gilders, musi- cians, saAvyers, and glaziers.^ * An. d'llygidnc, tome vi. partic 1, July 1831. t Idem, tome xi. partie 1, Jan. l&Sl. :(: This result is founded solely on six deaths, and requii-es con- finiiation. — Note by 31. Lombard. § The number of consumptive persons is increased by the deaths of several English ecclesiastics, who arrived out of health at Ge- neva. — M. Lombard. II The first eight may be considered as belonging to the first class, that is to say, to those among whom the niiraber of phthi- sical persons is above the average ; in fact, they are so placed in the Geneva list, Avliich may be considered more exact than the other. — M. Lombard. f The remark made in the preceding note Avill apply to the last seven professions, which, in tlie Geneva list, arc placed below the avcnigc. — M. Lombard. 40 ON MAN. B. — Among Women. Housekeepers, day-labourers, spinners, weavers, gauzemakers, gilders, stocking-menders, and mantua- makers. III. PROFESSIONS BELOW THE AVERAGE. A. — Among Men. 1. In all the lists, — Coachmen, quarrymen, carpen- ters, tavern-keepers, butchers, porters at the market and message-boys, porters, tanners, bleachers, barge- men, confectioners, slaters, foundry -men, and order- lies. 2. In the majority of the lists. — Bakers, smiths, far- riers, locksmiths, masons, and weavers. 3. In one list only. — Surgeons, braziers, cutlers, dif- ferent merchants, woodcutters, advocates, sedan-car- riers, chamois-leather-dressers, agriculturists, men of letters, negotiators, grocers, persons employed under government, bookbinders, governors of colleges, com- missioners, loaders, clogmakers, merchant -drapers, druggists, annuitants, veteran officers, grooms, mes- sengers, bankers, magistrates, dyers, physicians, coal- measurers, notaries, carvers, lawyers, money-changers, breeches-makers, candle-makers, tobacco-merchants, librarians, harness-makers, blanket-weavers, furbish- ers, plumbers, wood-merchants, professors, chocolate- makers, funeral assistants, landlords, cheesemongers, skin-dealers, furriers, chimney-sweepers, agents, ar- chitects, gunsmiths, packers, pinmakers, assizers of wood, vermiceUi-makers, teachers of foreign languages, needle-makers, spinners, cotton-weavers, marble-cut- ters, starch - manufacturers, ragmen, water-carriers, tojTuen, stuff-manufacturers, shop-boys, miners, mer- chant-mercers, and combmakers. B. — Among Women. 1 . In all the lists. — Carders of mattresses, sicknurses, retailers, bleachers, gardeners. 2. In the majority of the lists, — Women employed in doing tailor- work. 3. In one list only. — Fringe-makers, embroiderers, winders, gauzemakers, ragwomen, cotton-spinners, Avatch-chainmakers, calico-printers, cooks, domestics, annuitants, washerwomen, merchant-grocers, coimter- pane-makers, butchers, midwives, bakers, female por- ters, and leech-appliers. Next, passing to the causes which may influence the frequency of phthisis in the dilferent professions, M. Lombard arrives at tlie following conclusions : — 1. The circumstances which multiply phthisis, are misery, sedentary life and absence of muscular exer- cise, shocks sustained in workshops, a curved posture, the impure air of shops, the inhalation of certain mineral or vegetable vapours, and, lastly, air loaded with thick or impalpable dust, or light, elastic, fila- mentous bodies. 2. The circumstances which exercise a preservative influence, are riches, active life, and fresh air, regular exercise of all parts of the body, inhalation of watery vapour,* or animal and vegetable emanations. If we want to ascertain the degree of influence of each of these causes, in tlie production of phthisis, among the workmen who are found exposed to them, it may be considered as being as follows : — Average number of phthisical persons, 114 in 1000. I. — Noxious Influences. 1. Mineral and vegetable emanations, - - O-l/G 2. Dust of different kinds, - - - 0-145 .% Sedentary life, . - - . . 0-140 4. Life passed in workshops, - - - 0-138 .5. Dr>- hot air, ...... 0-127 6. Bent posture, - - - - - 01 22 7. Movement of the arm, sti-iking the chest, - 0-116 * [The theory evidently alluded to in the text, that the inha- bitants of marshy countries were less liable to pulmonarj- phthisis than others, was supported for a while by a few medical men, but aftei-wards entirely abandoned.] II.— Preservative Influences. 1. Active life, muscular exercise, 2. Exercise of the voice, 3. Life passed in the open air, 4. Animal emanations, . . . 5. Watery vapours, 0-089 0-075 0-073 0-060 0-053 There are, then, many other researches which have for their object the determination of the influence of professions on mortaUty:* it Avould be difficult to present a siunmary here, since the facts at present collected are very few ; however, I cannot pass over in total silence the researches of Casper of Berhn, who, by his labours in medical statistics, has taken a dis- tinguished rank in science.f Casper finds that the profession of medicine is perhaps more exposed to mortality than any other, contrary to the prejudices so generally received ; and he has observed that theo- logians occupy the other extreme in the scale of mor- tahty. Undoubtedly, we must here include under the name of theologians, the clergjTuen and not the learned men who descend into theological studies ; Avhich may make a great difference, for the activity of mind, carried to a certain degree, may become as prejudicial, as a regular and quiet life is advantageous, to the preservation of man. The following table, pre- sented by Casper, points this out clearly : — Of 100 theologians, there have attained the age of 70 and upwards, -------- i2 Agriculturists and foresters, 40 Superintendants, 35 Commercial and industrious men, - - - - 35 Military men, ....---.. 32 Subalterns, 32 Advocates, - 29 Artists, 28 Teachers, professors, -..---. 27 Physicians, ...--..-24 It would seem to follow from this table, that mental labour is more injurious to man than bodily, but that the most injurious state is that where fatigue of body is joined to that of the mind. A sedentary life, which is not exposed to any kind of excess, appears, on the contrary, to be most favourable. The summary which foUows will suffice to point out the extremes. Of 1000 deaths, there were as follows : — Age. Phj-sicians. Theologians. Ratio From 23 to 32 years, 82 43 1-91 • • 33 to 43 • • 149 58 2-57 • • 43 to 52 • • 160 64 2-50 •• 53 to 62 •• 210 180 M7 •■ 63to72 •• 228 328 0-70 .. 73 to 82 .. 141 257 0-55 • • 83 to 92 . . 30 70 0-43 I do not know whether we have any precise re- searches on the influence wMch study in general has on the constitution of chUdren and young persons. This subject deserves a serious examination at the present day, especially since many parents, by im- proper attention, and sometimes from motives of self- love or very censiu-able cupidity, bring up their chil- dren as we should grow plants in a hot-house, to enjoy their flowers and fruits the sooner. Numerous ex- amples have shown hoAv short these fruits endure, and how subject those are who produce them to pre- mature decay : we have seen few of these prodigies preserve their reputation beyond the period of infancy, or withstand the excessive efforts of an organisation too feeble for the labours imposed upon it. "We shall also have occasion to examine, when speaking of mental alienation, to what extent excessive studies, especiallj' in the exact sciences, may predispose to this dreadful malady, or even entirely rum the most happy organisation. * See especially, in the AnnaUs d'Hyglenc, different memoirs by MINI. Parent Duchatelet, D'Arcet, Leuret, Marc, Villermi, Benoiston de Chateaimeuf, &c. t Gazette JMedicale Hebdomadaire de Berlin, .3d January 1834 ; and An. d'Hygitnc, April 1834. ON MAN. 41 There are diseases, of more or less danger, inherent in the habits of individuals, and the quality of the food and drink which they use. Of tliis number ap- pears to be stone in the bladder, which especially afflicts certain locahties. I am under obhgations to M. Civiale, for different data on this cruel scourge, which is now combated with so much success ; and I thought that those respecting age were not without interest in a work the object of which is the study of the development of man. Although the observations are at present scanty, it appears certam that the dis- position to this disease is the greatest in childhood : we may judge from the following table : — Patients affected with Stone. Ages. Norwich Lun^ville. Bristol. and Norfolk. Leeds. From to 10 years. 943 46 255 83 - 10 to 20 - 377 05 99 21 „ 20 to 30 - lOG 41 47 21 ~ 30 to 40 ~ 38 34 46 12 - 40 to 50 „ 23 37 41 28 ~ SO to 60 - 18 28 92 21 ~ 60 to 70 - 16 18 63 9 — 70 & upwards, ^ 2 6 2 Total, 1526 371 649 197 It is about the age of five years especially, that the number of calculous patients appears to be the great- est. Indeed, at Lmieville, the following numbers have been observed from year to j'ear, commencing at in- fancy and reaching to the 10th year: — 0, 17, 79, 131, 145, 143, 116, 119, 84, and 75. It would appear that after puberty age had no great influence on the predisposition to this disease, especially taking into account the number of indivi- duals of each age which a population contains. The difference of the sexes has a marked influence : it is generally supposed that about 21 men are af- fected with the disease to one woman ; this would be inferred from the following table : — Stone Cases. riaecs. Men. Women. Men to 1 Woman. Lun^ville, 1463 63 23 Bristol, ■348 7 49 Paris, .... 423 16 26 Ulm, .... 123 4 31 Leeds, .... 188 9 21 Norwich and Norfolk, - 618 31 20 Lombardj', ... 758 36 41 Diction, de Medicine, - 312 44 7 Practice of M. Civiale, 419 10 42 Total, - 4652 220 21-14 Women, like men, have a greater disposition to stone in infancy than at a more advanced age ; as to the danger of death from it, we may calculate on about 1 death to 5'3 cases nearly, in different coimtries, when lithotomy is had recourse to. The danger of opera- tion is least during infancy. 2. Influence of Morals. Up to the present time, we possess few researches on the influence which morals may have on the num- ber of deaths in a nation, excepting in the case of violent deaths. This is a vast field open to the in- vestigations of statisticians, who might arrive at results no less interesting for the preservation of so- ciety than for moral and political philosophy. We have already seen, from the preceding researches, what advantage ^n industrious and prudent people has, with respect to mortality, over a depraved and indolent one. In establishing a parallel between Eng- land and the unfortunate republic of Guanaxuato, I have shown that, proportion stiU being kept in view, the deaths were almost three times as numerous in the latter as in the foi-mer country. We have like- wise seen that the mortality was much less in the higher classes of society than in the lower ; and this state of things is not merely owing to abundance on the one hand and privations on the other, but also to rational and temperate habits, more regidated passions, and less rapid transitions in their mode of livmg. The violence of the passions seems to have consi- derable influence in shortening the duration of human life. Thus, when the physical man is fully developed, about the age of twenty, it woidd be supposed that he ought to resist all the destructive tendencies of his nature ; but the contrary is the case. This excess of mortality, which is not observed in females, continues in man until very near the age of thirty, a period at which the fire of the passions is somewhat deadened. We shall be better enabled to understand this critical period in the life of the male, when we have exammed the development of his moral nature. It is particularly in epidemics that we are enabled to recognise the influence of morals on the number of deaths. We have been enabled to judge, especially during the ravages of cholera in Europe, how much intemperance has been fatal to those who gave them- selves up to it. Opinions have been greatly at vari- ance on the nature and curative means of this scourge, but all agree in establishing the fact which I have stated.* From numerous observations, it appears that theN fear of a disease may singularly predispose to an at- tack of it : the moral influences here exercise a re- markable action over the physical, and one which deserves the greatest attention from philosophers. This interesting subject has already been made the object of many researches -, but it has scarcely been examined by that rigorous method of analysis which has for some time been appUed to science. Persons have been seen to fall down dead, through the violent excitement of a passion ; others have been seen, la- bouring imder a presentiment of death, really to die, when their excited imagination had made them dread death. It would be extremely mteresting to determine what are the i^assions most dangerous to excite inor- dinately, and at what point fear may cause death. These researches would induce essential modifications in our habits _ and institutions. Thus, the custom of attending with religious forms on the patient whose condition is hopeless, may cause death in many cases ; and we cannot but applaud the precautions taken in certain countries, of discharging these forms from the commencement of the disease, when it only presents symptoms of slight danger. ReUgious ceremonies then appear less hke the signal of a passage to another state of existence. I shall also class among the disturbing causes which increase mortalitj', man's tendency to self-destruction, or to destroy his species, although he shares it in common with animals, who are obedient only to the laws of nature. But here the tendency is manifested under entirely diflTerent forms ; thus, destruction of man by man is a crime or a virtue, according to the manner in which it takes place : and it would be very difficidt to assign the limits of two siich opposite con- ditions, especially if we regard the difference of times and places. An historical account of the displacement of this limit in different nations, would of itself be a work of the highest interest, and would show us under what phases humanity has been fated to appear. * [The translator's experience in respect to cholera has a ten- dency to modify M. Quetelet's opinion. So far as he ohserved, the temperate and the intemperate fell equally under this temble scom-ge ; in fact, its origin, progress, and disappearance, are quite a mysterj'. It can scarcely now be said that a single well-esta- blished fact respecting this disease was made out by the medical profession in Eiu-ope.] 42 ON MAN. An examination of sucli questions as these, liow- ever, vnR more naturally find a place when I consider the development of the moral qualities of man, and have to speak of duelling and homicide. This will also be the place to treat of the destruction of man by his fellow-man, when on a larger scale, and in modes consecrated by our manners and institutions ; for our ideas of war belong also to moral statistics. I have just shown, by different examples, how much mortaUty is influenced by morals: another no less striking example of this influence is that Avhich still- births afford, when we have made the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate ones. The fatal heritage of vice does not affect the child before its birth onlv, it pursues it still, for a long tune after it has escaped this first danger, and misery often aggi-a- vates the evil. Thus, it follows from the researches of Baumann and Siissmilch, that the mortality pre- sents the following ratio, aU things being equal :— Stm-births, 1st month after birth, 2d aud 3(1 month, 4th, 5th, and Gth month, Remainder of the year, 2d year, ... 3d and 4th year. 1 legitimate, - 1 1 1 - 1 1 - 1 2- (I illegitimate. 2-4 2-0 1-7 1-5 1-4 13 The difference continues very evident until the se- venth vear; so that, according to Baumann, only one-tenth of illegitimate children will arrive at ma- turity. This result just explains what is observed in the republic of Guanaxuato, " where nothing can equal the mass of i)hysical, moral, and political pollu- tion." * Casper gives a table of the mortality of children at Berlin,! from which it appears that of 28,705 children who died before the age of 1.5 years, during the decen- nial period from 181.3 to 1822, there were 5598 ille- gitimate, wliich gave annually 2.311 deaths of illegi- timate, and 160 of legitimate children, before the age of 15. But according to this savant, about the same period, 5663 legituuate children were born, and 1080 illegitimate ones. The ratio of deaths, therefore, was 1 to 2'5 for the first, and 1 to 1'9 for the second. "What especially tends to increase the mortality of illegitimate children is, that the greater number of them are abandoned to public charity. The absence of the cares of a mother, at a time Avhen they are most needed, and the other privations of every kind, which are the necessary consequences of such an aban- donment, sufficiently e.vplain the great mortality which generally exists in foundling hospitals. To understand this mortaUty, ISI. Benoiston de Chateauneuf, in his Considerations sur les Enfans Trouves,X thus estimates the mortality of infancy in Europe during the century which has just elapsed : — Minimum. From to 1 year, 19 in the hundred. • • to 3 years, 2()g . . to 4 • • .•*» . ■ to 10 • • 35 IMaxhnum. 45i in the hundred. 50 53 55 6-7ths ■ ■ According to this savant, the mortality of foundlings in several cities of Europe was, from birth to the end of the first year — At Petersburg, in 1788, • ■ Florence, ditto, • ■ Barcelona, in 1780, - . ■ Paris, in 178!l, - • • Dublin, in 1791, 40 per cent. 40 •• CO .. «0 .. f)l •■ " From birth to four years old, at Eome, ]\Iadrid, Dublin, and Paris, we find 50, 62, 76, and 98 in the hundred. § * Sir F. D'lvemnis, S«)- la Mortalili! ProporlionncUc. t Beitrage, p. 1/3. $ Paris, 1824, 1 vol. 8vo. § M. de G6rando, in his excellent work Lc Viflteur dit Paiivre, makes the mortaUty 1 in 7 of the children which the civil hob- Lastly, at the end of 20 years, of 19,420 children received into the house at Dublin, only 2000 remained aUve, and 7000 at Moscow out of 37,600. What an awful destruction ! "War and epidemics are less ter- rible to the human race. And let no one suppose that modern times have produced more happy results, or that this dismal catalogue, which we might still extend, at the present day presents fewer numbers. According to the authentic accounts which M-e have before us, at Madrid, in 1817, there died, either in hospital or country, 67 children out of 100 ; at Vienna, in 1811, 92 ; at Brussels, fi-om 1812 to 1817, 79. At this period, the hospital, which was small, imhealthy, and badly ventilated, was removed to another quarter of the city, and from that time there has been a con- siderable decrease of the average number of deaths, which is not more than 56 in the 100."* "\'Vliat has preceded, sufficiently shows what influ- ence well-directed conduct may exercise over the life and death of foundlings. This is not the place to examine how far these institutions should be approved of, where unfortunates are collected together ; but it may be interesting to know how much the number of foundlings and deserted children has increased smce these institutions arose. At Paris, for example, the ratio of their number to that of births, in one century, makes the following progress : — "i'ears. Ratio in 100. From 1710 to 1720, - ■ • 1720 to 1730, - • ■ 17.'^0 to 1740, - • • 1740 to 1750, • • 1750 to 1760, - ■ • 1760 to 1770, - 9-73 11-37 14-48 18-21 23-71 30-75 Years. Ratio in 100. From 1770 to 1/80, - - 33-(X) ■ • I780toi79fi, - - - 2370 ■ ■ l/W to 1800, - - 17-69 • . IbOO to 1810, - - - 20-95 ■ ■ 1810 to 18-20, - - 22-88 We see that the proportion rises rapidly during the latter years of the reign of Louis XV. ; it dimi- nishes more than two-thirds under the Convention ; it increases again under the imperial government ; and has been stationary since the revolution. IM. de Chateauneuf, from whom I borrow the greater number of the preceding data, gives the following ratios for some of the principal cities of Europe : — Foundlings. Lisbon, from 1815 to 1819, £6-2fi in 100 births Madrid, ~ ~ .- - 25-58 „ Rome, ~ 1801 to I8O7, 27-90 „ Paris, ~ 1815 to 1821, - 20-91 „ Brussels,- 1816 to 1821, 14-68 „ Vienna, - 1815 to 1821, - 23-43 „ Petersburg, 1820, 45-00 ,- Moscow, ... 27-94 -, County of Nice, 6-OG „ Savoy, ... 5-83 ~ Thus, in the greater number of the cities quoted pre\-iouslyj nearly one-fourth of the children arc ex- posed. This state of things is very apt to give rise to reflections on the misery and immorality of great cities. Paris annuallj' produces about 21 foundlings to 100 births, whilst the rest of France only produces 3"52. It is true that this disproportion would be much less, if throughout France there were tlie same facility as at Paris of sending children to the hospi- tals ; and it is also just to remark, that many chil- dren are sent to Paris, who do not belong to the city. In Belgium the following values have been obtained, according to the results of the ten years i^receding 1833 :t— pitals in Paris send out to be supported (p. 293) ; but we must observe, that these children vary from 1 day to 12 years of age : and in tliis the numbers agi-ee with those of M. Benoiston, at p. 76 of his Considerations, &c. * I have found, from tlie average results of the eight years from 1815 to 1822, that the mortality of the hospital at Brussels was 66-30 in the 100 : at this period, it had a gicater mortality than any of the nineteen hospitals in the kingdom ; the average mortality has been 45-07 in UK).— See Reckavlics sur ks Nais- sniices, S^c. t .See Correspondance Mathematiquc et Physique, tome viii. livraison 2, p. 135. ON MAN. 43 Births : Foundlings Foundlings Provinces. Annual and to Average. Deserted. 100 Births. Antwerp, 11,018 2156-.5 19-6 Brabant, 18,893 2.307-4 12-2 Flanders, AVest 20,315 480-5 2-3 East, - 24,148 693-8 2-9 Hainault, 20,016 1830-2 9-1 Liege, 11,837 212-2 1-9 Namur, . - - . 0,399 844-9 13-2 Tlie kingdom,* 112,626 8525-5 7-e It is very difficult to explain the differences which are presented by the several provinces of such a country as Belgium, unless as regards the facility which mothers find, in certain localities, of exposing their childi'en. On this subject, we ought to read the observations of M. Gouroff, one of the persons who has paid most attention to all that concerns foundlings.f " The city of London, the population of which is 1,250,000, in the space of five years from 1819 to 1823, has only liad 151 children exposed; and the number of illegi- timate children received into eighty-four workhouses, durmg the same period, only reaches to 4668 ; and, moreover, about one-fifth of these children are sup- ported at the expense of the father. Wliat a striking contrast is Paris, which, having only two-thii'ds the population of London, has had, within the same years, 25,277 children, all maintained at the expense of the state ! Do we stiU ask for a more certain proof of the in- fluence which foundling hospitals have in multiplying the abandonments of infants ? Mayence had no esta- bhshment of this kind; and from 1799 to 1811, there were 30 children exposed. Napoleon ordered a ' tour' to be established in this city. It was opened on the 7 th November 1811, and existed until the month of March 1815, when tlie Grand-Duke of Hesse-Darm- stadt caused it to be suppressed. During these three years and four months, the house received 516 found- lings. When it Avas once suppressed, as the habit of exposing the children had not taken root in the people, all things retm-ned to their former order : in the course of the nine following j'ears, only seven children were exposed." Wlien proposing the reform of foundling hospitals, M. de Gouroff does not desire it to be done precipi- tately. " On the contrary, it requires reflection, time, and patience, to prepare and gradually execute the measures which ought to precede it, and to avoid the error committed in some of the cities of Belgium, which, in 1823, that they might not be burdened ivith the expense of the children left out of doors, suppressed the ' tours' Immediately the lives of several new-born infants were sacrificed, and public opinion obliged the government to order tlieir re-establishment." The principal conclusions of the work of IM. de Gouroff are : — 1. That in Catholic countries, or rather in those where asylums have been opened to all children in- discriminately who are abandoned at the time of birth, these little imfortunates are much more common, much more numerous, than elsewhere. 2. That in these asylums there is a frightful mor- tality, and quite bej'ond the proportion of the greatest mortality which cuts off other children, even in the most indigent classes. 3. That infanticide is scarcely prevented by found- ling hospitals ; or rather, that, in order to prevent a few infanticides, whether direct or indirect, through the effect of unrelieved exposure, these houses do themselves destroy an incomparably greater number of children. J * Except the provinces of Liege and Lnxembom-g. 1 Essai sur I'Uistoire des Enfans Trouves. 8vo. Paris : 1829. % [Perhaps the question is not very fairly stated by M. de Gou- roff. Infanticide, when direct, is a horrible crime, in fact, mur- 3. Influence of Ivaowledge and of Political and Religious Institutions. Civilisation, which sweetens the existence of man, has also prolonged it : the progress of knowledge has contributed to the health of the individual houses and interior of cities, and has gradually caused marshy lands and the other sources of the epidemics which habitually harassed our ancestors, to disappear. Know* ledge, by multiplying the commercial relations of na- tions, has also rendered famines less frequent and for- midable ; the chances of which, on the one hand, have been diminished by bettering the culture of the earth, and varying the means of subsistence : medical science and public hygiene have likewise found out valuable means for resisting mortality ; whilst the development of industry, and the securities which society received from more hberal institutions, have contributed to diffuse afiluence and the most active means of preser-» vation. At the present day, it appears clearly established, that in countries where civilisation makes the greatest progress, we may also observe the greatest diminution of mortality. However, Ave must not exaggerate these advantages, as has been done in respect to some coun- tries : the greater accuracy statistical documents ac- quire, the more numerous appear the prejudices which have been entertained on this subject. England is placed in an advantageous position, which has always fixed the attention of savants Avhen studying the theory of population ; but it is perhaps to this king- dom tliat my remark is most applicable. K we examine Avhat has been the mortality from the commencement of the eighteenth century, we shall find, according to two of her most eminent statisticians :* — Years. 1700, - 1750, 1776 to 1800 inclusive, 1806 to 1810 1816 to 1820 1826 to 1830 Inhabitants to one Death. 43 - 42 48 • 49 55 - 51 According to these numbers, there would be a very sensible decrease of mortality; but we know that very numerous omissions have taken place in the figures of mortality. Mr Rickman himself thinks that, in consequence of these omissions, we ought to reckon 1 death in 49 inhabitants, instead of 1 in 51, for the five last years ; whilst, according to Mr Haw- kins, the mortality for 1822 would have been 1 in 60.f On the other hand, the census may likewise have been faulty. Moreover, it might be objected, that these inaccuracies, if they could be corrected, would pro- bably only place in a clearer light a still greater dif- ference of mortality, since the figure of mortality is generally smaller in proportion as there is more negU- gence in collecting it. That would suppose always that the census of the population is correct. The changes which have taken place in great towns should especially receive our attention. For example, in 1697, the total number of deaths in London rose to 21,000; however, a century after, in 1797, the number Avas only 17,000, notwithstanding the increase of tlie population.^ These advantages have been der ; but the exposirre of a child is a misdemeanour ; so that foundling hospitals were established in Catholic countries without doubt with a view to prevent crime, and it is astonishing and almost incredible that they have not succeeded in effecting even this : in other respects, they themselves are an evil of the first magnitude.] * Jlr Marshall gives 5,475,000 and 6,467,000 as the population of England and AVales in I7OO and 1750 ; and the deaths 132,728 and 154,686. The other ratios are drawn from the last work of Mr Rickman. t Elective in- creases. When a population, in its development, has arrived at the level of its means of subsistence, it ought to stop at this limit, from human foresight ; or if it have the misfortune to overleap this limit, it must be forcibly brought back by an excess of mortahty. The obstacles to population, therefore, may be ar- ranged under tAvo heads — the one acts by preventing the growth of population, and the other by destroying it in proportion as it is formed. The sum of the first forms what may be called the privative obstacle, that of the second the destructive obstacle.* Mr Malthus has analysed, with great sagacity, the principal obstacles to its increase which population has met with ; he has determined, with no less credit, the limit which it cannut pass Avitliout being exposed to the greatest danger. However, it may be necessary to remark, notwithstanding the researches of the English philosopher, and of the economists who have followed in his track, that the modus operandi of the obstacles has not been clearly made out. The law has not been established by virtue of Avhich they operate : in a word, they have not afforded the means of carrying the theory of population into the domains of mathematical science, to which it seems particu- larly to belong.f Hence it results, that the discussion of this delicate point has not been completed at the present day, and the dangers attending society have perhaps been exaggerated, from not finding sufficient security in tlie action of the obstacles against an evil, the dreadful rapidity of which followed a geometrical progression. To endeavour to fill up so important a lacuna, I have made numerous researches, the details of which it will be superfluous here to present ; and an atten- tive examination of the state of the question has proved to me, that the theory of population may be reduced to the two foUov.ing principles, which I con- sider will hereafter serve as fundamental principles in the analysis of the development of population, and of the causes which influence it. Population tends to increase in a geometrical ratio. The resistance, or sum of the obstacles to its develop- ment, is, all things being equal, as the square of the rapi- dity with which it tends to increase. The obstacles to rapidity of increase of a population, really operate, then, like the resistance which the media oppose to the passage of bodies through them. This extension of one of the laws of physics, which is most happily confirmed Avhen we apply it to the documents which society supplies, presents a new example of the analogies which are found in many cases between the laws regulating material phenomena and those which apply to man. So that, of the two principles Avhich I take as the basis of the mathematical theory of popu- lation, the one is generally admitted by all economists, and scarcely appears contestible, and the other has been verified in all the applications where we had to niencement of the present century, which appears to me to be greater than an arithmetical ratio. We cannot but continue to look upon the products of industry as equal to the products of agriculture, until the exchange of money for food becomes im- possible by too great a development of the population on the sur- face of the globe. * Malthus — Essay, &c. p. 20, tome i. In the view which I have adopted, the destructive obstacle acts generally by natural powers, and the privative obstacle by the disturbing powers of man. t May I be allowed to recall the ideas on this point which I expressed in 1827, at the opening of a public course on the his- tory of the sciences? — " It is to be observed," I said, " that the more progress the physical sciences have made, accordingly have they tended to enter within the boimds of mathematical science, which is a sort of centre to which they converge. We might even judge of the degree of perfection to which a science is capable of being carried, by the greater or less facility with which it admits of calcuLition." consider the movements and the obstacles in a con- tinuous manner. However, notwithstanding the prejudices we might have in favour of them, it would undoubtedly be ne- cessary to reject them, if, by submitting them to analysis, they could not support this proof to the ex- tremest detail. I thought, therefore, that I ought to examine, first of all, the consequences which the theory involved, and I have had the satisfaction to find them entirely conformable to the results of experience. Thus, when population can develop itself freely and without im- pediment, it increases in a geometrical ratio ; if it be developed in the midst of obstacles of every kind, which tend to arrest it, and which operate in an uni- form manner, that is to say, if the social state does not change, the population does not increase in an inde- finite manner, but tends more and more to become stationary. Hence it results, that population finds, in its very tendency to increase, those causes which ought to prevent the fatal catastrophes which might be feared from too great fullness, if I may so express myself, brought on in a sudden manner, and before which all human prudence would fail. The experience of our old Europe proves very fully, that population arrives at its state of equilibrium, increases, or re- cedes, by generally following one law of continuity. The bound which it cannot pass is variable, and de- pends on the quantity of food : population can never be developed so rapidly as to strike suddenly against this bound ; the obstacles which previously arise, hav- ing the same tendency, are too numerous to render a violent shock possible. Nature does not raise a smaller tribute of deaths ; but since we pay this tribute in detail, it is less sensible to us than if we required sud- denly to discharge it. It is thus that the greater part of our population has progressively arrived at the level of the means of subsistence, by continually preserving a tendency to develop, and consequently to reproduce an excess of mortality, nearly in the same manner as the cloud sus- pended in the air has a continual tendency to descend and diffuse the fullness which it holds. In the midst of the causes innumerable which may disturb this state of equilibrium, population advances or recedes almost in the same manner as we see the cloud as- cend or descend according to the temperature, direc- tion of the winds, and a crowd of other atmospherical circumstances, which, however, does not prevent its always reaching a certain average height, depending on its constitution and the obstacle which the resist- ance of the air opposes to its descent. When the social si/stem undergoes any changes, the obstacles always preserve the same mode of action ; but their intensity may vary in an infinite manner, so that the development of population may be infinitely modified like^vise. If we possessed exact census for different periods, the analysis would show the inten- sity of the causes which have been able to accelerate or oppose the development of population, and the cir- cumstances which have given origin to them. Sup- posing, for example, that a population which increases continually in an arithmetical progression, the con- stant difference of which is also known, we might de- termine, by means of the two laws announced above, what energy the obstacles have successively opposed to the development of the population ; in other terms, the law according to which these obstacles have been enabled to manifest themselves. It will sufiice to know the law according to which a population is de- veloped, to deduce, at least approximatively, the law according to which the obstacles have developed them- selves, and vice versa. But such problems as these belong exclusively to analysis ; I can only point them out here, reserving a return to them in a special work. I have said that, when the state of equiUbrium has been once attained, population would become station- ary, or at least vould oscillate around a fixed state, 50 ON MAN. in consequence of corresponding variations produced by climate and amount of food ; but since it is essen- tial to the nature of man to endeavour to increase the quantity of his produce by a greater degree of manual and intellectual labour, population may be enabled to find the means of development ; in such a manner that, if all the physical circumstances were the same in the different countries of Europe, there could not be a better measure of produce and industry than the den- sity of the population found there. The specific popu- lation is indeed the result of all the influential ele- ments of a country, and should be found carried to a limit which is in relation to all the facilities which a country could present for its development during the preceding periods. In adopting the measure of productive power, in a first approximation, it may be interesting to know the specific population of each country, that is to say, the number of inhabitants on a square league of ground : for this purpose I shall adopt the numbers given by M. Balbi in the Precis de la Geographic Universelle de Malte-Brun, liv. 16. I thought it ne- cessary to omit the small states having fewer than one million of souls. Inhabitants to a Square League (of 25 to the Degree.) Low Countries, ... - 1829 Lomhardo-Venetian kingdom, - 1711 AVurtemburg, - - . . 1502 England (properly so called), - 1457 Kingdom of Saxony, ... 1252 States of Sardinia, - - - 1122 France, . . - . - 1062 States of the Church, - - - 1043 Bavai-ia, 968 Prussian monarchy, . . - 792 Switzerland, .... 783 Hungary, .... 750 Kingdom of Naples and Sicily, . - 747 Spain, - - . . - 641 Denmark, ..... 616 Portugal, - . . - 446 Turkey, ..... 324 Kussia, .... 161 Sweden and Norway, - . - 82 The Low Countries, Lorabardy, Wurtemburg, and England, are, then, the coimtries which really support the densest populations in Europe, and consequently those which, aU things being equal, should produce the most for their suitable support. Portugal, Tur. key, Russia, Sweden, and Denmark, on the contrary, have populations of less density. Now, since the people of these countries have been increasing for many centuries back, with all the facilities which their locality and institutions allowed, it is to be presumed that if they are not the same in the different countries of Europe, there have been some obstacles to their propagation, either in the lands not being equally fertile, or because it has been more difficult to deve- lop the trade and industry of man, or because there was not a secure basis for social institutions, or, lastly, owing to moral causes, and the other motives, the in- fluence of which on the number of births and deaths I have examined. There is also an important distinction to be esta- blished, and which, because it has not been observed, has often thrown strange confusion into all questions on population ; namely, that it is necessary to know not only of how many individuals a people is composed, but also in what manner each individual obtains the means necessary for his own existence. There is an in- finity of shades among the people : some have a more cultivated mind, more industry, and more wants ; one individual alone consumes by himself what otherwise might support three persons, or even more ; but these three men would live miserably, and propagate a people as miserable as themselves. It would then be inaccurate to say that, because the last nation has a population three times as dense as the first, that it produced three times as much. In order tliat the figures of the preceding table may be compared with each otiier, it is necessary to multiply them indivi- dually by a constant coefficient, being what is necessary for one individual of each nation to supply his wants. We should also be Avrong in judging that, because one nation had a stationary population, it made no progress. The state of industry and knowledge may ameliorate the condition of the population very much, without any traces of it being discernible (namely, the ameUoration). This increase of well- being, all things being equal, is measured by the quantity of things which one individual consumes, and in an equitable division of the matter which is consumed. This constant coefficient is destined to play an important part in the theory of population. It is this which defines the limit towards which popu- lation tends in its successive growth, almost in the same manner as the point at which a body remains in cquilibrio in any medium, is regulated by its density. In general, when a population is stationary, according as the consumption of the inhabitant increases or diminishes, in such proportion may the people be said to be made richer or poorer. Because a population is increasing, we must not conclude any longer that its prosperity increases. It is necessary, first, to consider the constant coefficient, which is the measure of the degree of comfort of the individual, just as, on the other hand, the specific population is the measure of the degree of affluence or comfort of any country. When we wish to establish comparisons between the people, it is of the greatest importance to consult the quality, if I may so express myself, as well as the quantity. In general, statisticians continue to employ the annual increase of the population, to calculate in what time it would double itself, although experience almost constantly falsifies the results of their calculations. This inquiry, which leads us into the hypothesis that there is no obstacle to the development of a people, can scarcely be directly applied to old Europe, any more than we should expect to see the results of experience accord with those of the theory of the fall of bodies through a vacuum. These calculations, for the most part, are only suited to satisfy curiositj', since they belong to an hypothesis which cannot be realised, or at least is available only within very nar- row limits. If a country, by virtue of its increasing civilisation, takes a new impulse, and from the increase of its pro- duce carries onwards the boundary which limits the extent of its population, it would be in the most favourable circumstances, by a geometrical progres- sion, that it would first tend to reach that boundary ; but this rapidity of increase would soon abate, from the effect of obstacles, and would soon be extinguished. The same applies to a decreasing population ; but the motion takes place in the opposite direction. Analysis suppUes us Avith some formula, which very accurately express these different states. Comitries most happily divided, scarcely present a population increasing in a geometrical ratio. England, however, is a striking example, which ought to occupy the highest degree of attention. After havmg been stationary, or even retrograde, at the commencement of the last century, its population then began to in- crease progressively, undergoing various oscillations mitil the middle of the century, when, receiving a second impulse, it began to take an arithmetical ratio. A fresh and more energetic impulse was given to it at the commencement of the present century, and it has not since ceased to increase in a geometrical ratio ; so that it has passed through states contrary to those of a population which tends to its limit, and where the obstacles go on increasing. Here the obstacles have been diminishing in consequence of the immense progress of industry, and the introduction of such an incredible quantity of machinery, the products of which represent a population which England is far from jiossessing. ON MAN. 51 Years. Population.* Decennial Increase. Annual Increase per cent. Period required tor the Popula- tion to double itself. 17(1(1, - 5,1,34,.')16 — 68,179 — ()-13 — 500 years. 171(1, 5,06e,ai7 +279,014 + 0-.')4 + 129 .. 1720, - 5,.'M5,."?51 342,642 {)(i-2 112 .. 173(1, .5,087.993 141,712 0-25 278 .. 1740, - 5,829,705 209,979 0-35 197 •• l7r.o. 0,0.39,684 440,046 0-70 ion . . 17C0, - 0,479,730 747,856 1-09 63 .. 1770, 7,227,586 587,241 0-78 89 •• i7«o, - 7,814,827 725,911 0-89 77 ■• 1790, 8,540,738 646,438 0-73 9G ■■ 1800, - 9,187,176 1,220,380 1-25 50 •• 1810, 10,407,.';50 1,550,(H)5 1-39 49 •■ 1820, - 11,957,565 1,883,186 1-46 48 •• 1830, 13,840,751 The same ratio of increase does not take place twice successiA'ely during the period inchided in this table, except for late years, when a geometrical pro- gression is very marked, the value of Avhich is 1-38. From 1760 to 1800, the progression was arithmetical, and the constant difference had an annual value of 67686'1. Availing myself of these numbers, I have calculated the successive values of the poiJulation, placing by the side of my results the observed values. Periods. 1760, 1770, - 1780, 1790, - 1800, 1810, - 1820, 1830, - Population. Observed. Calculated. Difference. 6,479,7.30 7,227,580 7,814,827 8,540,7.38 9,187.170 10,407,556 ll,»57,ai5 13,!t40,751 0,479,7:10 7,15«,.5!»1 7,8Ti,45.3 8,510,314 9,187,176 10,531,900 12,073,400 13,840,751 — 70,995 + 18,6.36 — 30,424 + 124,.'144 + 115,835 These differences between the calculated and ob- served results do not exceed the limits of the fluctua- tions Avhich attend the results of different years ; the greatest difference of one period of ten years does not amount to 125,000 inhabitants ; this inequality does not amount to l-80tli of the population. We are about to find a second very instructive example, and a much less complicated one, in what takes place in the United States of America, a new country which rose to liberty by one effort, proud of the industry of its inhabitants and the fertility of its soil. Popvdation immediately developed itself there with a rapidity most astonishing, and unknown alto- gether in this old Europe ; immigration also added still fui'ther to the excess of births over deaths. But this rapid increase was soon met by obstacles which mul- tiplied, and the rapidity of increase, great as it was, became uniform. It is an arithmetical and not a geometrical progression which is observed. Such are the facts presented by the popiilation of the United States, which has been so often quoted as an example, and wlvich has not been attended to with sufficient scrutiny. I quote the printed numbers of Professor Rau.f Tliey are, moreover, conformable to those which have been given by other statisticians. Years. Inhabitants. Annual Increase. 1780, - . . 2,051,(KX( 6-2 in 100 1790, - - 3,929,326 30 •• 1800, - . - 5,306,035 3-1 ■• 1810, . . 7,239,703 2-87 •• 1820, . . . 9,654,415 1-9 •• 182.'), - . 10,438,000 19 •■ * The value of the population is given according to the numbers of Mr nickman. Pre/are to the Abstract, ^c, 1831, p. 45. Mr Rickman, at p.-ige 24, gives as the annual increase for the periods 1801, 1811, 1821, 1831, the values 1-41, 1-57, and 1-54; the difference of my results may be occasioned by the method of calculation employed. I thought proper to compare the annual increase, not to the population of the first year of each period, but to that of an average year of this period. t BulMin lie M. Fenusac, Fdv. 1831. See also the numbers given by M. Warden in the Biillttins 5 312 33 646 276 78 Namur, 063 2!)7 40 622 291 87 In the Country. Flanders, East, 687 27G .36 661 272 67 "West, 671 293 .-«> 645 288 67 Brabant, - 652 313 35 623 311 66 Hainault, 647 317 36 611 318 71 Liege, 646 312 42 618 305 77 Anvers, 672 289 39 639 289 72 Namur, 634 331 .35 596 332 72 Whence we see that, 1. In general, two-thirds of the population are un- married ; the other third is composed of married per- sons or widowed. 2. Taking 1000 individuals of each sex, the unmar- ried males are rather more numerous than the un- married females: it is the same with the married men. 3. The unmarried are still more numerous in country than in toAvn ; so that we find the greatest number of unmarried persons out of 1000 in the country, who are also males. 4. The number of widows is almost double the number of widowers. This latter result, which is very remarkable, be- comes more striking when we compare the number of widowers with that of widows. AVidowers to 100 Widows. Provinces. City. Rural Districts. Flanders, East, 44 53 AVest, 39 .TS Anvers, 38 55 Brabant, 37 53 Hainault, ... 46 60 Namur, . - - 45 47 Liege, 46 52 Thus the number of widowers, compared with the number of widows, is incontrovertibly more numerous in tOAvn than in country, and especially in the pro- vinces of Brabant, Anvers, and Western Elanders. This circumstance may be owing to men marrying later in to%vn than in country. Indeed, Are shall ob- serve that the three provinces which haA-e just been pomted out, are those which, all things being equal, ON MAN. 53 have the greatest part of their population shut up in the cities. Men have also more facihty of passing from the state of widowhood tlian women. The distribution of the population accoi'ding to age, has long occupied the attention of statisticians more than any other element. Tables of population are of two kinds — the one kind are obtained directly by a census, the other are deduced from tables of morta- lity. When we may rely on the accuracy of the cen- sus, the former are always preferable to the latter, and more faithfully represent the actual state of the population. The table which I here present is the result of a great census made in Belgium about the end of 1829 ; it has been calculated from original documents, and I think I can guiirantee its accuracy. In the lie- clierchcs siir la Reproduction et la Mortalite, all the documents belonging to it may be seen. TABLE OP THE POPULATION FOR BELGIUM. 1 ,^10,000 Persous are taken aa a basis, and classed according to the indications of the Table. >Ien Women. At, Age. Uniuurriel. .Married. Widowers, Total. Unnuirricd. Married. Widows. Total. years. .317.202 14f>,lG4 17.M9 481,315 o> cars. ,^^5,930 146,053 36,702 518,685 1 .. 3li3.l>S8 lUi.IW I7,!M9 467.171 1 — 322,212 146,053 36,702 504,967 2 - 288,!)!I7 146,1(4 17.949 453,110 2 „ .108.695 14(;,033 36,702 491,;i30 .t -- 276,3(» 14(>,1(>4 17.949 440,482 3 „ 290.379 146,053 36,702 479,1.M 4 ~ 2li;i,U15 146,1(M 17,949 427.!e8 4 „ 284.201 146,053 3(i,7(e 4(«.!l'.!t 2jl,3a9 14(i,164 17.fM9 415,502 .■J „ 272.087 146,053 36,702 454,1!42 f, ~ 230,160 146. 1G4 17.949 4U1,279 „ 200,449 146,053 3<;,702 443.2(14 8 - 216.910 146,104 17,!M9 381,<23 8 „ 238.803 14<;,053 36,718 421,618 10 „ 193,861 146.164 17.949 330,974 10 „ 218,646 146,053 36,7te 401,401 12 ~ 176,439 14(;,1(M 17,!>49 »10,532 12 „ 199,828 146,a'-.3 36.702 382,583 14 " IM.irjJ 146,1('4 17,!H9 .t>>,1.16 14 „ 181,6!13 146,033 36,702 364,4;« Ifi - 137,837 146, KH 17.949 301 ,'XM 16 -. 102, .164 146,049 36.702 343.115 2(1 - ll4.tiU8 146,1(72 17.915 2<»<,llO 20 „ 128,083 145,634 36,6f>4 310,431 (ii.s-io 142,847 17.f02 220,979 25 ^ 89,884 139,707 36,600 266,231 .10 " 39,nia 12<),fi77 I7,6.a7 1U6,.'5.-B 30 „ 63,823 123,892 26,219 22,i,!);U aa ~ 23,4C.3 l<«.onrt 17.1.T9 151 ,.100 3j .. 47,243 102,702 35,421 lHJ,42li 4U -' 18,187 89,973 16,488 124.040 40 „ 36.216 81,499 34,,( 21 .VI - fi,!»;2 35,531 12,296 M.4fl9 3(J „ 15,095 2(i,417 24,;«i5 03,((!»7 .w - 5,I04 i?7.7«7 11,164 44,645 59 „ 12,5.13 20.090 21,719 54, .114 til .. 4,430 20,764 9,693 34.887 02 „ 9.948 14,6?2 18.608 43,228 ta 3,434 15,120 8,242 20.?J6 65 „ 7.749 10,301 15,683 .■)3,783 07 - 2,(117 11, .WO 7.112 21.528 07 ^ 6.IM!) 7.685 13,410 27,130 tfl -- 2,317 9,(>20 0.113 17,430 09 „ 4,940 5,732 11, .11(7 22,l'.'>n 71 1,772 0.540 5,liiO 13.412 71 ^ 3.773 4,034 9,175 17.002 7a - 1.3B1 4,976 40U6 10.053 73 „ 2,994 2,963. 7,571 13,528 75 " 1,U27 3.375 3,31iJ 7.991 75 „ 2,234 2,030 6,930 10,214 7U> 2,3IU^ 2,5,10 5,618 77 ^ 1,589 1,300 4,309 7,238 7'j 4«L> 1,517 l,iM3 3.B44 70 „ 1,'|R5 814 3,102 5.001 Ul ~ ,au5 (131 1,191 2.327 81 „ 680 451 1.908 3,09;) ai ,. lOU 516 801 1,518 83 „ 454 259 1.350 2,063 tu 123 313 510 935 85 ^ 27fi 144 864 1,284 V, .. 70 ICl 300 637 87 ^ 154 78 5(e 734 «i - 30 80 17a 291 CD ^ 08 41 299 428 !M) 26 48 123 1!>7 90 ^ 00 27 210 303 S/1 -. 17 3i 79 128 91 „ 39 17 143 199 Vtl ~ 14 26 57 97 92 ^ 29 14 109 152 aa 11 19 41 71 93 ^ 18 13 70 107 IM ~ / 15 31 53 94 ^ 12 10 'A 70 •I.'; ~ 11 22 .'W 95 ^ 10 6 38 M u; 4 8 16 20 90 ^ 6 6 24 36 vj .. 1 _>; 10 16 97 ^ 3 3 18 24 98 - 1 4 11 98 _ 2 2 10 14 09 » 1 5 C 99 ^ 1 1 5 7 Uu ~ and ) upwards, ' 3 3 100 ~ and I jwnrds, ' 1 1 2 4 u Without staying, for the present, to bring forward . ine results which may be deduced from this table, 1 shall examine how far two tables of population, ob- tnined by a census and from the list of mortality, can agree with each other.* When a population is stationary, that is to say, when we have annually as many deaths as births, the tables of mortality are considered as the true tables of population. Thus, according to the general table given above, of 100,000 births, we found 77,.528 chil- dren of one year, 70,536 of two years, 06,531 of three * WeiT>.iy consult some writings on census, recently published, , ■ • ■ — c\ Ufl(>iii: years, and so on ; and the sum of all these individuals formed the whole population, which, according to the same table, had raised itself to 3,261,073 souls. If we then successively cut off from this simi the num- ber of births, the number of individuals of one year old, of two years, &c., the remainder will express the number of survivors at these different ages. In this manner, we should form a table of population ; but to render it comparable to that which lias been ob- tained directly by the census, we should also require to take 100,000 as the b.isis, instead of 3,264,073, and reduce all the other numbers to a proportion Avith it. The following table has been obtained in this indirect manner from the table of mortality, supposing the population stationarj-. It is found to correspond with the table of population obtaincrl by the census, and such as hits Ix'cn given above, but without preserving the distinction of places and sex. We may judge of the errors wliich these tables present. 54 ON MAl^f. Table of the Population of Belgium. Deduced Obtained Deduced Obtained Age. from the Directly Ago. from the Directly Table of by the Table of by the Mortality. Census. Mortality. Census. Birth, 100,000 100,000 67 years, 6,404 4,868 1 year, 96,937 97,214 69 ■• 5,194 3,951 2 years, 94,562 94,446 71 •■ 4,116 3,041 3 .. 92,401 91,962 73 .. 3,179 2,418 4 •• 90,361 89,489 75 .. 2, .379 1,820 5 •. 88,400 87,034 77 •• 1,724 1,2€8 6 •• 86,487 84,648 79 •. 1,205 884 8 .. 82,768 80,274 81 •• 316 543 10 •• 79,143 76,138 83 •• 630 358 12 .. 75,590 72,314 85 .. 327 222 14 •■ 72,094 68,657 87 ■• 190 127 16 •• 68,648 64,707 89 ■■ 104 72 20 •• 61,932 57,854 90 •• 76 50 25 •• 53,952 49,323 91 •• 65 33 30 •• 46,506 41,047 92 .. 39 25 35 .. 39,624 33,673 93 •■ 27 18 40 •• 32,992 27,639 94 .. 19 13 45 .. 26,908 22,283 95 .. 12 9 60 .. 21,289 17,471 96 •• 8 6 63 .. 18,154 14,488 97 •• 4 4 SO •■ 15,220 12,039 98 .. 2 2 .VJ . . 12,495 9,899 99 .. 1 I 62 .. 9,9.03 7,811 100 & up- 65 •• 7.746 0,058 wards, 1 1 The table of population deduced from the table of mortality gives results which are generally greater than those of the table obtained directly by the cen- sus. Thus, it indicates that in a population of 100,000 souls, there were 5.3,952 individuals who wei'e more than 25 years old, and the other table gives only 49,.32.3 individuals having more than this age. How does this difference arise, and how may it be ex- plained ? According to several distinguished authors who have written on this subject, it would be sufficient (as we said above, if tlie population were stationary, that is, the number of births annually being constantly nearly equal to that of deaths)* to calculate the table of population from that of mortality. We shall here remark, that it would undoubtedly suffice, in the greater number of cases, where the population is sta- tionary ; but this single condition is not enough : it is also necessary that the same number of deaths cor- respond annually also, in order that the proportion of the survivors may remain nearly the same at the diffi^rent periods of life, and that the numbers entered on the tables of mortality for each year may be re- produced almost identically. To perceive the neces- sity of this condition, let us suppose that we form a table of mortality for a triennial period, during which the population shall have been stationary ; and let us suppose, moreover, from some cause, that the mor- tality during this period affijcted individuals of fifty years in preference, and, as a compensation, sparing those newly born, that afterwards all may be re-esta- blished in the usual order. It would happen, that the population table which we deduce from this table of mortality, will not truly represent the actual state of things : it will indicate too great a population for the fiftieth year, and too small a one for the children. We may begin to see that a population may be stationary, without our being able to deduce from its bills of mortalitj', calculated for a certain number of years, a table of the population. We see, on the con- trary, that this calculation may be made without in- convenience, in the case where the population was not stationary. Indeed, let us suppose a stationary population, and also admit that the tables of mortality may annually present numbers identically the same ; it is evident that, by multiplying each of these num- bers by a constant ratio, greater or less than unity, that these multiplications wiU have no other effijct than to make an increase or decrease, in the same * Lacroix — Traits El^mentaire du Calcul des Probabilit(Js, p. 210 : 1833. ratio, of all the numbers of the table of mortality, and consequently those of the table of population.* In this manner, the bases merely of the tables will have varied : now, the base which we employ is quite arbitrary ; we have adopted 100,000, so that we might have numbers which we could compare with each other, and with those of other tables. Thus, all has been done as if we had multiplied by a constant ratio each one of the numbers which are placed in the tables, whilst really the population was increasing or de- creasing. After what has been said, we see that the necessary conditions to enable us from a table of mortality to deduce a table of population, are, that the deaths at each age preserve annually the same proportion to each other, whe- ther the population be stationary, increasing, or decreasing. Applying the preceding to the tables of population given above, we conceiA^e that the differences which they present do not simply arise from the circum- stance that in Belgium the population is in a state of increase, but because the mortality has not each year struck the same ages in the same proportions ; and no doubt also owing to the years having not been equally fruitful. It is necessary to observe, on the other hand, that, under the French government, cer- tain parts of the population were decimated by wars, and consequently must present vacuities. 3. Can Data on Population Furnish any Marks of the Prosperity of a People ? In seeking to measui'e the prosperity of a people, the movements of the population have often been made use of. The possibility of arriving at satisfac- tory results, by following such a course, would un- doubtedly deserve to be deeply examined. It is a question of great interest ; but I confess the data alone of the population do not appear to me to be - sufficient to resolve the question. Local influences, climate, customs, institutions, &c., are elements which we can scarcely neglect, Avhen comparing one people with another : perhaps there would be less danger when comparing a people with itself at different pe- riods, during which these elements have not under- gone any sensible variation.f * Some lines of calculation will better enable us to comprehend this mode of reasoning. Let us designate by the letters a^, a", a^, a*, a^. Sac, the deaths observed from to 1 year, from 1 to 2 years, from 2 to 3 years, &c. Moreover, let us designate by A, A', A^, &c., the numbers written in the table of mortality opposite year, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, &c., so that A = n + ai + a2 + a3 + «< + &:c. Ai = ai + a2 + a3 + a* + &c. A2 = a2 + a3 + a* + &c. A3 = a3 + rt* + &c. &c. We shall have, for the corresponding ages of the table of popu- lation — 2 A = A -t- Ai + A2 + A3 -(- A* + &c. 2 Ai = Ai -f A2 4- A3 -h A* -1- &o. 2 A2 = A^ -h A3 + A4 -h &c. 2 A3 = A3 -f- A-4 + &c. &c. If we now multiply by n each of the numbers of the deaths, we shall have, for the numbers of the tables of mortality — «A, mA', n\.-, jiA3, nA^, &c. ; and for the numbers of the table of population — Ji2 A, m2 Ai, n2 A2, »i 2 A3, &c. But in certain cases we may have jjP=' 1, = 1, -=^1, with an in- creasing population, stationary or decreasing ; in both these eases, the table of population and the table of mortality will continue to present the same numbers for the same ages, if we take the same base as the starting-point. 1 1 shall here bring forward, in a great measure, an article whicli I inserted in the Revue Encyclopcdique for August 1830. The Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, during the Session June 7, 1834, put the following question to the meet- ing: — To determine in what the misery of different countries con- sists, and by ichat signs it is nMnifested ; to examine the causes tvhich produce it. ON MAN. 55 We might be exposed to serious errors in not taking notice of the number of marriages and births of a nation ; for if it be true that disheartening circum- stances sometimes add evil to evil, as in Ireland, and since moral degradation is a great stimiilus to precocious marriage,* it may still happen that mor- tality only makes greater ravages ; and one of the most fatal scourges of a people is to see its genera- tions renewed with a degree of rapidity' which does not allow it to preserve iiseful men. Now, it generally happens that the births are regulated by the number of deaths ; that is to sa_v, the countries which produce the greatest number of children, are precisely those in which the mortality is the greatest. When repro- duction is greater than the limits of prudence, it appears that tlie weakest part of tlie population is the first to feel the consequences, the excess of the population passing rapidly from the cradle to the tomb. If, therefore, tlie number of births could be useful to show the degree of prosperity of a people, it would be more particularly in considering it in rela- tion to the mortality. But, as I have said, the mere number of births appears to me absolutely insuffi- cient. I should have more distinct confidence in the num- ber of deaths, if it only established a measure by which we might be assured of a population having attained or exceeded the limits Mliich it could not cross witliout condenming itself to pauperism. M. D'lvernois has very clearly sliownf the iitility of it on tills he.id ; and the publication of the work which he announces under the following title is nnich to be desired — On the Averayc Moiltditi/ Considered as a Measure of the Comfort and Cirilisation of a Nation. This universal measure, says the autlior, I ilatter myself I have found in the mortuanj uumher of the people, by which I understand that which indicates whether the proportion of deaths aniuiidly, compared with the total number of living persons, increases or diminishes. Perhaps we mjiy be wrong in precal- culating the results ; but if we observe that this mea- sure does not change when the total amount of those alive remains the same, as well as that of deaths, we may have some fear of its precision. A population may remain numerically the same from different causes, and present a greater or less numl)er of use- ful men, without our being able to say, for that reason merely, that its comfort also remains the same. If so, we should estimate a child as equid to a useful man. To take one example only. If, from any cause whatever, the mortality in a nourishing coimtry were to attack useful men more particularly, and spare the children, the number of deaths and that of births remaining otherwise the same, it would infallibly happen, after some years, that this population would be deteriorated, and would have lost many of the elements of prosperity ; and yet the loss which it had experienced would not in any manner be detected by the measure employed. The mortuary figure would remain the same ; and a considerable number of use- ful and productive men would be replaced by unpro- ductive children. Certainly we cannot deny that verj- strict relations exist between the happiness of a country and the movements of its population ; the thing is, to ascer- tain how to express them. It seems to me that on this head we ought to make an important distinction. We may consider the question in two points of view. We may propose, when considering a people, to ex- amine which are the disastrous years — those during which it has suffered more or less ; or, on the other hand, we may examine, in an absolute manner, what is the number of useful men at disposal — in a word, what is its strength, which is also one of the principal * Soe an article by yi. D'lvernois inserted in the Bibliotheque I'nivrrtelle (te Genere, March lfi.Ti>. t UjhUothcque Universclle, 1«3',. elements of its prosperity. In the first case, the num- ber of deaths would almost alwajs be employed with considerable success ; for a disastroiis year is generally accompanied and followed by numerous privations, even amongst the most highly favoured people, and privations are mortal to the human species. Thus, if we only knew that 1817 was a year of famine for Belgium and a great number of coimtries, we should attain our end without trouble, because the number of deaths was greater than for the years which pre- ceded or followed. This increased mortalitj- was also felt in the mendicity houses, in which it was almost double wliat it had been heretofore, as also in the liospitals and asylums for foundlings. As to the second manner of considering the ques- tion, I have endeavoured to show why the number of deaths merely appeared to me insufficient. It is important, indeed, to know not only how many deaths take place in the population, but also at what age these deaths occur. Some writers have employed, in such estimates, the duration of the average life, others the duration of the probable life ; and they have sought to establish their valuation according to the changes which the one or the other of these values imdergoes. But here we meet with an obstacle nearly similar to the one I have before pointed out ; namely, that the duration of the probable life, as also that of the average life, may have a value of different kinds. This inconvenience is especially felt, when we employ the number which expresses the i)robable life, since, in fact, we only consider the period at which a cer- tain number of individuals of the same age arc re- duced to one-half; and we do not express whether those who died first were able to make themselves useful during a longer or a shorter time, neither does it establish any thing with respect to those who sur- vive. Taking the figure which expresses the average duration of life, or the average of the ages to which a certain nuinlx-r of individuals have attained, whom we suppose to have l)een born at the same time, we also give the same value to one year of the life of an infant as to that of a man whose labours have been profitable to society. There is one difficidty to which the preceding questions are liable, and which deserves particular attention, because very important and interesting considerations are connected with its solution — consi- derations of high moment to statistics and political economy. M. D'lvernois, whose labours have been so beneficiid to these sciences, has kindly called my attention to this difficulty, and asked my advice on this delicate point : he was desirous of knowing if two nations, who, as regarded the ratios of births and deaths, might stand at precisely the same numbers, might not have two averages of life, by virtue of the eventual difference in the order of mortality for the age of their dead.* For the sake of simplicity, let us suppose a people who have each year the same number of births and deaths, and let us examine if the average duration of life may not vary from year to year ; this question returns, in fact, to the same point as that which was proposed above. If we formed a table of mortality after the deaths of one year, and deduced the average duration of life from it, I suppose that we should find it 30 years exactly. The year following, if the mor- tality took place in the same manner and in tlie same proportion, the duration of average life would still be .30 j-ears. But if, in the lists of deaths of this second year, we substitute an infant of one year for a man of forty, which will not afiect the proportional num- ber of births or deaths, we shall find, however, when taking account of the infant substituted for the fuU- * In insertinR my answer in the Bibliolheqim Vniversclle de Omciv, March IR'H, M. IJ'Ivernois announces that he had como to the same conchisions as myself, and that he received similar results from M. Villcrme. 56 ON MAN. grovm man, that the average duration of life became rather shorter, since the sum of years which had been lived would be reduced by 39 years. "We see already, that if the tables of mortality and the duration of average life were only calculated according to the observations of this year, they could not present the same identical results as for the first year. Average life would be shorter ; but it is evident that society would have gained, since it preserved an useful man instead of an infant. We conceive that, if instead of one such substi- tution, a greater number were made, average life, calculated according to the deaths of this year, Avould be found diminished in a very sensible manner ; and nevertheless we should have cause to be glad at Avhat at first appears a paradox. In fact, we should have preserved useful years to the state, in exchange for some years which are expensive to it. But it may be objected that these 39 years are not lost to the sum of the years lived, and that the indi- vidual of 40, Avho has been replaced, will lengthen the average duration of life, when he dies, by the whole period which he has gained by the substitution ; and, indeed, if the period of time according to which we cal- culate the average duration of life is also extended, so as to comprise the death of the individual in question, it is evident- that this debt of 39 years has only been deferred, and that the sum of years lived is not found affected. Thus, the average life remains the same ; but it is always correct to say, that even then society has been benefited, since, for a longer or a shorter time, useful years have been substituted for expensive ones. If, by a concurrence of circumstances which civi- lisation ought to produce, such substitutions are made as those we have just been considering, not for one year only but for several, and if this state of things should continue increasing, we conceive that it would become impossible, still pi-eserving the same propor- tional numbers of births and deaths, to preserve the same average life : it must begin to diminish. How- ever, how is it that siich extraordinary results are not met Avith ? It is, I think, because the substitutes are never sufiiciently numerous, nor their duration long enough, to leave sensible traces amidst the other influencing elements. However, this teaches us hoAV necessary it is to guard against the inductions which we might draw from the average duration of life, calculated from few years of observation, and among a people in progress or decay. By extending the preceding reasoning, Ave readily arrive at the foUoAving conclusions : — 1. A people may annually have figures of exactly the same A'alue, as proportional numbers of birtlis and deaths, without the average life continumg the same. 2. When, all things being equal, the mortahty spares the perfect men and takes off the children, the duration of the average life diminishes, and vice versa : it being understood that we calculate the ave- rage life from the number of deaths. 3. The number of births, deaths, and of the average life, may preserve the same value, Avhilst, indeed, the population experiences great losses, or receives great benefits, Avhich remain unobserved. 4. To estimate suitably Avhat a population gains or loses, it is necessary, when making tlie division of years, to establish the average life, to take into ac- count the quality of these years, and to examine whe- ther they are productive or not. Wlien, for example, it is intended to estimate the fbrces which a state can command, in considering the problem in a purely physical point of vicAv, as has been done, it appears to me that the most certain Avay Avould be, to compare the number of useful men Avith those who are not so. The elements of comparison, in this case, Avould require to be extracted from the tables of mortality, or rather from accurately con- structed tables of population ; and it Avould be neces- sary to inquire hoAv many children there are, not in a condition to be iiseful, in a given number of indivi- duals, and how many of the old men conti'ibute to the benefit of society : we might divide a population into tAvo parts, the one being less, and the other more than 15 years of age. I alloAV that I here suppose that a man cannot render himself more useful at 30 or 40 than at 16 or 80 ; but this is an inconvenience Avhich Ave also find in other methods of \'aluation, and which, moreover, we might caiise to disappear, by attributing more importance to certain years of life tlian to others, if extreme accuracy did not become illusory in such a case. To give us a somcAvhat accurate idea at first, of the manner in which the population is composed, I have here collected the most accurate data from some of the principal coun- tries previously considered. We shall find the num- bers classed separately belonging to the two cate- gories Avhich I have established between productive individuals and those whose maintenance may be considered as a charge to society. Engl.ond Great Britain : Ireland : England : and part of France : Belgium : Sweden : United States : Ages. 1821. 1821. 1821. AVales : before 1789. 1829. 1820. i&m Marshall. JMarshall. Marshall. 1813 to 1830. Rickman. Annuaire. Annuaire. Marshall Marshall. Below 5 years, 1647 1535 1472 1487 1201 1297 1307 1800 5 to 10 • • 1385 1355 13(10 1307 981 1089 1010 145.5 10 to 15 ■• 1209 1218 1119 1114 939 946 894 1243 15 to 20 •• 1046 1219 1000 992 897 883 899 1112 20 to 30 ■• 1558 17G0 1583 1574 1638 1680 1711 1781 30 to 40 •• 1180 1150 1176 1181 1404 1341 1362 1091 40 to 50 • • 878 771 931 934 1161 1017 1087 688 50 to 60 •■ 545 6U0 663 659 893 7.93 fi55 430 60 to 70 ■• 348 273 460 456 577 604 686 253 70 to 80 •• 160 96 227 226 255 279 240 110 80 to 90 •• 40 23 62 63 .50 66 41 31 90 to 100 • • 3-4 3 5-5 5 4-3 4-9 1 4 Above 100 • • 0-1 0-5 0-3 0-2 0-2 0-1 0-2 Below 15 years, 4241 4108 3891 .3908 3121 3332 3211 4498 Above 5758-5 5895-5 6105-8 6092-2 6879 6668 6782 5500-2 Ratio, - 1-36 1.43 1-57 1-56 2-20 2-00 211 1-22 The results of this table, although in some degree foreseen, surprised me very much. I confess I did not expect to find so great a difference between the numbers of France, Belgium, Sweden, and those of England and the United States. In the former coun- tries, the adult population is double the other, Avhilst in the latter it is only one-fourth or one-third more. The United States, especially, appear to be in an ON MAN. 57 extremely unfavourable condition, since they, of all countries we have been considering, present the fewest adults in the population. The great disproportion -which has been pointed out, is more especially owing to the rapid increase of population in England and the United States of late j-ears : the greater number of the individuals proceeding from this great development of fecundity, are still little advanced in the career of life ; so that there will be a greater numlx^r of persons not adults. The prodigious increase of population which has been observed in the United States, has taken place within little more than 30 years ; we also see that the num- ber of individuals imder this age is comparatively superior to that of other countries. It is the same in England and Ireland in ascending from 20 to 30 years : Sweden, France, and Beiguim, on the contrary, pre- sent populations which have slowly increased, and wliich may tiius pretty well represent the usual pro- jwrtion of adults in ordinary times. I do not think that, up to the present time, suffl- iont attention has been i)aid to the great number of cliildren which too rapiil an increase of popidation throws into a country, and the smaller intrinsic value wliich this population momentarily receives from it, which must be a very powerful obstacle to ulterior development. In France, Belgium, and Sweden, for example, of three inhabitants, two at least iu-e in a state lor re- production, whilst in the United States only one in two, or more accurately, six out of eleven. In conclusion, it is i)roduction wliich regulates the jio.isi6le limit of the inhabitants of a country. Civi- lisation narrows this limit, and tends to increase the produce which belongs to each individual, so as to increase his well-Wing, and secure him the means of existence. As to medicine, it is limitee maintained by the knowledge and foresight of men, who prevent, by celibacy, new births and new food for death.f When there takes place no sudden change, nature annually levies upon us the same tribute of deaths, from which each of lis seeks as much as pos- sible to withdraw : each is desirous to belong to the privileged class ; but the effect of this kind of fraud is not so much to diminish the amount of tribute, as to transfer it to those of our neighliours who are less favourably placed in their social position. J The average diu-ation of life, could it be ascertained exactly, would furnish us with a measure of the pru- dence and hygienic state of a countrj- : the consump- « * [" Esculapo lui-m6nie ne pourrait, par son art, donncr rim- mortality a la moitiddes hommos, qu'enlescondamnant k ne point se rcproduire, k moins do doublcr la niortalitd de I'autre moitid, ou de porter la production an point de foumir auz oouvcaux be- Boin3 qu'il aurait fait naltre."] t By prolonging the average duration of life, the medical Rciences substitute useful years for unproductive ones. Tlie adult man has a lont;er career, produces more, and society has fewer infants to feed ; so that, in tliis point of view, medical sciences really increa.se production and render a new service. This re- mark w.Ts made to me by a friend, and I mention it here because I believe it to be true. t M. Villennd has observed to me, %vhilst this work was in the press, that he has advanced the same idea, but under another form, in his work on epidemics. tion of the inhabitant would give the state of civi- lisation and the exigencies of cHmate ; and the pro- portional number of inhabitants, keeping in view this latter measure, would give that number which repre- sents its production.* BOOK SECOND. DEVELOPMENT OF STATURE, AVEIOHT, STRENGTU, Ac. Apparentlt but little interest is attached to the determination of the stature and weight of man, or to his physical development at different ages; nor, until the present time, has any one particularly at- tended to this subject. ^Man has only been studied in his most conspicuous relations ; the correlative study of his qualities, and the numerical determination of the modifications which are consequent upon age, have been neglected. This state of things leaves im- mense voids in science, and the result is that we gene- rally want the necessary means for solving a great number of interesting questions, especially relating to the natural history of man. For example, we are almost totally ignorant of the ratios which may exist between tlie laws of development of his different fa- culties, and what are the elements which predominate at such or such an age : hence the critical periods of life can only be determined in a very indefinite manner. The researches which have been made to measure the height and weight of man, especially relate either to the period of birth or to the period of complete development ; but the intermediate ages have scarcely been attended to. Physiologists have connected the first of these determinations with a question in legal medicine ; they have even anticipated the period of birth, and sought to value the size and weight of the firtus. Natural philosophers, who studied man as a mechanical agent, have rather lieen occupied with the determination of his weight when he has acquired complete development. La Hire has made some very remarkable researches of this kind, which prove that the subject now occupying us has a much deeper interest than that resulting from mere curiosity. To show how little advanced is the state of the study of the progressive development of man, let us suppose that we want to establish the age of an indi- vidual, from the aggregate of his physical qualities: we may be allowed to say, that we shall not find in science any assistance for the determination of this question — we shall be reduced to mere empirical conjecture. However, legal medicine presents nu- merous examples where such determinations become necessary. We may ask, no doubt, if it will ever be possible to obtain them, especially for advanced ages? This fear, well founded as it may appear, ought not, however, to lead us to reject such re- searches : that would not be very philosophic. If to the data furnished by the habit of observation, and the tact resulting therefrom, we can join physical qualities susceptible of measurement, prudence bids us not neglect them. When a physician is called to examine the body of an infant found Ufeless, and when, in a legal inquiry, he, from simple inspection, establishes the presumed age of this child, it is evi- dent that he cannot but impose his judgiiient on those who read the inquiry, however erroneous it may other- ♦ M. Cliitti. who makes social econnmij consist in obtaining the greatest poisiblo utility, with the least possible labour, has given the following mea-sure of riches : — " The degree of the riches of a people, as well as those of an individual, is indicated by the ratio between the sum of the wants and the sum of the available funds which he possesses to satisfy them."— Caur* d'Economic Socialc nil Mutic (Ic Sruxclles, 3d Lixliirc. 58 ON MAN. wise be, since there are no elements existing for the verification of it. If, on the contrary, to the assist- ance of the estimate which has been made of the age, ig joined the height and weight of the child, and some other physical qualities susceptible of computation ; and if, moreover, there were exact tables which might enable one to ascertain, at different ages, the values of these physical qualities, and the limits within which they are foimd connected in individuals regularly formed, the judgment given of the age would be capable of verification — it would even become use- less, if the elements of verification admitted of great accuracy. Such appreciations, then, ought not to be neglected by legal medicine, since they tend to substitute precise characters and exact data for con- jectural estimates, which are always vague and often fatdty. Thus, apart from the interest which is presented by tlie determination of man at different ages, and in researches relating to the average man, it may present another important element, as we shall see more per- fectly farther on, for the solution of the following pro- blem of legal medicine : To determine the age of an individual after death, from the aggregate of his physical qualities. In this sense, weight Avould be one of the elements which it would be necessary to connect with the distinguishing of individuals ; and this physical character naturally takes a place near that of the stature. Researches on the height of man, and on his deve- lopment, may have another useful end, that of en- liglitening governments on many points ; as, for ex- ample, as regards the fixing of the age of recruits. There is another element, the determination of which is equally important, and which, also, is but little known, namely, the strength. I do not flatter myself that I have fiUed up the voids which science presented on this subject, but I shall think myself happy if my researches may induce other persons to attempt it. CHAPTER I. OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HEIGHT, I DO not think that, before Buffon, any inquiries had been made to determine the rate of human growth successively from birth to maturity ; and even this celebrated naturalist cites only a single particidar example ; neither has he examined the modifying influences which age exerts on height. The only researches at all precise which science possesses, refer to the length of the child before birth, and to that of the fully developed man.* Chaussier, Avho invented the mecometre, an in- strument adapted to measure the length of cliildren, thought that we might view as regular the increase in length of the child for six months before its birth ; and he estimated this increase at two inches per tnonth. In the Dictionnaire des Sciences Medicales, the length of the foetus is estimated by the following numbers : — Metres. At birth, .... 0-487 to 0-541 One month before birth, . - 0-433 to 0-487 Two months ■■ - - 379 to 0-433 Three months ... - . o-3(Xj to 0-379 Four months • • - • 0-216 to 0-300 Five months ... - - 0-162 to 0-216 1 The medium length of the child at birth would then be 0-.5 14 metres : this estimate differs but slightly from that obtained at the Foundling Hospital in Brussels, by means, also, of Chaussier's mecometre. On mea- suring the length of fifty male and as many female * See on this latter subject an excellent memoir of M. Villerme, inserted in the first volume of the Annates d'Hygiene. \ [The French metre is equal to 3 feet English and -28118 of a decimal ; or 3 feet and 2-lOths.] children immediately at birth, the following numbers were obtained :* — Length. Boys. Girls. Total From 16 to 17 inches Fi-ench, 2 4 6 .. 17 to 18 . 8 19 27 • • 18 to 19 28 18 Mi • • 19 to 20 • 12 8 20 .. 20 to 21 1 1 With regard to the mediums or averages and the limits, they have given the following values for the two sexes : — Value. Boj's. Girls. Minimum, 16 inches 2 lines. t 16 inches 2 lines. Medium, - 18 6 •• nearly. 18 •• 15 •• nearly. Maximum, 19 - ■ 8 - • 20 • • C • • From these results it follows, that, from the period of birth, the height or length of one sex is sui>erior to the other ; being, for boys, 0-4999 ; for girls, 0-4896 ; giAang thus in favour of boys a trifle less than half an inch. By uniting these numbers to those which have been obtained in the junior schools of Brussels, the Orphan Hospital, boarding-houses, and in public life, in respect to j'oung persons of different classes, I have been able to construct the following table, comprising the rate of groAvth from birth to 20 years : the height of the shoe is not included : — Table showing the rate of Growth in the two Sexes. Ages. Boys. Gills. Difference. metres. metres. metres. Birth, 0-5f»0 0-490 0-010 1 year, 0-698 2 years, ... 0-796 0-780 0-016 3 •■ - - 0-8(i7 0-853 0-014 4 .. . 0-930 0-913 0017 5 ■• . . 0-986 0-978 0-008 6 1-045 1-035 0-010 7 .. . . 1091 8 1-160 1-154 o-oo;; 9 •• . - 1-221 1-205 O-Olf) 10 1-280 1-256 0-(h24 11 .. 1-334 1-286 0-048 12 1-384 1-340 0-044 13 .. 1-431 1-417 0014 14 .. 1-489 1-475 0014 15 .. 1-549 1-496 0-053 16 1-600 1-518 0-082 17 .. 1-640 1-553 0-087 18 1-564 19 .. 1-665 1-570 095 20 1-574 Growth terminated, 1-684 1-579 0-105 "VVe observe by this table that, towards the age of 16 to 17, the growth of girls is already, relativeli/, almost as much advanced as that of boys from 18 to 19. J Moreover, the annual growth for boys is about 56 miUimetres [somewhat more than two inches] between 5 and 1 5 years of age ; whilst for girls it is only about 52 miUimetres [or rather less than two inches.] In the Dictionnaire des Sciences Medicales, in the article Giants, M. Virey attributes the lower sta- tiu-e of woman to the circumstajjice of her ai-riving sooner at tlie age of puberty, or having reached per- fection, and also to her having less vital energ}'. We may add, that her animal growth, up to the age of puberty, is also less rapid than that of man. * I have been greatly aided in numerous researches into the height, weight, strength, and other phj-sical qualities of man, by Messrs Guietto and Van Esschen, Professors in the School of Medicine at Brussels, as well as by M. Plataw. Without their assistance, it would have been impossible for me to have obtained all the measurements in the various charities, hospitals, public schools, Prison of Vilvorde, &c. t [The French line is equal to the 12th part of an inch.] i [The proposition may be easier understood by stating it in this way : A girl is relatively as tall at 16 as a boy is at 18, the sex and full growth of each being taken into account.^ ON MAN. After having spoken of what reUites to the sexes, it must be interesting to consider the influence of a town or a country residence upon liuniau growtli. Already Dr Villernic, in tlie second part of the Annales d'Hi/yitne, had proved, contrary to tlie generally re- ceived notion, that the inhabitants of towns are tidier than those of the country. I have arrived at the same conclusion in respect to the inhabitants of Bra- bant. E.xtracts from the government militia registers, which I communicated at that time to Dr Villerme, were published in the fifth number of the Annales d'Hijgiinc ; they gave the following numbers : — A rrond issetncnts. 1823. 1824. 1825. 182C. 1827. Average. metres. metres. metres. metres. metres. metres. 1 jTtnissels, .... 1-0719 i-«;j|i l-(i(ai 1-6647 1-6528 l-6(i33 IKural Communes, H).J25 1-6317 1-6343 l-r>35.3 1C2<)6 1-6325 2 (Louvain, .... 'Iltural Communes, 1-6424 1 ■(»!!) i-raao 1-W60 i-6.3;m 1-6303 1-6200 individuals living in towns, and from (iuoo living in the country. By these numl)crs, we sec that the inliabitant of towns is taller than the inhabitant of the country; and in arranging the cities ami rural district.s ac-cord- ing to the resixrtive height which man attains in them i;i his nineteenth i/ear, the order would be as follows : — Brussels, Nivelles, Louvain ; and the same order for the rural districts around these towns. In spite of the ditferences we have thus remarked as taking place at the age of Hi, it might still haiijien that the inha- bitant of the country might attain a greater height than the inhabitant of the town previous to the com- pletion of his full growth, in such a way that the growtli of man in cities might Ix; at first more rajjid up to a certain point than in the country, and might even be nearly terminated in cities, whilst in the country the growth would be very far from having attained its complete development. Ami these remarks coin- cide pretty nearly with the de to mcasnre and nvigh the young persons coming to the university, with great accuracy, at a mcrc-honfi) wureliouso, where a book is kejit for tlie purpose of entering the dntu. It is from tliia book that, tlirough the kindness of Mr AVhewcU, the accomjuuiying numbers have been taken. t ^eo Diiiiimiuiire ff( Mfiliciiif, article Gcant, by Virey. t [M. Quetelet bus unaccountably omitted, in tlie above para- pniph, tlie great cause productive of differences in stature of men and animals — to wit, difference in race or blood. The diminutive Bosjeman of Southern Africa, the athletic Caffre, rea< Iiinii the full Kumpean stature, and the gigantic Boor, the descendant of the Saxon race, are as nearly alike in respect to foixl and climate as may be ; the extraordinary differences, therefor*, whiih these men present, are asoribable to one cause alone — a difference of blood or origin ; and the historic evidence derived from ancient Rome, and fr.m the equally authentic figures depicted in the tombs of f:gjptian Thebes, prove that these differences caused by blood or race are now neither greater nor less than they were at least 40fK> jears ago, thus, as it were, setting at defiance all minor causes, such as food, climate, loca- lities, 4c. ^^*llether the Hun resides in the fertile plains of Hun- gary, the shores of the Caspian, or the frozen regions of fkamdi- navia or of Lapland, the general stature of the race remains per- fectly unaltered. In respect to what M. Quetelet observes regarding the influence of rest and horizontal position on the stature, it is a fact well C8tablishe46 -4-0-003 1-COO 1-5!U -f- 0-006 1-640 UM -f 0-006 ^ H»8 „ 1-66.-. 1-660 — ooot H!75 1-680 — 0-005 1-684 1-QW o-ooo I have endeavoured to render the preceding results sensible by the construction of a line, which indicates the growth at different ages, but in one-tenth of the real proportions. Tims, supposing that the new-born infant sets out from the point o, and proceeds along the axis oA, reaching in succession the points I., II., III., IV., &c., at the age of 1, 2, 3, 4, &c., years, his head will always l)c at the height of the curve oB, at the different points 1, 2, 3, 4, &c. We see that— 1. The most rapid growth takes place immediately after birth : the cliild in the course of one year grows 2 decimetres [7 8- loth inches] nearly. 2. The growth of a child diminishes as its age in- creases, until towards the age of four or five years, the period at which it reaches the maximum of probable life. Thus, during the second year after birth, the growtli is only one-half of what it was during the first; and during the third year, only about one-third. 3. Proceeding from the fourth or fifth year, the increase of stature becomes almost exactly regular until about the sixteenth year, that is to say, until the age of puberty, and the annual increase is 56 millimetres [2 2-lOth inches] nearly. 4. After the age of puberty, the stature still conti- nues to increase, but only inconsiderably : from the sixteenth to the seventeentli year, it increases 4 cen- timetres [1 5-lOth inches];' in the two succeeding years, it only increases 24 centimetres [or a little less than 1 inch ; in exact numbers, 0984]. 5. Tlie full growtli of man does not appear to be attained at iiis twenty-fifth year. In what has just been said, I have only spoken of absolute growth : if we compare the annual growth with the stature already acquired, we shall find that the child increa.ses in size two-fifths from birth to the end of the first year; during the second year, one- seventh ; during the third year, one-eleventh ; during the fourth year, one-fourteenth ; during the fifth year, one-fifteenth ; during the sixth year, one-eighteenth, &c. ; so that the relative growth is continually de- creasing from the time of birth. The curve representing the growth of females, would be a little under that of males, and would be nearly equidistant from it, until the age of eleven or twelve years, when it temls more rapidly to become parallel to tiie axis oA. It remains for me to speak of the formula by which I have calculated the numljers shown in the table given above. Ix;tting the co-ordinates ;/ and 2 repre- sent the stature and the age corresponding to it, we have the following equation : — y __ . ' + ^' y"*" 1000 (T—y) =: a.T + I + t X 62 ON MAN. i and T are two constants which indicate the stature of the child at birth, and that of the fullj^ developed individual: their values for Brussels are 0-500 and 1-684 metre. The coefficient a of the first term in the second number, will be calculated according to the different locahties, from the regular growth wluch annually takes place between the fourth and fifth, to the fifteenth or sixteenth year : for Brussels, its value has been made equal to 0-0545 metre. I think that, in giving these three constants, we may use this for- mula vnth considerable advantage for other locidi- ties. If we make t = 0-49 metre, T = 1-579 metre, a = 0-052 metre, agreeably to the observations above quoted for calcidating the law of the growth of women for Brussels, we shall have-»- !/ + y 1000 (1-579 — ?/) 0-0521 X + 0-49 + J.- By using this formula, I have calculated the nmu- bers which appear in the third column of the follow- ing table -. — Law of the Growth of \\^oman. Ages. Birth, 1 year, 2 .. - 3 .. 4 .. - 5 .. 6 .. - 7 .. 8 .. - 9 .. 10 .. 11 . . 12 .. 13 .. 14 . . 15 . . 16 . . 17 .. IS .. 19 .. 20 . . Growth terminated, Stature Obser\'ed. metres. 0-400 0-780 0-853 0-.013 0-078 1-035 1-091 1-154 1-205 1-256 1-286 1-340 1-417 1-475 1-496 1-518 1-553 1-564 1-570 1-574 1-579 Stature Calculated. metres. 490 0-0.90 0-731 0-852 0-915 0-974 1-031 1-086 1-141 1-195 1-248 1-299 1-353 1-403 1-453 1499 i-sai 1-555 1-564 1-569 1-572 1-579 Difference. metres. 0-000 — O-OOI + 0-001 — 0-002 + 0-004 + 004 + 0-005 + 0-013 -1- 0-010 -t- O-OfiS — 0-013 — 0-013 •+ 0-014 + 0022 — 0-003 — 0-017 — 0-002 0-000 + 0-001 + 0-002 0-000 The differences between the observed numbers and the calcvdated ones, are greater than in the table (already given) of the groAvth of man. It may be owing to the circumstance, that the observations have been less numerous, and made on fewer of the diffe- rent classes of society, for the one se.x than for the other. What appears to give additional support to my conjecture is, the manner in Avhich the loositive and negative signs succeed each other in the diffe- rences of the observed and calculated numbers. More- over, it is remarkable that the formula may be entirely determined, when we have been enabled to give the statures of an individual corresponding to three diffe- rent ages, sufficiently distant from each other. Although the equation of which I liave availed myself in the calculations, is of the third order, it resolves itself, like those of the second, into an un- known one, when we give the successive values of the other. Considered as belonging to a curve, it points out to us that there still exists another branch than the one we are occupied with ; for to each value of the abscissa x, there are two values of?/. The curve of growths oB has an asymptote parallel to the axes of the abscissfe, situate at a distance from this axis equal to T, which is the height of man fully developed ; moreover, this curve, proceeding from tlie point 0, which corresponds to birth, towards the thir- teenth or fourteenth years, is sensibly confounded with an hyperbola ; for in these limits, the second term of the first order is so small as to be considered nothing, so that we shall have — 1/ = ax + t + x T+Tx' The curA'e oB does not merely indicate the growth of man from birth to complete maturity, but also those of the other side of tlie axis Oo ; that is to say, for the months which precede birth, the results which it pre- sents are conformable to those observed with regard to the foetus. This concordance is not always manifested until towards the fifth or sixth month before birth, which is the age at which the embryo becomes a foetus. It is, moreover, true, that before this period the child is in a state which hardly yet appears to belong to human nature. The curve singularly represents this state, if we give any significance to it ; for between five and six months before birth, it suddenly passes under the axis oA, and the values of statures, positive as they were, become negative : the curve in the negative region is lost in infinity, approaching an asymptote which corresponds to a value of x = — | ; or, in other words, at nine months before birth, the period of conception. Without occupying ourselves with the statm-e of the infant while it is still an embryo, or altogether imformed, if av& confine our cal- ciUations to the growth of the foetus about five months before birth, we shall find the following results, by the side of which are written the results of measure- ments given in the Dictionnairc des Sciaices Medi- cales : — Age of the Infant. Stature Calculated. Stature Observed. Birth, 1 month before birth, 4 metres. 0-50O 0-404 0-419 0-.361 0-281 0-165 metres. From 0-487 to 0-541 - 0-4a3 to 0-487 ~ 0-379 to 0-433 -, o-»xt to 0-379 - 0-216 to 0-3110 - 0-162 to 0-216 The calculated values fall, for each montli, between the limits of the results of the observations. IMore- ovcr, it is well to observe that these results do not carry the same degree of exactness as those obtained after birth, because of the uncertainty of the period of conception, as Avell as the varying duration of preg- nancy. What is most important for us to observe here, in my opinion, is the law of continuity which exists for the groAvth of the child immediately l^efore and after birth. Admitting the appro.ximative cal- culations of M. Chaussier, it will l)e found that the Joetus increases almost as much in length in one month, as a child between six and sixteen years does in one year. In Avhat has preceded, I have endeavoured to point out how the development of the stature of man and woman takes place : it now remains for me to say some words on the diminution whicii this element undergoes by age. From a great number of obser- vations, of which we shall make greater use when speaking of the corresponding diminution of weight, it appears that it is chiefly towards the fiftieth year that the decrease becomes most apparent, and tOAvards the end of life it amounts to about 6 or 7 centimetres [2 3-lOth inches, or 2 6-lOth inches]. From the number of individuals who have been measured, those have been carefully excluded who were much round- shouldered, or who could not make themselves straight during the observation. Ages. Stature of IMen. Stature of 'Women 40 years, - 1-684 metre. 1-579 metre. 50 . . - 1-674 . . 1-536 .. GO . . 1-639 . . 1-516 . . 70 .. - 1623 .. 1-.514 . . 80 .. 1-613 . . 1-506 .. 90 .. - 1-C13 . . 1-505 . . ON MAN. G3 It may \->c asked if the diminution of stature towards tlie end of life is not rather apparent tlian real, and if it be not owing to the circumstance that longevity is general]}' shorter for individuals of great stature. At least, it would be interesting to examine if the size of man has any influence on the duration of his life. I shiUl endeavour, in a few words, to present such of the rcsidts of my researches as appear to me most interesting : it is almost unnecessary to observe that these results only apply to Brussels and the province of Brabant. 1. The limits of growth in the two sexes are un- equal : tirst, Iwcausc woman is born smaller than man ; second, because she sooner finishes her com- plete development ; third, because tlie annual increase which she receives is smaller than that of man. 2. The stature of tlie inhabitant of towns, at the age of 19, is greater than that of the country person by 2 to 3 centimetres [7-lOths to 1 inch nearly]. ."J. It does not appear that tlie growth of man is entirely completed at 2') years of age. 4. Individuals who live in allluencc generally ex- ceed the average heigiit : misery and hard lalxjur, on tlie contrary, appear to l>e obstacles to growth. .'). The growth of the child, even from several months before birth until complete development, fol- lows such a law of continuity, that the increase dimi- nishes successively witii age. (i. Iktween the oth and ICth years nearly, the animal growth is pretty regular, and it is one-twelftii of the growth of the foetus during the months before birth. 7. Subsequently to the .^Oth year, man and woman undergo a diminution of stature which becomes more and more marked, and may amotmt to from 6 to 7 centimetres [2 .'{-lOths or 2 u-loth inches] nearly, about the age of 80 years. CHAPTER II. OF TOE DEVELOPMKNT OF THE WEIGHT, AND OF ITS RELATIONS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HEIGHT OF THE IIODY. 1. AVclght anil Iloiglit at Different Ages. Uesearches on the height and weight of new-born infants have been made at the Foundling Hospital of Brussels. To ascertain the weight, tiie ordinary biJance has been used ; but in the different observa- tions, the weight of the swaddling clothes has Ixeii taken. The average values obtained for 03 male and .06 female children, arc as follows : — Male chiKlron, Female children, Weight. 3-20 kilogramnies. 2-91 Height. 0-4f«; metre.* 0-4aT . .t Tims, from the time of hirtli, there is an inequality in the weight and height of children of the two sexes, and this ine(/ualiti/ is in favour of males. The height cor- responds nearly with what I have found from other observations. By classing the infants who furnished the preced- ing average values according to their total weight, we find — Infants Weighing From H) to 1-5 kilog. .. 1-5 to 20 .. . . 2 (» to 2-5 . . . . 2-5 to .30 . . . . 30 to 3-5 . . . . 3-5 to 4-0 . . .. 40 to 4-5 .. Hovs. Oirls. Total. .» 1 1 7 1 1 10 - 13 14 27 28 Zi .■il - 14 7 21 r> 3 « G3 56 119 ♦ Here those cliililrcn only have l>cen nieastired whose weiglit hart t)ccn nscertaincil. The number of observntion.s is greater than I could avail myself of in my former researches. t [The kilogramme is, as nearly as powible, 2 l-5th lbs. Eng- lUi.] The extremes were as follows : — Boys. Minimum, - - 2-34 kilog. Maximum, 4-50 Girls. M2 kUog. 4-25 .. Professor Richter has made researches similar to the preceding at the Foundling Hospital of Moscow ;* and, according to his observations, of 44 new-born children, the sexes of whom are not stated, the ave- rage value was 9 1-1 5th pounds in weight, and 18^ inches (Paris) in length. I regret that I do not know the value of the weight which he employed. The height, which is 0"501 metres, new measure, is almost precisely the same as we have found for boys. The extremes obtained by M. Richter were as follows : — Weight. Height. Minimum, .0 pounds. 15 inches Maximum, - 11 .. 21 .. Thus, the weight of boys varies as 1 to 2, as I have found at Brussels. The extremes of length do not differ so much, and ])resent v;Uues which diflTer very little from those which we have obtained. Moreover, the extremes, at least of weight, may differ as much as the averages. We read in the Dictionnaire des Sciences Medicates, article Fcttus — " The researches made at the Foundling IluspitiU, on more than 20,000 infants, prove that one infant, born at the full period and well-formed, general!}' weighs Cr} pounds. Only a very small number of infants have Ix-'en seen at this hospital weighing lOi pounds, or others weighing only 3 pounds, or 2 pounds and some ounces." This value of Gj pounds, or 3*059 kilogrammes, obtained from so great a number of observations, agrees verj' nearly witli the value — 3()55 kilogrammes — obtained for Brussels, leaving out of consideration the distinction of the sexes : the extreme values likewise present very little difference. It is remarkable that learned men who have made observations on the weight and height of new-bom infants, should have attended so little to the distinc- tion of the sexes. Although our results arc not de- duced from so large a number of observations as could be desired, yet we think we may conclude, with suffi- cient probability, that the average values of the -weight and height of children of the two sexes present a very sensible difference. From all the researches which have been made on the relations existing between the Aveight and the age of the fatus, it apjMiars that the ratios preseut so much uncertainty, that we can scarcely make any use of them. It is M. Chaussier, if I am not mistaken, who has made the remark, that an infant diminishes a little in weight immediately after birth. This curious remark deserves to be carefully verified : unfortunately, I have only Ijeen able to procure seven series of observations, which do not extend beyond the seventh day after birtli. The average calculations for each day present the following values : — Afterbirth, On the 2d second ; from which we find that t : T : : -i- : — , ci-, in other T' words, <2 : T- : : p: V. It is the same with the numbers belonging to females. Men. Women. Stature. Weight. Ratio. Weight. Ratio. At Birth, - 3-20 6-19 2-91 6-03 (J-GO metre, 6-20 10-33 „ „ 0-70 ~ 9-30 13-27 9-06 12-94 0-80 ~. 11-36 14-20 11 -21 14-01 0-yil -, 13-50 15-00 13-42 14-91 1-00 ~ 15-90 15-90 15-82 15-82 1-10 ~ 18-50 16-82 18-30 16-64 1-20 ~ 21-72 18-10 21-51 17-82 1-30 « 26-63 20-04 26-83 20-64 1--10 ~ 34-48 24-63 37-28 26-63 1-50 - 46-29 30-86 48-00 32-00 i-(;o „ 57-15 35-72 56-73 35-45 1-70 - 63-28 37-22 65-20 33-35 l-iiO - 70-61 39-23 „ „ l-f|0 - 75-56 39-77 ~ -- We see that, statures being equal, woman weighs a little less than man until she attains the height of 1 metre 3 decimetres, which nearly corresponds to the period of puberty, and that she weighs a little more for higher statures. This difference, for the most part, proceeds from aged females being mingled with groups of a moderate stature sooner than males are ; and, at equal statures, as we have already stated, aged persons weigh more than young ones. To apply the preceding to determine the age of a noii-adult person, from a knowledge of the weight and stature onl}^ let us suppose the height of the person to be 1"23 metre, and the weight 24 kilogrammes, he being, moreover, of the male sex. We shall imme- diately see, from the preceding table, that he is heavy in proportion to his stature ; the table before informs lis that, by taking the height alone, he ought to be a Uttle more than nine years of age, and considering the weight alone, he should be under ten ; so that we may pronounce, with great probability of truth, that the individual in question must be between nine and ten. 3. Weiglit of a Population. — Weight of the Human Skeleton. The following table may serve to determii:e the weight of a population composed of men, women, and children, or of a population composed of individuals of certain limited ages : it has been formed by taking the numbers belonging to eacli age from a population table, and multiplying them by the weight of indi- viduals of this age.* Table of tlie Weight of a Population of 10,000 Souls. Ages. Jlen. Women. Tot.-il. kilog. kilog. kilog. to 1 year, 0-894 0-803 1-697 1 to 2 1-462 1-324 2-786 2to 3 ~ l-5ft4 1-372 2-876 3 to 4 1-676 1-485 3-161 4 to 5 ~- 1-864 1-658 3-522 5 to 6 « 2-017 1-765 3-782 6to 8 ~ 4.251 3-786 8-037 8 to 10 - 4-768 4-318 9-086 10 to 12 - 5263 4-827 10-090 12 to 14 « 6-332 5-977 12-.309 14 to 16 ~ 8-805 7-801 16-606 16 to 20 - 18-902 17-700 36-602 20 to 25 - 25-292 23-.308 48-600 25 to 30 „ 25-603 22-770 48-373 30 to 40 - .39-396 39-.548 78-944 40 to 50 - . . - 28-720 31-470 60-190 , .50 to 60 " 24122 24-634 48-756 60 to 70 - - - - 23-620 16-458 40-118 70 to 80 ~ 9-620 7-808 17-428 80 and upwards, 2-320 1-998 4-318 Total, - 236-471 220-810 4.)7-281 * Tlie population table made use of in these calculations is one which will be found above, taken from the Recherdies sur la MortalUi ct la Ufprodiuiion. nnixclles : 18.32. ON MAN. 67 Tims, taking at once a population of 10,000 souls, without distinction of age or sex, the weight will be 457,000 kilogrammes nearly, 236,000 being that of the male portion. Thus we see that the average vwight of an individual, without reference to age or sex, is 45'7 kilogrammes nearly ; and, considering the sexes, 47 kih- gramvies for a man [125 9-lOths lbs. troy], ajid 42^ kilogrammes for a ivoman [74 lbs. troy]. The whole population of Brussels, which amounts to 100,000, would weigh 4,572,810 kilogrammes ; or nearly four and a half times as much as a cube of water 10 metres square : and the whole human race, computed at 737,000,000, would not weigh as much as 33 cubes of water 100 metres square : a value Avhieh at first sight appears small, since such a volume of water might be contained in a basin having a surface of less than one-third of an acre [hectare'], and a depth of 100 metres. To the preceding data, I shall add some measure- ments of the human skeleton, which have been com- municated to me by MM. Van Esschen and Guiette. They Avill throw additional light on our present sub- ject. Dimensions. Numher of Slceletons. No. 1.* No. 2.t No. 3.% No.4.§ No. 5. II kilog. Idlog. kilog. kilog. kilog. AVeights, - 4-2 4-4 5-7 5-2 3-0 met. met. met. met. met. Statures, 1-685 1-640 1-067 1-7.55 1-500 Height of head, - 0-13U 0-134 0-136 0-135 0-135 ~. of spinal column, 0-590 0-560 0-563 0-550 0-470 ^ of pelvis. 0-210 0-1G6 0-182 0-225 0-152 Length of the upper) extremities, i 0-779 0-735 0-754 0-790 0-662 Length of the lower) extremities, > 0-917 0-870 0-885 0-970 0-800 The two last skeletons, belonging to females, did not present any essential difference from the three first, which were males. We see, from the preceding table, that tlie weight of a skeleton prepared some years, scarcely exceeds the weight of a child at birth. From tlie foregoing, we deduce the following con- clusions : — 1. From birth there is an inequality, both in weight and stature, between children of the two sexes ; the average weight of a boy being 3-20 kilogrammes [8 5-lOths lbs. troy], that of a girl 2-91 kilogrammes [7 7-lOths lbs. troy] ; the stature of a boy is 0-496 metres, and that of a girl 0*483 metres. 2. The weight of a child diminishes a little towards the third day after birth, and does not begin to in- crease sensibly until after the first week. 3. At equal ages, man is generally heavier than woman : about the age of 12 years only are the indi- viduals of both sexes of about the same weight. Be- tween 1 and 1 1 years, the difference in weight is from one kilogranmie to one and a half; between 16 and 20, it is six kilogrammes nearly ; and after this period eight to nine kilogrammes. 4. When man and woman have attained their full development, they weigh almost exactly twenty times as much as at birth ; and their stature is about three and one- fourth times greater than it was at the same period, * No. 1. Natiu-al skeleton of a man of about thirty-five years of age, prepared seven years. t No. 2. Skeleton of a man about twenty -five years of age, pre- pared six years. t No. 3. Skeleton of a man. Age and date of the preparation unlmown. § No. 4. Skeleton of a woman. Age and date of the preparation imknown. I! No. 5. Skeleton of a woman aged fifteen years, prepared one ye.ir. 5. In old age, man and woman lose about six or seven kilogrammes in weight, and seven centimetres in stature. 6. During the development of individuals of both sexes, we may consider the square of the weight, at different ages, as proportioned to the fifth power of their stature. 7. After the full development of individuals of both sexes, the weight is almost as the square of the sta- ture. From the two preceding relations, we infer, that increase in height is greater than the transverse in- crease, including breadth and thickness. 8. Man attains the maxinmm of his weight at about 40, and begins to waste in a sensible degree about the 60th year. 9. Woman attains the maximum of her weight about the age of 50. During the period of reproduc- tion, namely, from the 18th to the 40th year, her weight scarcely increases in a perceptible degree. 10. The weight of individuals who have been mea- sured, aud who were fully developed and well-formed, varies within extremes which are nearly as 1 to 2 ; whilst the stature only varies within limits which, at the most, are a,s 1 to 1^. This is inferred from the following values, furnished by observation : — Maximum. AVcight of man, 98-5 kilog. woman, 93-8 ~ Statm-eof man, 1-890 met. ~ woman, 1-740 ™ 49-1 kilog. 39-8 - 1-407 met. 03-7 kilog. 55-2 ~ 1-084 met. 1-57.9 ~ 1 1. At equal statures, woman weighs a little less than man before reaching the height of 1"3 metres, which almost corresponds to the period of puberty ; and she weighs a little more for higher statures. 12. The average weight of an individual, without reference to age or sex, is 45*7 kilogrammes ; and, taking sex into account, 47 kilogrammes for man, and 42 "5 kilogrammes for woman. CHAPTER III. OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF STRENGTH OR POWER. The measure of strength is one of the elements which we are most anxious to ascertain with some degree of precision; not merely because this subject of in- vestigation has occupied the attention of many ob- servers ; but since their principal object was to ascer- tain the useful effect of power, what they have done has a characteristic nature, which distinguishes their results from those which I propose to determine with a scientific purpose. Thus, Desaguiliers, De la Hire, Gueuyveau, Coulomb, Schulze, &c., have chiefly in- vestigated the relations which exist between the speed and the burden carried, in respect to a man employed either in carrying burdens or drawing them. I shall not enter into the details of the results which they have obtained, since they can be found in the prin- cipal treatises on practical mechanics. What is of most importance for us to know here is, I think, what relation the intensity of power which man can dis- play (either with his hands or loins, without subject- ing him to a day's labour), Ijears, in its development-, to the age of the person : this latter question is com- posed of more complex elements. To determine the different degi-ees of our physical power, different instruments have been proposed, the least imperfect of which is undoubtedly the dyna- mometer of Eegnier.* However, this instrument still * [The dynamometer cannot well be described in mere words. All that can be said of it is, that it is an instrument so contrived as to exhibit, on a dial-plate, the measure of strength resident in the arms and loins of the parties subjected to trial. 51. Quetelet's observations may make tliis point more clear.] G8 ON MAN. leaves much to be desired ; and, fiilly perceiving its defects when I commenced the experiments which I am now about to state, I was far from supposing they were so great as they really are. The most consi- derable results from its form ; indeed, the dynamo- meter is managed with varying degrees of facility, and estimates of power, varying in accurac}^ are given, according to the size of the hand and length of the fingers. This defect is especially apparent Avith chil- dren : it is almost necessary to employ different instru- ments for different ages. These inconveniences led me to think of a dynamometer, in which the two steel plates to be brought into apposition should, with a maximum of power, assume that position in the hand which was most favourable to its development : un- fortunately, other labours have prevented me from prosecuting these attempts, and undertaking a new series of observations. Therefore, I must confine mj'self to giving the results obtained with the dyna- mometer of Eegnier, premising that they do not pre- sent that degree of accuracy which I was anxious to give them. I think ^ve may even already suspect the imper- fection of the dynamometer, from the discordant re- sults obtained by different experimenters who have used it. According to Eegnier, a man from 25 to 30, is in possession of his greatest strength, and by pressing strongly with both hands, makes an effort equal to 50 kilogrammes [134 lbs. ti'oy], and raises a weight of 13 myriagrammes [260 lbs. troy, nearly]. He retains this power until nearly 50, Avhen it begins to decrease.* The strength of woman has been considered as equal to that of a man of 15 or IG, or to two-thirds of the power of an ordinary man. Eegnier has also found that, b}'- trying first one hand and then the other, that the right hand is gene- rally stronger than the left ; and the sum of these is commonly equal to the power of both hands acting together. Other experiments have since been made by Peron, who has stated the results in the accomat of his voyage to Australasia. Eansonnet has also made dynamo- metric experiments in the roadstead of Havre, on 345 individuals belonging to the companies of two frigates and a brig which lie commanded. Collecting the values obtained by these different observers, we have the following table : — Persons experimented on. French, from 25 to 30 years, •• 25 to 45 •■ Natives of New Holland, Jliilays of tlic Island of Timor, Observers. Regiiicv, Ran sonnet, Viron, Strength. JIanual. Lnnibar. liilog. 500 40-3 CO-2 61-8 597 Average. 130 14-2 221 14-0 ie-2 The degrees of strength of the French, according to these observations, Ave sec differ very much : the results of Pcron differing especially from those of Eansonnet and Eegnier.f It would appear that Peron has made a mistake in reading the degrees of the dynamometer ; at least this seems to be the case, from the correction which has subsequently been made by Frcycinet and Eailly, who were of the number of persons experimented on by Peron, and Avho are found to have a lumbar power sensibly smaller than that placed opposite tiieir names in the table. According * Dklionnaire des Sciences Mcdicalcs, article liynammnelre, et description et Usar/edu Dynamomclre. (Journal deVEcolcVolytech- tiiqiie, Prairial, an G.) ■f M. Ransonnct has kindly favoured me with some accounts of the observations which were required of him, and made witli an instrument tlie accuracy of whicli he cannot wai'rant, not having had an opportunity of testing it himself. to M. Frcycinet, instead of the lumbar powers stated by Pcron, Ave must read as folloAvs : — 15'2 myriagr. instead of 22-1 , for the French. 10-1 . . . . 14-8, . . TSlew Hollanders. 11-3 . . . . 16'2, . . Malaj's of Timor. However the case may be, by considering the values of Peron as relative, it Avould appear that the strength of the French sailors was greater than that of savages ; and this result agrees with the accomrts of many voyagers. Dynamometric experiments require the greatest precaution. I have seen the same persons obtain exceedingly different results from successive efforts. A cause of frequent error, when sufficient precaution is not taken in using the instrument of Eegnier to measure the lumbar poAver, is, that the needle is made to move as much by pressing the instrument between the knees, as by pulling. Indeed, it is difficult to pull Avithout bringing the knees toAvards each other, and thus pressing the elUptic spring in the direction of its small axis, where it yields most readily : the position in which we are placed to pull, and the height of the statm'e, have likewise some influence. It is also necessary to keep trying the accuracy of the in- strument, especially toAvards the bottom of the scale, because it is generally not so sensible for small Aveights. I regret that I could not increase my observations to the extent I desired ; and I bring forward my re- sidts Avith diffidence. The number of individuals of each age experimented upon was at least 10 : these persons generally belonged to the better class ; and those below 25, of the young men, were generally taken in the colleges, and at the Medical School of Brussels : the young Avomen, also, were taken from the schools and the Orphan Hospital. It is Avell, in measuring the power of a person, to take the average of several successive observations, because avc find the results vary slightly ; and gene- rally the first effort is more poAverful than the second, the second than the third, and so on, until avc arrive at a certain limit ; but the difference is not very great after the first few trials.* We may find a difference of one or tAvo degrees, or more, betAveen the first efibrt and the extreme ; consequently, these observations admit of great chance of error. Observations on the Lumbar Power, estimated by means of the Dyuamometex'. Ages. G years, 7 •• B .. 9 •• 10 .. 11 •■ 12 •• 13 . . 14 .. 15 • ■ k; • . 1/ .. IH •• 1!) •• 2(» .. 21 ■• 25 .. .30 . . 40 .. 50 . . CO . . Lumbar Power. Men. mynag. 2-0 2-7 4-0 4-6 4-8 .VI c-y H-1 (18 10-2 12-G 13-0 13-2 13-8 140' 15-5 15-4 12-2 10-1 0-3 Women. 2-4 30 .3-1 3-7 4-0 4-4 5-0 5-3 5-9 G-4 G7 6-4 G-8 7-2 77 Ratio of the Strengtli of Men and Women. 1-.3.3 1-48 1-30 1-28 1-57 1-62 1-Gfi 172 l-!)7 ]'94 20G 203 2-05 2-01 In this table, I haA'e not included boys under six, and girls imder eight years of age, because of the difficidty of teaching them how to handle the dyna- * M. Edwards has told me, that after dinner he has generally observed the contrary with strong persons, the first eflTort being somcAvhat less inten.se than the succeeding ones. ON MAN. C9 mometer, and the errors which would have resulted therefrom. It is necessary to aU the preceding ralues, to add the weight of the dynamometer, which is certainly a part of the resistance to overcome : this amounts to one kilogramme. If we had extremely sensible and suitable instru- ments for measuring the lumbar power of children, it is evident that we could not begin to make use of them before the age of two years, since before this period the child cannot stand upright alone, nor carry an additional weight. It is to be observed that, of all the individuals figured in the table, the lumbar power is sufficient to raise a load or overcome an obstacle exceeding the weight of the individual. Tlie load a man can carry relatively to his weight, increases with his growth \mtil maturity, and the perfect man can raise more than double his own weight. The lumbar power of females differs less fi'om that of males during childhood than after complete deve- lopment. During childhood, the lumbar strength of boys is about one-third more than tliat of girls ; to- wards the age of puberty, one-half; and the strength of a developed man is double that of a woman. Professions produce a very sensible difference. I have seen labouring masons and carpenters move the d3Tiamometer 20 degrees or more. The average of several servants, between 20 and 40 years of age, has given me a value of 10 or 11 degrees. To measure the poAver of the hands presents the greatest obstacles. It seems to me that it is almost impossible to rely on the accuracy of the results, im- less the observations have been made with the greatest care, and by one and the same person. The first and greatest obstacle proceeds from the uneqiud size ot the hands, and the difficulty of grasping the instru- ment. From all the corrections which I have made, I think I may rely on the accuracy of my own results ; and, nevertheless, they differ so much from those ob- tained bj' the observers quoted, that I dehberated some time in using them, the more so since they are, like all the measures taken with Kegnier's dynamometer, subject to undergo a previous correction, owing to the unequal size of the hands. To show how important this correction is, I made difierent trials with the dynamometers, placing my hands in different positions, and I have obtained extremely dissimilar A'alues. We may judge better from the following : — The dynamometer I have used is made, like all others, of a spring almost of an elliptic form : the lengths of the greater and lesser axis are 30 and 5"5 , centimetres respectively ; the dial and the index are so placed that the hands, when most approximated, are still 2 '5 centimetres distant from each other; and pressure is made at a certain distance from the small axis, where the maximum of eflect is produced. We obtain, therefore, only a part of the action which might be produced by pressing both extremities of the smaU axis. IMoreover, it appears that the dynamometer I have used has been graduated, taking this distance into account. I was then desirous to know what would be tlie effect produced by increasing the dis- tance between the hands, and I have obtained these values : — Distance of the Hands. 25 mill. ar, •. 45 .. 65 .. 75 .. - 85 ■■ Degrees of the Dynamometer. 80-5 640 54-5 49-5 44-0 380 Thus, by placing the hands so that they were each, when least distant, one centimetre from the dial, and consequently 45 millimetres from each other, I only produced an effort of 54-5 instead of 80'5 — a difference of 20 degrees. Now, many per?ons, trying their manual strength by the dynamometer, generally place their hands in the manner I have stated ; they must then give very erroneous results. Women and chil- dren, especially, have another disadvantage in using the dynamometer, for the opening which they are obliged to allow their hands does not permit them to press -with the power they are capable of. Also, I think the values I have obtained for them are gene- rally too low. Observations on the Power of the Hands, from Experiments with the Dynamometer. Power of Men Power of AVomen Ages. \vith with the with the with with the with the both Right Left both Right Left Hands. Hand. Hand. Hands. Hand. Hand. kilog. kilog. liilog. kUog. Idlog. kilog. 6 years, 10-3 4-0 20 7 •• 140 70 40 8 •• 11-8 36 2-8 9 •• 20-0 8-5 5-0 15-5 4-7 4-0 10 •• 26-0 9-8 8-4 16-2 5-6 4-8 n •• 29-2 10-7 9-2 19-5 8-2 6-7 12 .. 336 13-9 11-7 230 lO-l 7-0 13 .. 390 16-6 150 26-7 11-0 81 14 -. 47-9 21-4 18-8 33-4 13-6 11-3 15 .. 57-1 27-8 22-6 35-6 15-0 14-1 16 .. 63-9 32-3 26-8 37-7 17-3 16-6 17 •• 71'0 362 31-9 40-9 20-7 18-2 18 •• 79-2 386 35-0 43-6 20-7 19-0 1!) •• 79-4 35-4 35-0 44-9 21 G 19-7 ;>o ■. 84-3 39-3 37-2 45-2 22-0 19-4 21 .. 86-4 430 38-0 47-0 23-5 20-5 25 • . 88-7 44-1 400 eo-0 24-5 21 '6 30 • • 89-0 44-7 41-3 40 •. 87-0 41-2 38-3 50 •• 740 36-4 330 47-0 23-2 20-0 «() . . 56-0 30-5 260 From this table we may infer, that the manual power of men, at different ages, is greater than that of women. The difference is generally smaller at earlj^ periods than afterwards : thus, before puberty, the ratio is 3 to 2, and it afterwards becomes 9 to 5. We also see that the hands, acting together, produce a greater effect than the sum of the effects they produce acting separately ; this appears to be partly owing to the weight of tlie instrument, which is carried twice, and in an inconvenient manner, when the hands are used in succession. Lastly, the strongest hand is that one we use habitually, at least considering masses of people. The right hand is about one-sixth stronger than the left. Now, if we compare the power of pressing, which I have observed, Mith that of IVIM. Regnier, Eansonnet, and Peron, we shall find the greatest differences, and which I can only attribute to the manner in which the hands were placed on the instrument, and the consequent space betwLxt them. I have tried the in- strument in different ways, and I think I may be cer- tain that the indications are accurate, especially those for the average power of man. Those values which I ought to mistrust are those obtained for women and children ; they appear to me to be less than they ought to be, for the reasons above stated. According to the researches of MM. Regnier and Eansonnet, the average strength of man is not more than 46"3 or 50 kilogrammes [184 lbs. troy] ; that is to say, that it does not come up to his weight; whence it follows, that a man could not lift himself by the pressure he can exercise with his hands. Now, experience evidently disproves such a residt. Among the sailors experimented upon, there was probably not one who could not hold himself suspended, for some minutes at least, at tlie end of a cord firmly fixed at the other end. According to Pcron, the manual force would be 69'2 kilogrammes : this value approaches nearer the truth. What I liave found for a developed man is 89 kOogrammes [238 lbs. troy], nearly 19 kilogranmies more than the weight of a man 70 ON MAN. ill his dress ; so that a man may hold at the end of a cord, and bear at tlie same time a weight as heavy ; moreover, the thickness of the cord, or the form of the object which he holds, will necessarily influence the result of the experiment.* We also see, from the values which I have obtained, that it is about the age of 9 or 10 years tliat a man begins to acquire sufficient power in his hands to hold himself suspended for a time. Woman, at any age, does not appear capable of exercising a power equiva- lent to her weight ; yet many women, from exercise and habits of "labour, at length exceed this limit. Thus we see yoimg girls, by practising gymnastic exercises, acquire the power of raising themselves by means of cords to different heights. It would appear, then, although my values are very superior to those of the observers quoted, that they are rather below than above the truth, at least for children and women. 'V^^len the power of the hands is tried several times in succession, it happens, just as with the lumbar strength, that, all things being equal, the subsequent efforts are never so energetic as the first ones. Thus the degrees of poAver diminish successively, and tend to a limit. The second effort is generally weaker by 4 or 5 degrees than the first ; the difference is not so great afterwards. Trying my strength at different periods of the day, I have not observed any very great differences. The greatest effect I have been able to produce was observed on coming from a public lecture, at a time when I was slightly indisposed by an accession of fever. I was able to bring the needle of the djTiamometer nearly 1 degrees beyond the point it haljitually reached. In general, the strength was greater after dinner than before -, it appears to vary Avith different times of the day, and especially Avith the hours of refreshment. IVIy experiments are not so numerous as to enable me here to bring forward numerical results of sufficient accuracy ; and, for the same reason, I have been obliged to defer establishing the ratios betAveen tlie stature, weight, and strength of men at different ages. But it appears to me that affluence, abundance of food, and moderate exercise, favourablj' assist the develop- ment of the physical powers ; Avhilst misery, Avant, and excess of labour, produce the contrary effect. Therefore, the man Avho finds himself in affluent cir- cumstances, not merely possesses the advantages of fortune, as well as longer life and less liability to dis- ea.se ; he has also better opportimities for the proper development of his physical qualities. CHAPTER IV. l.NSPIRATIOX, PULSATION, SWIFTNESS, &C. 1. Inspiration and Pulsation. In individuals Avho are Avell-formed and enjoying good health, the number of inspirations and beats of the heart are generally confined Avithin certain limits, Avhich it may be interesting to know, as aa'cII as the average value Avhich they have at dillerent ages. The authors Avho have Avritten on this subject generally give results Avliich are A'cry discordant, for early ages especially. Kepler appears to have been the first Avho thought of determining the number of pulsa- tions in a given time; and Ave may be astonished that, in our own time, avc have not more accurate results than those found m the most eminent physio- logical Avorks. The following are the numbers which different authors have given for the beats of the heart in one minute : — * It Avould be curious to examine how long an individual could continue suspended by the pressure of his hands only. Kumber of Beats of the Heart, according to Ages. c 1 Diet, df -Magendie.* Rochoux. t Adelon-t md. vol. 21. Birth, - 130 to 140 140 1.30 to 140 140 I year, 120 to 130 120 2 „ - 100 to 110 100 110 U)0 3 „ - - 90 to 100 90 Puberty, 80 80 to 00 Manhood, 70 Old age, 60 " The number of pulsations of the foetal heart, in a given time," says M. Paul Dubois,§ " cannot always be easily determined ; but Avhen it can, as is usually the case, Ave find tlie number from 140 to 1 50 a-minute, and very frequently 144 ; it is very natural to think that the number of pulsations should be quick, in- versely as the age of the foetus, and yet our researches do not confirm such an opinion. Indeed, we may affirm, that, from the end of the fifth month, at which period the pulsations of the heart may be readily counted, until the end of gestation, the rhythm [mea- sure] of the double beats has appeared exactly the same to us." M. Billard has given results which generally do not much agree Avith those Avhich have been quoted. Ac- cording to this observer, of 41 children, between 1 and 10 days old, and apparently enjoying good health, he has found — 18 having fewer than 80 pulsations per minute. 2 ,, 80 1 ,, 89 4 ^, 100 10 „ ~ 110 to 129 1 „ 130 2 „ „ 145 2 „ 150 1 „ ~ 180 Thus, in one-half of the infants, the pidse Avas al- most the same number as of adults ; and there were others, the beats of whose heart exceeded in number those of individuals of a more advanced age. These children presented no appearance of disease. Of 36 children from 1 to 2 months old — 14 presented 80 to 85 pulsations. 1 -. 60 to 62 2 ~ 90 2 - 94 to 95 5 - 110 to 112 - 2 - 114 7 „ 125 to 130 ~ 3 ~ 140-147 to 150 ~ Of 20 children from 2 to 3 months old— 14 presented more than 90 pulsations. 2 - „ 100 « 2 ~ - 70 - 2 „ ~ 70 to 80 ~ It Avoiild be Avrong to affirm that children uniformly present a more frequent pulse than adults. || It does not appear that the number of inspirations per minute has been examined with as much care as the pulsations. Authors, in general, have not and cannot agree on this point. Ilaller said he made 20 inspirations per minute ; Menzics says 14 ; Davy ob- served on himself 2G ; Thomson, also on liimself, 19 ; Magendie, 15. But we generally say that there are 20, and that every fifth inspiration is deeper than the others.^ * Physiologic. Ed. 1825. t Diet, de IMedicinc, 1827. t Pliysiologie, vol. iii. p. 417. § Rapport sur 1' Application de I'AuseuItation a la Grossesse. II [Notwitlistanding these observations, there can be no doubt whatever that the pulsations of the heart, counted at the wrist, are uniformly much more numerous in children under six years of age than in adults.] t Dictionnaire des Sciences Mcdicales, Art. Respiration. ON MAN. 71 I sIihII noAV present the results of experiments made at Brussels, both on inspurations and the heating of the heart simultaneously. And first, according to the observations made on 18 male and as many female children, immediately after birth, the following results were obtained : — Pulsations. Inspirations. Aver. Max. Win. Aver. Max. Jlin. Bi)\s, - GUIs, - - 136 135 165 163 104 108 44 44 70 68 23 27 Therefore, it appears that difference of sex does not influence these phenomena, at any rate at birth. The following is a classification of the preceding numbers : — Inspirations. 25 to 30, - 30 to 40, 40 to 50, 50 to 60, 60 to 70, Pulsations. 104 to 115, 116 to 125, - 126 to 135, ... 136 to 145, 145 to 155, ... 155 to 165, I think these results susceptible of greater accuracy. Considering the number of inspirations and pulsations in men, at difi'erent ages, I have found, per minute, for the average and extreme values, in nearly 300 indi- viduals, as follows : — Boys. Girls 3 1 3 5 5 8 5 3 2 1 2 1 6 7 6 5 1 2 1 Ages. Pulsations. Inspirations. Aver. Mnx. Min. Aver. Max. Min. Birth, 5 years, 10 to 15, 15 to 20, 20 to 25, 25 to 30, 30 to 50, 136 88 78 69-5 69-7 71-0 700 165 100 98 90 98 90 112 104 73 60 57 61 59 56 44 26 20 18-7 16-0 18-1 70 32 24 24 21 23 23 16 14 15 11 Isations. Inspirations 135 44 78 19 77 17 74-5 It does not appear that there is a determinate ratio between the pulsations and inspirations ; however, in many individuals, and I am of the number, it is as 4 to 1. The observations made on women have been less immerous than those made on men. Moreover, it does not appear that the difference of sexes is at any period more marked than about the time of birth ; perhaps there is a slight acceleration in females, at least this appears from the following numbers : — Ages. Birth, 15 to 20 years, £0to25 ~ - 25 to 30 - 30 to 50 - - The temperament, the state of the health, and a crowd of other circumstances, must cause the number of inspirations and pulsations to vary considerably in different individuals. Wakefuhiess and sleep have also great influence.* From a considerable number of * [It is sufficiently singular that the cliief eause modifying the number of pulsations of the heart, during the twenty-four hours, escaped tlie notice of M. Quetelet. He takes no account of the singular influence exercised in accelerating the pulsations hy the slightest muscular exertion. The condition of sleeping or waking, to which he ascribes considerable effect, has little influence on the pulse, further than as regards a quiescent or non-quiescent state of the body. He seems also inclined to ascribe to sleep those effects which have long ago been proved to be solely attri- butable to another cause, viz., a diurnal revolution in the num- ber of pulsations of the human heart. — See Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal for 181'.] observations made carefully on a male child betAveen 4 and 5 years of age, I have found that, when awake, the number of pulsations was 93-4, and the number of inspirations 29-3; whilst for the same child, during sleep, I counted 77*3 pulsations, and 21-5 inspirations, on an average.* The ratio of these numbers is 1 to 1-21 for the pulsations, and 1 to 1-36 for the inspira- tions. Similar observations have been made on a young girl between 3 and 4 years old, and on a woman of 26 years. All these observations have presented the fol- lowing average values : — Pulsations. Inspirations. Ages. 6 < 8 ■a < Ratio. 6 1 < Ratio. Girl, 3 to 4 years, Boy, 4 to 5 - Woman, 26 to 27, 102.3 93-4 77-5 92-0 77-3 C7-0 Ml 1-21 116 30-2 29-3 27-0 24-8 21-5 20-3 1-22 1-36 1-30 It results from these observations, that sleep causes a more sensible modification of the number of inspira- tions than of the beats of the heart. In general, it diminishes both numbers, the first in a ratio which may be considered as 7 to 6, and the second in the ratio of 4 to 3 nearly. It is very important to con- sider the state of tlie individual in these researches, and not to make the observations wlien the person is excited by walking quickly, or by passions and emo- tions of the mind, and still more if the person is not well in health. To observe accurately the number of inspirations is very difiicult, and particularly if the individual knows that he is the object of observation. I have seen many jiersons unable to make sucli obser- vations on themselves. We must also consider the time of tlie day : for instance, in the evening we are generally more excited than in the morning, and the beats of the heart, as well as the inspirations, are more rapid.f Neither is it indifferent whether we observe tlie person before or after a meal. Observing myself at quiet moments, but at different times of the day, I have found the average number of the beats of the heart to be 66"2, and the average number of inspirations 15'8. The first number lias varied between the extremes of 74 and 56 : this latter value has been observed imme- diately before dinner, and the former after a public lecture, about one hour after reaching home. The mmiber of inspirations has varied between 17 and 14'.5. MM. Leuret and ^litivie, avIio have recently jjub- lished an interesting -work on i\\e frequency of the pulse in the insane,^ have sought to determine the influence of temperature and changes of the moon on tliis fre- quency ; but their observations Avere not sufficiently numerous to deduce a numerical appreciation of so feeble an element. On the other hand, comparing young people and old persons, they have found that, contrary to the generally received opinion, the pulse of the first is slower than the second : thus they have comited in one minute, In young persons, — old persons, ~ insane women. 65 pulsations. 74 ~ 77 ~ The observations were made in the morning, whilst the persons Avere stiU in bed, and the pulse conse- quently beating slower than durmg the .day. MM. Leuret and Mitivio have also thought that the average number of pulsations was fewer in winter than in * [These observations of M. Quetelet are of little comparative value, from his having neglected to state the iwsition of the child during the waking state, and the time of day or night.] t [The reader is requested to suspend his judgment in respect to these observations imtil he has perused the documents in the appendix. Certain important elements in these observations have, as we have already said, been overlooked by M. Quetelet.] I Paris, Crdchard : 1832. 8vo. n ON MAN. summer, and that the variations do not correspond to changes of temperature.* 2. On Swiftness, and the Activity of some other Physical Qualities of Man. There are several other physical qualities of man besides tliose I have just considered, which are like- wise susceptible of measurement, and which have been little attended to hitherto. What is generally the best known is the swiftness and the length of the stride of man ; but at present, the data for different ages are wanting, and especially when consideration is had to the weight and size of individuals. A foot traveller can pass over six kilometres [7158 yards] an hour, and continue a long distance, which IS at the rate of 100 metres [119 yards] a-minute. We calculate the length of the step at eight decimetres [31-496 inches] : thus the traveller makes 125 steps per minute, and 7500 ste^js in an hour. He can walk at this rate 8h hours a-day, and continue as long as he likes, without injuring his health or strength. Then, as a fact, we suppose 51 kilometres [55,743 yards] the average distance which a traveller can walk each day, without overstretching his powers. The average weight of a man in his ordinary clothes is 70 kilogrammes [187 lbs. troy]. Thus, the pedestrian carries each day 70 kilogrammes a distance of 51 Icilometres ; or, which amounts to the same thing, .'5570 kilogrammes the distance of one kilometre. According to M. Ch. Dupin, from whom I borrow the preceding details,f the mihtary step is computed to be as foUows : — Length. The Soldier makes jier minute — ■ Common step," - 6o cent.i 76 Quick march, 05 ~ 100 Charging, - 125 1 regret that my own observations do not allow me to treat this subject at present in more detail, or to present a summary of the results obtained by observers who have endeavoured to ascertain the i>ractical effect of speed combined with strength. We find, in general, that Avherever the energy of man can be excited, em- ployed as a machine, the physical qualities he can put in force have been measured with more precision. His other qualities have been less studied: thus, we know little of the average speed of man in running ; we also know very little of the height and length of his leap, Avith the exception of the cases of those men who possessed those qualities in aia extraordinary degree. I have been endeavouring to sum up Avhat relates to the height and extent of the leap, in some results which it may be useful to know. However, I ought to premise, that since these results for young ages have been obtained from individuals, several of whom were studying gymnastic exercises, the values may be greater than they otherwise would be. The leaps Avere made without taking a run, and on a plane and horizontal surface. The length Avas estimated by measuring the distance from the toes. ^ Length Height ° ' of the Leap. of the Leap, metres. metres. 11 years, • - - 1-52 12 ,- - - - 1-60 13 - ... 1.66 o-(i4 U - - - • 1-77 0-70 15 - - - - IW O-OO 16 ~ - - - 2-OC 0-83 17 ~ ... 2-fi4 0'81 18 ~ - - - 2-14 1-00 19 to .TO, - - - 2-18 093 ."5010 40, - - - 1-78 0-88 * [The observations of MM. Leuret and Mitivi^ have been refuted in this coimtry— first by Dr Knox, in 1014, and aftor>vards by Dr Guy, in 1836. — See Anatomical and Physiological Memoirs and Medical Gazette, likewise Guy's Hospital Reports.'] t G^om^trie et Mdchaiuque dcs Arts et Metiers, tome iii. p. 75 : 1836. i [26 5-lOths inches.] The height of the leap was estimated by the height of an obstacle over which the person could leap, with his feet close together, and without taking any run. Estimatmg the length of the leap at two metres, [6 5-lOths feet] we see that it is about triple that of the ordinary or quick step of soldiers. I ought, according to the plan I have laid down, to present a great -number of other data here, which are capable of being measured, and which vary according to the ages of the persons. I ought, in some manner, to meet those views relative to man which have been put forth by Mr Babbage, with whom I have fre- quently had the honour to meet during my experi- ments. Mr Babbage, in wishing for a table of constants, had in view a measurement of every thing in the different kingdoms of nature which is capable of measurement. This gigantic plan has not deterred his countrymen, who are not accustomed to shrink from difficidties, when, by surmounting them, they can enrich science : thus, the British Association, at the meeting which took place in Cambridge in 1833, set aside a certain sum to encourage the efforts of those Avho seek to realise, in some measure, the ideas of Mr Babbage. I have not laboured on so grand a scale as my erudite friend ; I have only been consi- dering man : but in another view I have rendered the problem more comiireliensive, by seeking to determine the modifications which age induces on physical quali- ties, Avhich cannot be considered as constant until man is fidly developed, and Avhen he has not approached the iJeriod of decay. I recollect that Mr Babbage, in a conversation which we had together on the subject of his constants, told me that he had been investigating how many times a man could do certain things in one minute of time : for example, how many steps he coidd make, how many strokes of the oar the rower makes, how many blows the smith gives with his hammer, how many stitches the tailor makes, &c. ; and that he had ob- served that these numbers do not vary much in the different countries which he had visited. These con- stants partly depend on our organisation, and more especially on some of the fiiculties, as inspirations, pulsations, stature, &c. It would be interesting to determme the ratios Avhich exist between the different constants, and see if they obey simple laws. Gretry remarks somewhere in his memoirs, that the step of man is easily regulated by an air he sings, the measure being quicker or sloAver. Pythagoras long ago perceived a certain harmony in the number of blows struck by the forger; this harmony was undoubtedly purely numerical, like that which he guessed at" concerning the motions of worlds, and which, indeed, has been acknowledged by Kepler, who was impressed with the same ideas of harmony as the founder of the ItaUan school. I again repeat, that to judge of the mutual dependencies of each of our facidties, and to determine to what extent they are influenced by each other, it is necessary to have studied them successively with care, before establish- ing relations Avhich require subsequent impartiaUty and discernment. Not until then shall we be able to know man, and the effects of all the causes by Avhich he is influenced, Avhether these causes be extrinsic to him, or whether they depend merely upon his will and his organisation. , BOOK THIRD. DEVELOPMENT OP TUB MORAL AND INTELLEC- TUAL QUALITIES OP MAN. 1. Of the Determination of the Average Man with Regard to Moral and Intellectual Qualities. We have been enabled to perceive, in the two preced- ing books, that an appreciation of the physical qua- ON MAN. 73 lities of tlio average man does not present any real difficulty, Avhether we can measure them directly, or whether they only become appreciable by their effects. It is not so with the moral and intellectual qualities. Indeed, I do not know that any person had thought of measuring them, before the essay I wrote on the development of the inclination to crime at different ages. At the same time, I endeavoured to mark out the course which it is proper to foUow in such re- searches, and the real difficulties which present them- selves, wlien we attempt to arrive at each particular result. Perhaps it wiU be useful to give a summary recapitulation of my ideas on the subject, before pass- ing to the application of them. Certain moral qualities are A'ery analogous to phj'- sical ones ; and we may value them, by admitting that they are proportioned to the effects Avhich they produce. Thus, we cannot hesitate to say that one operative has twice or thrice the activity of another, if, all things being equal, he performs double or triple the amount of labour which the other one does. Here the effects are purely phj'sical, and like the compres- sion of the spring in the estimation of mechanical forces : we have only to admit the hypothesis that causes are proportioned to the effects i^roduced by them. Bixt in a great nimiber of cases, this apprecia- tion becomes impracticable. pVhen the activity of man is exerted on immaterial labours, for example, what standard can wc adopt, except the works, such as books, statues, or paintings, produced? for how can we obtain tlie value of the researches and thought which these works have required ? The number of the works can alone give an idea of the productive power of the author, as the number of children brought into the world gives us the fecundity of a female, without taking into account the value of the •work produced. If, like the fecundity of females, the different qua- lities of men were manifested by deeds to Avhich we could assign a value, we conceive that these qualities might be appreciated and compared with each other. Thus, we shoidd not be astounded at hearing, that one man has twice the courage of another, but only one-thii'd tlie genius ; but, since such an appreciation has nothing definite and exact, Ave confine om'selves to saying that a certain individual has courage, or has not courage, or is even a coward ; which in mathe- matical language would be expressed by saying that his courage is positive, zero, or negative. We say that one man has more courage than another. This opinion is formed, when, after having seen both the individuals in question in action, we think one infe- rior to the other, without being able to form an exact estimate of their degi'ee of courage. Here we see how arbitrary this is, and how much such estimates are matters of debate. It might also be considered absurd in any one to attempt to express by numbers the relative courage, genius, prudence, or evil propensities of two individuals. Yet, let us examine such an im- pression more narrowly ; let us try to find out why it is absurd ; and see if the ratio for which we contend may not be laid down in some cases. Let us suppose that two individuals are every day placed in circumstances inciting to acts of bravery, and that each one has the same readiness to seize them: moreover, let us suppose that each year we enumerate, pretty constantly, 500 acts of the one, and 300 of the other : moreover, these acts, though more or less remarkable, may be considered collectively, as having each the same value, because they are gene- rally produced under similar ch-cum stances. This being admitted, and considering causes as propor- tioned to their effects, we should have no difficulty in saying that the bravery of these two individuals is as 500 to 300, or 5 to 3. Such an appreciation woidd have more truth, according as the observations on which it was founded extended over a greater number of years, and varied little from one other. Here, then, the absurdity only proceeds from the impossi- bilitij, in the first place, of i3lacing two men in equally favourable circumstances to display their bravery and courage ; in the second place, of emmierating each of these acts ; and, lastly, of collecting a sufficient num- ber of them, in order that the conclusion we form may be as little removed from truth as possible. Conse- quently, the ratio is only considered as being absurd, from the supposed impossibility of determining it. However, let \is suppose the two individuals just spoken of are Frenchmen, and that one of them repre- sents the generality of men between 21 and 25 years of age, and the other the generality between 35 and 40 : moreover, instead of courageous acts, let us sub- stitute thefts, of such a nature as come under the power of the criminal tribunals, and all the rest will be realised, in such a manner that we may consider it as very probable that in France the inclination to theft is almost as five to three, in men between 21 and 25, and 35 and 40. Indeed, we may admit that men between 21 and 25, Avho, according to the French tables of popiUation, are as numerous as those between 35 and 40, have the same facility to commit theft as the latter ; and, moreover, that the tliefts coming under the judgment of the criminal tribvmals, have circumstances of equal aggravation in each. If it be objected, that we can, in this consideration, only take in the thefts which come before the tribunals, I shall say that, when we calculate the mortality or fecun- dity of a nation, we are only acquainted with the births and deaths noted in the civil records, and that a great number may be omitted. Moreover, the pro- bability of omissions is as great for individuals between 21 and 25, as for those between 35 and 40 j'ears of age. Thus we may say, first, that the individuals wo compare are almost exactly in the same circum- stances; second, that if we do not know the abso- lute number of thefts which they have committed, at least we know the probable ratio ; third, that this ratio must be entitled to more confidence, since it is founded on the observations of several years, and varies within narrow limits merely. Indeed, the ratio of 5 to 3 has been calcidated from the results of four j-ears : for two years, it was exactly as 5 to 3 ; one time rather more, the other rather less. These dif- ferences are such, that if we measure for four daj^s in succession, the ratio of the power of two indivi- duals by Eegnier's dynamometer, the differences be- tween these four ratios and the general average will undoubtedly be greater than those which we have observed. Thus Ave may consider it as very probable, that the degrees of inclination to theft, for France in her present state, are such as avc have established. Now, let us suppose that society, in a more perfect state than its present and real one, takes the oppor- tunity some day to register and appreciate courageous and Airtuous actions, as crimes are noAv done, will there not be some means of measuring the relative degrees of courage or virtue at different ages ? There- fore the absm-dity Avhich is now attached to an endea- \-om' to appreciate this ratio for the average man, is more apparent than real, and is OAving to the impos- sibility Avhich still exists, in the actual state of society, of procuring the necessary elements of the calculation. It appears to me that it Avill always be impossible to estimate the absolute degree of courage, &c., of any one particular indiAddual : for Avhat must be adopted as unity ? — shall Ave be able to observe this individual long enough, and with sufficient closeness, to have a record of all his actions, Avhereby to estimate the value of the courageous ones ; and will these actions be numerous enough to deduce any satisfactory conclu- sion from them ? Wlio Avill guarantee that the dis- positions of this individual may not be altered during the course of the observations ? When we operate on a great number of individuals, these difficulties almost entirely disappear, especially if Ave only Avant to deter- mine the ratios, and not the absolute values. 74 ON MAN. Thus we might estimate the tendency to certain vices or virtues, either for men at difl'erent ages or for both sexes, when we are only taking one nation into consideration : but the difficulties increase when we compare different nations, because many circmn- stances which iu the two former cases were the same, become very dissimilar in the latter. To make a summary of what has been said on the possibility of measuring qualities of men which are only appreciable by their effects, I think we may emjploy numbers in the following cases, without any imputation of absurdity : — 1. When the eflects may be estimated by means of a direct measm-e, which gives their degree of energy, such as those produced by strength, speed, and acti- vity, apphed to material works of the same nature.* 2. When the qualities are such that the effects are almost the same, and in a ratio with the frequency of these effects, such as the fecundity of females, drunken- ness, &c. If two men, placed in similar circumstances, became intoxicated regularly, the one every week, and the other twice a-week, we should say that their propensity to intoxication was as 1 to 2. 3. Lastly, we may also employ numbers, when the causes are such that it is necessary to pay as much attention to the frequency of the effects as to their energy, although the ditRculties then become very great, and indeed sometimes insoluble, owing to the few data at present possessed by us. This is what we observe especially in regard to the moral and intel- lectual qualities, such as courage, prudence, imagi- nation, &c. The question generally becomes simpli- fied, Avhen the effects really vary in energy ; but these, nevertheless, under their different modifications, are in almost similar proportions. We may, then, leave energy out of the calculation, and only attend to fre- quency. Thus, comparing the state of man at 25 and at 45 years of age, in his tendency to commit theft, we may, without erring greatly, attend only to the frequency of the thefts at these different ages, because the different degrees of aggravation of these offences may be supposed the same in both cases. In such appreciations as these, the values we obtain have the greater likelihood of approaching the true values wliich are wanting, according as, all things being equal, they are more numerous — just as when we put two individuals to the proof, to form an idea of their knowledge, veracit}-, memory, &c., we mark the num- ber of mistakes they make. Moreover, as I have already remarked, these modes of appreciation are almost impracticable, when tM'o individuals are con- * Perhaps we might reduce to the same class the effects of memory, whether considered in its readiness to apprehend or its power of retention. Fur example, two persons, the mind of each being equally calm, and constituted alike favourably for the experiment, will commit some pages of a book to memory, the one in two hours, the other in four hours : but the first person, after a :nonth, will not be able to repeat the passage in question without stopping, whilst the second finds no defect of his memory until two months have elapsed. After such an experiment, the facility to apprehend (in the two individu;Us) is as 1 to 2, and the facility to retain in the inverse ratio : the time here serves as a measure. We should siy, undoubtedly, that it is impossible to note the precise moment when we have committed the passage entirely to memory, as well as when the memory begins to be defective. But here we may act as is done in physical pheno- mena, which present the same inconvenience, when calculating the duration of the sensation of sight or lie:u'ing, or the loss of electricity by a moist medium, or the cooling of bodies. Memory seizes and loses in a gradual manner, and according to a certain law ; but there is a ratio between the facility of seizing and re- taining in different persons, independently of this law. Tliis ratio must vary very much acconling to the ago of persons. I think these variations may be ascertained by increasing the number of experiments, to correct what may have been defective in other observations. I do not think that the changes which age produces on sensations of sight and hearing have yet been studied : I do not speak of the other senses, the mode of operation of which is but little imdcrstood. cerned, because the facts are not sufficiently nume- rous to draw any satisfactory conclusion from them ; and, moreover, the individuals may alter during the course of the observations. It is not so with the ave- rage man : indeed, we can obtain a great number of observations in a short time. It Avould be impossible, when comparing two men, tlie one between 21 and 25, and the other between 35 and 40, to determine, all things being equal, their degree of proneness to theft, or any other crime, for this proneness may not have been disclosed, even in one single action, in the course of the observations ; Avhich is no longer the case when we take all men, collectively, of the same age : the number of acts or effects is then great enough to allow us, without anj^ serious error, to neglect the different degrees of energy of these acts. Again, if we find that the number of crimes remains nearly exactly the same, from year to year, it is very pro- bable that the result obtained AviU not be far from the truth. I think all the qualities of man which are only appreciable by their effects, may be referred to the three heads I have laid down above : I also think it will be perceived tliat the impossibility of emi>loying numbers at present, in such appreciations, is rather OAving to the insiifficiency of the data than to the inaccuracy of the methods. If the law established for the average man is liable to some exceptions, as all the laws of nature are, j'et this will be what expresses most nearly what the state of society has been ; and nothing can be more important. At birth, man is possessed of the germs of all the qualities which are developed successively and in different degi'ees ; prudence predominates in one, avarice in another, imagination in a third : we also find some tall in proportion to their age, others liaA-ing a precocious imagination, and possessed of actiA^ty and vigour in old age. The single fact that Ave remark tlie existence of these differences, proves that Ave have some notion of a general laAv of deve- lopment, and reason accordingly. Therefore, I am not aiming at something unheard of, but onl}' to give more precision to these commonly A'ague apprecia- tions, because they rest on incomplete or defective observations, and are almost ahvays fcAV in number. After all Avhicli has been said, I think it not only not absurd, Ijut even possible, to determine the average man of a nation, or of the human race ; the apparent absurdity of such a research only proceeds from the Avant of a sufficient number of accurate observations, so that the conclusions may present the greatest pos- sible probability of truth. In the preceding book, I have already attempted to determine the laAvs of the development of tlie physical poAvers of the average man : I am noAv going to continue my researches, and extend them to the moral and mtellectual qualities. CHAPTER I. DEVELOr?.IENT OF THE INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 1. Development of the Intellect. The field avc aire going to traverse is immense ; in the actual state of science, Ave must confine ourselves to simple indications, A\'hich avlII serve as posts to denote the first attempts made Avith a design of taking in and observing the Avhole field. It Avill first be necessary to determine the period at Avhicli meiucry, imagination, and judgment, commence, and the stages through Avhich they successiA-cly pass in their pro- gress to maturity ; then, having established the maxi- mum point, Ave "may extend our inquiries to the Uiat of tlieir decline. I have already stated the mode in Avhich memory is to be estimated, and I shall here endeavour to shoAV hoAV Ave ought to proceed with reason and imagination. We can only appreciate faculties by their effects ; ON MAN. 75 ill other Avords, by the actions or works which they produce. Now, in attributing to a nation, as we should to an individual, all the works which it has pro- duced, we may form an opinion both of the fecundity and the power of intellect of that nation, compared with others, making allowance for the influence of causes impeding their production. Afterwards, by bearing in mind the ages at which the authors have produced their works, we possess the necessary ele- ments to follow the development of the mind, or its productive power. In such an examination, it will be necessary to separate the different kinds of works ; placing together Avorks of art or design, music, mathe- matics, literature, philosophy, &c., so as to perceive immediately the different shades of development of the different foculties. This research should he repeated in passing from one nation to another, to see if the laws of develop- ment vary by locality more than by the nature of the works. It will also be necessary that these examina- tions be most accurate and impartial ; we should not select, but take the works promiscuously, without classing them. This might be tedious and irksome ; but would present curious and very unexpected re- sidts. I shall now give an example of such an analysis of dramatic works only, and I shall take France and England as the subject of observation. To exclude all idea of system, I shall only consider those works truly deserving of mention which are given in the Repertory of Picard for France, and the British Theatre for England. I know that, in attributing as much merit to the Misanthrope as to the Sicilian, and as much to Don Sancho of Arragon as to Cinna, there can be no similarity ; but here, as well as in tlie researches into crime, it happens that the greater number of the obstacles disappear, and the ratio of works of the first order to those of the second may be considered as being essentially the same, in the groups we have formed. Besides, when examining the degrees of merit of the different works in detail, we may still in some measure meet and parry this inconvenience and diffi- culty. We may still deceive ourselves in such an estimate, but generally tlie probability of error will be lessened as the observations are more numerous. We have, moreover, the valuable advantage of being able to prove the law of development, by passing from one nation to another, and seeing how the maximum is influenced by locality. In the review I have made of dramatic works, I have thought proper to take, not the period at which the works were written, which is generally impossible, but the time when they were represented, which, on an average, will generally be two or three years later. French Theatre. English Theatre. o'S •? ^, "O o ^ .a -d Ages. £ p S i j"| li 2°E CO 2 £.2 2 - § "§1 = 1^" 3 g'" Ill ^^ ?-| ^J ^.S 20 & under, 47 1 24 1 20 to 25, - 5 47 5 6 24 6 25 to 30, - - 15 47 15 8 24 8 30 to 35, - 26 47 26 9 23 9 35 to 40, - - 26 46 27 7 22 8 40 to 45, - 25 45 20 7 22 8 45 to 50, - - 28 43 30 6 19 8 iJO to 55, - 23 41 26 15 55 to 60, - - 5 a3 7 1 12 2 60 to 65, - G 28 10 1 11 2 65 to 70, - - 4 23 8 7 70 & upwards. 2 18 5 1 7 3 The first column for each country indicates the number of principal dramatic works ; the second the V number of authors who composed them, and who survived to the ages pointed out ; and the third column informs us how many works might have been pro- duced, all things being equal, if the number of authors had not been reduced by death. Thus, between their 65th and 70th years, 23 authors have produced four works ; and I have supposed that if the 24 others had continued to live, they would have been able to pro- duce other four, which would give a total of 8 drama- tic works. Admitting, then, that each had the same opportunity to produce, at a given age, I have multi- plied each number of the first column, which gives 47 the principal dramatic works, by the ratio — , in a which a stands for the number of surviving authors. Now, if we proceed to examine the results which the table presents, we shall perceive that, both in England and France, dramatic talent scarcely begins to be developed before the 21st year ; between 25 and 30, it manifests itself very decidedly ; it continues to increase, and continues vigorous, until towards the 50th or 55th year ; then it gradually declines, espe- cially if we consider the value of the works pro- duced. Moreover, it would appear that authors were rather more precocious in England than m France : this may be owing to the manner in Avhich the numbers have been collected, and to the difficulty which French authors experience before they procure the represen- tation of their pieces. It would be interesting to compare these results with those which have been obtained bj' considering the number and relative merit of the different woi'ks. This I have endeavoured to do in the following table, which I only bring forward as an essay, not pretend- ing that the classification of French works is accord- ing to their real merit. I have thought proper only to make three degrees of comparison of the works given by Picard as forming the French stage ; and I have quoted a small number of those which I con- ceive to belong to the first rank : — Order of the ?-2 Ages. Works. 1^ 1st. 2d. 3d. 20 and under, 20 to 25, 1 4 7 25 to 30, - - 3 3 9 24 30 to 33, 4 8 14 42 35 to 40, - - 4 8 14 42 40 to 45, - 2 9 14 38 45 to 50, - - 6 10 12 50 50 to 55, - 3 8 12 37 55for;o, - - 3 2 8 60 to 65, 2 4 8 65 to 70, - - 1 3 5 70 & upwards, 1 1 3 Name of the Works of the First Order. (Edipe. f Le Cid, Androm.nquc, I Britannicus. I Les Horaces, Cinna, I Polyeucte.lphig^nie. / Phedre, Le Joueur, I Zaire, Le Mechant. Le Distrait, Alzire. C Le Misanthrope, Le N TartufFe, L'Avare, i Mahomet, Merope, C La M^tromanie. t Les Femmes Savan- ■J tes, Athalie, Le Glo- I rieux. In the approximative estimate I have made of the relative degrees of merit of works of the first, second, and third orders, I have taken the numbers 3, 2, and 1 ; and from them I have deduced the values of the last column, which entirely confirm those given by the former table. It is also easy to see, Avhatever numbers we may employ to express the relative de- grees of merit of works, that the general results still remain the same. Another very curious result which the tables I have formed show, although the details are here suppressed, is, that tragic talent is developed more rapidl}' than comic. The chefs-d'oeuvre Avhich enrich French comedy, 76 ON MAN. V'crc not begun until the 38th or 40th year ; and we scarcely find any works belonging to elevated comedy before the 30th year ; though I am only speaking of the French authors included in the Kepertory of Picard. But I leave this discussion to more competent judges ; here I confine myself to just poiiating out the plan to be adopted. Others are more able to ascertain if the talent of the tragic autlior really arrives at maturity earlier than the condc author ; and if this maximum is more precocious because it is naturally connected with the time of life when the passions are in the highest state of exaltation. The best mode of ana- lysing this question will be, to ascertain the law of development of musical talent and the art of design, and things generally which excite the passions ; and, on the otlierhand, to study our fticulties, the develop- ment of which does not so much require the conjunc- tion of the passions and an exalted imagination, as observation and reflection. I shall soon present a re- markable example of analysis of the development of the passions, which tends to show that their maxi- mum of energy takes place about the 25 th year ; so that, if an art existed, the exercise of which would follow a ratio proportional to the development of the passions, and where previous studies were dispensed with, its maximum of development would also take place about the 25th year : this maximum AvUl after- \\'ards draw near to that which reason attains, accord- ing as the intervention of this faculty becomes more necessary. It wiU also be necessary to take into ac- count the time required for the studies which are indispensable in the production of works. Our intellectual faculties arise, increase, and decay : each one attains its energy towards a certain period of life. It Avould be of the highest interest to ascer- tain those which occupy the two extreme limits of the human scale ; that is to say, those which are the first and those Avhich are the last in arriving at ma- turity : because they have the property of being simple, and not resulting from combination : thus, for example, dramatic talent is a combination of several other fa- culties, such as imagination, reason, &c. ; but, I again repeat, such an analysis requires infinite care, nume- rous researches, and great shrewdness of observation. After liaving rapidly sketched the course to be pursued in studying the development of the intellec- tual faculties, I think it will be proper to speak of their diseases, which are dreadful affections, the in- tensity and nmnber of which seem to keep pace with the development of the mind. 2. Of Mental Alienation. " Sloth and misconduct give birth to poverty ; innnorality and intemperate passions lead to crime ; insanity may attack the most honourable, and does not always spare the wisest men."* This opinion, put forth by a man whose name has great weight in science, will be sufficient to convey an idea of the importance I attach to any thing bearing on the sta- tistics of the deranged. If it be true that diseases of the mind increase in proportion to the development of this faculty, we shall have a new measure or stan- dard, which may regulate what I have previously attempted to establish. However, it is well to be aware that, by taking all insane persons indiscrimi- nately, we may be led to very inaccurate results. Moreover, it is right to distinguish the two classes of insane persons carefully : for, according to M. Esqui- rol, it is insanity, properly so called, witli which idiocy has been confounded, that is in a direct ratio with civilisation. Idiocy is a state depending on soil and material influences, whilst insanity is the product of society and of moral and intellectual influences. In idiocy, these causes have prevented the development of the organ, and, consequently, the manifestation of intelligence. In the production of insanity, the brain * Remarques sur la Siaiisiique dcs Alknet, iiC, par M. Ksfiuirol (Annales d'lli/gime, Dcccnibic 1C30). is over-excited, and goes beyond its physiological power.* To form an idea of the influence of this fatal malady, we shall commence by a glance at some of the principal countries where its mfluence has been most decided. Population Countries. Population. Deranged Persons. to one Deranged Person. Norway, 1,051,318 1,900 551 England, - 12,700,000 16,222 7a'i Wales, - 817,148 896 911 Scotland, 1825, - 2,01)3,454 3,652 573 New York, 1821, 1,616,458 2,240 721 France, t 30,000,000 30,000 KNIO In Norway, idiots form one-third of the total num- ber of deranged persons, and one-half in Scotland and Wales : it is tlie great number of idiots which makes the proportion of deranged persons in Scotland so much greater than it is in England. In general, we observe that in mountainous countries there are many more idiots than in level ones ; and in plains where agriculture is solely pursued, we find more idiots than in towns. In France and New York, the number of idiots is very small. From numerous researches into the ratio in Avhich the sexes are affected, collected from several countries, having great differences in temperature, customs, and laws, M. Esquirol has enumerated 37,825 males to 38,701 females ; from which it appears that difference of sex has not much influence on mental derangement. But this is not the case with the seasons ; their influ- ence is very marked ; at least we may infer this from the following returns of insane j)ersons admitted at Charenton : — Admissions : Months. 1828-1829. Admissions before 1829. Cures. Deatlis. ]Men. Women. January, - 42 21 37 11 21 February, 40 33 49 10 24 March, - 49 25 53 10 16 April, - - 50 38 58 Ki 22 May, - - 58 .36 44 15 18 Juno, - - 55 34 70 19 18 July, - - 52 .36 61 23 18 August, 45 24 64 22 13 September, 48 26 47 22 11 October, - 44 47 49 24 30 November, 47 22 35 22 22 December, 35 28 52 15 8 Total, i: - 565 370 G19 200 221 Thus, the summer months have produced the great- est number of cases : the cures have also been most numerous in summer and autumn. We may conceive that, from cases of acute insanity breaking out during tlie hot season, and being more readily cured, also, than chronic ones, the three months of autumn ought to furnish the greatest number of cures. If Ave examine Avhat influence age has on the deve- lopment of mental alienation, Ave shaU again find very curious results. It would appear that mental aliena- tion may be divided, according to ages, into imbecility in infancy, mania in youth, melancholy in mature age, and madness in advanced age.§ The following table Avill shoAV us the degree of fre- quency of this disease at different ages. It is con- structed from the data given by M. Esquirol in the * M. Esq\iirol. The data of this chapter are extracted princi- pally from articles inserted by this philosopher in the AnnaUs d'Hyfl'tine. t Tlicse mmibers relating to France arc from casual not statis- tical observation. See also the Memorial Encydopedique, May 18.33. X Tlic numbers for the five years from 1829 to 1833, given in this and tlie following table, have been kindly furnished me by M. Ksquirol, from an unpublished work. § Sec the article Folic of the Diet, des Sciences Mddicalcs. ON MAN. 77 Annalcs d'Hi/glcne for April 1829. To estimate the degree of frequency of mental alienation, I have thought it necessary to count the number of indivi- duals between 15 and 20, 20 and 25, &c., years of age. In this table I have also included the number of cures, and tlieir ratio to the number of patients.* Lastly, the numbers of both the last columns are those which M. Esq\iirol has kmdly permitted me to take from liis work about to be iiublished. At Charenton en 8 At Charenton : before 1829. 1829 to 1833. Ages. Ratio. s ©"a Admis- Cures. h1 o Men. AVomen. 15 to 20 years, 22 11 2-0 24 24 11 20 to 25 -, 07 30 2-2 79 65 23 25 to .TO „ 86 40 2-2 109 78 31 30 to 35 -, - 90 36 2-7 134 79 47 35 to 40 - 81 25 3-3 125 65 64 40 to 45 - - 79 21 3-8 129 64 59 45 to 50 „ 72 14 5-1 131 52 44 50 to 55 ~ - 52 12 4-3 108 54 37 55 to 60 ~ 21 6 3-5 51 32 20 eoto65 ~ - 21 9 2-3 63 33 18 (is to 70 ~ 6 1 6-0 24 14 9 70 & upwards, 14 4 3-5 45 6 7 We have already seen that, all things being equal, it is between the 30th and 50th years that the great- est number of standard dramatic works have been produced in France — that is, the period when imagi- nation and reason are most productive ; and, by a singular contrast, it is also about the same age that mental alienation is most frequent, and the cure of it most difficult. The intellectual life of man, and the diseases of Jiis mind, especially develop themselves about the age of 25 years, when physical development has almost ceased : man, indeed, at this age, is almost entirely developed in stature, weight, and strength ; and it is at this time that the greatest tendency to crime is manifested. Again, it is remarkable from another comparison, namely, that the period of repro- duction falls between the 25th and 30th years. Thus, the average man, between 25 and 30 years of age, has completed his physical development, and this is also about the period Avhen his intellectual life is most vigorous, f M. Esquirol, in a work published in 1830, in the Annales d'Hygime, has given the following munbers, which establish a difference between sexes and ages : — Paris. Norway Ages. Men. Women. Total. IWen. Women. Total. rSofore 20 years, 436 348 784 188 141 329 From 20 to 25, 624 563 1,187 101 83 184 „ 25 to 30, 635 727 1,362 97 88 185 - 30 to 40, 1441 1607 3,048 214 173 387 ~ 40 to 50, 1298 1479 2,777 150 155 305 - 50 to 60, 847 954 1,801 128 115 243 - 60 and -i upwards, - / 875 1035 1,910 117 140 257 Tot.al, - - 6156 6713 12,869 995 895 1890 * According to a work by M. Klotz, De Vesania Prognosi, the annual ratio of admissions to dismissions in the principal lunatic hospitals of Europe, would fall within the limits 0-330 and 0-590. In tlie generality of the establishments in Belgimn, the entries are to the exits as 390 to 1000. — Traite sur VAlienation Mentale, &c., par J. Gitislain, 2 vols. 8vo. 1826. t M. Pierquin, in his Ariilimetique Politique de la Folie, find^ as the principal conclusion of his researches, that "crimes are always, from being proportionate to the population, also in a rela- tive proportion to the degi-ee of insanity," and seeks to refute the assertion of M. Esquirol, that insanity is a disease of civilisation. I certainly think, with him, that in general, the causes which tend to produce alienation, also influence the number of crimes, and especially crimes against persons, but without there being a direct and necessary ratio between tlie number of insane and tliat of criminals, because all crimes havo not their source necessarily in mental alienation. We may first observe, that at Paris insane men, up to the age of 25 years, are rather more numerous than women ; after this age, the contrary takes place. In Norway, the number of insane women only exceeds that of men towards the end of hfe. In the latter coimtry, the number of insane under 20 years is 329, which is one-sixth of the total number existing in the kingdom ; whilst at Paris, the number of insane under 20 years of age, is only 784, or one-fourteenth. This difference arises, no doubt, from the great number of idiots entered in the returns of Norwegian statis- tics. If in Norway there are more imbecile persons from the time of infancy or early youth, the contrary takes place for the periods beyond 60 years of age. In Norway, scarcely one-eighth of the insane are more than 60 years old; whilst in Paris one-sixth exceed that age. To form a better opinion of the influence of age, I have reduced the preceding numbers to 1000, and I liave compared them with the corresponding numbers of the same ages, given ui the tables of population in the Annuaire du Bureau des Longitudes of France, and those of Sweden for 1820 : — Ages. Piu-is. Norway. Popu- lation. Ins.ane. Ratio. Popu- lation. Insane. Ratio. Before 20 years, 20 to 25 25 to 30 311 to 40 40 to .50 - 50 to 60 00 & upwards, 0-402 0-084 0-080 0-140 0-114 0-091 0-089 0061 0-092 0-1(16 0-237 0-216 0-140 0-148 0-15 1-09 1-.32 1-69 1-90 1-54 1-G6 0-411 0-087 0-084 0-136 0-109 0-086 0-087 0-174 0-097 0-098 0-205 0-161 0-129 0-136 0-42 1-11 1-17 1-51 1-48 1-50 1-56 Total. - 1-000 1-000 1-00 1-000 1-000 1-00 The numbers for France also concur to shoAV that mental aUcnation is most frequent between the 40th and 50th years. In Norwaj^ its frequency becomes great between the 30th and 40th years, and preserves the same value almost to the end of life. These results agree well with the observation of M. Esquirol, that insanity is a disease which attends and increases with civilisation. The fortress of the miderstanding is attacked, either by too much mental labom-, or by passions and disappointments which are too acutely felt. We cannot collect too many documents to verify, A\ath still greater accuracy, the results of the tables which I have just given. It is with this object that I now bring forward some new documents taken from a Rapport Statistique sur la Maison d'Alienes de Bon- Sauveur a Caen, during the years 1829 and 1830, by jM. Vastel.* The author classes the insane in the fol- lowing manner, according to age. In the last column, the total numbers are reduced to 100: — Ages. Insane. Jlen. Women. Insane. From 15 to 20 years, 10 7 3 0-03 -V. 20 to 30 - 54 33 16 0-17 „ 30 to 40 « - 94 44 50 0-29 „ 40 to 50 ~ 82 32 SO 0-25 - 50 to 60 - - 57 18 39 0-17 ,- 60 to 70 - 25 6 19 0-08 - 70 to 80 ~. - 3 1 2 0-01 Total, 325 146 179 1-00 Here, again, we find the same analogies, the same laws of development, proceeding, as it were, in a parallel maimer. M. Falret has written a work on insanity, suicide, and sudden death, of which at present we only know the general contents, from a report made by M. Serres to the Institute.f The prmcipal conclusions of this * Annales d'Hygifene, Oct. 1832. t The work of M. Falret has gained the prize for Statistics, founded by JI. de Monthyon. '78 ON MAN. work, on the influence of season, sex, and age, are the following :— " Of the total number of the insane, women form one-third more than men. Women are most subject to tlie attack of insanity in July; but for men this montli is in the third rank; with a re- ference to civil statistics, we tind that more than one- fourth of the men are bachelors : as to age, we find mental diseases develop themselves in men between the 30th and 39 th years, and in Avomen between the 40th and 49th years ; as to tlie nature of the afiec- tions, melancholy predominates in women, and the tendency to homicide in men. The same contrast is found in the cures, deaths, and relapses." CHAPTER IL DEVELOPMENT OF JIORAL QUALITIES. 1. Of Foresight, Temperance, Activity, &c. 1 HAVE already observed, that it is not so much a method which we want, when endeavouring to appre- ciate the development of moral qualities, as sufficient and trustworthy data. For example, if we are consi- dering the virtues most essential to the social state, we have scarcely any data, and those which exist, having been collected Avith intentions very different from our own, are either unfit for purposes of comparison, or utterly incomplete. For example, let us suppose tliat Ave Avant to ascertain the degree of foresight at diffe- rent periods of life, as well as the modifications of this virtue by the differences of sex, locality, profession, &c. We are obliged to recur to actions by Avhich this fore- sight has been manifested; and if Ave cannot collect them all, it is at least necessary to unite as great a number as possible, and to take care that the classes of individuals Avho are the subject of comparison are in the same circumstances. It is in choosing, class- ing, and reflecting upon the materials, that discern- ment and unjirejudiced reasoning are so essentially necessary, since the examples to be followed have not yet been laid doA\Ti. Those Avho first enter upon this field of research, Avill no doubt often go astray; but their efforts Avill be A-aluable and useful, if they are conducted Avith candour and impartiality. Nothing is more injurious to the interests of science, than to undertake such researches Avith notions previously formed. If Avc had authentic documents respecting savings' banks, assurance societies, and the different institu- tions Avhicli encourage foresight — if these documents gave the age, sex, profession, and everj- other requisite information concerning the individuals Avho take part in the operations of these establishments — it is evident that Ave should already haA'e very satisfactory ele- ments to enable us to obtain an approximation to the values Ave are seeking. We may conceive, moreover, hoAv much discernment is necessary, in placing the IndiAiduals concerned in similar circumstances, and distinguishing those among Avhom it is impossible to establish any comparison ; not to mention other data necessary to enable us, from the time at Avhicli they Avere taken, to render all chances equal on both sides. ^Vc should be able, Avith due precautions, to make other documents, furnished by establishments of another nature, available for the same purpose, and which would serve in this manjier to verify the former conclusions. Thus, the number and value of the objects placed in paAvnbrokers' hands, Avill better exemplify the Avant of foresight of a community than any misery in its condition. For, if it be true that accidents and reverses of fortune sometimes compel men, even tlie most prudent, to have recourse to such establishments, it much more frequently happens that the deposits are placed there from want of due care and economy. The passion for gambling, tlie numljcr of failures, the frequenting of coffee-houses and low haunts, drunken- ness, and many other circumstances, Avould furnish iiseful elements for our purpose in appreciating the Avant of order and foresight. On most of the subjects of inquiry Avhich I have just mentioned, there exist evidences Avhich are more or less complete, but Avhich are little understood in general, as I have already obserA'ed. Drunkenness is a A'ice of Avliich Are ought to have exact records in countries Avhere the police are ac- tive ; yet it is to be regretted that they are altogether unknoA^^l to those Avho have the greatest interest in making use of them. As drunkenness is a common source of many other vices, and also of crimes — tending to demoralise and to deteriorate the species — gOA'ernments ought to favour the researches of learned men, Avho seek to ascertain the condition of the people, and Avho try to improve them. Drunkenness is influ- enced by a great number of causes Avhich are easily estimated, because the necessary data require less investigation than those relating to other analogous estimates. I am persuaded that a Avork, well Avritten, Avhich would endeavour to make knoAvn the injiuries this pestilence inflicts on society, Avould be of the greatest utility, and would furnish an explanation of a great number of isolated facts which depend upon it, and Avhich Ave are in the habit of considering as purely accidental. In England, about half a century ago, strong drinks and liquors Avere used in excess ; and authors Avere not long in finding out to what extent this Aice led to thoughtlessness and injury in tlie nation, hoAV much the health of man suffered, and hoAv much tlie mortality increased Avith the demoralisation of the people. Their obserA^ations liave not been lost ; and a progi-essive reformation took place, commencing Avitli the better classes. This defect, formerly so com- mon, and of which they Avere almost proud, is not to be seen noAv, except in the lower orders, from among Avhom it Avill gradually disappear, as much as the na- ture of a moist climate will alloAv, Avhere cordials, taken moderately, are calculated to produce a useful effect. When climate creates a necessity, it is very difficult to prcA'ent the public from abusing it. I am obliged to j\Ir Babbage for tlie communication of some curious documents, containing a list of all the drunken persons who have been arrested by the London police in the year 1832, and AvhoAvere immediately released, because no charge Avas brought against them. Al- tliough the residts of one year cannot be A'ery useful, I have thought proper not to omit them. If avc pos- sessed an extensive series of similar documents, we should find in them the most precious memorials of the manners of the English people, and, in particular, all Avhich relates to changes in the condition of the population. Number of Drunken Persons taken up by tlio London Police in 1832. Months. Januarj', February, IMarch, - April, May, - June, - July, August, September, October, November, December, Total, 1,190 i,m 1,190 1,150 1 ,2(K) i.2-2r, i,;«5 i,.m5 1,198 1,560 i,.T(;o 1,425 15,.'i33 825 740 710 690 730 780 n<)0 9.« 975 1,UH) 880 9a5 10,290 1-44 1-59 1-67 1-67 1-64 1-57 1-37 1-39 1-23 1-42 1-.55 1-52 1-49 The number of drunken people taken up by tlie police Avas then 25,623 ; to Avhich Ave ought to add 3505 individuals brought before the magistrates, and compelled to pay a fine, as Avell as 3429 others, Avho have likewise been conducted before the magistrates, but without undergoing condemnation ; so that the total amounts to 32,557. Wc must remark, that we ON MAN. 79 only know those cases of drunkenness which were so great as to disturb the pubhc tranquilUty. Also, in comparisons which we shordd like to establish between other towns, it Avould be necessary to be extremely circumspect, and consider the degree to which its sup- pression was carried ; or, rather, in comparing one town with itself at dilferent times, it would be neces- sary to take into account the effect of the police, and the changes they may have produced. One would require to have long inhabited London, and to know perfectly the pecidiarities which it pre- sented in 1832, to draw all the conclusions inferable from the preceding numbers ; still there are some re- sults which it may be very interesting to point out. And, firstly, we have to notice the great number of women, compared with the number of men, Avhich is - at least as 2 to 3. This disproportion is great, and must make us think unfavourably of the moral re- straint of M'omen in the lower class, especially in a country where the sex is so well conducted in the ranks of society a little higher. This ratio varies according to the different months, and in a manner which would make us think that the variation is not purely accidental. Towards the end of winter, and at the commencement of spring, the men are compa- ratively the most numerous : the contrary takes place in simimer. If we take the nimibers in their absolute value, we find, for men, that they sensibly increase from the commencement to the end of the year ; for women, the smallest nvunber is in spring, and 'the largest in summer and the commencement of autumn. Classing them according to the seasons, we find — For January, Februaiy, and March, • • April, May, and June, • • July, August, and September, • • October, November, and December, JNlen. AVomen. 3:>.Y, 2275 ,T.7.5 2200 aHM 2!)(X) 4345 2915 It must be remarked, that this is during the latter months of the year, when the feasts of Christmas and St Andrew take place, which are not always celebrated by the people with the greatest degree of temperance. If we seek to form an idea of the activity of a people, of the state of its industry, and of its produc- tive faculties, in the absence of direct data, we have, for the means of appreciating its revenue, the value of that which it is able to pay to government, the nature of its contribution, the quantity of imports or exports, the price of ground, of hand work, &c., but particularly the state of the population, because, as we have been able to see, the population is regtdated by the number of things produced. I shall present an example of such a valuation, a verj' poor one, no doubt, but one which will explain my idea :* — Countries. British Isles, France, - Low Countries, Prussian monarchy, Austrian empire, Spain, ... Countries. British Isles, France, Low Coiuitries, Pnissian monarcliy, Austrian empire, Russian empire, - United States, - Quantity of 1 asturage. h of territory One Horse to 12inhab, 1!) • • 13 •• 10 •• 27 ■• 75 .. One L, , , head of N"mt,er of Cattle to S^ecp. 2 inhab. 5 •• 3 •■ 3 •• 8 •• U •• 2 to! inhab. ltd •• lto3 ■• lto6 •• lto3 •• Itol •■ Population. 23,400,000 32,000,0(10 6,118,000 12,464,000 .32,(100,000 56,500,000 11,800,000 Inhabitants to one square mile. 257 208 339 155 105 37 Ratio of the Army to the Population. 229 138 142 80 118 .^7 1977 * Tlie first table is taten from the Revue de Paris of M. Moreau de Jonnes ; the numljers of the second and third tables are from the works of M. Balbi — La Monarchie Franfaisc Comparce aux rrincqiuux Elats, and L'AUn'ye de Gcoyraphic. Countries. a -" Part of the Popu- lation employed lis !..! in Manu- faetiu-es. in Agri- culture. ^"1 British Isles, 0-50 0-15 0-34 francs. 65-2 francs. 869 France, - Low Countries, 0-33 0'29 0-36 9 0-44 9 30-9 26-3 145 635 Prussian monarchy, Austrian empire, 0-27 0-23 0-18 0-09 0-C6 0-C9 17-2 10-9 29-3 45-6 Russian empire, - United States, - 0-12 9 0-06 079 9 6-6 121 21-4 34-8 If, in the beginning, we compare France to England, we shall find the first kingdom proportionally less peopled than the latter : there are fewer inhabitants in town, and also fewer employed in manufactures : the Englishman pays into the treasury twice as much as the Frenchman, and his exports are much more considerable : the proportion, as regards the two coun- tries, according to M. Ad. Balbi, is nearly as 3 to 1. Tlie Prussian monarchy bears almost the same pro- portion to France which France does to England. It is remarkable, according to our table, thatthe coun- tries which have the largest population, are gene- rally those which have the most town inhabitants, the greatest number of hands employed in manufacture, and proportionally the fewest in agriculture ; they have fewer men in the army,, pay most taxes to the state, and have the largest debt.* Land armies appear to be numerically in inverse ratio to maritime ones : the latter require fewer men, but more expense. In Europe, with the exception of Russia, nearly the same number of hands are employed in agricul- ture, and the surplus population turn to manufac- tures (industrie). It then becomes necessary to change the nature of the products by exportation ; and the country which has the most manufocturcs is gene- rally that which has the most exports. Manufac- tures are alwaj's and every where of more importance than agriculture, and those Avho pursue them ijossess the greatest riches and pay the most to the state ; but since the revenues from manufivctures are more uncer- tain, their wealth is less secure : we also see that the public debt rises immensely in value, and every thing which tends to confine the scope of trade, and to dimi- nish the exchange of produce, will cause a consider- able mortality. It is to be regretted that, at the present time, we do not possess, for different countries, exact accounts of the prices of manual labour, of ground, of lodgings, of the food necessary to the life of an individual, of the carriage of letters, and the means of communica- tion for travellers and merchandise ; these accounts would give data for comparing the activity of the inhabitants and the price of time — valuable elements, but of which some people do not yet appear to under- stand the importance. I had pro^iosed, at this place, to compare the dona- tions made for the use of the poor, of hospitals, and benevolent institutions in general ; but I must omit this investigation, from want of exact documents : I particularly regret that M. Guerry, when considering this subject in France, has only given ratios, and no absolute numbers, nor any of the sources whence he has extracted them. It appears to be still more diflicult to speak on the influence of religious ideas, and the condition of people in this respect. A very useful addition to moral statistics, would be to point out the dates at wliich certain practices and customs existed, and also the time when they commenced, and when they ceased. For example, at what period prosecutions for witchcraft were most * According to M. le Baron de Slorogues, states in which the people are most given to agriculture, are those which are the least loaded with pauperism. — Recherche des Causes de la Richcsse et de la Miscre des Peuples Cicilises, p. 385. 80 ON MAN. numerous, when they began to take place, and when they -were discontinued ; in what countries men were tortured and put to death for religious opinions, ^nth- out having disturbed the public peace, at the same time what were the extreme limits of the period, and the epochs of greatest severity ; what kind of fanaticism, either poUtical, religious, or otherwise, has prevailed at any period, in any country ; what gave rise to it, and what caused its decline ; what was its nature, intensity, and results, &c. I shall not stay longer to make such enumerations ; these are re- searches which henceforth must necessarily be con- sidered as pertaming to the history of nations, and will assist us in determining their laws of develop- ment. However, I do not think we ought to aban- don this subject without giving an example of a particular kind of mania or fanaticism, so to term it, which appears to be making sensible advances every day. 2. Of Suicides and Duels. The destruction of man by his own hands, although generally repugnant to the notions of modern society, has nevertheless found panegyrists, and those who have proclaimed its advantages. Suicide, among some nations, continues to be branded with infamy by the public. The ancients were not entirely of this opinion : it was often practised by the most illustrious men, and has been mentioned with admiration by their gravest historians. We are naturally excited by the death of Cato, who wished not to survive the liberty of his country ; by the death of Lucretia, who wished not to survive her dishonour ; or even by the death of the criminal, who seeks to spare liis family the shame of seeing his head fall on the scaffold. The destruction of one man by another, excites horror ; yet this dreadful crime may also, in our manners and modern institutions, present the appear- ance of a virtue under certain circumstances. We can only comprehend these apparent contradictions, by admitting that the crime consists, not in the action, but in the intention of him who commits it ; so that, if the intention was noble or generous, the action may also be considered of the same character. This is the only manner in which Ave can explain the diversity of opinions on duelling especially, which was unknown to the ancients, and which had its rise in the middle ages. We possess few data on the number of suicides ; and what information we have on the number of duels, is so incomplete or inaccurate, that we cannot make use of it. From the table of M. Balbi, entitled La Monarchic Franfaise Comparic aux Principaux Etats (lu Globe, suicides appear to take place in the follow- ing proportions : — ■ France (1827), - 1 suicide to 20,740 inhal itants. Prussian monarchy, - 14,404 Austrian empire, 20,900 Russian empire, 4.'),182 United Stotes— New York, 7,707 Boston, 12,500 Baltimore, 13,(J50 Philadelphia, 15,875 According to Casper, who has paid much attention to this subject,* the number of suicides is particularly great in towns; indeed, we annually enumerate as follows : — To 100,00f) Inhabitants 1 Suicide to At Copenhagen, - 100 suicides lOOO inhabitants. - • Paris, - - - 49 ■ • 2040 • ■ Hamburg, - 45 • • 2222 • • Berlin, - . M •■ 2941 • . London, - - 20 • • SfKXl • . Elberfeld, - - 20 • • 500O The General Records of tlie criminal courts of Trance, present, from 1827, annual accounts, not only of suicides but also of accidental deatlis and duels * Bcitrage, &c., 1 vol. 12mo. Berlin : 1025. wliich have come to the Icnowledge of the public ma- gistrate. Accorduig to these accounts, we find — Years. 1827, 1028, 1829, 1830, 1831, Total, Accidental Deaths. 4,744 4,855 5,048 4,478 5,045 24,170 Suicides. 1542 1754 1904 1756 2084 9040 followed by Death. not followed by Death. This table gives 4834 accidental deaths, and 1808 suicides, as the annual average ; which, to a popula- tion of 32,000,000 souls, gives one accidental deatli to 7000, and 1 suicide to 18,000 inhabitants ; as to the number of duels, it may be supposed that the values in the table are too low. A very great number of suicides takes place in the department of the Seine. They have been committed in the following manner, during the years from 1817 to 1825 inclusive : — Years. 3 a o 1 i Si ll to s a a ■^ > M 'o P4 1017, • - 352 160 46 35 39 36 23 13 1818, - 330 131 48 35 40 27 28 21 1819, 370" 148 59 46 39 44 20 21) 1820, - 325 129 46 39 37 32 28 14 1821, 348 127 60 42 33 38 25 23 1822, - 317 120 48 49 33 21 31 15 1023, 390 114 56 61 43 48 47 21 1824, - 371 115 42 61 47 38 40 23 1825, 396 134 56 59 49 40 38 20 Total, 320.-) 1178 461 427 360 324 280 17.^ The average number of suicides, therefore, in the department of the Seine, annually reaches 356 ; which, for a population of 860,000 soiils, gives 1 suicide to 2400 inhabitants ; Geneva gives the ratio of 1 to 3900, for the years between 1820 and 1826 inclusive.* Tlio following are the modes of destruction, according to 95 observations : — 36 individuals perished in water ; 34 blew out their brains ; 6 hanged themselves ; 5 were poisoned ; 2 died from wounds ; 2 cast themselves from an eminence. Tlius, with regard to the preference shown for particular modes, these numbers are almost the same as at Paris, The means of destruction are not every where the same : thus, at Berlin, according to Casper, 535 sui- cides have taken place in the following manner: — 234 by strangulation, 163 by fire-arms, 60 by sub- mersion, 27 by cutting the throat, 20 by cutting in- struments, &c., 19byvolimtaryfalls, 10 by poisoning, and 2 by opening veius.f In all the preceding numbers, one may perceive an alarming concordance between the results of the diffe- rent years, as they succeed each other. This regu- larity, in an act which appears so intimately connected witli volition, will soon appear before us again in a striking manner, as connected with crime. However, society in a country may undergo modifications, and * Ilertha, August 1820 ; and Bulletin de M. de Fdrussac, May 1829. t Studying the circiunstances connected with suicides, duels, and certain kinds of crimes, we may be disposed to think that man is frequently actuated by a propensity to imitation. M. Chev- reul, in a letter addressed to HI. Amp6re [Sitr une Classc Parti- culiere de Mouveincns Muscidaires) , has brought forward some phi- losophical considerations of great interest, and which show how much human n."iturc deserves to be studied more deeply, in some relations which have been perh.ips too much neglected. ON MAN. 81 thus produce an alteration in what at first presented a remarkable constancy for a short time. According to Casper,* at Berhu, between 1788 and 1797, only 62 suicides took place ; and 128 between 1797 and 1808, and 546 between 1813 and 1822. It has been re- marked, tliat suicides have become more numerous ; this conjecture would be very probable, if it be true that they are a result of civilisation, and if we consider that legislation endeavours to repress them in some countries. It is to be doubted, however, whether there are not some errors in the numbers, depending on the circumstance that statistical re- searches were made with much less care formerly than at present. M. Casper, in his researches on the subject, has at- tentively discussed the i.ifluence of states of the atmo- sphere on suicide, and also the influence of seasons, which, despite the few observations we possess, is manifested in a remarkable manner, as may be seen in the following table, where the suicides occurring during each season are noted : — Montlis. J.an., Feb., & Ularch, April, May, & .Tune, July, Aug., & Sept., Oct., Nov., & Dec, nam- West- 1812-1«22. burg : t minster::): 1810-1822. 1812-1821. ino 39 G7 ir..5 31 55 173 41 60 145 38 46 Paris : § Si.x Years. Here, again, summer appears to exercise a greater influence on the number of suicides than the otlier seasons, as weU as on the number of those afiected with insanity, and, as we shaU soon perceive, also on tlie number of crimes against person. M. Casper also finds that, all things being equal, suicides in town and country have been numerically as 14 to 4. With respect to difference of sex, he has observed, for Berlin, that, of 727 suicides, 606 were committed by men, and 121 by women, which gives a ratio of 5 to 1. According to the liecherches Statis- tiqries stir Paris, the ratio for this city would be 2 to 1 nearly. At Geneva, the ratio has been 4 to 1 for the seven years from 1820 to 1826. We scarcely possess any researches on the ages at which suicide takes place. I only know of those published by Casper for Berlin, || and those published for Geneva.^ M. Guerry has given the number of suicides for Paris ;** but only those of men, and which have taken place by suspension or fire-arms. The following table presents a summary of the documents for Berlin and Geneva : — Ages. Berlin : Geneva : 1818-1824. 1820-1826. Below 10 years, ^> From 10 to 15 years. - I7f 5 .. 15to20 ■• 32) .. 20to25 •• - 30-) .. 25to30 •• 25 ( 24 .• 30to35 -• - 12 C •• 35to40 •• 9J .. 40to50 •• 32 J 45 .. 50to60 .. .. 60to70 •• - I7j • • 70to80 •• 9f 21 • • 80 and upwards. - 23 Total, - - 220 95 To have a better idea of these nimibers, it will be preferable to class them in periods, each of 10 years' duration, and to reduce the number to 1000. At the same time, we may compare them with those of Paris, ♦ Beitrage zurMedictnischenStatistik, &c. 8vo. Berlin: 1825. Sec also the researches of Dr Heyfelder, entitled Der Selbsmord, &c. 8vo. Berlin: 1028. t Grohmann in Hufel, Journal, 1 c. i Falret, 1 c. § Esquirol, 1 c. II Beitragc, p. 53. H Beitrage, and Bulletin de M. de Fcrussac, Mai 1829. ** Annalcs d'llygiiine, -Janvier 18;)1, and with a population of 1000 individuals arranged according to their respective ages. Ages. 10 to 20 years, 20 to 30 • • 30 to 40 • • 40 to 50 • . 50 to GO • • CO to 70 • ■ 70 to 80 • • 80 and upwards, Total, 224 251 96 156 146 77 41 9 Suicides at Paris by Shooting. 61 283 182 150 161 126 35 2 by Sus- pension. 68 511 94 ' 188 1 256 I 2.T5^ Ulfl [ 03 inoo ■30 474 c« 12 to ■3.S.S g-a'S fri S 312 188 160 136 100 68 30 G The number of suicides between 10 and 30 years of age, is extremely high at Berlin ; it would further appear, that between 30 and 40 years of age, the mi- nimum number occurs, or at least that the number of suicides, which was very great between the 10th and 30th years, then diminishes, to regain fresh intensity towards the end of life. Will not the circumstance have some influence, that a father separates himself from his family with more difficulty when his chil- dren are young than when they can already provide for their ovm necessities ? It M^ould be very interest- ing to have more documents on the motives which lead to the commission of suicide. It is sufficiently evident, that some particular cause exists at BerUn, which induces such a great number of young persons between 16 and 20 to destroy them- selves. Removing the effects of this agency, the re- sults agree sufficiently with those of Paris and Geneva, and tend to show that the number of suicides increases with age, though we must take care to bear in mind the number of individuals of each age who are found in a population.* This tendency, in its first develop- ment, almost progresses in the same ratio as the deve- lopment of intelligence and mental alienation. It would also appear that the hours of tlie day have some influence on suicide by suspension. M. Guerry has given the following numbers in the Annales d'Hij- gihie for January 1831 : — Suicides. From midnight to 2 in the morning, - 77 - 2to 4o 'clock. ... 45 - 4 to 6 ™ . . . 58 - 6 to 8 -. . 135 „ 8 to 10 ^ . - 110 - 10 to 12 ^ . 123 - 12 to 2 „ . 32 ., 2 to 4 „ - 84 „ 4 to 6 „ . - 104 - 6 to 8 — . . . 77 „ 8 to 10 — . - 84 - 10 to 12 ~ - 71 1000 MM. Benzenberg and Casper have compared the number of suicides with the number of homicides and mortal blows, to infer thence the probability that an individual found dead has perished by one or the other.f The towns of Prussia give the following numbers : — Suicides. Homicides. 1818, .... 339 27 1819, .... 453 24 182ft, .... 475 40 1821, . . . . 45C 40 1822, .... 442 45 2164 176 * In the An. d'Hygime, Oct. 1829, there are two very remark- able Memoirs by M. Devergie, one on the mode of ascertaining how long a person has been lU'o^vned, the other containing soma researches on those who have been hanged. t Beitrage, &c., p. 94. 82 ON MAN. This ratio is aLout 1 honiicide to 12 suicides. M. Hermann has found that, in Russia, the number of suicides is almost equal to that of homicides, and that this ratio does not vary much in the different parts of the empire, although the nimiher of suicides and homicides are far from preserving the same com- parative value to the population.* In France, the suicides are to the population as 1 to 20,000 nearly, and the homicides as 1 to 48,000 : this ratio of sui- cides to homicides is therefore nearly as 5 to 3. In concluding this chapter, I shall lay before the reader the principal conclusions contained in the work of M. Falret on suicides, from the report of M. Serres to the Institute of France, which gives the only re- sults hitherto published. " Suicides present, in both sexes, a very remarkable contrariety, according to the results furnished by tables. Thus, the month of April, attended with the greatest number of suicides among men, is only so in the fifth degree among women ; with the latter, the month of August occupies the same rank as April does for men. The social position of the parties presents a no less remarkable contrast. Of the men, it is bachelors who form the largest number ; and of the women, Ave find the greatest number among those engaged in the bonds of matrimony. We cannot omit to observe here the difFei'cnce between women and men, as respects the influence of concubinage on the production of volun- tary death : this influence, for women, is almost treble. We observe still more striking differences, if such can be, between the two sexes, as respects the influ- ence of age. In men, it is from 35 to 45 that the greatest number of suicides take place ; in women it is from 25 to 35. The next period for men is 45 to 55 ; whilst in women this only holds tlie fifth rank : but, by a singular compensation, we observe twice as many suicides among young girls as among boys who have not reached their fifteenth year. If we inquire into the mode of self-destruction which is practised, we shall see that men give a decided preference to cutting instruments and fire-arms, while women destroy themselves by poison, falls from a great height, or asphyxiate themselves by means of burning charcoal." CHAPTER III. OF TUE DEVELOPME.NT OF THE PROPENSITY TO CRIME. J. Of Crimes in General, and of the Repression of them. Supposing men to be placed in similar circumstances, I call the greater or less probability of committing crime, the propensiti/ to crime. My object is more especially to investigate the influence of season, cli- mate, sex, and age, on this propensity. I have said that the circmnstanccs in which men are placed ought to be similar, that is to say, equally favourable, both in the existence of objects likely to excite the propensity and in the facility of commit- ting the crime. It is not enough that a man may merely have the intention to do evil, he must also liave the opportunity and the means. Thus the pro- pensity to crime may be the same in France as in England, wittiout, on that account, the ?«om// we shall also have annually nearly the same, it wiU be the same with the number of those who are guilty ; that is to say, tlie propensity to crime will preserve the same value. It is thus that the almost unchange- ableness of the annual ratio of the accused to the condemned, allows us to substitute for the ratio of the condemned of any two years the ratio of the accused for the same two years. 84 ON MAN. and crimes against property : it ■will be remarked, no doubt, that the number of the former has diminished, wlulst the latter has increased ; however, these raria- tions are so small, that they do not sensibly affect the anmial ratio; and we see that we ought to reckon that three persons are accused of crimes against pro- perty to one for crimes against person. Beside the preceding numbers I shall place those ■which correspond to them in the Low Countries, whilst the French code was still in force. "V'ears. is 11 It o i s o lis 111 i S £ Accused of Crimes against Ratio. t Per- sons. 1 Pro- perty. 1826, 1827, 138<) 1488 1166 1264 4302 4100 84 85 3f4 314 1085 1174 3o 3-7 Thus, the probability of being before a court of justice was almost the same for France and for the inhabitants of the Low Countries ; at the same time the number of crimes against persons was fewer among the latter, but the repression of them was also greater, since 85 individuals were condemned out of 100 ac- cused, which may be owing to the absence of a jury, tlieir duties being fulfilled by the judges. This modi- fication made in the French code should be taken into consideration. Indeed, it causes a very notable diffe- rence in the degree of repression ; for when once ac- cused, the Belgian had only 16 chances against 84, or 1 to 5, of bemg acquitted ; whilst the Frenchman, in the same circumstances, had 39 chances to 61, or nearly 3 to 5, that is to say, thrice as many. This unfavourable position in which tbe accused person was placed with us, might be cwing to the circum- stance, that the judges before whom he appeared were indeed more severe than a jury, or perhaps that they were more circumspect in acquitting a person in the Low Countries. I shall not determine which of these was the case, but simply observe, that in courts of correction the French judges are even more severe than ours, and the same is the case in courts of police. Thus, during the four years before 1830, in France, the reports gave 679,413 an-aigned persons, or 1 to 188 inhabitants. Sloreover, of this number, 103,032 indi- viduals only were acquitted, or 15 in the 100 of tliose arraigned. There was then 1 chance against 187 that the Frenchman Avoidd be brought before a court of correction in the course of one year, and 85 chances to 15 tliat when there he would be condemned. During the years 1826 and 1827, there were 01,670 persons arraigned, in tlie Low Countries, before courts of correction, of wliom 13,499 were acquitted ; and there was one arraigned person to 198 inhabitants. Therefore, the probability of a Frenchman being before a court is rather greater than for an inhabitant of the Low Countries, as also is the probability of his being subsequently condemned. Setting aside the northern provinces of the ancient kingdom of tlie Low Comitries from those which at the present time fonn the kingdom of Belgium, and which are more intimately connected with France, we find, for the latter provinces, during the years previous to 1831 :— ki V. . ill Accused of Years. 11 Crimes against Ratio. Per- sons. 1 Pro- perty. 1826, 72.'. 611 r,2u 84 189 636 2-8 1827, 800 682 4776 m 220 580 2-6 1828, 814 677 4741 (S3 2.10 584 2-5 1829, 75.3 612 6187 81 203 550 2-7 1830, 741 541 5274 73 160 681 3-8 Aver., 7C7 625 .5031 82 2m 566 2-8 Each year, then, in Belgium, we have had, as an average, 1 person accused to 5031 inhabitants ; and in France, 1 to 4400 inhabitants nearly. It is remark- able, that although these numbers do not differ much, yet the particular values for each year have not once given as great a number of accused persons for Bel- gium as for France. We may observe, that in Belgium, as in France, there was a sUght diminution in the number of ac- cused persons in 1830, which originated in the same cause, namely, the closing of the tribunals for a cer- tain period, in consequence of the revolution. We see also that the repression of crime has sensibly diminished. This, no doubt, is thus accounted for : after revolutions men are more circumspect in their condemnations, since they are not always screened from personal danger, even in the judgments which they pronounce. The jmy has been established in Belgium since 1831 ; we shaU soon be enabled to judge what influ- ence this has had on the repression of crime, and wliat are its most remarkable consequences. 2. Of the Influence of Knowledge, of Professions, and of CUmatc, on the Propensity to Crime. It may be interesting to examine the influence of the intellectual state of the accused on the nature of crimes : the French documents on this subject are such, that I am enabled to form the following table for the years 1828 and 1829;* to this table I have annexed the results of the years 1830 and 1831, which were not known when the reflections which succeed were written down. 1820-1829 : 00 >>-g 1830-1831 : ^ '^'m Accused s s-a Accused B jj.S Intellectual of Crimes atio of Cri linst Prop Crimes agr Persons. of Crimes dtio of Cn ainst Prop Crimes aga Persons state of the Persons against against Accused. r Per- Pro- Per- Pro- sons. perty. « ^3 sons. perty. K^2 Could not read 1 or write, - f 2072 6,617 3-2 2134 G,7a5 31 Could read and ^ ■\vrite but im- ^ 1001 2,804 2-8 1033 2,840 2-8 perfectly, - i Could re;id and i ^vrite well, i 400 1,109 2-8 408 1,047 a^j Had received a -s superior edu- / cation to this r 80 206 2-6 135 1 m 1-4 1st degi-ee, 3 3553 10,736 SOaver. 3710 10.856 2-9 aver. Thus, all tlihigs bemg equal, the number of crimes against persons, compared ivith the number of crimes acjainst property, during the years 1828 and 1829, was greater according as the intellectual state of the ac- cused was more higldy developed ; and tliis difference bore especially on murders, rapes, assassinations, blows, wounds, and other severe crimes. Must we thence conclude that knowledge is injurious to society? I am far from thinking so. To establish such an as- sertion, it would be necessary to commence by ascer- taining how many individuals of the French nation belong to each of the four divisions which we have made above,t and to find out if, proportion being con- sidered, the individuals of that one of the divisions commit as mauj"^ crimes as those of the others. If this were really the case, I should not hesitate to say * The intellectual state of 474 accused persons for the year 1828 h.is not been noted, as also 4 for the year 1829, and 2 for 1831. t The number of the accused of this class is increased in con- sequence of political events, and crimes against the safety of the state. i See the Tableaux Sommaires faisant connaitre I'Etat el les Sfsoins dc I'lnsfruclion Primaire dans le Dcparlcmenl de la Seine. Paris; L. Colas; a pamphlet in 8vo, 1828, anonymous, but pro- bably by SI. Jomard. .See also the Rapport General sur la Sitiia- tion el les Frogres dc VEnseignement Primaire en Franee el d I'Etranger, by the same person. 8vo. Paris ; L. Colas. 1832. ON MAN. that, since the most enlightened individnals commit as many crimes as those wlio have liad less education, and since their crimes are more serious, they are ne- cessarily more criminal ; but from the little we know of the difiusion of knowledge in France, we cannot state any thing decisively on this point. Indeed, it may so happen, that individuals of tlie enlightened part of society, while committing fewer murders, assassinations, and other severe crimes, than indivi- duals who have received no education, also commit much fewer crimes against property, and this wovdd explain what we have remarked in the preceding numbers. This conjecture even becomes probable, ■when we consider tliat the enlightened classes are liresupposed to possess more affluence, and conse- quently are less frequently under the necessity of hav- ing recoiirse to the different modes of theft, of which crimes against property almost entirely consist ; wliUst affluence and knowledge have not an equal power in subduing the fire of the passions and sentiments of hatred and vengeance. It must be remarked, on the otlier hand, that the results contauied in the preced- ing table only belong to two years, and consequently present a smaller probability of expressing what really is the case, especially those results connected witli the most enlightened class, and which are based on very small numbers. It seems to me, then, that at the most we can only say that the ratio of the mmi- ber of crimes against persons to the number of crimes against property varies with the degree of knowledge ; and generally, for 100 crimes against persons, we may reckon fewer crimes against property, accorduig as tlie individuals belong to a class of greater or less enlightenment. In seeking the relative annual pro- portion, we find the following numbers for France, to which I annex those furnished by the prisons in Belgium in 1 833, according to the report of the in- spector-general of prisons : — 85 uphol- Intellectiial state of t)io Accused. '} Could not read or write, - Could read and %vrite imper fectly, Could read and ^vl•ite well, I Had received a -\ superior edu- / cation to the f 1st degree, j Total, - Absolute Number. Accused in France : 8,fi89 1,509 14,289 8,919 3,873 1,455- a ^ 1972 472 776 Relative Number. Accused in France : 1828-29. 1830-31. 14,566 3220 a n CM On Thus, the results of the years 1828 and 1829 are again reproduced identically in 1830 and 1831, in France. Sixty-one out of one hundred persons accused could neither read nor write, which is exactly the sa)ne ratio as the Belgic prisons presented. The other numbers would also be probably the same, if the second class in Belgium took in, with the individuals able to read only, those who could write imperfectly. The following details, which I extract from the liapport cm Roi for the year 1829, will serve to illus- trate what I advance : — " The new table, which points out the professions of the accused, divides them into nine principal classes, comprising. The first, individuals who work on the land, in vineyards, forests, mines, &c., 2453. The second, workmen engaged with wood, leather, iron, cotton, &c., 1932. The third, bakers, butchers, brewers, millers, &c., 253. The fourth, hatters, hairdressers, tailors, sterers, &c., 327. The fifth, bankers, agents, wholesale and retail mer- chants, hawkers, &c., 467. The sixth, contractors, porters, seamen, waggoners, &c., 289. The seventh, innkeepers, lemonade-sellers, servants, &c., 830. The eighth, artists, students, clerks, bailifis, nota- ries, advocates, priests, physicians, soldiers, amiui- tauts, &c., 449. Tlie 7iinth, beggars, smugglers, strumpets, &c., 373. Women who had no profession have been classed in those which their husbands pursued. Comparing those who are included in each class with the total number of the accused, we see that the first furnishes 33 out of 100 ; the second, 26 ; the third, 4 ; the fourth, 5 ; the fifth, 6 ; the sixth, 4 ; the seventh, 1 1 ; the eighth, 6 ; the ninth, 5. If, after that, we point out the accused in each class, according to the nature of their imputed crimes, and compare them with each other, Ave find the following proportions : — In the first class, 32 of the 100 accused Avere tried for crimes against persons, and 68 for crimes against property. These numbers are 21 and 79 for the second class; 22 and 78 for the third; 15 and 85 for the fourth and fifth ; 26 and 74 for the sixth ; 16 and 84 for tlie seventh ; 37 and 63 for the eighth ; 13 and 87 for the ninth. Thus, the accused of the eighth class, who all ex- ercised liberal professions, or enjoyed a fortune which presupposes some education, are those who, relatively, have committed the greatest number of crimes against persons ; whilst 87-hundredths of the accused of the ninth class, composed of people without character, have scarcely attacked any thing but property." * Tliese results, which confirm the remark made be- fore, deserve to be taken into consideration. I shall observe that, when we divide individuals into two classes, the one of liberal professions, and the other composed of journeymen, workmen, and servants, the difference is rendered still more conspicuous. The following table will assist us in arriving at the influence of climate on the propensity to crime ;f it is * See the Comptes Generalise, p. 9, 1830. The Comples Genermix for 1830 and 1831 present the following results for each of the classes given in the text ; here again we find the same constancy of numbers :— For 1829. 1st, - - - 2453 2d, - - 1932 3d, - - - 253 4th, - - 327 5tli, - - - 467 Cth, - - 289 7th, - - - 830 8th, - - 447 9th, - - - 373 Total, - - 7373 t It has seemed to me that these numbers might give us a satis- factory idea of the state of knowledge in each department, espe- cially of the lower classes, among whom the greatest number of crimes take place. Tliis method, by which we take for each de- partment some hundred individuals wliose intellectual state we can determine, appears to me to be more certain than that of M. Dupin, which is, to judge of the education of the province by the number of children sent to school. It may be that there is gene- rally very little knowledge in those places where schools have been but recently established, and have not as yet been able to produce any appreciable effects. In order to render tlio results obtained by this method more comprehensible, I have constructed a small map of France (Plate 5), which, by the varying depths of shade, points out the intellectual state of tlie different parts of this kingdom. Allowing that this map differs a little from that which M. Dupin has given, we shall, however, easily sec from both maps, that Northern France, especially near Belgium and tlic Rhine, is the most enlightened, whilst we find the greatest darkness along a line which traverses France diagonally from Cape Finisterre to the department of the Var. With this dark line is connected a second one, which leaves the centre of France, passing to the base of tlie Pyrenees. Thus, the results, obtained For 1830. For 1831 2240 2517 1813 1985 225 272 309 300 455 425 310 327 848 320 374 391 388 469 69C2 700(5 86 ON MAN. formed from the documents of the Comptes Gmeraux de V Administration de la Justice in Trance, for the five years previous to 1830. Tlie second and the third columns give the numbers of those condemned for crimes against persons and property ; the two follow- ing columns show the ratio of these numbers to the respective population of each department in 1827 ; a sixth column gives the ratio of crimes against pro- perty to crimes against persons ; and the last column shows how many in 100 accused were unable to read or write ; the numbers which are given there only relate to the years 1828 and 1829. 1 >. (D Condemned Inhabitants to one Person 11 5 3 2 c ^ for Of' mes Condemned for l-S^ Departments. againsi, 1 Crime against c S S "3 '1^ oj ■« 2 "o A s§ S &.S r 1 f 1 ^ C^ Per- Pro- Per- Pro- .S o 88 sons. perty. sons. perty, < " Corse, 287 107 3224 8649 0-.30 50 Haut-Rhin, - 144 295 14,192 6928 2-05 a3 Lot, 98 110 14,312 12,751 112 80 Ari^ge, 82 78 15,118 15,893 0.95 83 Ardeohe, - 108 99 15,205 16,587 0-92 67 AvejTon, 99 160 17,677 10,938 1-02 69 Pyrenees-Orient, 41 55 18,460 13,761 1-34 76 Seine-et-Oise, 112 377 20,034 5953 3-36 56 Vaucluse, 58 118 20,09t» 9875 203 65 Moselle, - 95 274 21,534 7466 2-88 49 Lozere, .■51 53 22,384 13,092 1-71 47 Var, 67 117 23,216 13,2.95 1-75 71 Bas-Rhin, 111 341 24,120 7851 3-07 31 Seine, 197 2496 25,720 2030 12-67 34 Bouches-du-Rliin, m 208 25,897 7844 3-25 56 Eure, 80 296 26,354 7123 370 63 Doubs, 48 146 26,491 8909 3-04 35 Marne, 61 244 26,643 6661 4-00 54 Tarne, 59 169 27,767 9694 2-86 75 Seine-Inferieure, 123 850 27,980 4049 6-91 59 Dr6me, 49 133 29,163 10,744 2-71 71 Calvados, - 84 3.()4 29,819 6357 4 ■69 52 liautes-Alpes, 21 47 29,840 13,333 2-24 42 Landes, 44 153 30,149 8690 3-48 86 Tiasses-Alpes, - 25 62 30,613 12,344 2-48 60 Vosges, C2 132 30,632 14,388 2-13 45 Card. 53 129 32,788 13,471 2-43 67 Loiret, 46 215 a3,068 7075 4-07 70 Vienne, 40 170 33,459 7873 4-25 81 Ille-et-Vilaine, 82 318 33,747 87l>2 3-88 m Hdrault, 50 92 .33,956 18,454 1-84 02 Aude, 39 75 ,34,102 17,7.33 2-42 72 Rhone, 61 302 .•U,14G (i8<)5 4-95 51 France, - 41)62 17,543 »t,108 i»080 3-76 60 Pny-de-Domc, 82 1.-.7 ,34,.547 18,044 1-91 75 Loire-Inferienre, m 160 34,628 14,284 2-42 76 Aube, 34 206 .35,5.53 5W;8 6-ik; 54 Isfere, 73 220 ;i6,026 11,9,58 3-01 62 Dordogne, 64 149 ,3(J,25C 15,573 2,33 76 Jura, 3;} 123 .37,'t44 12,613 2!ii3 ,50 Ilautc-SIarne, 3Z 94 .38,254 13,023 2!)3 40 Indre-et-Loire, 37 1.31 .39,211 11,075 3,54 79 Charente, 45 !^2 3i),295 19,220 2-05 60 Haute-Loire, .36 35 39,677 40,810 o-!>7 75 AUier, 35 124 40,757 11„504 3-.54 91 Pas-de-Calais, 76 rm 41,751 .WOO 7-,38 (« IJasses- Pyrenees, 47 142 43,880 14,.524 3-(l2 73 Gers, 35 91 43,943 10,!)01 2-00 70 Corrize, 32 56 44,513 25,4.30 1-75 77 Orne, 48 183 45,248 11, Wilt 3-81 00 Seine-et-Mame, .35 167 45,4.59 9.527 4-77 58 Maine-et-Loire, 50 1!)7 45,lKi7 11,041 3!)4 81 Haute Vienne, 30 120 46,058 11,515 4'(M) 79 ITautes • Pyrenees, 24 64 40,26.3 17,,'M9 207 71 Eure-et-Loire, ,30 231 4(i,.5!)2 «I13 770 0.3 Ain, - .36 84 47,448 20,,3^5 2;i3 00 Deux-S6vres, .30 124 48,043] 11,623 413 61 by two different modes, nevertheless agree with eacli other in a very satisfactory manner. We may say that we find the greatest enlightenment where there is the greatest freedom of eommimi- cation, and in the course of large rivers, sucli as the Rhine, the Seine, the Meuse, &c. In Southern Fnince, the trading sea- coasts, and the banks of the Khone, are also less obscure, whilst the absence of enlightenment is perceived chiefly in those parts of France which are not traversed by great conniiercial roads. We natuniUy look for instniction in those places wliere the need T>f it is greatest. {Table continued.) Departments. Charente-Inf^-, rieure, / Bleurtlie, Sarthe, Haute-Garonne, Haute-Saone, Mayenne, Morbihan, Cantal, Loir-et-Cher, Nord, Loire, COte-d'Or, Nievre, Saone-et-Loire, Vendue, - Lot-et-Garonne, Meuse, Yonne, Cher, Finistfere, Manclie, - Tarn-et-Garonne, C6tes-du-Nord, Gironde, Aisne, Oise. ' - Somnie, Ardennes, Indre, Creiise, Condemned for Crimes against Per- Pro- sons. perty. 44 257 52 249 45 177 41 190 33 134 35 146 41 183 25 75 22 142 91 548 .34 104 35 160 24 109 45 168 28 106 29 111 26 105 29 140 21 98 42 252 51 247 20 89 47 2.02 41 207 .36 259 23 163 31 257 15 92 12 96 6 40 i? Inhabitants |.g to one Person &< a Condemnedfor ■" « C Crime against sag ^«<2 Is r Per- Pro- sons. perty. u 48,199 8252 5-84 48,788 10,189 479 49,613 12,614 3-93 49,636 10,711 4-63 49,643 12,225 406 50,591 12,128 4-17 52,129 11,679 4-46 52,403 17.468 3-00 52,424 8122 6-45 52,893 8783 6 02 55,252 18,063 3()6 55,992 11,592 4-57 56,620 12.467 4-54 57,308 15,350 373 57,648 15,228 3 62 58,084 15,181 3-83 58,911 14,588 4-04 58,986 12,219 4-83 59,188 12,683 4-67 59,863 9977 6-00 59,922 12,373 4-84 60,397 13,572 4-45 61,881 9900 6-21 65,628 12,999 5-05 67,995 9451 7-20 83,723 11,814 7-09 84,884 10,230 8-29 93,875 15,306 6-13 99,012 12,.377 8-00 210,777 31,617 0-67 t-" 3 Ui 3-90 23,611 4296 5-44 25,107 7961 315 25,222 8I7I 3-09 27,433 5819 471 27.6.33 5f)!i0 2-20 32,0(KI 4148 7-71 37,500 400(1 9-42 42.208 12,.572 3-34 52,712 14,565 3-02 .53,450 3108 17-20 1,32,248 3852 34-33 25,747 62a9 4-13 28,783 7217 4-00 a3,784 10,060 3-36 21,648 7632 2-84 * The numbers for the Low Coim tries embrace the years 1826-27, and for the dutcliy of the Lower Rhine the years from 1822 to 1820, according to the lU'vue Encydopedique for the month of Au- gust 1830. .Since this summary gives us the number of crimes and not of the condemned, I h.ive thought proper to give the numljcr of crimes for Fr.ance and tlie Low Countries, in order to render the results comjiarable. ON MAN. 87 As it would be very difficult to form an idea of the whole of the results contained in the preceding tables, and as at the same time it M'ould be impossible to embrace the whole at one glance, I have endeavoured to render them perceptible by shades of greater or less depth, placed on a map of France and the Low Coun- tries, according to the greater or less number of crimes against persons or property, in proportion to the po- pidation {See plate 6). Tlie first figurative map be- longs to crimes against persons ; it shows us at first, by the darkness of the shades, that the greatest number of crimes are committed in Corsica, in the South of France, and particularly in Languedoc and Provence, as well as Alsace and tlie Valley of the Seine. The southern part of the Low Countries, with the excep- tion of Hainault and Luxembourg, present also rather deep tints. However, it is proper to observe, that the shades are perhaps more obscure than they ought to be, if we consider that they represent the number of condemned people, and that in general, in the Low Countries, the repression has been much stronger than in France, since in the latter country only 61 indivi- duals are condemned in every 100 accused, whilst in the Low Countries, 85 is the proportion. On the con- trary. Central France, Brittany, Maine, Picardj^, as well as Zealand and Friesland, present much more satisfactory shades. If we compare this map with that which indicates the state of instruction, we shall be disposed to bclie^■e, at first, that crimes are in a measure in inverse ratio to the degree of knowledge. The figurative map of crimes against persons and those of crimes against property presents more ana- logy. In like manner, the departments which show themselves advantageously or disadvantageously on cither side, may be arranged in the following manner, making three principal classes : — First Class. — Departments ivhere the number of those condemned for crimes against persons and property exceeds the average of France. Corse, Landes, Rhone, Bouchcs-du-Rhone, Doubs, Ilaut-Rhin, Bas-Rhin, Moselle, Seine - Inferieure, Calvados, Eure, Seine-et-Oise, Seine, Marne, Loiret, Vienne, lUe-et-Vilaine — 17 departments. Second Class. — Departments where the number of those condemned for crimes against property and persons has been less than the average of France. Creuse, Indre, Cher, Nicvre, Saone - et - Loire, Jura, Ain, Isore, Loire, Haut-Loire, Cantal, Puy-de- Dome, Allier, Correze, Haut- Vienne, Basses-Pyronces, Ilautes - Pyrenees, Haute - Garonne, Gers, Tarn-et- Garonne, Lot-et- Garonne, Gironde, Dordogne, Cha- rente, Deux-Sevres, Vendee, Loire-Inferieure, ]\Iaine- et-Loire, Sarthe, Orne, Mayenne, Manche, Finistere, Morbihan, C6tes-du-Nord, Somme, Oise, Aisne, Ar- dennes, Meuse, Meurthe, Haute-Saone, Haute-Marne, Cote- d'Or, Yonne, Seine-et-Marne — 47 departments. Third Class. — Departments where the number of those condemjied for crimes against persons only, or against property only, has been less than the average of France. Var, Hautes-Alpes, Basses-Alpes, Drome, Vaucluse, Gard, Ardcche, Lozere, Aveyron, Lot, Tarn, Hcrault, Aude, Pyrenees-Orientales, Ariege, Charente-Inferi- cure, Loir-et-Cher, Eure-et-Loii-e, Nord, Pas-de-Calais, Aube, Vosges — 22 departments. In making the same distinction with regard to the provinces of the Low Countries,* we find — First Class— Southern Brabant, Anvers, Lim- bourg, Groningen, and Drenthe — 5 provinces. Second Class — Hainault, Luxembourg — 2 pro- vinces. * See, for the most ample accoimtg, Im Statistiquc (Jcs Tri- hvnaux de la Bflr/irixc, pendant h-.i Annt^es 1820, 1827, 1828, 1829, and 1830, published "by MM. Quotclot and Smits. 4to. Brussels: 1832. Third Class — Namur, Liege, "Western Flanders, Eastern Flanders, Zealand, Northern Brabant, South- ern Holland, Northern Holland, Utrecht, Guelder- land, Overyssel, Friesland — 12 provinces. Before endeavouring to deduce conclusions from the preceding calculations, I shall remark that certain ra- tios cannot be rigorously compared, on account of the defective valuation (or census) of the population, or from an unequal degree of repression in the different courts of justice. It will be difficult enough to find out the errors arising from the first cause, as we have only, for the elements of verification, the relative num- bers of births and deaths ; as to the unequal degree of repression, such is not exactly the case, for, besides that we are led to believe that the activity of justice in finding out the authors of crimes is not every where the same, Ave see that acquittals are not always in the same ratio. Thus, according to the documents from 1825 to 1829, 61 individuals out of every 100 accused have been condemned in France, yet the degree of repression has generally been stronger in the nor- thern than in the southern part of the country. The Court of Justice of Rouen has condemned the greatest number, and it has condemned 71 indivi- duals out of 100 accused at the least ; the coiirts of Dijon, Anjou, Douai, Nanci, Orleans, Caen, Paris, Rennes, have also exceeded the average ; the courts of Metz, Colmar, Amiens, Bordeaux, Bourges, Be- sancon, Grenoble, Lyons, and La Corse, have presented nearly the same average as France ; whilst the acquit- tals have been more numerous in the southern courts, such as Toulouse, Poitiers, Nismes, Aix, Riom, Pau, Argen, Limoges, and Montpellier — the two last courts having condemned, at an average, only 52 individuals of 100 accused. It yet remains for examination, whe- ther these decisive inequalities in the number of ac- quittals in the north and south of France are owing to a greater facility in bringing forward accusations, or to indulgence to the accused. It appears to me probable, that it may be in part owing to crimes against persons being more common, all things being equal, in the south, and crimes against property in the north ; we know, also, that more acquittals take place in the first class of crimes than in the second. However the case may be, I think it will be proper not to lose sight of this double cause of error which I have just pointed out. If we now cast our eyes over the departments of France Avhich have exceeded the average of crimes against persons as well as of crimes against property, we shall first find Corsica and Landes to be, from their manners and customs, in peculiar circumstances, and which will scarcely permit of their being com- pared with the rest of France. The Corsicans, indeed, impelled by cruel prejudices, and warmly embracing feelings of revenge, which are frequently transmitted from generation to generation, almost make a virtue of homicide, and commit the crime to excess. Offences against property are not frequent, and yet their number exceeds the average of France. We cannot attribute this state of things to want of instruction, since the number of accused who could neither read nor write was comparatively less than in France. This is not the case in Landes, where almost nine-tenths of the accused were in a state of complete ignorance. This department, where a poor and weak population live dispersed, as it were, in the midst of fogs, is one where civilisation has made the least progress. Although Landes is found in the most unfavourable class as regards crimes, it is never- theless proper to say that it does not differ much from the average of France : we may make the same obser- vations on the departments of Vienne and lUe-et-Vi- laine. As to the other departments, we may observe that they are generally the most populous in France, in which we find four of the most important cities, Paris, Lyons, Marseilles, and Rouen ; and that they also are the most industi'ious — those which present the great- ON MAN. est changes and intercourse with strangers. We may be surprised' not to find with them the departments of the Gironde and Loire-Inferieure, which seem to be ahnost in the same circumstances as the departments of Bouches-du-Khone and Seine-Inferieure, especially if we consider that, with respect to knowledge, they seem less favoured than these last, and the repression of crime also has generally been effective. This remark is particularly applicable to the department of the Gironde, for the Loii'e-Inferieure does not differ so much from the average of France. I shall not hesitate to attribute these differences to a greater morality in one part than the other. And this conjecture becomes more probable, if we observe that the whole of the departments of the south of France, which are on the shores of the sea from the Basses-Pyrcnces to La Manche, except Landes and Ille-et-Vilaine Avhich have ah'cady been mentioned, fall below the average of France for crimes against persons ; and that, on the contrary, all the departments, without exception, which are on the shores of the Mediterranean, as well as the ones adjacent to them, exceed this average. We may also remark, that the shores of the Atlantic, from Basses-Pyrenees to La Manche, generally fall below the average for crime against property. The third class presents us Avith fifteen depart- ments, on the border of the Mediterranean, and Avhich all exceed the average of France m crimes against persons and are beloAv the average in crimes against liroperty. The districts on the Mediterranean appear, then, to have a A'ery strong propensity to the first kind of crimes. Of seven other departments of the same class, one only exceeds the average for crimes against person, and that is Vosges m Alsace ; the others exceed the average of crimes against propertj^ The "departments of the second class, where the fewest condemnations for crimes against persons and property take place, are generally situated in the centre of France, on the shores of the Atlantic, from the Basses-Pyrenees to La Manche, and in the A'alleys watered by the Somme, the Oise, and the Meuse. The following is a simamary of what has been said : — 1. The greatest number of crimes against persons and property take place in the departments which arc crossed by or near to thfe Rhone, the Ehine, and the Seine, at least in their navigable portions. 2. The fewest crimes against persons and property are committed in the departments in the centre of France, in those which arc situated in the west to- wards the Atlantic, from the Basses-Pyrenees to La Manche, and in those toAvards the north, wliich are traversed by the Somme, the Oise, and the Meuse. 3. The shores of the Mediterranean and the adja- cent departments shoAv, all things being equal, a stronger jiropcnsity to crimes against persons, and the northern parts of France to crimes against pro- perty. After having established these facts, if we seek to go back to the causes which produce them, Ave are immediately stopped by numerous obstacles. And, indeed, the causes influencing crimes are so numerous and different, that it becomes almost impossible to assign to each its degree of importance. It also fre- quently happens, that causes AA'hich appear A^ery in- fluential, disappear before otliers of Avhich Ave had scarcelj'^ thought at first, and this is Avliat I liaA-e especially found in actual researches : and I confess that I have been probably too much occupied Avith the influence Avhich Ave assign to education in abating the propensity to crime ; it seems to me that this common error especially proceeds from our expecting to find feAver crimes in a country, because Ave find more children in it avIio attend school, and because there is in general a greater number of persons able to read and Avrite. We ought rather to take notice of the degree of moral instruction ; for A^ery often tho education received at school only facilitates the com- mission of crime.* We also consider poverty as ge- nerally conducing to crime ; yet the department of Creuse, one of the poorest in France, is that Avhieh in every respect presents the greatest morality. Like- Avise, in the Low Countries, the most moral province is Luxembourg, where there is the greatest degree of poA'crty. It is proper, hoAvcA'cr, that Ave come to a right understanding of the meaning of the Avord po- AX-rty, Avhich is here employed in an acceptation which may be considered improper. A province, indeed, is not poor because it possesses fcAver riches than an- other, if its inhabitants, as in Luxembourg, ai'C sober and active ; if, by their labour, they can certainly ob- tain the means of relieAdng their wants, and grati- fying tastes Avhich are proportionally moderate ; ac- cording as the inequality of fortune is less felt, and does not so much excite temptation : we should say, with more reason, that this province enjoys a moderate affluence. Poverty is felt the most in pro- vinces where great riches haA'c been amassed, as in Flanders, Holland, the department of the Seine, &c., and above all, in the manufacturing countries, Avhere, by the least political commotion, by the least obstruc- tion to the outlets of merchandise, thousands of indi- A'iduals pass suddenly from a state of comfort to one of misery. These rapid changes from one state to another giA'e rise to crime, particularly if those who suflFer are smTounded by materials of temptation, and are irritated by the continual aspect of luxurj"- and of the inequahty of fortmie, which renders them des- perate. It seems to me that one of the first distinctions to be made in our present mquiry, regards the different races of mankmd Avho inhabit the countries Avhich Ave are considering; as Ave shall shortly see, this point is of the greatest importance, although not the first AN'hich presents itself to the mind. ""The population of France belongs to three different races — the Celtic race, Avhich forms nearly three-fifths of its inhabitants ; the Ger- man race, Avhieh comprehends those of the late pro- Auuces of Flanders, Alsace, and part of Lorraine ; and the Pelasgian race, scattered along the shores of the Mediterranean and in Corsica. The changes of man- ners," adds Malte-Brun, " to which this division is exposed, may alter the character of a people, but cannot change it entirely." f If Ave cast our eyes over the figiuratiA'c map of crimes against persons, this dis- tinction of people is perceived in a remarkable man- ner. We shall see that the Pelasgian race, scattered over the shores of the Mediterranean and in Corsica, is particularly addicted to crimes against persons ; among the Germanic race, Avhich extends over Alsace, the. dutchy of the LoAver Ehine, a part of Lorraine, and the Low Countries, Avhere the greater proportion of persons and of property gives rise to more occasions of committing crime, and where the frequent use of strong drinks leads more often to excesses, Ave have generaUy a great many crimes against property and persons. The Batavians and Frieslanders, Avho also belong to the Germanic race, are more especially prone to crimes against property. Lastly, the Celtic race appears the most moral of the three wliich we have considered, especially as regards crimes against per- sons ; they occupy the greatest part of France and the Wallone of Belgium (e< Ja partie Wallone de la Bclgique). It Avould appear, moreover, that frontier countries, Avhere the races are most crossed with each other, and where there is generaUy the most disturb- ance, and Avhere the customhouses are established, arc the most exposed to demoralisation. After having admitted this distmction, based upon * M. Guen-y lias aiTivecl at conclusions similar to mine, and almost at the same time, in his Essai sur la Slatislique Morale (le la France, p. 51, and has expressed them almost in the same terms ; the same results have also been obtained in England, Germany, and the United States. t Precis de la Gcographie ITnivcrsellc, livre 15?. ON MAN. 89 the differences of races, it remains to be examined what are the local anomalies which influence the mo- rality of the people and modify their character. The most remarkable anomaly whicli the Celtic race seems to present, is observed in the department of the valley of the Seine, especially below Paris ; many causes contribute to this. We first observe that these departments, from their extent, contain the greatest proportion of persons and property, and consequently present more occasions for committing crimes ; it is there that there are the greatest changes in the people, and the greatest influx of people from all countries without character, in a manner which must even have altered the primitive race more than any where else ; lastly, it is there also where the greatest nmnber of industrial establishments are found ; and, as we have already had occasion to observe, these establishments maintain a dense population, whose means of subsist- ence are more precarious than in any other profession. The same remark is applicable to the valley of the IHione, and with the more reason, as the Pelagian race has been able, in ascending this river, to pene- trate farther into the interior of the country than any where else. The commercial and industrious provinces of the Low Countries are likewise those in which the greatest number of crimes are committed. As to the greater number of crimes against pro- perty to be observed as we advance towards the north, I think Ave may attribute it, in a great measure, to the inequality between riches and wants. The great cities, and the capitals esiiecially, present an unfa- vourable subject, because they possess more allure- ments to passions of every kind, and because they attract people of bad character, who hope to mingle with impunitj' in the crowd. It is remarkable that several of the poorest depart- ments of France, and at the same time the least educated, such as Creuse, Indre, Cher, Haute-Vienne, Allier, &c., are at the same time the most moral, whilst the contrary is the case in most of the depart- ments which have the greatest wealtli and instruction. 'J'hese apparent singularities are, I think, explained by the observations which have been made above. ^Morality increases with the degree of education in the late kingdom of the Low Countries, which would lead us to believe that the course of education was better. The influence of climate is not very sensible here, as we may see by comparing Guienne and Gascoigne with Provence and Lauguedoe, and the inhabitants of the Hautes and Basses Pyrenees to the inhabitants of the Hautes and Basses Alpes, which, notwithstanding, are mider the same latitudes. TVe may also say that tlie influence of kno\vledge and of climate partly dis- appears before more energetic influences; and that tliey are moreover far from effacing tlie moral cha- racter of the three races of men who inhabit the country which we are considering. Nevertheless, we cannot but allow, when bringing the ratios of the sixth column of our table together, that the number of crimes against property, in proportion to the num- ber of crimes against persons, is increased considerably in advancing towards the north. It is to be regretted that the documents of the courts of justice of other countries cannot be com- pared with those of France and the Low Coimtries. The difference in laws and the classifications of crime render direct comparisons impossible. Yet the coun- tries of some extent, and which give the distinction of crimes against persons and crimes against pro- perty, allow at least of our drawing a comparison between their different provinces under this head. It perhaps will not be without some interest to our inquiry to compare the different parts of Prussia and Austria with one another. The data of criminal jus- tice in Austria are extracted from the BuUetin des Sciences of M. de Fcrussac, for November 1829, and relate to the five years from 1819 to 1823; those of Prussia are extracted from the Revue Encyclopedique for August 1830, and relate to the three years from 1824 to 1826 inclusive. I have followed the same form of table as the above : nevertheless, I regret that I could not give the number of children in the schools of the different parts of Austria. For Prussia, I have taken the number of children in 1000 of those who attend the schools, according to the statement of the Revue Encyclopedique. Inhabitants P s Crimes against to one Crime against ■so g .S " o 1^ AiTondissements. I!? >- >- 3 to ( ^ f 2 <» Per sons. Pro- perty. Per- sons. Pro- perty. ill •2 a 5° AusTniA. Dalmatia, 2986 2,540 535 625 oa5 7 GaUicia k BulvO- j Vina, - / TjTOl, - 5294 14,105 3,955 1470 2-70 7 (558 2,516 5,707 1492 3-82 •> Moravia & Silesia, 753 3,545 12,002 2689 4-71 13 Gratz-Leibacli & t Trietz, or Inter- > nal Austria, J 580 *2,479 13,311 3188 4-21 10 Lower Austria (or, » Cotes de I'Ens), / 673 7,099 17.130 1382 12-37 10 Bohemia, 737 ♦'7.221 18,437 1881 9-80 9 Scholars in 1000 Pni-ssiA. Children. PiTjssia, - 249 0,875 22,741 G39 35-65 451 Saxony, 147 5,815 27,588 697 39-576 1552 1601 1412 1813 268 274 270 239 254 233 0-16 0-17 0-17 015 0-16 0-18 0-13 Crimes against Property. Men. Women. Ratio, 4073 4020 4306 4379 4217 4196 4567 1008 998 1156 1203 1091 1100 993 0-25 0-25 0-26 0-27 0-26 0-26 0-22 Although the number of crimes against persons may have diminished slightly, whilst crimes against property have become rather more numerous, yet we see that the variations are not very great ; they have but littlemodified the ratios between the numbers of the accused of the two sexes. AVe have 26 women to 100 men in the accusations for crimes against propert^^-, and for crimes against persons the ratio has been only 16 to 100.* In general, crimes against persons are of a more serious nature than those against property, so that our distinction is favourable to the women, and we may afiirm that men, in France, are four times as criminal as women. It must be observed, that the ratio 16 to 26 is nearly the same as that of the strength of the two sexes. However, it is proper to examine things more narrowlj', and especially to take notice of individual crimes, at least of those Avhicli are com- mitted in so great a number, that the inferences drawn from them may possess some degree of probability. For this purpose, in the following table I have col- * These conclusions only refer to the results of the four years before 18.30. The numbers of the following ye.ars, which have been since added to the table, give almost the same ratios. ON MAN. 91 lected the mimbers relating to the four years before 1830, and calculated the different ratios ; the crimes are classed according to the degree of magnitude of this ratio. I have also groiiped crimes nearly of the same nature together, such as issuing false money, counterfeits, falsehoods in statements or in commercial transactions, &c. Women Nature of Crimes. Jlcn. Women. to 100 Men. Infanticide, ,?0 426 1.320 Jliscarriage, 15 .39 £60 Poisoning, 77 73 91 ] louse robbery {vol domesliquc\. 2648 16()2 60 Parrii.'ide, - - . 44 22 50 Incendiarism of buildings and other 1 things, - . - / 27!) 94 34 Robber}' of churches, 17G 47 27 Wounding of parents (bh'ssures en- ■, vers ascendans) , • j 292 63 22 Theft, 10,677 2249 21 False evidence and suborning, 307 51 17 Fraudulent bankruptcy. .■J53 57 16 Assassination, - - . 947 HI 12 False coining Ifatisse monnak),^ counterfeit making, false affirma- >■ 16G9 177 11 tions in deeds, &c. - - ' Rebellion, ... (512 60 111 Highway robbery. 048 54 8 AVounds and blows. 1447 78 5 Murder, 1112 44 4 Violation and seduction, - 685 7 1 Violation on persons under 15 j'cars i of age, - - - I 585 5 1 As we have already observed, to the commission of crime the three following conditions are essential — tl:e will, which depends on the person's morality, the opportunity, and the facility of effecting it. Now, the reason why females have less propensitj- to crime than males, is accounted for by their being more under the influence of sentiments of shame and modestj', as far as morals are concerned; their dependent state, and retired habits, as far as occa.sion or opportunity is concerned ; and their physical Aveakness, so far as the facility of acting is concerned. I think we may attribute the differences observed in the degree of criminality to these three principal causes. Home- times the whole three concur at the same time : we ought, on such occasions, to expect to find their in- fluence very marked, as in rapes and seductions ; thus, we have only 1 woman to 100 men in crimes of tliis nature. In poisoning, on the contrary, the num- ber of accusations for either sex is nearly equal. When force becomes necessary for the destruction of a per- son, the number of women who are accused becomes much fewer ; and their numbers diminish in propor- tion, according to the necessity of the greater publi- city before the crime can be perpetrated : the following crimes also take place in the order in which they are stated — infanticide, miscarriage, parricide, woimding of parents, assassinations, woimds and blows, murder. With respect to infanticide, woman has not only many more opportunities of committing it than man, but she is in some measure impelled to it, frequently by misery, and almost always from the desire of con- cealing a liiult, and avoiding tlie shame or scorn of society, which, in such cases, thinks less unfavourably of man. Such is not the case with other crimes in- volving the destruction of an individual : it is not the degree of the crime which keeps a Avoman back, since, in the series Avbich we have given, parricides and Avounding of parents are more numerous than assas- sinations, which again are more frequent than mur- der, and Avounds and blows generally ; it is not simply Areakness, for then the ratio for parricide and Avound- ing of parents should be the same as for murder and wounding of strangers. These differences are more especially OAving to the habits and sedentary life of females ; they can only conceive and execute guilty projects on individuals Avith whom they are in G the greatest intimacy : thus, compared witli man, her assassinations are more often in her family than out of it ; and in society she commits assassination rather than murder, Avhich often takes place after excess of drink, and the quarrels to Avhich Avomen are less ex- posed. If Ave now consider the different kinds of theft, we shall find that the ratios of the propensity to crime are arranged in a similar scries : thus, Ave haA^e suc- cessively house robbery, robbery in churches, rob- beries in general, and, lastly, highway robbery, for which strength and audacity are necessary. The less conspicuous propensity to cheating in general, and to fraudulent bankruptcy, again depend on the more secluded life of females, their separation from trade, and that, in some cases, they are less capable than men — for example, in coining false money and issu- ing coimterfeits. If Ave attempt to analyse facts, it seems to me that the difference of morality in man and Avoman is not so great as is generally supposed, excepting only as regards modesty ; I do not speak of the timidity aris- ing from this last sentiment, in hke manner as it does from the physical Aveakness and seclusion of females. As to these habits themselves, I think Ave may form a tolerable estimate of their influence by the ratios which exist betAveen the sexes in crimes of different kinds, Avhere neither strength has to be taken into consideration, nor modesty — as in theft, false Avit- nessing, fraudident bankruptcy, &c. ; these ratios are about 100 to 21 or 17, that is to saj% about 5 or 6 to 1. As to other modes of cheating, the difference is a little greater, from the reasons already stated. If Ave try to giA-e a numerical expression of the inten- sity of the causes by which Avomen are influenced, as, for example, the influence of strength, avc may esti • mate it as being in proportion to the degree of strength itself, or as 1 to 2 nearly; and this is the ratio of the number of parricides for each sex. For crimes Avhere both physical Aveakness and the retired life of females must be' taken into account, as in assassinations and highAvay robberies, folloAving the same plan in our calculations, it Avill be necessary to multiply the ratio of poAver or strength ^ by the degree of dependence 1-5, Avhicli giA-es 1-10,' a quantity which really falls betAveen the values 12-100 and 8-100, the ratios given in the table. With respect to murder, and bloAvs and wounds, these crimes depend not merely on strength and a more or less sedentary life, but still more on being in the habit of using strong drinks and quarrelling. The influence of this latter cause might almost be consi- dered as 1 to 3 for the sexes. It may be thought that the estimates Avhich I have here pointed out, cannot be of an exact nature, from the impossibility of assign- ing the share of influence Avhich the greater modesty of Avoman, her physical Aveakness, her dependence, or rather her more retired life, and her feebler passions, Avliich are also less frequently excited by liquors, may have respectiA'ely on any crime in particular. Yet, if such Avere the characters in Avhich the sexes more particidarly differ from each other, Ave might, by ana- lyses like those noAV given, assign their respectiA^e influence Avith some probability of truth, especially if the observations Avere very numerous. I do not speak of modes of justice, of legislation in general, of the state of knowledge, of means of providing for physical Avants, &c., Avhich may poAverfully contribute to in- crease or diminish the number of crimes, but Avhose influence is generally not very evident as regards the ratio of the accused of each sex. Perhaps it maj- be said, that if it be true that the morality of woman is not greater than tliat of man, house robbery should be as frequent for the one as for the other. This observation Avould be just, if it Avere proved that the class of individuals by Avhom house robberies are committed, Avere equally composed of men and women ; but there are no data on this sub- ject. All that can be laid doAvn is, that men and 93 ON MAN. women wlio live in a domestic state, rather commit crimes against property tlian against persons, wliicli very materially confirms the observations made above, on the influence of retired life and sedentary habits. The Compte Gendral de V Administration de la Justice in 1829, for the first time, gives the professions of the accused; and in the article Domestiqiies, M-e find 318 men and 147 -women employed as farm-servants ; and 149 men and 175 women as personal domestics : the total number of men is greater than that of women. Now, of these numbers, there were 99 accused of crimes against persons, and 590 of crimes against property : the ratio of these numbers is 1 to 6 nearly, and it has preserved exactly the same value in the years 1830 and 1831. But we have had occasion to see that this ratio for the mass of society is 1 to 3, when particular circumstances are not taken into consideration ; and it would be only as 263 to 1091, or 1 to 4 nearly, if society were composed of Avomen alone : thus, in all the cases, I think it has been sufiiciently shown that men and women, Avhen in the state of servants, com- mit crimes against property in preference to others. As to capital crimes, Ave may arrange them in the following manner : — Apparent Motives : 1826-13-29 inclusive. Cupidity, theft, Adultery, Domestic dissen- . sions, Debauchery, jea- ■ lousy, - - Hatred, revenge, & divers motives, Total, Accused for Poison- ing. liO 58 903 Assassi- nation. 237 7() 131 115 460 Incen- diarism. Total. 362 13.3 333 220 1615 2663 Adultery, domestic quarrels, and jealousy, cause almost an equal number of poisonings in both sexes ; but the number of assassinations, and especially of murders, of women by their husbands, is greater than that of husbands by their Avives. The circumstances bearing on this subject have been stated already. Of 903 murders Avhich have taken place from hatred, revenge, and other motives, 44G have been committed in consequence of quarrels and contentions at taverns ; thus, more than one-third of the total number of mur- ders have taken place under circumstances in Avhich women are not usually involved. The four last volumes of the Comptes Gdneranx, contain some interesting details on the intellectual state of the accused of both sexes : they may be stated as foUoAvs : — Intellectual State. Men. Women. .2 Si Men. Women. .2 c? Big Unable to read, or write, - - } Able to read and ^ Avrite imper- ^ fectly, - - J Could read and \ Avrite well, - ' Had received an ^ excellent edu- ( cation to the 1st f degi'ee, - - ) Intellectual state ^ not mentioned, ( 6,537 3,308 1,399 203 374 2152 497 no 104 3-0 6-6 12-7 .56-6 3-6 6.877 3,422 1,3/3 314 2 2042 451 112 3-3 7-6 16-7 62-8 11,901 2868 4-2 ll,9f«t 2.>I. Guerry comes to the same conclusions from his researches on crimes, Essai mr la Statistiqiic Morale, p. 69: — " One of the most gcner.al conclusions wc can make is, tliat they all concur to prove tliat the greater number of facts of a moral nature, con- sidered in tlie mass, and not individually, are determined by re- gular causes, the variations of which take place within narrow limits, and which may be submitted, like those of a material nature, to direct and numerical observation." As this idea has continually presented itself to me in all my researches on man, and as I have exactly expressed it in the same terms as those of the text, in my conclusions on the Rcchcrches sur le Penchant au Crime, a work which appeared a year before that of M. Guerry, i have thought it necessary to mention the point here, to prevent misunderstanding. cannot repeat too often, to all men who sincerely desire the well-being and honour of their kind, and who would blush to consider a few francs more or less paid to the treasury as equivalent to a few heads more or less submitted to the axe of the executioner, that there is a budget Avhich we pay with a frightftd regvdarity — it is that of prisons, chains, and the scaffold : it is that which, above all, we ought to endeavour to abate. BOOK FOURTH. OP THE PROPERTIES OP THE AVERAGE MAN, OP THE SOCIAL SYSTEM, AND OP THE FINAL AD- VANCEMENT OF THIS STUDY. CHAPTER I. PROPERTIES OF THE AVERAGE MAN. In the three preceding books I have presented the results of my inquiries on the development of the physical and moral system of the average man, and on the modifications which he undergoes from diffe- rent influences. ^ These results can only be considered as the first essay towards an immense Avork, which, to be completed, would require long and painful re- searches, and which would only be really useful by being extremely exact. This determination of the average man is not merely a matter of speculative curiosity ; it may be of the most important service to the science of man and the social system. It ought necessarily to precede every other inquiry into social physics, since it is, as it were, the basis. The average man, indeed, is in a nation Avhat the centre of gravity is in a body ; it is by having that central point in vicAV that Ave arrive at the ap- prehension of all the phenomena of equilibrium and motion ; moreover, Avhen considered abstractly, it pre- sents some remarkable properties, Avhich I am noAV going to state succinctl3^ 1. Of the Average Man considered with reference to Literature and the Fine Arts. The necessity of veracity in faithfully representing the physiognomy, the habits, and the manners of people at different epochs, has at all times led artists and literary men to seize, among the individuals Avhora they observed, the characteristic traits of the period in Avhich they lived ; or, in other words, to come as near the average as possible. I do not Avish to be understood as implying that it is necessary to give the same traits, the same tastes, and the same passions, to CA^ery individual, Avhatever may be his age, rank, countrj^ or the period at Avhich he hves ; but that the most characteristic marks must be studied, still keep- ing in view these differences. Thus Ave should inves- tigate Avhat are the predominating elements in any people or in any age ; for example, Avhether fiinaticism, piety, or irreligion — a spirit of servility, independence, or anarchy. No one Avill hesitate to alloAV to me that man is more courageous at 20 than at 60, and more prudent at 60 than at 20 ; or that persons of the south have more liveliness of thought and feature than tile inhabitants of the north : these are common obser- vations, whicli every one admits, and Avhich Ave should be shocked to find unattended to in Avorks of imagi- nation. But can it be thought Avrong to give more precision to these A'ague ideas ? — is it altogether con- formable to the actual state of our knoAvledge, to re- ceive relations Avhich have only been slightly observed, Avhen they may be determined Avith certain precision ? If it had been demanded some years ago at Avhat age a man has the greatest propensity to crime, aa'c should no doubt have been much embarrassed to find the true answer ; and perha^js the most erroneotis opinions Avould have been put forth, especially on the influence ON MAN. 97 of sexes and the intellectual state. Yet who would assert that these researches are useless to philoso- phers and men of letters, or even to the artist, who only truly deserves this name according as he has studied the human heart deeply ? The time is passing away Avhen men were contented with indistinct ideas, and relations determined at a glance ; when numeri- cal determinations hecome applicable, thej' are espe- ciaUy consulted by the observer and lover of truth. I am far from pretending, however, that even a pro- found knowledge of the different faculties of man will be sufficient to obtain success in the fine arts and hte- rature; but I think that, to produce a work truly capable of moving and agitating the passions, we must be acquainted with man . and especially man as it is de- sired to represent him. Thus, to take but one example, the artist who has only studied the type of the Grecian physiognomies, however admirable this type may ap- pear to us, if he reproduces it in modern subjects, will produce but a chilling effect on the spectator, who, though he admires the art and composition, will never be deeply excited. Grecian figures, however varied they may be according to age, passion, and sex, have notwithstanding a general likeness, which carries us, in spite of ourselves, back to antiquity, and distracts our attention from the subject sought to be represented before us. If such figures are represented in action, the anachronism only becomes more sensible. Artists, at the revival of the fine arts, fully comprehended the necessity of painting what they had before their eyes, and on that account they produced such astonishing effects. The noble and severe figure of Christ has nothing in common with those of the Apollo or the Jupiter of ancient mythology ; a Jladonna of Raphael has an enchanting grace, which is not surpassed by the finest forms of the antique ; and these beauties have a greater influence on the imagination, because they are more similar to the natures around us, and act more directly upon us. Even we ourselves, in more remote situations and circumstances, feel the necessity, when retracing our national facts, of not bringing forward Grecian or Italian figures: in the midst of a battle, where men are found, all nearly of the same age, and all alike dressed in the same kind of armour, our eye seeks to recognise, by the phy- siognomic traits and expressions, the Frenchman or the Englishman, the German or the Kussian. In the French army itself, the soldier of the old guard had an expression which has become classical, and is iden- tified in some measure with the remembrances of the empire. If the arts have already admitted such imperceptible shades, and have the j)Ower of awakening the remem- brance of an era by recalling the physiognomic traits which seem to belong to it, what value ought we not to affix to an accurate determination of these traits, if they are capable of being appreciated ? Some men of genius have penetrated very far in these researches, and their ideas, which at first were rejected, have since been more fa vom-ably judged of, when experience came to their support. Lavater has not hesitated to analyse the human passions by the inspection of the features, and Gall has endeavoured to prove that we may arrive at similar results by inspecting the cranial protuber- ances. There is an intimate relation between the physical and the moral of man, and the passions leave sensible traces on the instruments they put in con- tinual action ; but what are these traces ? It is agi-eed that they do exist; the artist studies and seeks to seize them ; yet, by a singular prepossession, we re- ject the possibility of this being determined with any degree of accurac\% or the utiUty of the determination. But how comes it that such artist or such j)oet labours to no purpose, and presents constantly to us the Greek or Italian type, according as he had more especially studied the antique or the Italian school ? — how is it that Rubens, despite his genius, when painting the divinities of ancient mythology, gives forms which antiquity would have disavowed ? It is because Rubens had also a tj^pe, and this type had been chosen from among the moderns. It is imdoubtedly owing to the want of care taken ill studying the shades of the moral and phj-sical qualities of man among different people and in diffe- rent ages, that the greater munber of works of imagi- nation have been so monotonous and lifeless. The necessity of studying natm'e and truth has indeed been felt ; but the fact has not been sufficiently at- tended to, I think, that nature is not uivariable. The ancients have represented the physical and moral man with infinite art, such as he then was ; and the greater number of the moderns, struck with the perfection of their works, have thought they had nothing to do but servilely to imitate them ; they have not understood that the type has been changed ; and that, when imi- tating them for the perfection of art, they had another nature to study. Hence the universal cry, " Who shall deliver us from the Greeks and Romans?" Hence the violent dispute between the classics and romanticists ; hence, lastly, the necessity of having a literature which was truly the expression of society. This great revolution was accomplished, and furnishes the most irrefragable proof of the variability of the liuman type, or of the average man, in different men and in different ages. As for ancient subjects, the artist or the poet who wished to reproduce them might constrain us to ad- mire his art ; but we should always feel that he placed a natm'e before oiur eyes, which, so to speak, was dead — a type which is extinct. We must undoubtedly make concessions to the fine arts, and give ourselves to their illusions ; but we must not let the sacrifices demanded exceed certain limits. We cannot, for a moment, go back several centuries, forget our religion, social insti- tutions, and habits, and feel sympathy for men not having our tastes, manners, or the same traits which Ave are accustomed to see around us. The ancients themselves never required such sacrifices on the part of the public ; and such men as Euripides and Sopho- cles took good care not to introduce on the stage an Osiris, and the mysterious feasts of the Egyptians, who, nevertheless, had been their patterns. A few ages are of little moment in the annals of the human race ; and Ave cannot assure ourselves that man AA'iU not undergo any modifications — in form, for example — and that a type Avhich once existed may not be completely lost some A&y. This supposition may appear extraordinary ; yet Ave see that all the elements relating generally to man undergo changes ; who, therefore, can assure himself that the type of the Grecian figure shall not be lost, either in the flight of time, or in some great catastrophe involving the destruction of the Caucasian race ? Such overthrows are in the nature of possible things. The consequences of such an event might be, that another race— the IMongolian, for instance— Avhich, after much difficulty, might people the earth, and find the remains of the fine arts, Avould only see in aU these fine Grecian figures, Avhich we are accustomed to admire, things entirely artificial and conventional, such as the Egyp- tian forms appear at present to us. They might ad- mire these antiques as specimens of art ; but I doubt if they would prefer the ancient form to their own, if they had to represent their divinity in a human shape. What has just been said, will no doubt be rejected by those who have pre-estabhshed ideas re- garding a fixed standard of beauty. I shall not dis- cuss that question here ; I only publish my vicAvs Avith diffidence, not seeking to impose them on any one. I think I have sufficiently shoAvn, in Avhat has pre- ceded, that the determination of the average man is not useless, even to the tine arts and literature ; and that he Avho shaU arrive at this determination, Avill have no difficulty in obtaining the attention of artists and men of literature. It Avovdd inform them more precisely of things Avhich they noAV know but vaguely ; 98 ON MAN. it would discover others to them of which they are ignorant, or at least clear their minds of a mass of prejudices. They would receive these notions as a painter learns perspective, which, in geometrical out- line, is not very pittoresque either. Moreover, artists have received the researches of Gall and Lavater pro- bably with greater eagerness than savants : indeed, it is to their care that painters are indebted in a great measure for the knowledge of the proportions of dif- ferent parts of the human body, in each sex, at differ- ent ages. This knowledge was so important to them, that it was an object of study of the greatest painters at the revival of the arts : we may see, especially, what care the celebrated Albert Durer took in regard to it in his works. At the same time, I admit that the artist and the literary man can, and even ought, to search out the prominent traits, exaggerate rather than diminish them, and contrast the most diiferent physiognomies and characters ; but the truth must always lie be- tween the extremes Avhich they present to our view, and these extremes themselves lie within limits defined by nature. Going beyond, Ave only create fantastic beings and monstrosities ; these reveries of a disor- dered imagination may astonish, and even amuse, but they can never produce those deep sensations and lively emotions which we only feel for beings of our own caste. To conclude the exposition of my views of the average man, I remark, that it Avill first be necessary to study, in the most complete manner, the develop- ment of his different faculties, and every thing which may influence their development, every other consi- deration being laid aside. The artist, the man of literature, and the savant, will afterwards choose froni among these materials those which are best suited to the subject of their studies, as the painter borrows from optics the few principles bearing on his art. 2. Of tlie Average Blan considered in reference to the Natural and Medical Sciences. It will not be necessary to insist forcibly, to natu- ral philosophers, on the importance of the investigation of the different laws of the development of man ; in- deed, without the knowledge of these laws, the science of man cannot be complete or philosophic. I think the utility of the methods of determining them, which I propose, needs not to be explained to tlicra again ; several of these have been familiar to them for a long time, and others form a part of their usual modes of proceeding in fathoming the secrets of nature. In the eyes of the naturalist, the average man is only the type of a people ; numerous observations have shown that this type is not unique, and conse- quently that there are different races of men. But the characters on which these distiuctions are esta- blished have not been sufficiently defined; indeed, how can we study the modifications which the elements relative to man, as well as their laws of development, undergo in the different races, when we have not settled the point of commencement ? Hence, also, proceeds the difficulty of surmounting the greater number of the most interesting and philo- sophical questions of natural history. It is frequently asked if tlie human species has deteriorated, or if it is capable of deteriorating at any time ; but this problem, for want of the elements for its solution, remains with- out a satisfactory answer. It is also asked if there is a type or standard of the beautiful for the human species, which is proportionate to the development of intelligence. Comparative ana- tomy has been thought to find an affirmative solu- tion of this question, in tlie magnitude of the brain and the size of the facial angle, which, according to the delicate researches which have been made, diminislies in proportion to the lowering of intelligence in men and animals ; and it has been inferred from this, that the maximum of intelligence will be found in the species which have the facial angle most nearly ap- proaching to a right angle ; which would give the pre-eminence to the Caucasian. I do not know if any observations have been made on a somewhat larger scale, having in view the measurement of the degrees of size of the facial angle at different ages, in order to determine if these are at all proportionate to the de- grees of the development of intelligence. Naturalists are also occupied in determining care- fully Avhat are the limits of the extent of the different elements belonging to man ; these limit values have alwa3's been objects of attention, and ought to be care- fully registered in the natural history of man, so that we might know, not only what is, but also what is possible. The anatomical researches of Gall on the brain tend to show that the development of its different parts is jiroportionate to the development of certain corresponding faculties, which appear to have their seat tliere. Without entering into an examination of the doctrine of this learned physiologist, one must regret that his principles have not yet been sub- mitted to more direct observations, and that it has not been examined whether the law of development of our faculties at different ages corresponds to the law of development of the presumed corresponding parts of the brain ;* indeed, so fiir from knowing the relative projiortions on these different points, it ap- pears tliat, up to the present time, we have but very few data on the law of development of the brain itself, or upon its size and weight at diflTerent ages, either as regards average value or extreme limits. f * Since the above was written, I\I. Broussais, to whom science is indebted for so many useful woi-lcs, has read a memoir to tho Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, on the influence of the physical on the moral, and, in particular, on the actual state of our knowledge on phrenology. M. Edwards has presented some considerations in support of this work, agi-eeing with it, also, in requiring scientific experiments on this new science. The prin- cipal conclusions of this learned physiologist are contained in the following note, for which I am indebted to his friendship .-^ " The proofs on which we found our convictions are referred to two principal classes ; the first includes proofs whicli m.iy be called individual, and the second those which we shall call scien- tific. In the first case, we cannot be convinced of the truth of certain relations without verifying them ourselves. Thus it is necessary that every individual who wants to form an opinion, must him- self make the proof which others liave done. In the second case, on the contrary, when we are considering a scientific proof, if it lias been properly obtained, it is enough to receive the knowledge to be convinced of the trutli. Thus we dispense with the neces- sity of personally making the proof again. In general, tlie Ivind of proofs on which phrenology rests belong to the first class, or those here called individual ,- because it is always necessary that each individual who wishes to know what to maintain should repeat tlie proof. This is the condition in wliicli phrenology stands. It is evident that, if the relations pointed out are generally true, any one who has sufficient knowledge may convince himself by a suffi- cient number of observations ; but he could not transmit to an- other his conviction, imlcss one could know the extent and mea- sure of his experience. Is'ow, if that could be expressed in a determinate manner, tlie proof would be no longer individual but scientific ; and not only he who had acquired could communicate his conviction, but the latter would also be able to impress it on others; for it is the peculiarity of scientific proof that it forces general conviction on those who can understand it. Other persons are obliged to admit on hearsay, that is, on the authority of the first class. No«', phre- nology, if true, is really capable of scientific proof. It is by forming a sort of statistics, the plan of which might be readily designed, that the scientific proof of this doctrine is prac- ticable. It is greatly to be desired that phrenologists would do this." t M. Guerry wrote to me in 1831 — " I am now occupied, along with JI. le Docteur Esquirol and M. le Docteur Leuret, witli the statistics of insanity. We measure the head, in every direction, of every person at Cliarenton, the Bieetre, and the Salp6tri6re. Wo ON MAN. 99 We ought also to state with more care than has yet been done, the capacity of our organs, and the limits they can attain. If the average man were completely determined, we might, as I have already observed, consider him as the type of perfection ; and every thing differing from his proportions or condition, would constitute defor- mity and disease ; eveiy thing found dissimilar, not only as regarded proportion and form, but as exceeding the observed hmits, would constitute a monstrositj^ The consideration of the average man is so impor- tant in medical science, that it is almost impossible to judge of the state of an individual without com- paring it to that of another imagined person, regarded as being in a normal condition, and who is intrinsically no other than the individual we are considering. A physician is called to a sick person, and, having examined him, finds his pulse too quick, and his res- jnration immoderately frequent, &c. It is very evi- dent, that to form such a decision, we must be aware that the characters observed not only differ from those of an average man, or one in a normal state, but that they even exceed the limits of safety. Every physi- cian, in forming such calculations, refers to the exist- ing documents on the science, or to his own expe- rience ; which is only a similar estimate to that which we wish to make on a greater scale and with more accuracy. Moreover, the data which the average man presents, can themselves only serve to furnish others more im- portant, and which relate to the individual observed. To explain my idea, I shall suppose that every man has the knowledge and prudence necessary to exa- mine himself carefully, and to determine all the ele- ments which compose him, and the limits within which they may var3% in a state of health : he will form a table differing more or less from that of the average man, and which will assist him in recognising whatever is more or less anomalous in his own case, and whatever imperiously demands attention. It would be this table which the physician should con- sult in the case of illness, in order to estimate the extent of the divergences from the normal state, and Avhat are the organs more especially affected. But as, in the greater number of cases, the sick person can make no satisfactory observations on his own person, nor any elements which are peculiar to him, the phy- sician is obliged to have recourse to the common stand- ard, and compare his patient with the average man ; a course Avhich, in fact, seems to present less difficulty and inconvenience, but may also cause serious mis- takes in some circumstances. For here, again, we must observe that general laws referring to masses are essentially imperfect when applied to individuals ; but we do not mean to say that they can never be consulted with advantage, or that the divergences are alwaj's considerable. A prudent inan, who studies and observes his con- also measure the cerebrum and cerebellum of those who die. I have thus been led to undertake the Histoire du Developpement dc la Tele Humaine Moycnne. I have been led to it entirely from having read your excellent Memoir on the Stature of Man. Fif- teen days ago, we noted the state of the pulse of ninety maniacal persons, between five and seven o'clock in the morning, and whilst they were at breakfast. 'W'e already have fo\md certain periodic returns in the number of the pulsations ; these observa- tions will be continued to the end of the month. I hope to be able to measure the angles of tlie head verj- exactly, 80 as to obtain the proportions and form of an average maniacal head, of one hallucinated, of an idiotic, imbecile, and epileptic one, i!>:c." — (Notes on my Rechcrches tur le Paichanl, &c.) It is to be regretted that this announced work has not yet appeared. At the end, however, of the work. He la Frequence du Pauls chez les Alienis, MJI. Leuret and Mitivie give the result of their re- searches on the specific weight of the brain of the insane, which prove that there is no marked difference in this respect between insane and healthy persons. The specific weight has an average value, represented by 1'031, water at 15° of temperature being con- sidered as unity. stitution, may prevent many diseases, and scarcely needs to have recourse to professional men, except in severe and extraordinary cases. His habit of observ- ing himself, and the knowledge Avhich he has thus obtained, form, in some measure, a kind of table giv- ing him the elements of his constitution. In general, we only call in the physician when indisposed : I think it would be useful were he also to see us when in a state of health, so that he might obtain a better knowledge of our normal state, and procure elements of comparison necessary for cases of anomaly and in- disposition. It is very evident that a physician, called to a patient whom he sees for the first time, and of whose constitution he is absolutely ignorant, will, in certain circumstances, commit errors by submitting him to the common rule. I shall not pursue these remarks, the truth of wliich, I venture to think, will be appreciated. The constitution of the average man serves as a type to our kind. Every race has its peculiar constitution, which differs from this more or less, and which is de- termined by the influence of climate, and the habits which characterise the average man of that peculiar country. Every individual, again, has his particular constitution, which depends also on his organisation and his mode of existence. It is consequently inter- esting to know each of the elements which concern us individually, and we have a general interest in knowing each of the elements which bear on the average man, who is the type to which we should incessantly have recourse. a Of the Average Man considered with respect to Philosophy and Morals (la Morale). Human nature (Jmmanite) is modified by necessities of time and place. The development of the different f:\culties of the average man ought to be closely pro- portionate to these necessities : this is a condition essen- tial to his existence and continuance. If the average man, at different epochs, had been determined care-- fidly, we might at this day perceive what laws of development have undergone the greatest change : we should possess the most valuable means of analysis ; and we should also learn what have been the qualities which have successively predominated and exercised the greatest influence on our social system. The laws of development of the avei'age man, at such or such a period, must not be confounded with the laws of the development of human nature* (hu- manite). There is but little general conformity bet\vixt them : thus, I should be much disposed to believe that the laws of development of the average man continue almost the same through successive centuries, and that they only vary in the magnitude of maxima. Now, it is really these maxima, relating to the deve- loped man, which give the measure of the development of human nature in each century. We do not possess any exact documents to guide us in such a research, but it would appear that, physically considered, col- lective man is scarcely progressing ; yet it has been observed that a civilised man is generally stronger than a savage. As to intelligence, his progress can- not be questioned, and his existing state of develop- * To render my idea sensible by a figure (see plate 4), I sup- pose that we construct the line indicating the development of the strength of man at any given period ; and that on the same axis of the abscissas we also construct the corresponding similar lines for other periods, so that these lines succeed each other at the distance of a century, for example, proceeding from points whose distance from each other increase as the time; it will happen that the maxima of the ordinates will not correspond to the same ages or have the same magnitude. Now, connecting all the points of maxima by a line, which will evidently be the container (I'en- veloppe) of all the curves representing the law of individual de- velopment in all tlie modifications which it has undergone in the course of time, we shall have the curve which represents tlie general law of the development of human nature (humanite). By similar processes, we may render equally apparent all the laws of development of the different faculties of the human species. 100 ON MAN. ment undoubtedly exceeds what it has been at any other time. Also following, with history in our hands, the average type of human nature through different centuries, we see man, at first, in possession of all his strength, blindly taking advantage of it, and at- taching to the world of matter a po^ver and a range altogether Hmitless : the king of nature, he has plants, animals, and even the stars, as tributaries. But, as his reason becomes developed, a new world is unroUed before his eyes, contracting the limits of the former one ; the intellectual man gradually supplants the phy- sical one ; and it is this continually increasing triumph of the intellectual man, which the history of the arts and sciences presents to us at every page. I have said that, although the laws of the develop- ment of human nature were not generally the same as those of the average man of any one period, yet these laws might, in certain circumstances, be identically the same ; and that human nature, under certain re- lations, might be developed in a manner similar to a single individual. I should be much disposed to believe that this is the case Avith the collective human mind ; indeed, following it in its uncertain and irre- gular course, we see it endeavour to strengthen itself from the very beginning, reach in due time the highest conceptions, and present almost the same phases as the intellect of the individual man from infancy to maturity. The human mind is at first astonished at the sight of any thing beyond the ordinary course of things, and attributes the most simple occurrences to the caprice of supernatural beings, instead of de- ducing them from immutable laAvs, which are alone worthy of a divine intervention. We see it after- wards pursuing a course which is more certain and conformable to reason, observing facts, isolated at first, then classing them, and inferring the consequences. Still later, the mind learns to interrogate nature by experiment, and to reproduce transitory phenomena at will, under the most favoiirable circumstances for observing them. And when its reasoning powers have reached full maturity, then it studies the nature of causes, seeks to value their reciprocal intensities, and thus raise itself to a knowledge of the attendant phenomena which they must produce. Such is the development Avhich we see the human mind under- going when we study its progress in the history of the sciences ; such, also, is the course which the intellect of man pursues from infancy to maturity. I have said before, that the average man of any one period represents the type of development of human nature for that period ; I have also said that the ave- rage man was always such as was conformable to and necessitated by time and place ; that his qualities were developed in due proportion, in perfect harmony, alike removed from excess or defect of every kind, so that, in the circumstances in which he is found, he should be considered as the type of all which is beautiful — of all which is good. If human nature were stationary and not suscep- tible of amelioration, it is evident that the average man would also continue invariable; and his different qualities, instead of presenting the type of the beau- tiful and excellent of the period at which he lives, would present the type of the absolutely beautiful and excellent in the most general sense. Thus, when we say that the type of the beautiful, as to the form of man, is absolute, we mean that the average man ought not to differ from this proportion, and that Inunan nature cannot advance further. It is not so with rea- son : the vast conquests of science, by giving more accurate notions of an infinite multitude of things, and by destroying errors and prejudices, have neces- sarily furnished our reason Avith the means of rising to a still greater height, and arriving at a relative degree of perfection, the idea of Avhich could not so mucli as be conceived some ages ago. Such slioidd also be our criterion as to morals. Human qualities become virtues, when they arc equally removed from all the excesses into wliich they may be disposed to fall, and confined within due limits, be- yond which every thing is vice.* If these limits do not vary in the com'se of time and among different people, we have strong probabilities for believing that this virtue ^has an absolute value. Now, this is what we remark generally concerning most moral qualities : they admit a type which we may Avith great proba- bility consider as absolute, so that human nature, considered in reference to these qualities, Avill not be progressive. Yet there are qualities the importance of which has varied in the course of time, and which has increased or diminished with the development of reason, on which they depend, at the same time that the physical has yielded preponderance to the intel- lectual man. Thus courage, which, in the earliest ages, raised a man to the first rank, and, in some manner, assigned to him a place near to divinity, has diminished in importance beside other qualities more in harmony with our manners and present actual ne- cessities. The qualities of a contingent value, if I may so express myself, are in a measure subordinate to the law of development of human nature, and to the different jDrinciples of conservation ; they generally produce more renoAvn than the others, because men have a more direct influence in encouraging them. The natural consequence of the ideas which I have just stated, is, that an individual who should comprise in himself (in his own person), at a given period, all the qualities of the average man, Avould at the same time represent all which is grand, beautiful, and ex- cellent. But such an identity can scarcely be realised, and it is rarely granted to individual men to resemble this type of perfection, except in a greater or less num- ber of points. M. Cousin, setting out from very differ- ent considerations to those which are the object of this work, has nevertheless been in some measure led to conclusions similar to those I have just deduced from the theory of the average man. Speaking of the cha- racter peculiar to great men, he finds that this cha- racter consists in comprising people, periods, all human nature, nature, and universal order.f " Thus," says this learned academician, " all the individuals of which a people is composed, represent the whole mind of this people. But how do they represent it? One peoi^le is one in mind ; but this is a multitude in its external composition, that is to say, a great multipli- city. Now, what is the law of all multiplicity ? It is, to have differences (le, that where variable causes do not exist, the eflects produced will constantly be the same ; and that the more variable the causes are, the effects will also generally vary within wide limits. Thus, sup- posing that human volition acts independently of all fixed laws, and in the most varied and irregular manner, we must necessarily find the effects produced presenting the greatest anomalies also, and difTerences varying within the widest limits. Now, it is tliese differences which it is desirable to examine and mea- sure. To define our ideas, let it be supposed that we want to examine if any general causes exist which modify the repression of crime; in other Avords, which modify the severity witli which the guilty are punished. We must necessarily have recourse to observations which have been very carefully collected ; and, if the annual results are not constantly the same, we shall be obliged to admit that the variations proceed either from errors of observation, from the influence of local causes, or from the influence of moral causes inherent in man. Going deeply into these researches, we really find that these elements vary according to time and place. Now, since the number of probable influential causes may be extremely great, it is proper to investigate them individually : it is in this manner that we are (at) first enabled to separate from our results the influ- ential causes depending on locality, all our observa- tions being taken in the same country ; and that we may also eliminate the influential causes depending on periodicity of season, by carrying our researches over the whole year, whence we return to the appre- ciation of all the influential causes, taken sepa- ratel3\ Uniting the statistical documents of the courts of assize in France for the six years before 1831, we find :— Years. Accused. Conclenined. Repression. 1825, 182(), - 1827, 1828, 18-29, laso, - 7,234 (i,988 fi,!)2!) 7..3!« 7.373 U,!)()2 4594 43)8 ■ 4236 4551 4475 4131) 0-635 0-G22 0-(ilO 0-615 0-607 0-593 Average, - 7.147 4380 0-6137 This table shows us that the repression of crimes 104 ON MAN. ia general, has been annually decreasing, certainly not very much, but 3'et manifestly. Now, of the causes influencing repression, some act in a constant and others in a variable manner. By virtue of the former, the number 0-61.37, which expresses the re- pression of crimes in general, should have a constant value from one year to another ; by virtue of the ac- tion of the variable causes, the same number would undergo greater or less modifications. I shall first be occupied with the measurement of the influence of the constant causes. To give a better conception of my idea, I suppose an individual labouring imder an accusation ; as we have just seen, the chance of being condemned will be as 614 to 1000 ; this probability should be understood in the most general sense, admitting that as yet we know nothing of the nature of the crime, the age, or the sex, of the accused, or of the state of education, or auv of the constant causes modifying the repres- sion of crime. But if we learn the fact, that the accusa- tion is for a crime against persons, the probability of being condemned is altered ; indeed, experience proves that the repression of crimes against persons is less than that of crimes against property. In France, the average values have been from 0-477 to 0"665, for the sLx years previous to 1831. Thus the chances are only 477 in 1000 that the individual will be condemned when accused of crime against persons; 655, when the crime is one against property. The principal cause of this inequality appears to be, as has been frequently remarked, that we are averse to apply punishment when it has a certain degree of severity, or appears severe in proportion to the crime ; this is especially the case -with crimes against persons.* The sex of the accused has, moreover, a marked influence over the repression of crime : the severity is not so great towards females. AU these shades Avill be more evident on inspecting the following table, which points out the different degrees of probability which exist of an accused person being condemned, according as the causes are favourable or the con- trary : — Probability State of the Accused Person. of being Condemned. Possessing a superior education, • - 0'400 Condemned who has pleaded guilty, - 0*476 Accused of crime against person, - - 0-477 Being able to read and write weU, - - 0-543 Being a female, ----- 0-57G Being more than 30 years old, - - 0-586 Being able to read and write imperfectly, - 0-COO IVUIioiU any diskinaiion, - - - 0-614 Being a male, ,.-.-- 0-622 Not being able to read or WTite, - - 0-627 Being under 30 years of age, ... 0-630 Accused of crime against property, - ■• 0-055 Condemned in absence, or for non-appearance {con- tumax], 0-960 Experience, therefore, proves that the most influ- ential cause diminishing the repression of crime con- sists in the appearance of the criminal before the judge with the advantage of a superior education, Avhich supposes a certain degree of affluence, and the ready means of making a defence. The most advantageous position an accused person can possibly be in, is to be more than 30 years of age, a female, to have received a superior education, to appear under an accusation of a crime against person, and to come when cited, prev-iously to being taken into custody ; on the con- trary, the most disadvantageous state is to be under SO years of age, unable to read or write, to be a man, and accused of crime against property, and not to be * [Here, as in other places, M. Quetelet gives his important sanction to the principle upon which the amenders of the crimi- nal laws of England cliiefly found their arguments for reform. The severity of the punishment leads to the escape of the crimi- nal.] able, as refusing to appear when cited, to produce the means of defence. The causes which modify the probability of being condemned, according to the state of the accused per- son, appear to me so evident, as to render it super- fluous to insist on them. Such is not the case witli the degree of influence of these causes -, this estimation is attended with difficulties. Reflecting upon it, it has appeared to me that, of all the numerical elements subject to variation, we might very easily estimate the importance of the deviations from the average, or the iih- portance of the causes which produce them, by comparing these deviations with the magnitude of the average. It is almost in this manner that the first geometricians who studied the theory of probabilities as applied to facts bearing upon man (and BufFon, in particular), have estimated the importance of a whole, for one individual, by comparing it with what this individual possessed. According to this estimation, it will be necessary to take the deviations from each of the ratios calculated above, and compare these witli the number 0'614, the measure of the repression in France, when v/e do not I)ay attention to any modifying cause ; the respective magnitude of the deviations Avill give this measure of their importance, and consequently that of the causes which produce them, effects being considered as pro- portional to their causes. Let us suppose, for example, that we seek to ascertain the value of the respective influences which are exercised on the repression of crime in France, by possessing the advantage of a superior education, and being a female ; we find the values of the repression are 0'400 and 0*576, and the diSerences between these numbers and the general average, 0"6I4, are 0*2 14 and 0*038. From what has been said, the importance of these differences, or of 214 38 the causes which produce them, will be -^ a,nd ^ or otherwise, 0*348 and 0*062. From this we perceive that a superior education has five times the influence which being a woman has, in diminishing tlie repres-^ sion of crime before the tribunals. Tlie following table presents the degrees of influence of the different causes modifying the repression of crime, and has been cal- culated upon the same bases : — Stite of the Accuscl. Relative degr-ee of the influence of the state of the Accused on the Repression of Crime. Possessing a superior education, - - 0-348 Appeared to plead after having been declared absent or contumacious, - - 0224 Accused of crime against persons, - - 0-223 Being able to read and WTite well, - 0-115 Being a female, .... 0-062 Being more than 30 years of age, - - 0-045 Being able to read and write imperfectly, - 0-023 Without a»i/ designation, ... 0-000 Being a man, - . . . . 0-013 Being imable to read or write, - - 0022 Being under 30 years of age, ... 0-026 Accused of crime against property, - 0-067 llaving withdrawn from justice, or for non- appearance when cited (coHfionoa-), - 0*563 Thus, as I have alrcadj' observed, there is not any cause Avhich lias more influence in varying the repres- sion of crime, than the reluctance or non-appearance of the accused to answer charges. The preceding table does not merely possess the advantage of showing this clearly, but also shows the degree of influence of the cause producing it. And here there is a question of another kind, viz., how far those causes may be regarded as constant Avhich have now been pointed out. For, before one can say that they are absolutely constant, it must be shown that the results which they produce continue the same from year to year. Now, this is what does ON MAN. 105 not take place: the deviations from the average, ■which we have taken as constant quantities, annually undergo shglit modifications, which Ave have attri- buted to variable causes: these modifications are in general very small, when we only take a small num- ber of jcars into account ; but still it is necessary to notice them. The repression of crime in general, for example, has not been constantly of the value 0'614 during the six years which have furnished the ele- ments of our calculations ; small annual differences have been observed, and the repression, in its great- est deviations from the average, more and less, has been 0-635 and 0-.593 ; the deviations are consequently (J21 and 0-021 ; and consequently their ordinary value is or 0-034. Thus the variable causes which have produced alterations of the degree of re- pression, have had, in their maximum and minimum of energy, influences which have equalled or even sur- passed the influences of some causes which we have been considering as constant. To have a juster idea of the variable causes, it will be proper to examine tiie elfccts which they have annually produced on each of the elements considered above. The follow- ing tables will supply us with data on this subject : — Repression of Crimes Repression. against Pcrsfins. 1 against Properly. Jlcn. Women. l«2.->, 1820. - 18-27, 1828, - 1829, 1830, - (fir, 0.51 0-M 0-47 0-46 0-4(; 0-66 0-67 0-65 0C6 0-03 0-04 0-63 0-62 (Hi-J 0-62 0-61 0-60 060 0-57 57 0-54 AveraRe, 0-477 0-655 0-722 0-576 Ycirs. Repression in Individuals Roprc Fsion. under 30 Veai-s. above 30 Years. Not Appearing. Appeared to stand Trial. 1826, 1827, - 1828, 1829, - 1830, 0-Gi 0-64 0-w 0-62 061 0-60 0-.58 0-59 0-58 0!»3 0-97 0-97 0-97 0-9fJ 0-49 0-45 0--)G 0-50 0-48 Average, - 0C3 0-,oC6 ('•!K1 0-479 Repression ii 1 Individua 3 Years. c unable to Read or Write. able to Read and Write im- perfectly. able to Read and Write well 1 who had a Superior Education. 1828, 1829, - 1830, O-f.3 0-63 0-62 062 0-60 0-58 0-56 0.55 0-52 0-.T5 0-48 0-37 Average, - 0-627 0-60 0-543 0-40 Causes -which Modify Repression. These different tables teach us that the greatest variations which any of the constant causes modify- ing the repression of crime have undergone, have scarcely exceeded the value of the intensity even of these causes : or, in other terms, that in the very circumstances most unfavourable to observation, the effects of constant causes have been but little effaced by the effects of variable and accidental causes. "We shall be enabled to judge better on this point by the following table, which discriminates for us the im- portance of the greatest deviations which the causes modifying repression have presented in each of the cases above enumerated : — The accused has a superior education, - appears to answer charge, is prosecuted for crime against) person, - - - - j is able to read and write well, is a female, - - . .. is upwards of 30 years of age, is able to read and write imper-^ fectly, - - - - / is without any designation, is a male, - , . . is unable to read or WTite, is under 30 years of age, is prosecuted for crime againsti property, - - - / does not appear when cited, - Difference from the Average. Less. Greater. 0-200 0-050 0-125 0-056 0-069 0-035 0-031 0-042 0-024 0-042 0-062 0-027 0033 0-033 0-034 0-013 0-005 0-016 0-034 0-019 OOU 0-032 0-039 0018 0010 0-031 I have always reasoned on the hypothesis that our results were founded on so great a number of obser- vations, that nothing fortuitous could affect the value of the averages : but this is not the case here. Some results are deduced from observations which are yet small in number, and we know that, all things being cfiual, the precision of results increases as the square root of the number of observations. This is especially applicable to any thing concerning the repression (punishment) of the accused persons who have received a superior education. The values obtained are deduced from a small number of observations, and the deviations front the average of them have consequently been greater : now, by employing the method of the smallest squares, I liave found that the accuracy of the numbers 0-400 and 0-6137, previously obtained for repression in ge- neral, and for repression exercised in particular against the accused who have received a superior education, is in the ratio of 0-0870 to 0-0075, or as 11 to 1. In separating, pursuant to the preceding observa- tions, what is purely fortuitous in the deviations from the averages, so that we may only consider the causes which have had a greater or lesser regu- larity of influence on the repression of crime, I think that" we may pretty nearly represent their influence by 0-034. These deviations are such that it is easy to perceive that the repression of crime has gradually diminished. Kow, this progressive diminution must have its causes ; and one of them, undoubtedly the most influential, is pointed out in the Compte General de V Administration de la Justice Criminelle en France pendant I'Ann^e 1830 : — " Six years have passed away since the Cumptes Gcn&aux of the administration of criminal justice have been published. During the former half of this period (1825, 1826, and 1827), the lists of the jury were formed according to the rules laid down in the code of criminal instruction (instruction criminelle); during the second half (1828, 1829, and 1830), these lists have been made according to the law of the 2d of May 1827, which has changed the basis of juries, and called a greater number of citizens to fulfil its duties. By taking the totality of the results of the accusations during the entire period of six years, as weU as during each part of it, and by comparing these different results, we find that the only difference betwixt juries formed according to the code of criminal advice, and those which the legis- lature has subsequently made, is this, that the latter class appear to have a slight tendency to look upon accusations less severely. The proof of this assertion is found in the following table : — Years. Iffi5,182(i, 1827,llf28,j 1829, and ISJO, ' 1825, 18-26, and 1827, 1828, 1829, and im). Totality of Accusations. Acquitted. 0-38 n-;!9 Condemned to Punishments. Ignominious. Correctional 0-38 0-41 O-.Ki 0-23 0-21 0-26 106 ON MAN. In a few years we shall be enabled to compare these conclusions with those resulting from the declarations of the present juries, whose constituent elements have been further enlarged by the reduction of the electoral franchise, and who at present only pronounce con- demnation with a majority of seven voices." Thus the preceding table shows us that not only the number of acquittals has diminislied, but even the punishments awarded have been less severe : there have been fewer ignominious and more correctional ones. This observation on the tendency to value accusa- tions more leniently, presents itself with a still greater degree of probability when we examine the nature of the crimes in detail : it is there, especially, tliat we can see if they have recoiled more readily from the application of punishments, on account of their seve- rity. We find, in effect, that condemnations to death have diminished very manifestly. The same obser- vations recur ivhen we make the distinction between crimes against persons and property ; a proof of which, also, is found in the following table : — Accused of Crimes against Persons. Accused of Crimes against Property. Years. < Condemned to Punishment. 1 Condemned to Punishment. Ignomi- nious. Correc- tional. Ignomi- nious. Correc- tional. I!i25, 2(J, 27,| C8, 29, 30, (• 1825,20,27, I82ii,29,30, 0-52 0-50 0-53 0-28 0-30 0'2() 0-20 0-20 0-21 0-34 0-33 0-.35 0-42 0-45 0-.39 0-24 0-22 0-2G On both hands we see fewer condemnations, and tlie condemnations are less severe.* It appears, there- fore, to be probable, that some causes exist, whatever niay be their nature, M-hich haA'c had an influence in France in slightly diminishing the repression of crime : time will sliow us better if we are to seek for one of the causes of tliis in the introduction of that law which has changed the constitution of tiie jury, and also if this cause is single. However the case may be, it is very evident that the causes which from year to j'car have modified the repression of crime in general, have had a weaker influence than the con- stant causes which modify it according to the nature of the crimes : for, still preserving the two established periods, we find that the first-mentioned causes have had tlie effect of producing, on an average, only two or three additional acquittals out of 100 accusations, taken promiscuously ; while the second causes have almost invariably produced eighteen acquittals more for accusations of crimes against persons tlian for those against property. This indeed has been already seen, when comparing the two tables given above. I liave hinted tliat the change introduced in the for- mation of juries was perhaps not the sole cause M-hich had modified tlie repression of crime : and, indeed, I think that the events of 1 830 have not been without some influence on this matter. The repression, for crime in general, is at that period much less than dur- ing the otlier years, and this conjecture gains still more weight wlien we enter into the consideration of de- tails. Thus, out of the twelve modifying causes which iiave been pointed out, the repression for this year lias presented nine minima, and the three otlicr values approach their minima very nearly. Indeed, it is na- tural to suppose, that, to those causes wliicli miglit then predispose to indulgence, there would also^be added apprehensions of individual safety, fears of re- action, and other causes which are developed in the heart of man in the midst of political agitation. Gene- rally speaking, a revolution ought to produce a greater * See Oie Compks Gencraux, for the repression of each crime in piirticiilar. or less modification of each element of tlic social sys- tem, and especially in what relates to crime. I shall here observe, that analogous ettccts have also been observed in Belgium, where a revolution took place at the same period. The residts of the repres- sion of crime for this country are sufRcienth' interest- ing to find a place here. Crimes in General. Accused. Condemned. Repression. 182(i, 1827, - 1828, 182!), - 1830, 725 8(0 814 753 6-13 611 6!e 677 612 4S) 0-843 0-852 0-R32 0-811 0-759 Average. - 747 613 0-821 This table shows us that the degi'cc of repression in 1830 was weaker than during the other years; the difference is here even more sensible, for the measure of its importance is 0*075, whilst in France it was 0"034 ; but our revolution was also less local than that ofFrance, and the provisional government lasted longer. Another observation which nmst strike us on exa- mining this table is, that the repression has in general been much higher in Belgium than in France ; the respective values liave been on an average 0*82 1 and 0'614, nearly as -i to 3. This great disproportion is owing to the circumstance, that, up to that time, the jury had not been instituted in Belgium, although the people were governed by similar criminal la-\vs ; and these numbers maj", to a certain degree, give us the mcasm-e of the influence exercised on the late of an accused person, in case of his appearing before judges or before a jiny. Now that the institution of jury is established in Belgium, we shall be still better enabled to appreciate its influence, from the modifications which it may produce in the repression of crime. I have inx'sented the circumstances bearing on re- pression with some detail, that I may give a better idea of the light in which I view tlie possibility of measuring the influence of causes. I shall now offer the rcsidts of the calculations which I have obtained for other elements of the social system, and their ap- proximation will lead us to very remarkable conclu- sions. I have been careful to point out the years in wliich the maxima and minima of the deviations have occurred, by the side of the degree of importance of these deviations. Importance of the Epochs. Belgium. Difference. .More. Less. Of Max. Of Min. Stature of the JMilitia — Town, - 0003 0-005 1825 1827 ~ ~ ~ Country, 0-001 0-003 1826 1827 Repression of crime in general, 0-038 0-075 1827 18.30 Condemnations in general,* - 0112 0-212 1827 1830 Births in town, - - . . 0-084 0-120 1825 1817 — in country. 0-083 0-139 1826 I8I7 Deaths in town, - - ■. . 0-158 0-047 1826 1816 — in country, 0-170 0-071 1826 1824 Marri.iges.t - . . .. 0-135 0-212 1815 I8I7 Receipts of the trc.isury, 0-188 0-08(J 18-26 1820 E.xpenditure of the treasury. 0-143 o-i;o 1826 1820 Price of wlieat, ... 1134 0-447 1816 1824 — of rye, - - . . 1-374 0-500 1816 1824 * The importance of tlie deviations, and especially of the maxi- mum deviation of the lesser, is sensibly greater for Belgium than for France : this arises from tlie circumstance that, during the Tear 1830, there were much fewer condemnations tlian in the preceding years, the operation of tlie tribunals having been sus- pended during a longer or shorter time. This year is a com- plete anomaly, and perhaps ought not to have been included in our calculations, except we took the time only durmg which the courts were open. \ These ratios have been taken from the numbers found in the ^vIu)le of the ancient kingdom of the Low Cotmtrics. ON MAN. 107 ITiibU continued.'^ Fba.vce. ♦ Importance of the Difference. Epochs. More. Less. Of Max. Of Min. Repression of crime in general, Condemnations in Renenil, Condemnations for crimes against > property, • - - / Condemnations for crimes against) person, . . . . 1 Births, Deaths, .... ^larriageR, .... OfVM 0-047 0-056 0153 0-0-21 0-071 0117 0-034 0-057 0O56 0-144 0.0.M 0-04e elements observed, the least variable are the stature of man and the repression of crime (or the severity whidi the tribunals display in i)unishments); we after- wards see, in the adjoining lines, the facility which man shows to commit crime, and the facility with which he reproer of deaths than the numl)er of births, or even tlie number of crimes which annually scourge so<-iety.t Marriages also take place with regularity, but their numbc-r varies at the name time within wider limits than the preceding elements ; the same has been the case with the receipts and expenses of the Iklgic treiLsury ; but no element has undergone greater variations than the price of rye and wheat. In passing, we shall observe, that the prices of grain have a very close {Hroite) relation to every thing bear- ing on the other elements. Thus, in the years 1816 and 1817, the prices of grain were very high, and mar- riages numerous ; on the other hand, it was the same Avith births. It would appear a3 if the maxinmm of deaths should also have taken jjlace in this year, in place of the minimum, which we observe in the towns, in 1816. Kxamining the numbers for 1817 attentively, we really find that they will form maxima for town and country, if we consider the increase of the popu- lation, another influential cause, which it is easy to calculate. The minimum would then be carried to 1824, whicli is the period when grains were at the lowest price, and which year was followed by a year of very great fruitfulness of women both in town and countr>'. Taking notice of the annual increase of the popula- tion, which has been considerable in Belgium, we find values which closely resemble those furnished by France; we find, moreover, that the year 1817 pre- sents the minimum of marriages and births, both for town and country, and, at the same time, the maxi- mum of deaths, both for town and country. It is to be observetl, that the maximum of the number of marriages has taken place in 181.'), not- withstanding tlie increase of the population in subse- quent years. This year, which brought the wars and disasters of the empire to a close, allowed a great mnnber of young men to return home ; and, being attenilcd by peace, gave rise to many new establish- ments in life. * See the Compta Gerty, - ~ ~ person, - Mental alienation. 112 0-297 0-346 0-410 0-634 3-09 1.38 9 Thus, the results taking place in different years I have varied less than those produced by seasons, and the respective influences of the cau.ses which give rise to them, as concerns the movement of population, are more dissimilar in the country than in town. We may remark, in general, that the country is, pliysically speaking, more easily acted upon than towns, and that the deviations from' the average there have greater values, undoubtedly l)ecause more hold is given to UKxlifying causes of different kinds. The epochs at which the maxima and minima take place have also very singular relations. Thus, deaths and crimes against property are more numerous in ♦ M. I/Avocat Ouerry has given, in the Annfilfs 'flli/yifne for April 1H29, some drawings iiicttim) representing the influence of the seasons on physiolngit-nl phenomena : it is to bo greatly re- gretted tliat these doiigns are not accompanied by the numbers according to which they have been made. 108 ON MAN. winter, in consequence of the rigours of the season and the privations to which man is subjected. Crimes against person are more frequent at periods when the passions are most in force, and when mental aliena- tion manifests itself with the greatest intensity. As to the diurnal period, it is to be regretted that calculations are still wanting to enable us to appre- ciate its decided influence on the human species. From the numbers which I have obtained for Brus- sels, births appear to be more numerous durmg night than in the day time. The deviation from the average both on the side of surplus and the reverse, amounts to 0-114.* M. Buck has since arrived at the same results for the city of Hamburg, and found the ratio to be 0-136. M. ViUerme himself, at the Hospice de la Maternite in Paris, has obtained similar results. The deviations are more important when Ave compare the diflerent hours of the day separately. M. Guerry, in the Annates d' Hygiene for January 1831, has pre- sented some researches on the influence of the differ- ent parts of the day on suicide by suspension ; and he has found, during a period of 14 years, that the greatest number of cases have taken place between the hours of 6 and 8 o'clock in the morning, and the fewest num- ber between 12 at noon and 2 in the afternoon. The deviations, more and less, have been in relative impor- tance as the numbers 0-625 and 0-614: these devia- tions are considerable, compared Avitli those hitherto observed. It is sufficiently apparent, that the smallest period, that of the day, has still greater influence than the monthly period (which depends on the succession of seasons), and consequently more influence than the totality of the causes, which produce variations betwLxt the average results of one year and another — always supposing it to be understood, that these average results are not deduced from too large a number of years, during which the men observed may have com- pletely changed, so as in a manner to present a dif- ferent social condition. If we now sum up what has been said, we may de- duce the following conclusions : — 1st, The regular and periodic causes, which depend either on the annual or diurnal period, produce effects on society which are more sensible, and which vary within wider limits, than the combined non-periodic effects annually produced by the concurrence of all the other causes operating on society ; in other terms, the social system, in its present state, appears to be more dissimilar to itself in the course of one year, or even in the space of one day, than during two consecutive years, if ym have reference to the increase of the population, 2d, The diurnal period seems to exercise a some- what stronger influence than the annual period, at least so far as births are concerned. 3d, The annual period produces more sensible effects in the country than in town ; and this appears to be the case with those causes in general Avhich tend to modify the facts relating to man. 4th, The price of grain has a very marked influence on the elements of the social system ; and althougli we still want sufficient data to appreciate the compa- rative values of this influence, yet we may A-ery safely range it among the causes operating most energetically. 5th, If we wished to class, according to our obser- vations, the elements relating to man in an order which should indicate the degree of variation to which they are subject, we should find the succession as foUoM's, commencing witli the least variable : — The stature of man ; the repression of crime, or the degree of severity with which it is punished ; the births ; the propensity to crime, or the facility Avith Avhich it is committed ; deaths ; marriages ; receipts and expenses of the trea- sury ; and, finally, the prices of grain. * Sec my RecJierclies sur la Population, ^c., dans IcRnyaumc dcs Pa>/s-Bas, p. 21. Thus man commits crime with at least as much regularity as is observed in births, deatlis, or mar- riages, and with more regularity than the receipts and expenses of the treasury take jdace. But none of the elements which concei'n him, and which have been calculated in our table, vary within wider limits than the prices of grain. From what has been said, we may draw the two folloAving principal conclusions : — Since the price of grain is one of the most influen- tial causes operating on the mortality and reproduc- tion of the human species, and since, at the present day, this price may vary Avithin the Avidest limits, it is the province of the foresight of governments to diminish as much as possible aU the causes which in- duce these great variations in prices, and consequently in the elements of the social system. On the other hand, since the crimes which are an- nually committed seem to be a necessary result of our social organisation, and since the number of them cannot diminish without the causes which induce them undergoing previous modification, it is the pro- vince of legislators to ascertain these causes, and to remove them as far as possible : they have the poAver of determining the budget of crime, as Avell as the re- ceipts and expenses of the treasury. Indeed, experience proves as clearly as possible the truth of this opinion, Avhich at first may appear paradoxical, viz., that so- ciety prepares crime, and the guilty are only the instru- ments by ivhich it is executed. Hence it happens that the unfortunate person Avho loses his head on the scaffold, or who ends his life in prison, is in some manner an expiatory victim for society. His crime is the result of the circumstances in which he is found placed : the severity of his chastisement is perhaps another result of it. HoAvever, when matters have come to this point, the punishment is no less a neces- sary evil, were it only as a preventive mean : it Avould only be desirable that the other means of prevention might afterwards become sufficiently efficacious for us not to be obliged to have recourse to the former severe means. I shall conclude this chapter by a final observation, Avliich is as it Avere a consequence of all the preced- ing, viz., that one of the principal facts of civilisation is, that it more and more contracts the limits ivithin which the different elements relating to man oscillate. The more knowledge is diffused, so much the more do the devia- tions from the average disappear ; and the more, con- sequently, do Ave tend to approach tliat which is beau- tiful, that Avhich is good. The perfectibility of the human species results as a necessary consequence from all our researches. Defects and monstrosities disap- pear more and more from the physical world ; the fre- quency and the severity of diseases are combated Avith more advantage by the progress of medical science ; the moral qualities of man experience not less sensible improvements ; and the farther Ave advance, the less are great politic OA'erthroAvs and Avars (the scourges of Immanity) to be feared, either in their immediate effects or in their ultimate consequences. It Avould seem at first sight that the fine arts and literature must suffer from this state of things. For if it be true that individual peculiarities tend to disap- pear more and more, and that nations assume a greater resemblance to each otlier, whatever is most picturesque in society and in the aspect of different parts of the globe, ought insensibly to disappear. Even during the last half century, and Avithin the limits of Europe alone, Ave see hoAv great the tendency is for people to lose their national character and be amalga- mated in one common type : yet nature Avill always be so prodigiously varied, that the talented man Avill never have to fear lest the source of the pictm-esque be exhausted ; on the contrary, he every day finds for liimself neAv sources from which his imagination may take the noblest and most elevated inspiration, and bring out treasures imknown to his predecessors. APPENDICES. APPENDIX— CONTAINING THE ADDITIONS MADE BY THE AUTHOR (M. QUETELET) TO THE GERMAN TRANSLATION OF HIS WORK, PUBLISHED AT STUTTGART IN 1838, BY DR V. A. RIECKE. No. I. ADDITION TO THE INTRODUCTION. Extracts from the Bulletin de V Academie Hot/ale des Sciences et Belles Lettres de Bruxelles : 1835. No. 8. M. QuETELET communicated the other day to the academy several statistical notices published by tlie French government, confirming more and more the ideas expressed by him regarding the constant return of the same phenomena in every thing having a re- ference to the physical and moral man, provided so- ciety undergoes no violent change : — First, It may be seen from documents which refer to the recruiting of the French army, that annually nearly the same num- ber of young men liable to serve as conscripts must be exempted on accoimt of a deficiency m fingers and in teeth ; on account of deafness, goitres, lameness, dis- eases of the bones, weak constitution, insufficient size of body ; or on account of being the first-born, or of being orphans, or sons of widows, blind people, &c. Just as constant appear the numbers of young people who are able to read and write, and those who have received no instruction ; the number of those self- mutilated in order to avoid military service, &c. From tlie following table, it will be more evident in what degree conditions which appear to depend on entirely accidental causes have a constant recurrence. It is an accurate extract from a Report to the King, lately pubUshed in France, regarding the recruitment of the army :* — Number of Young Men in France who have been excused , Military Service on account of Bodily Infirmities. Causes of Unfitness. 1831. 1832. 1833. Wanting fingers, ... 752 647 743 teeth. 1,304 1,243 1,.392 Deafness and dumbness, - 830 736 725 Loss of other limbs or organs, - 1,605 1,530 1,580 Goitres, - . . . 1,125 1,231 1,298 Lameness, 949 912 1,049 Other deformities. 8,007 7,630 8,494 Diseases of bones, 782 617 (W7 Short sighted. 948 891 920 Other aflfections of the eyes, - 1,726 1,714 1,839 Itch, (?) - 11 10 10 Scald head. 749 800 794 Leprosy, .... 57 19 29 Other cutaneous diseases. 937 983 895 Scrofulous aftections, 1,730 1,539 1,272 Afifections of chest. 561 423 359 Hernia, .... 4,044 3,579 4,222 Epilepsy (falling sickness), 463 367 342 Different other diseases, - 9,168 9,058 10,286 Weakness of constitution, 11,783 9,979 11,259 Insufficient size of body, - 15,935 14,962 15,078 Amount of whole class of certain age, 295,978 277,477 285,805 M. Quetelet further mentions, that he knows, from sources to be depended on, that not only the number of letters delivered at the post-office of Paris remains * Compte rendu au Roi, p. 128 and 129. Similar examinations take place in the kingdom of Wirtembui-g, and, as in the above case, the results form a source of valuable materials for medical statistics. nearly the same every year, but that also every year nearly the same number of letters are found, which have been forgotten to be sealed, or whicli could not be delivered in consequence of illegible handwriting, or insufficient addresses, &c. &c. For a long time he had endeavoured to prove, that society pays a fcarfid budget to crime, which perhaps shows a greater regularity than the financial budget : and in a work which he lately published — " An Attempt at the Natural Philosophy of Society" — he felt himself en- titled to say, that if the statistical details published by the government were also to make mention of those crimes the perpetrators of which have re- mained unknoAvn, their occurrence would not be less regular. Tliis supposition has actually found a com- plete confirmation in our country, in the reports made to the minister of justice, and which will be published forthwith. There exists too strict a con- nexion between the phenomena presented by society, and between the causes of which they are the effects, to be neglected any longer by the philosopher and statesman; and, without doubt, the science which has this study for its object, will occupy, in course of time, a high rank in the scale of human know- ledge. No. II. ADDITION TO THE SECOND DIVISION OF THE FIRST BOOK. Influence of the Seasons upon Births. M. Ramon de la Sagra, in his History of the Island of Cuba,* has given a comparative view of the number of births of the white and coloured population in Havanna, according to the months of the year. From the ciphers we reprint here, it Avill be seen how much geographical latitude modifies the results which we have observed in our climates, although the place mentioned is situated in the northern hemisphere. The following ciphers include the observations of five years, from 1825 to 1829 :— January, Februarj', March, April, May, June, - July, August, September, October, November, December, Total, Births. Among the White Population. 624 573 604 1«7 147 481 347 368 358 383 797C 8761 8916 8C80 9520 774 522 549 575 362 846 888 882 879 721 6626 6686 7986 8064 8774 614 509 386 266 199 3322 185 387 8770 556 843 7630 305 From these ciphers, suit : — the following proportions re- Per 1000 Men. Bombay. Bengal. Madras. Cases of deaths. Sick, .... 55 116 63 96 52 (?) This gives an average of about 57 cases of deaths per 1000 men, or 1 death for 17-5. In respect to the kinds of diseases producing these deaths, they may be arranged as follows : — Cases of Deaths. Annual Number per 1000. Names of Diseases. ?? ^ £ ^ i 1 g 1 M a a s ■§ s Fever, ... 267 735 405 15-9 16-8 11-0 Affections of the limgs, - ~. of the liver, - 43 80 100 180 82 170 2-5 4-2 2-2 41 2-2 4-5 ~ of the stomach! and bowels, - - ' 272 872 819 16-2 19-7 21-2 Cholera morbus. 173 623 306 100 14-2 80 Affections of the brain. 21 98 27 1-2 21 0-6 Dropsy, . . - . Other cases of deaths, - 12 57 25 149 28 141 0-7 4-3 0-5 3-4 0-7 3-8 Total, 925 2782 1978 55-0 63-0 52-0 The mean mortality (expressed in per cents.), shows, amongst the European officers of the Indian army, the following results : — Rank. Bombay. Bengal. Madras. Colonels, Lieutenant-colonels, Majors, Captains, - Lieutenants, - Ensigns, . 5-74 5-45 3-77 3-78 3-96 3-15 5-94 4-84 4-10 3-45 2-75 2-34 5-40 611 5-42 5-02 4-17 3-80 The general mean of all ranks, including surgeons and assistant-surgeons, was 3-85. During the last 20 years, there died of the army of Bengal 1184 officers, or 59-2 annually of the average number of 1897 individuals : this gives 3-12 per cent. The mean duration of life of the deceased was, in 81 Colonels, - - - - 61 years. 97 Lieutenant-colonels, - . -51 „ 78 Majors, - . . . 40 ~ 277 Captains, - . - - - 36 ~ We add to the comparative view another, pointing out the mortality of civilians in the India Company's service in Bengal, during the years from 1792 to 1836, according to their several ages and nmnber of years of service : — Number of Years of Service. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 IC 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 30 to 45 Age. 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 toe Number of Civilians. 975 933J 906h 87-4 i 835J 7m 754 694J 638 577i 545 519J 489 468 448 424 403 376i 351 324i 293i 270 239 216 196 167i 148 129 114^ 101^ Cases of Deaths. Retired from the Service. If we put together these ciphers in periods, we arrive at the following comparative view : — Number of Years of Age. Service. 1 to 5 20 to 24 6 to 10 25 to 29 11 to 1.5* 30 to 34 16 to 20 35 to 39 21 to 25t 40 to 44 26 to 30 45 to 49 ,30 to 43 50 to 64 Number of Civilians. 4525 *154i 2469| 1879 1214i 660i Cases of Deaths. of Deaths per 10,000. 199 208 166 204 354 364 486 Retired from the Service. In the United Service Journal, we find several no- tices by Mr M'Culloch on the mortality of officers of the British armj'. * After ten years of service in India, every oflScer may return for three years to England. Many avail themselves of this per- mission, which evidently contributes to the decrease of morta- lity. t After twenty years' service, many oflScers return to Britain, which likewise contributes to the decrease of the mortality. 112 ON MAN. No. VI. EXTRACT FROM THE " BULLETIN DE l'aCADEMIE ROYALE DBS SCIENCES DE BRUXELLES" : 1835. No. 10. CON- CERNING THE MORTALITY AT BRUSSELS. M. Quetelet communicated to the academy the re- sults of the late census, according to which the num- ber of inhabitants of Brussels amounts to 102,702, the garrison not included, which consists of from 2000 to 3000 men. According to the tables of population, there took place in the year 1834 — 4230 Births, 3862 Deaths, - 1092 Marriages, 8 Divorces. Consequently, 1 to 26 inhabitants 1 to 29 1 to 100 Before the census, the number of inhabitants for Brussels was calculated at 94,000. M. Quetelet thinks that even the present cipher is still too low ; and, in the preceding calculation, he believes he is entitled to estimate it at 1 10,000, the garrison included. He supports his supposition, by considering the number of births, deaths, and marriages, according to which, Brussels would present less favourable conditions than most of the great cities of Europe, as he has already shown in hi^ Essay on the Natural Philosophy of So- ciety. However, we must not lose sight of the circum- stance, that the number of deaths in a great city is always augmented hy the number of diseased strangers who swell up the tables of mortality in the hospitals, or by those who go there to receive efficient assist- ance in their sufiFerings. No. vn. REMARKS ON THE JIORTALITY IN EPIDEMICS. Epidemics modify the mortality in a very remark- able manner, and the importance of the phenomena of disease in individuals bears by no means a proper ratio to the general result of the tables of mortality. If the study of epidemics had been properly followed, we should have tables as interesting for science as useful to mankind. Several instances might be ad- duced to prove this. I shall here content myself with citing one : the cholera morbus and influenza are dis- eases Avhich differ greatly from each other ; the one is a dreadful scourge, which manifests itself in the most fearful manner ; the other, in its ordinary exter- nal appearance, resembles a catarrh or common cold ; and yet the tables of mortality prove that, although the latter disease is not so deadly, it nevertheless, in consequence of its universality, and in consequence of the sufferings it causes, produces results nearly as extensively fatal as cholera. Facts, serving to confirm this opinion, may be found in the excellent work pub- lished by Dr Gluge on the History of Influenza.* They show, moreover, that mortality in epidemics is prin- cipally confined to childhood and to old age — those periods which, in the common course of things, have the smaller probabihty of life. No. VIII. INFLUENCE OF SEASONS UPON MORTALITY. In the work of M. Ramond de la Sagra, may be found several interesting notices regarding the mor- tality in Havannah. The following ciphers are the results of five years, namely, from 1825 to 1829 : — * Die Influenza Oder Grippe u. s. w. Minden : 1837. 8vo. Months. Cases of Deaths. White Coloured Total. Population. Population. January, 545 938 1483 February, - 536 831 1367 March, ■• 597 900 1497 April, 487 760 1247 May, 535 731 1266 June, 501 668 1169 July, - 589 793 1382 August , 550 736 1286 September, - 492 689 1181 October, - 548 752 1300 November, - 416 709 1125 December, 508 756 1264 Total, - 6304 9263 15,567 The mortality in the hospital, amongst strangers, does not exhibit quite the same proportion. The following table gives a view of the mortality in the Hospitals of San Ambrosio and San Juan de Dios, in the years 1825 to 1829, and the mortality of strangers during the years 1820 to 1824 :— Months. San Ambrosio. San Juan. Strangers. January, 76 162 44 February, - 65 133 65 March, - 92 184 91 April, 103 145 84 May, - 146 149 169 June, 167 195 170 July, - 158 203 169 August, 132 198 140 September, - 128 247 118 October, - 123 240 73 November, - .93 196 50 December, - 97 277 56 Total, 1830 2329 1229 As far as the first ciphers are concerned, it will be seen that the winter months, and the months of July, August, and October, exhibit the greatest mortality ; but the unfortunate individuals received into the hospitals, and the strangers, are especially subject to the deleterious influence of the summer heat. If we compare, in respect to strangers, the mortaUty of the month of December with that of June and July, we find an increase in the latter nearly fourfold. How- ever, we ought to know, in order to arrive at a correct opinion, what the average number of strangers may be in Havannah during the seasons thus contrasted. We owe to the kindness of Mr M'Culloch, informa- tion regarding the mortahty in the island of Malta, during 14 years, in a population osciUating between 96,000 and 103,000 inhabitants ; thus giving an ave- rage of 100,000 souls. They are as follows : — Months. Cases of Deaths. January, - - - - - 2920 February, .... - 2773 March, 2786 April, - . . - . 2404 May, ...... 2292 June, 2568 July, ...... 3075 August, .... 2919 September, ..... 2675 October, ..... 3081 November, ..... 3013 December, ...... 2995 Months unknown, ... 802 Total, ..... 31,303 Wc observe here again, as in the ciphers of Havan- nah, a tendency to a maximum of deaths during sum- mer, as a consequence of heat. Here follow a few notices regarding the mortality of tropical climates, to be found in the work of Mr A. S. Thomson, on the influence of climate on heiilth.* * Ohservations on the Influence of Climate on Health and Morta- lity. 8vo. Edinburgh : 1837. See .also the work by Dr Annesley, On the Climate of India. London: 1825. Also the Medicul Almanac, by Farre, for 1837. ON MAN. 113 The first numbers inform us of the relative niontlily mortahty of the Englisli troops in the Windward and Lcewai'd Islands. The others refer to 3149 individuals of the native troops in the Presidency of Madras, and 3017 of the English troops, who were received during 1815 into the hospitals. Mortality Presidency of Madras — Sick. in the "Windward Months. and Leeward Native English Islands. Troops. Troops. January, - 65 125 74 Februarj', - 48 63 64 3March, 42 60 70 April, - 57 48 74 May, 59 54 84 June, - 69 85 87 July, 87 104 109 August, 119 93 81 September, 114 74 73 October, 133 113 105 November, 109 94 82 December, - 97 07 97 Total, 1000 ICXIO 1000 Also here we observe, in the time of the great sum- mer heat, and in consequence of it, a greater mortality and more numerous cases of sickness. We may there- fore be well assured, that extremes of cold and heat are equally deleterious to our species. No. IX. ADDITION TO THE SEVENTH SECTION OF THE FIRST BOOK. On the Law of the Increase of Population. Since the publication of my work, M. Verhulst, of the Military Academy of Brussels, has submitted to analysis my hypothesis on the law of the increase of population. This hypothesis rests on the supposition of an analogy between the movement of the popula- tion, mider the difficulties which oppose the increase, and between a moveable body which falls tlu-ough a resisting medium. The results of this comparison agree very well with the data furnished by statistics, and witli those derived from calculation, if we sup- pose an infinitely increasing density in the different layers of the resisting medium. The fornndas on which the calculations and the results regarding the population of Belgium, France, and Prussia, are based, may be found in the second part of the series of the Correspondance Mathematique de V Observatoire de BruxeUes. (See p. 113, and following.) We may say that the statistical data have not yet been collected in so comprehensive a manner as accurately to per- mit us to reduce from our hypothesis, by calculation, aU the consequences to be derived from it regarding the intensity of tlie difllculties met M-ith by the popu- lation in its increase. No. X. ADDITIONS TO THE THREE FIRST SECTIONS OF THE SECOND DOOK. On the Results of Experiments niade on the Weight, Height, and Strength of above 800 individuals. By James D. Forbes, Esq., F.B.SS. L. Sf E., Pro- fessor of Natural Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh.* The interesting and remarkable experiments pub- Ushed by M. Quetelet, of Brussels, on various points of physical development in man, under a variety of circumstances, as to climate, station, age, and sex, induced me to take the opportunity which my pro- * Read to tlie Royal Society of Edinburgh, and communicated by the author. fessional position presented of obtaining the measure of physical development as to the weight, height, and strength of natives of Scotland, between the ages of 14 and 25, students in our university. In the prosecution of this plan, separate lists Tvere kept of persons not born in Scotland, and of these the English and Irish lists have likewise been subjected to calculation. Though of these the numbers are comparatively small, the results present some pretty decisive characters. These experiments Avere conti- nued during two winters (1834-5, 1835-6) : every experiment was made by myself, and noted doAvn by myself. The weights were ascertained by Marriot's spring-balance, which was verified from time to time, and found to have undergone no change in its elasticity. The weight of clothes is included.* The heights are in EngUsh inches, shoes included. For the measiu-e of strength, Kegnier's dynamometer was employed, and these experiments were somewhat less satisfac- tory than the others. The error of the instrument had been ascertained before the commencement of the experiments, and was found to be pretty constant throughout the scale. But after the experiments were finished, this was by no means the case, the error having become variable, owing to the interfering ac- tion of a small spring emploj^ed to bring the index to zero. As this, however, only affects the absolute re- sults (or, at least, its relative influence is trifling), I have contented myself with applying an interpolated correction deduced from the mean of the errors before and after, which cannot differ much from the truth. But the instrumental errors are not the only ones to be contended with. To avoid errors in the use of the djTiamometer, requires vigilant superintendence on the part of the observer ; and as the first pull is gene- rally (though not always) greater than the second or third, this also must be allowed for. I have inva- riably repeated the experiment three times, and often much more frequently. When extraordinary cases have occurred, I have taken the precaution of observ- ing at distinct intervals of time. In ascertaining the mean results, the following method has been adopted : — The natives of each country were separated, and each class divided, ac- cording to age, into twelve sets, from 14 to 25, the greatest number being of the age of 18 years. The mean weiglit, height, and strength for each year was computed, and the result projected upon ruled paper. Curves were drawn through the points thus projected, in such a way as to represent most satisfactorily the whole observations. These curves, with the deter- mining points, are now exhibited to the society. It is proper to add, that the ages registered being the ages at last birthday, the weight, &c., registered, is not that due to the age noted, but at a mean to an age half a year later. Thus, all the persons who were 20 last birthday, are between the ages of 20 and 21, or 20^ at a mean. This has been attended to in making the projections. Besides the EngUsh, Scotch, and Irish curves, I have exhibited those of the Belgian development, from M. Quetelet's experiments, reduced to English mea- sures. The thickness of the shoes not being included in these experiments, half an inch (perhaps too little) has been added to make them comparable with the others. It is important to add, that M. Quetelet's experiments here quoted, as well as my own, were made upon persons in the higher ranks of life — in both cases, in fact, upon persons having the benefit of aca- demical instruction. The number of persons examined by me in the two winters before stated, was thus divided : — Scotchmen, 523; Englishmen, 178; Irishmen, 72; from the colo- nies, &c., 56 ; total, 829, I was careful to obtain a fair average of persons of all degi-ees of height and * According to Quetelet, this amounts to one-eighteenth of the weight. 114 ON MAN. btrength, iu which respect the Scotch average is more linexceptioiiable than the others. There is always a tendency in such cases to get too high a development, because duninutive persons are the least likely Tolun- tarily to come forward. An example of this is found in the mean height obtained by M. Quetelet, from a register of 80 individuals at Cambridge, between the ages of 18 and 23, giving a mean of 69'6 inches, in- stead of 687, as my experiments indicate. The numerical results derived from the graphical process before described, are given at the close of the paper, and seem to warrant the following conclu- sions : — 1. That in respect of weight, height, and strength, there is a general coincidence in the form of the curves with those of M. Quetelet. 2. The British curves seem to have more curva- ture for the earlier years (14 to 17), or the progress to maturity is then more rapid, and somewhat slower afterwards. If we may depend upon the Enghsh curves, this is more strikingly the case in natives of that country than of Scotland, at least in point of weight and strength. 3. The tables incontestibly prove the superior deve- lopment of natives of this country over the Belgians. The difference is greatest in strength (one-fifth of the whole), and least in weight. 4. In comparing natives of England, Scotland, and Ireland, more doubt arises, owing to the difference in the number of experiments ; those for Ireland are confessedly most imperfect. Yet I conceive that the coincident results in the three tables, entitle us to conclude that the Irish are more developed than the Scotch at a given age, and the English less. Some qualification is, however, due, in consequence of the remark (2) ; for in the earlier years (14-17), it would even appear that the English so far get the start of the Scotch, as not only relatively, but also absolutely, to surpass them (in strength and weight) ; but between 17 and 19 they lose this advantage. I am disposed to think that this appearance of a result is not accidental. 5. The maximum height seems scarcely to be at- tained even at the age of 25. This agrees with M. Quetelet's observations. Both strength and weight are rapidly increasing at that age. 6. In the given period of hfe (14-26) aU the deve- lopments continue to increase ; and all move slowly from the commencement to the end of that period. Hence the curves are convex upwards. [This is not the case below the age of 14, for weight and strength. — Quetelet.'] AVeights in Pounds (including clothes). Age. 15 years, 16 ~ 17 - - 18 ~ 19 ~ - 20 ~ 21 ~ - 22 ~ 23 ~ - 24 - 25 „ - English. Scotch. Irish. 114-5 112 127 125-5 129 133-5 131-5 136 138 139 141-5 141 143 14.5-5 144 146-5 148 140 148-5 151 147-5 15f) 153 149 151 154 1.50 152 155 151 152-5 155 Belgians. 102 117-5 127 134 139-5 143 145-5 147 148-5 149-5 150 Heights in Inches. Full Dimensions (with shoes). Age. English. Scotch. Irish. Belgians. 15 years, 64 4 04-7 61-8 16 ~ - 665 60-8 64-2 17 ~ - - C7-5 07-0 66-1 18 - - 081 68-5 68-7 67-2 19 „ - 68-5 68-9 69-4 67-7 20 ., - - 08-7 69-1 69-8 67-9 21 - - 68-8 09-2 70-0 680 22 ~ - 08-9 69-2 70-1 68-1 23 - - 68-9 69-3 70-2 68-2 24 ~ - - 68-9 09-3 70-2 68-2 25 ~ - 68-9 69-3 70-2 68-3 Strength in Pounds. Age. English. Scotch. Irish. Belgians. 15 years, 280 204 10 « - a36 314 236 17 ~ - - 352 340 369 260 18 ~ - - 364 360 389 280 19 .378 378 404 296 20 ~ - 385 3^ 416 310 21 „ - - 392 402 423 322 22 ~ - 397 410 427 aio 23 ~ - 401 417 4.30 335 24 ~ - 402 421 431 337 25 ~ - 403 423 432 339 No. XL Extract /rom the Correspondance Mathimatique et Phy- sique, 1st Series, vol. 11. part 1. January 1838. M. Horner's Investigation into the Development of the Growth of Boys and Girls. Several years ago we published tables to show tlie degi'ce of growth in both sexes at different ages. These tables, which at first sight might seem merely curious, became afterwards of real utility, especially in England. Their importance, indeed, was so much felt, that it was deemed advisable to repeat our expe- riments in several places, in order to find a measure of the modifications likely to be produced in our results by circumstances to which we could pay no attention. Thus, Mr Eorbes of Edinburgh has measured a great number of young Englishmen, Scotchmen, and Irish- men, and a comparison of his results with ours has shown a remarkable correspondence in respect to the gradual development ; at the same time, however, it has, notwithstanding, exhibited a real difference be- tween the mean height of individuals belonging to different nations.* In order to find out the influence produced on the development of the growth by working in manufac- tories, ]Mr J. "W. Cowell has made different interesting observations at Manchester and Stockport. The re- sult of these has been published in the first volume of the Factory Reports, and in an essay On the Philo- sophy of Society. Hitherto we have only seen, from No. 339 of the Penny Magazine, July 1837, that the same experi- ments have also been repeated by Mr Horner, another Enghsli factory inspector. Mr Horner thought that he had observed that the people, iu order to evade the law excluding young children from the lieavy work in the factories, had hit on the plan of using false cer- tificates of age, and Mr Horner, to discover the fraud, resorted to a direct test. He made use of a table similar to ours, and in order to arrive at a nearer ap- proximation of the trutli, he resolved to institute collateral observations. ]Mr Horner, therefore, pro- cured from twenty-seven surgeons, tlie measure of 16,402 individuals, of whom 8469 were boys, and 7933 girls, of the age from 8 to 14 inclusive, and from the following places — Manchester, Bolton, Stockport, Preston, Leeds, Halifax, Roclidale, Huddersfield, and Skipton, and the neighbouring rural districts. The following table is an extract from one of greater dimen- sions, in which the distinction has been noted between towns of first and second rate magnitude and the country : — * See the Correspondance MaMmatiqnc, volume ix. page 205 and foUowing; and Transactions of the Royal Society, Edin- biirah. ON MAN. 115 Age. From 8 to Si years, From 8i & below 9 years, ~ 9 " 9i ~ ~ 9^ " 10 ~ ~ 10 " 1(% ~ ~ m ~ 11 ~ 11 " \\\ ~ ~ Ui ~ 12 ~ - 12 " 12J ~ ~ 12i " 13 ,- -, 13 ~ \^ ~ ~ m ~ 14 Number of Children Measured 327 267 339 272 527 438 418 375 574 506 550 421 664 577 559 478 767 712 660 618 1269 1260 864 980 951 1029 boys, girls, boys, girls, boys, girls, boys, girls, boys, girls, boys, girls, boys, girls, boys, girls, boys, girls, boys, girls, boys, girls, boys, girls, boys, girls. Mean Height. foot. 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 inch. 94 I 8ii' log / 11« \ \\i ' Oi ) J 1 1 in 2i \ 2i f 3^1 3h > 33 \ 3J < 4i / 5i 1 54 / 6i ) 6^ I 7J I 8 / Average Height of Boys & Girls taken Together. foot. inch. 3 9i 3 lOi 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 1 IS 2i 3i 4S 5i Ci 7J The average, or the mean heiglit of the young people between 14 and 18 years, has been ascertained according to the particular accounts given by Mr Harrison, surgeon at Preston. Number of Total of Age. Young Average Mean Height Persons Height. ni Measured. both Sexes. foot. inch. foot. inch. From 14 to 15ye.irs, 117 male sex. 4 8i, 4 9 ) 4 8i ^ «. ~ 140 fern. « „ 15 to 16 ™ 82 male - 4 lOi) ^ loil 4 105 ^ *0 -* 106 fern. „ ~ letoiT ~ 43 male - 5 Oil 4 11^1 5 Oh ~ ~ ~ 90fem. ~ ~ 17 to 18 ~ 47 male ~ 5 1 5 ) 5 „ „ ~ 112 fem. ~ In order to compare the height at similar ages in England and in Belgium, we have expressed, in the following table, the ciphers given in the Penny Maga- zine in metres ; and in order to get, for instance, the lieight of a child of nine years of age, we have taken the mean of the child's height in the age between 8 J and 9 years, and the height of the age of 9 and 9A, &c. &c. Age. English. Belgians. ' Boys. Girls. Boys. Girls. metres. metres. metres. metres. 9 years, 1-202 1-191 1-219 1-195 10 <- 1-234 1-2.32 1-275 1-248 11- „ - 1-273 1-267 1-330 1-299 12 ~ 1-306 1-310 1-385 1-353 13 ~ - 1-338 1-347 1-439 1-403 14 - 1-400 1-403 1-493 1-453 15 „ - 1-457 1-420 1-546 1-499 16 ~ 1-511 1-502 1-594 1-535 17 ~ - 1-.530 1-518 1-6.34 15.'i5 Of measurements which have been made in Cam- bridge, we have seen that, in general. Englishmen at the time of their complete bodily development are taller than the Belgians ; yet we drew our conclu- sions also from the measurement of students. The results we communicate here are derived from young labourers. From this it may be seen that the heavy work in manufactories forms an obstacle to the bodily deve- lopment of men. We have already obtained analogous results from the nximbers communicated by Mr Cowell, which refer to the youth employed in manufactories, and from others who were not so employed. In the following table we have placed together notices which, up to the present moment, we have procured on this matter ; they may thus be compared with the preceding observations, and it is to be desired that in other covmtries similar observations should be made. [Aote.] — We have also inquired into the law of growth of plants, and in several animals ; and al- though we have not as yet had time to pursue them with the requisite care and to the necessary extent, they have already afforded very interest- ing results, and some remarkable points of compa- rison. Mean Height of Youth from 9 to 25 Years. Age. Boys.* Girls.* English.t Scotch. t Irish.f Belgium.:}: Working Working in Manu- factories. Employed. in Manu- factories. Employed. Boys. Girls. metres. metres. metres. metres. metres. metres. metres. metres. metres. 9 years, 1-222 1-233 1-218 2.'iO 10 _ - - 1-270 1-286 1-260 254 1-227 1-200 11 _ - - 1-302 1-296 1-299 323 1-282 1-248 12 „ - - 1-355 1-345 l-.'i64 .363 1-327 1-275 13 - - - 1-.383 1-396 1-413 399 1-359 1-327 14 ™ - - 1-437 1-440 1-467 479 1-403 1-386 15 , - - 1-515 1-474 1-486 1 502 1-6.35 1-643 1-487 1-447 16 ~ - - 1-565 1-605 1-521 475 1-689 1-696 1-559 1-475 17 " - - 1-5.92 1-627 1-5,35 542 1-714 1-724 1-610 1-500 18 ~ - - 1-608 1-775 1-593 1-645 1-729 1-739 1-744 1-670 1-.544 19 ~ - - 1-740 1-750 1-762 1-700 1-562 20 ~ - - 1-744 1-754 1-772 I-7O6 21 ~ - - 1-747 1-757 1-777 1-711 1-570 22 ~ - - 1-750 1-757 1-779 23 ~ - - 1-750 1-76(J 1.784 24 „ - - 1-750 1-760 1-784 25 ~ - - 1-750 1-760 1-784 1-722 1-577 * These results were ascertained in the neighbourhood of Manchester. t These by Jlr Forbes of Edfnburgh. t These by measurement of the wenltliy class. 116 ON MAN. No. XII. ADDITION TO THE FOURTH SECTION OF THE SECOND BOOK. Remarks on the Quality of the Blood, according to the Age and Sex. We are of opinion that all the relations which may vary in different individuals, either according to age or to sex, ought to be subjected to investigations such as the preceding. In this respect the quality of the blood merits our attention, for it undergoes very remark- able changes. The investigations of MM. Lecanu and Denis have furnished, in respect to these variations, the following results :* — We observe, in the blood of the foetus, which is ne- cessarily the same as that of the placenta, compara- tively little serum and much cruor ; this quality of the blood also continues for some time after birth, and seems to remain the same so long as the new-born child preserves the peculiar rosy colouring, that is, for two or three weeks. Prom this period to about the fifth month, the quantity of serum increases and that of the cruor decreases. From the fifth month to the fortieth year, the quan- tity of cruor increases and that of the serum decreases. Trom the fortieth to the fiftieth year, again, the serum increases and the cruor decreases. The following are the mean proportions obtamed by a comparison of the blood of individuals of different ages : — 7 persons from 5 months to 10 j'ears, 13 • • • ■ 10 years • • 20 • ■ 11 . . • • 20 ■ . . . 30 • . 12 . . • • 30 • • . ■ 40 . • 6 • • . . 40 • • . . 50 • • 8 • . . . 50 ■ • . . GO • • 2 . . . . 66 • ■ ■ • 70 • • Proportions. 830 Serum, 11 Cruor. 800 •• 14 •■ 7C0 •• 17 •• 700 .. 17 •• 760 .. 16 .. 780 .. 15 •■ 790 •• 14 .. These are the results at different periods of life. As to the different quality of the blood in the male and female sex, M. Lecami has found that in the male there exists comparatively less serum in the blood than in the female. He found, in the Maximum, Minimum, Mean, Blood of the Male. 805-263 Seriun. 778-625 ■ . 791-944 . . Blood of the Female. 853-135 Serum. 790-394 821-764 The blood of the male has consequently 29'820 less serum than that of the female. On the other hand, the proportion of cruor is greater in the male, as may be seen by the following table: — Maximum, Minimum, Mean, Blood of the Blood of the Male. Female. 148-450 Cruor. 129-999 Cruor. 115-850 •• 68-349 •• 132-150 •• 99-169 •• Thus the blood of the male sex contains 32-981 more cruor than that of the female. No. XIII. ADDITION TO THE FIRST AND THIRD SECTIONS OF THE THIRD BOOK. Remarks concerning the Highest Development of Ihe Passions. The author of a kind notice of our work, published in a periodical, considers the opinion very bold that the passions of men attain their highest energy at the twenty-fifth year, and that, consequently, those talents which presuppose the development of the passions, and especially imagination, ought to produce at this * S. Lecanu — Etudes sur le Sane/ Humain. Paris : 1837. 4to. And "Denis— Recherches Expirimentales sur le Sanff Humain, p. 287. period of life the most distinguished works. With the view of opposing our opinion, the critic cites the instance of J. J. Eousseau, who began to write his best works when about forty. Even if this instance were completely applicable to the question, it proves nothing : as we see that even the most accomplished scientific men commit such mistakes, it cannot be often enough repeated, that the result of calculations of probability can only apply to masses, and cannot be applied to individual cases. J. J. Rousseau did not die at that age which is usually reckoned the mean duration of the life of man ; and yet no one would think of doubting on that account the correctness and the real value of the bills of mortality. No. XIV. Extract from the Bulletin de VAcademie JRoyale des Sciences de Bruxelles. 1836. No. 5. Remarks on the Influence of Age on Insanity, and on the Dispo- sition for Crime, hy M. Quetelet. In ray work on Man, and on the development of his faculties, I have endeavoured to lay before the public the few documents which science possesses concerning the age most liable to mental disease. The accounts of Paris, Caen, and Norway, the only ones I could procure, all agreed in showing that most diseases of the mind occur between thirty and forty. In order to be able to compare the results, I took the total of the insane as unity, and thus I deduced for the different periods of life the following proportions : — Paris. Caen. Norway Below 20 years, 0-06 003 0-17 From 20 to 30 years, - - 0-20 0-17 0-19 •• 30to40 -• 0-24 0-29 0-21 .. 40to50 •• - 0-22 0-25 0-16 -- 50to60 •• 0-14 0-17 0-13 Above 60 years, - 0-14 0-09 0-14 Since the publication of the work containing these investigations, I have received, through the kindness of Sir Charles Morgan, some interesting communica- tions regarding the statistics of the lunatic asylums in Ireland, collected by Mr Radcliffe. Amongst these notices, there is a tabular view of 5021 insane, whose age was extracted from tlie tables of tlie institutions. Besides this, I found in the work of Mr Porter — Tables of the Revenue, Population, &c., 1834— a view of the insane in bedlam, which likewise contains information regarding the age of the insane who were received into this institution and not considered incurable. According to this -view, there were, in the years — Insane. Mean Age of the Insane. 1830, - - - 201 37 years. 1831, - - - - 212 35 •- 1832, - - - 1C3 37 •- 1833, ... - 184 26 .. 1834, " - - 217 36 •■ They remained in the institution an average jieriod of 204 days. The age of 977 of these insane will be found in the following table, in which also the notices concerning Ireland have been entered. Age. Bethlem Hospital. Irish Lunatic Asylums. Insane. Pro- portion. Insane. Pro- portion. Below 20 years, - From 20 to 30 years, ■ ■ 30 to 40 . • • • 40 to 50 . - • • 50 to 60 ■ . Above 60 years, - 61 261 292 203 107 53 0-06 0-27 0-30 0-21 0-11 0-05 500 1551 1284 939 609 136 010 0-31 0-25 0-19 0-12 0-03 Total, 077 1-00 5021 1-00 It may be seen that the numbers of the Bethlem Hospital agree pretty well with those of France and ON MAN. 117 Norway, according to which most insane exist between the years of thirty and forty ; as far as Ireland is con- cerned, the maximum in this country appears some- what earlier. However, we must not conclude from the circumstance tliat " in general the greatest num- ber of insane are to be found between thirty and forty years of age," that also at this age the greatest number of outbreaks of this disease occur. In order to ascertain the critical age, we must take into ac- count the population and the number of individuals from the different classes given in our table. If we then take the average number of the ciphers for those coimtries of which we now speak, we find — Mean of the Distribution Proportion Insane in the of the of the above 5 Tables. Population. Population. Below 20 years, 0-08 0-40 0-20 From 20 to 30 years, - 0-23 0-17 1-25 • • 30 to 40 • • 0-26 0-14 1-8C •■ 40 to 50 -. - - 0-21 Oil 1-91 • • 50 to CO ■ • 0-13 0-09 1-44 Above 60 years, - 0-09 0.09 1-00 Thus it appears, that if we have regard to the popu- lation, and if we may be allowed to generalise the pre- ceding results, that the age between forty and fifty, or rather the fortieth year, is the period of life most subject to insanity. In my essaj^ on the Natural Philosophy of Society, I have shown that it is the same age in •ft'hich most masterpieces of dramatic literature are produced in England and France, with this only dif- ference, that England has in that respect a slight advantage over Erance. May Ave draw from this the conclusion, that the human mind is affected by dis- eases which are in proportion to its energy or exer- cise ? This is still a problem, the solution of which is of great importance to society, and which unquestion- ably will be elucidated by the theory of probabilities which is founded on correct observation. To the preceding question another may be added, which perhaps is even of more direct importance to society, the question, namely. What influence does age exercise over the disposition to crime ? Several years ago I had shoAvn, what the residts of the following years have confirmed, that in France not only the number of crimes committed by individuals at certain periods of life almost always recur in the same pro- portions, but also that the proportions, notwithstand- ing their difference, are equally regular, if we draw a distinction between the different kinds of crimes on account of the sex of the criminals. Heretofore, the docimients which have been afforded by the administration of justice in Belgium have shown that the same regularity is also to be found with us ; further, that in like manner the proportion of the sexes in criminals of different ages is in both countries nearly the same. From this correspondence of the results, we must therefore conclude that they are either reproduced 5'ear after year by a kind of miracle, or that they arise in a very great similarity of the social organisation in the two countries, in so far at least as regards those relations which influence crime. I have even observed that this phenomenon of moral life shows a greater regularity of occurrence than many phenomena of the material world. A short time ago, documents have been published regarding the admuaistration of cruninal law in the grand-dutchy of Baden, which likewise furnish infor- mation respecting the age of the accused individuals ;* * Uebersicht der Slrafrechtespjlege it. s. ic. Karlsruhe : 1834. 4to. (Account of the Administration of Criminal Justice, &c.) The celebrated jurist, Jlittermaier, in commimicating this remark- able work to me, had the kindness to express his opinion regard- ing the investigations in which I was engaged, in tlie following terms : — " I am convinced that the manner in which you view things, proceeding, as you do, by combining facts, is the only way in which we may hope to penetrate the mysteries of nature. and here again we meet with a remarkable correspon- dence of numbers, as may be seen from the following table : — Age of the Grand-dutchy of Baden : 1833. France Accused. Nimiber of the Accused. Proportion. 1826-18£9. 14 to 18 years, - 18 to 30 30 to 40 .. 40to50 .. - 50 to GO . . 60 to 70 ■• - 70 years and above, 93 784 381 211 106 33 1 0-48/''* 0'24 0-13 0-07 0-02 0-00 0-53* 0-23 0-14 0-06 0-03 0-01 1009 1-00 1-00 At what conclusion must Ave then arrive from so many documents Avhich show so surprising a corre- spondence, although the ciphers are not very large ? Must we entirely deny the free will of individuals, or must Ave suppose that it is without influence if we consider the phenomena of society on a large scale — as happens with the phenomena of the material Avorld, where the internal action and reaction of a system do not disturb the equilibrium ? This at least seems to be deducible from observation, if Ave do not perhaps prefer blindly to reject what it teaches us. That Avhich in my opinion modifies the results of different years, is not the influence of free will, as far as it can in fact be active, but rather the changes Avhich society undergoes by degrees, through the gra- dual reform of its institutions — as through the oscilla- tions of its habits and Avants — changes Avhich fortu- nately take an extremely sIoav course. If the social organisation could experience sudden changes, the influence of free Avill would continually defy our fore- sight, which is of course based on a knoAvledge of past ages. Of Avhat use Avoidd it be then to introduce wise institutions, or to think of a reform in our legislation ? Experience convinces us more and more that, Avith the same social organisation, we may be prepared year after year for the return of the same moral pheno- mena. Violent changes or revolutions may indeed take place, Avhich, for the moment, disturb the common course of things, the influence of which may even pro- dace lasting modifications ; but there is the same rela- tion to be here observed as in epidemics and famines Avith regard to mortality. Do Ave reject the tables of the mean duration of life, upon Avhich insurance com- panies found their speculations, on account of the dis- turbances their operations may experience from the occurrence of an epidemic' We may even foresee a revolution, or any other important shock society receives, at least to a certain extent ; whilst this is not the case as regards an epidemic, and most other cala- mities which devastate mankind. Every country has its table of mortality, as every country must have its table of disposition to crime ; therefore, we cannot conclude that, if we had found regarding the influence of age upon crime in France, Belgium, and the grand- dutchy of Baden, the same restdts, we necessarily also should arriA^e at the same results in England. We juay, perhaps, find others, but I do not hesitate affirm- ing that the ciphers of 1835 Avill also recur in 1836, as the same ciphers have occiirred year after year in France, always under the supposition that the state of society undergoes no remarkable change. All my investigations regarding the nature of crime lead me to the same results as yours, and the inferences which the legisla- ture might di-aw from them are of the highest importance. It is a sad truth which you profess in your work, that it is society which prepares the crime. This truth is especially confirmed by the statistics of recidive cases (relapses.) * The French tables do not follow the same divisions according to the age. 118 ON MAN. Mr Porter, to whom we owe very interesting sta- tistic contributions, lias, sometime ago, published the first accurate tables respecting the age of the accused throughout the whole of England, for the year 1834 ;* and his results agree with those of France, Belgium, and the grand-dutchy of Baden, in so far as the maxi- mum of the number of criminals belongs to the same Age of the Accused. England: 1834. France : Accused. Proportion. 1826-1829. Below 16 years, - From 16 to 21 years, .. 21 to 30 •• . . 30 to 40 • • • . 40 to 50 • • ■ • 50 to 60 • • Above 60 years. 2,604 6,473 7,069 3,146 1,525 686 303 0-12 0-29 0-32 0-15 0-07 0-03 0-02 0-02 016 0-35 0-23 0-14 0-(»6 0-04 21,806 1-00 1-00 A remarkable diflFerence between the tables of England and those of France is to be found in the circumstance, that in the former country there is com- paratively a much greater number of juvenile accused than in the latter. This is partly owing to the cir- cumstance, that the English assizes have also to decide on most of those crimes which in France are brought before the correctional police. Before the bar of the latter there appear, however, far more juvenile accused than before the assize or criminal courts. On the other hand, there is in England a class of criminals who train up children as implements for theft and all kinds of petty larceny.f But if we set aside these two causes, and other deviations which render difficult tlie comparison between two countries whose institutions and laws are so different, I think I require to yield nothing of the views with which I concluded several years ago a paper on the disposition to crime, which the academy directed to be inserted in tlie seventh volume of its Transactions, namely, that this afflicting condition seems to be developed in proportion to the intensity of the bodily strength and the passions of men, attaining their maximum about the twenty-fifth year, the period when the body has nearly reached its full development. Afterwards the intellectual and moral development, which follows a slower course, contribute to the de- crease of this disposition to crime, which in after life becomes still more striking in consequence of the de- crease of the bodily strength and of the passions. No. XV. Extract from the Bulletin de VAcademie Boyale des Sciences de Bruxelles : 1836. No. 6. Influence of Age upon the Disposition to Crime. Addition to the foregoing remark : — " Every country has its table of mortality, as every country must have its table of the disposition to crime," &c. &c. When I communicated, about a month ago, the preceding remarks to the academy, I did not imagine that so soon thereafter facts would confirm, in the most decided manner, my opinions. I was then citing the proportional number of criminals of different ages, as the result from the statistical documents regarding England for 1834; and observing that they agreed with those of Belgium, France, and the grand-dutchy * Tables showing the Number of Criminals Offenders in the Year 1834, &c. t The cause which likewise must influence the results respect- ing the number of juvenile criminals, is, that the population of England has proportionally more children than that of France. From the tables of populatio7i for the two countries, it results, that in England, for 100 below M years, there are only 150 adults, whilst in France there are more tli.in -ioo. of Baden only in so far as the age of 23 years ap- pears as that when most crimes are committed, I had no hesitation in saying, that the differences which are exhibited in other respects are by no means acci- dental, but must be the result of the social organisa- tion of England; so that, as their organisation has been the same in 1834 and 1835, the ciphers observed during the former year ought also to occur, without change, in the latter. The documents of the Enghsh tribunals for the year 1835, which Mr Porter kindly communicated to me a few days ago, have just now decided the question. The following is an extract from the two reports : — Age of the Criminals. 12 years and less, 12 to 16 years, 16 to 21 . . 21 to 30 • • 30 to 40 • • 40 to 50 • • 50 to 60 • • 60 and above, Age unknown , Total, Proportion for each Age. 1-78 1-67 9-82 9-70 28-83 29-65 31-49 31-92 14-01 14-01 6-79 6-60 3-(l6 3-24 l-a5 1-30 2-87 1-91 These results, which differ considerably from those of France, agree, as we see, with each other in a re- markable manner ; especially if Ave take into account that we have not to refer to Poisson's Law of great numbers. These were, in fact, during the two years the documents of which Ave haA-e compared, founded on 22,451 and 20,731 criminals: this makes, accord- ing to Mr Porter — In WU, .. 1835, - 1 criminal to 619 inhabitants. - 1 . . . . 631 ISM. 1835. 10-94 - 6-50 73-97 0-72 - 1-92 9-72 6.53 74-66 075 1-78 5-95 6-56 - 100-00 100-00 The same regularity appears, also, in respect to the sex of criminals ; for of 100 criminals, there Avere 84 men and 16 women in 1834. 83 . . . . 17 . . . . 1835. The same regularity is also observed in other relations Avhich come under our view. Thus we find, for in- stance, if Ave distinguish between the different crimes, Crimes against person, .... property, with violence, without violence. Injury to property, - - - - - Forgeries, &c., . . . - . Crimes not included under the preceding categories, . . . . . Total, - This regularity is certainly as great as that which has been observed in the annual number of births and deaths, and still greater than that which has been observed in the recurrence of certain phenomena con- sidered as purely physical. England, then, forms no exception to the folloAving thesis : " There is a budget which is paid with frightfxd regularity — a budget, namely, of prisons and scaffolds." I repeat once more, because i attribute a great importance to this observation, that "Human society, considered on a large scale, exhibits laAvs similar to those which regulate the material A\-orld ;" that the greater the number of ob- served individuals may be, the more avUI disappear all bodily and intellectual peculiarities ; and the series of general phenomena, by means of Avhich society erects and maintains itself, predominates Avith remarkable regularity in their recurrence. Thus the possibiUty may be explained of analysing the different fiiculties of men in an inductive manner ; and what in future will be Avanting to us are, not methods of observation, but observations made in sufficient number and Avith sufficient care to claim full confidence for the deduced results. [ 119 3 TRANSLATOR'S APPENDIX.— PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL STATISTICS. It was originally my intention to have added exten- sively to the admirable work of M. Quetelet, novr sub- mitted for the first time to the criticism of the British public ; but two considerations have induced me to lay aside this idea, at least for the present. The first is, that accurate and official details, upon either general or national statistics, are not yet procurable, to a pro- per extent, in Great Britain. Secondly, the additional matt«r, even admitting it to be perfectly accurate, which could scarcely have happened, must to a cer- tain extent have led the attention of the reader from the main object — the leading idea, if I may so speak, of the work — tliat bright and original conception of a great mind, which those who have perused the pre- ceding pages must now fully understand. Hitherto the attempts to apply to hiunan physio- logy and pathology the science of numbers and weight, have neither been very numerous nor very successful. I shall merely select a few instances as illustrative of the principles advocated by M. Quetelet. L— PULSATIONS OF THE HEART. The left ventricle or cavity of the heart acts as a powerful piston, and by its contractions discharges into the great artery of the body a certain quantity of arterial blood at each contraction. These contrac- tions constitute, in fact, the pulse of the heart ; but as the blood so discharged passes rapidly along the arteries to every part of the body, it is usual for the physiologist, and more especially the medical man, to reckon the number of these contractions at some of the more remote arteries, and the radial artery at the wrist is for many reasons the vessel usually selected. The phenomenon called the pulse, is erroneously sup- posed by many to reside in the arteries ; but it is, in man at least, dependent solely on the heart's action and on the pressure of the observer's finger. It will now be understood, then, that by the number of the "pulsations" is meant the number of contractions which the left ventricle of the human heart performs in a given time. The statistics of these pulsations, also of the num- ber of respirations, had not escaped the observation of medical men. The reader is by this time aware of the extent of the valuable researches of M. Quetelet on these points — correct so far as they go, but requiring modification in consequence of an important element or two having been overlooked in the inquiry. About one hundred years ago, Dr Bryan Robinson* made many accurate observations respecting the hu- man pulse. If Kepler was the first to endeavour to arrive at the " constants" of the human pulse, yet he probably failed to discover that remarkable law, so clearly stated by Dr Robinson, which rests on the in- fluence of posture (and muscular action generally) over the number of the human pulsations. " I took," says he, " the pulses in a minute, and measured the lengths of a * A Treatise on the Animal Economy. Dublin : 1733. great number of bodies. I took the pulses when the bodies were sitting, that they all might be situated alike with respect to the horizon ; and in the morning before breakfast, that their hearts might be as free as possible from the influences of all disturbing causes ; and when I had got a very large stock of observations, I took the means of the pulses." Unfortunately, he has not published the tables of observations on this point — a great neglect in an original observer, render- ing it impossible for future experimenters to verify his observations. Instead of this, he says that he found those means " to be nearly as tlie biquadrate roots of the cubes of the lengths of the bodies inversely." Language of this kind has happily disappeared from most modern physiological works. In the following table he lays down two other laws of the human pulse, tending to prove that the quick- ness of the pulse is, to a certain extent, inversely as Pulse from Ages Length in Observation Pulse in Years. Inches. before Breakfast, by Theory. and Sitting. 72 65 65 ti8 (>7 68 GO 72 74 14 55 77 79 12 51 «2 84 9 id 90 91 i; 42 97 97 3 .33 113 111 2 .32 120 119 1 2« 126 132 i 25 137 144 (1 18 150 184 the age and height. Having exemplified these laws of the pulse by a variety of observations and remarks, he next attempted to measure the effects of diet and stimulants, and of the time of day ; but in this he failed, as was shown in 1812-14 by Dr Knox, whose in- quiries and experiments led to the following conclu- sions : — " 1. That Dr Bryan Robinson was the discoverer of the ' differential pulse in man ;' that he described it perfectly, and ascribed it to its real cause. 2. That he appreciated correctly enough the influ- ence of food, and other disturbing causes of the heart's action, but that he knew nothing of the precise nature of the laws regulating these actions, not having sub- mitted them to any statistical inquiry. 3. He first proved indisputably, that from birth to adult age, the rapidity of the pulse constantly declines, and he has given an accurate statistical table to prove this. 4. He endeavoured to show, by the same numerical method, that the rapidity of the pulse was inversely as the height of the person : or, to give an example, let A be five feet, and let B be six feet, then the pulse of A is to that of B as 72 to 65. But this table is not carefully drawn up, and the actual conclusions are not legitimate, though the law may be a correct one. 120 ON MAN. 5. He suspected a diurnal movement in the rapi- dity of the pulse ; namely, that it decreased during sleep, and increased from morning until night. With several of his conclusions I do not agree. Lastly, He attempted to ascertain, statistically, the effects of muscular motion on the pulse in health ; the ratio of the pulsations to the inspirations ; and the immediate result on the heart's action, of a temporary deprivation of air." The true nature of the fourth law, regulating the human pulse, was discovered by Dr Knox in 1812-13 -. he calls it " the diurnal revolutioyi of the pulse," and he proA^ed that there was not only a natural, numerical, diurnal revolution in the hearths action, but that there existed a fifth law, namely, " a diurnal revolution in the excitability of the heart to stimulants of all kinds." These remarkable laws being opposed to the received medical notions and physiological theories of the day, were much disputed ; but they have been completely proved by subsequent observers. The following re- marks, quoted from his Memoirs, will readily explain these laws to the general reader : — " The question of an average pulse for any parti- cular age can only be put, at least in this form, by those ignorant to a great extent of the physiology of the pulse. Systematic writers on physiology, by stating such questions and replying to them, display a desire to satisfy the general reader at the expense of truth. The pulse varies every hour of the day and night, and after every meal ; it is extensively influenced by merely rising from the sitting to the erect i^osture ; and how, without a special attention to these cu'cumstances, any one can arrive at an average pulse, it is somewhat difficult to imagine. Nothing can be more vague and more unsatisfactory than the following table : — Average of the Human Pulse at Different Ages, according to Bryan Robinson. Age. Length in Inches. Pulse. At birth, ... 18 150 ~ ^ year, - - 25 137 -, I -. ... 28 126 ~ 2 ~ . 32 120 .- 3 - . 35 113 ~ 6 ~ . 42 97 ^ 9 ~ ... 46 90 «12 ~ - . 51 82 ^14 ~ . 55 77 60 72 68 67 72 65 Magendie. Elmotson Mayo. (last Edition.) Before birth, 128 At birth, 130 to 140 At birth, - 140 ~ 1 year. 120 to 130 At 1 year, - 124 At 1 year, - 120 «. 2 ~ 100 to 110 -2 „ - 110 ~ 2 „ 100 to 110 ~ 3 ~ 90 to 100 AMien the first ~ 7 ~ 85 to 90 teeth drop out, 86 - 14 ~ 80 to m At puberty, 8(i At puberty, - 80 Adiilt age, 75 to HO At manhood, 75 Adult from 70 to 75 First old nge, 65 to 75 Old age, about Gd Old age, - 611 Confirmed do. 60 to 65 Scarcely found it twice alike. Here the oldest writer is not only more minute, but approaches perhaps nearest to the truth. Such tables as the above, are, for the most part, slightly varied copies of each other, and in respect to them I would make the following remarks : — No mention is made how the averages of these three last tables were struck. "We are left to guess, 1 st, at what time of tl\e day the pulse was noted, and if in all the individuals at tlie same time of day ; 2dly, in male or female ; 3dly, sitting, lying, or standing ; 4thly, before or after meals ; 5thly, morning, noon, or night ; 6thly, whether sleeping or waking. A little reflection clearly shows that there can be no such thing as an average pulse, unless counted under circumstances precisely similar in aU the indi- viduals experimented on ; and even then we should only obtain the average for that particular hour and time of day. This would be an average pulse in a certain sense. In the absence, however, of such data, the practical utility even of which I question, there still are some, imperfect as they are, which merit attention. In order to arrive at even an attempt at a fair average, we are forced to go back to Dr Robinson's Treatise, written nearly a hundred years ago, and find it to contain the only approach at an analysis of this subject. He gives, in Table II., the average pulse of two men at every hour of the day (whilst sitting), from 8 A.M. until 11 p.m., taken for several weeks : the mean of these waking hours was — for A, 76 ; for B, 78. But still there is a meagreness of detail, and a narrowness of observation, rendering it impossible to base, on such observations, any important conclusion. The mid-day pulse of 25 yomig gentlemen, taken between the hours of 12 and 2, in July 1836, was as folloAVS :— No. 1. H. 2. 11. - 3. R. 4. H. - 5. G. 6. M'G. 7.S. 8. AV. - 9. T. 10. E. - 11. H. 12. W. - 13. AV. 14. S. 15. D. 16. F. - 17. AV. 18. C. ■ 19. K. 20. B. - 21. T. 22. D. ■ 23. S. 24. M'D. 25.0. Mean, ■ Age. 5 feet 5i inch. „ 7 " 6 ~ li - 5-6 ~ ~ - 5 ~ 5 „ Height. /5 10 6-0 5J 5-5 5-8 5-6 5-8 5 3J 6 9 11 11 11* 7" 5-10 5-8 10* Pulse Sitting. 72-4 Pulse Standing. 72 75-4 This table, which was drawn up with the greatest attention to accuracy, discloses some curious facts in the history of the pulse. So far as could be determined, all these young gentlemen were m good health, with one exception ; and yet we find two, in whom the pulse constantly decreased on rising from their seat, and became accelerated on sitting down ; being the very reverse of a law which all physiologists had thought to be universal. Besides these two, in whom the pulse showed so singular a character, there Avere six others Avho had no differential pulse, that is, in whom the muscular action required to maintam the body erect did not accelerate tlie pulse a single beat. Is there, or is there not, a " diurnal revolution " of the pulse in respect merely to numbers, independent of stimulation by food or exercise ? Now, I fancy that this has been completely proved in my first memoir, published more than twenty years ago. But some liave asserted that this morning acceleration and evening retardation depends altogether on the use of food and other stimulants, and that, were it not for these, the pulse would not rise early in the morning and fall towards evening, but would smk constantly. This opinion is incorrect, as the following table, given as a specimen of the experiments by which the exist- ON MAN. 121 ence of a differential pulse was established, -will tend to show : — Table showing the differential pulse, observed in Mr S., aged 20, morning and evening ; proving a diurnal revolution, both as to numbers and as to excitability, altogether independent of food or exercise, and proving the morning pulse to be quicker than the evening one. Date. Hour. Horizontal. Sitting. standing. Differential. April 5, 10 P.M. 53 64 78 25 ~ 6, 7 A.M. 60 75 SW 30 ~ 7, 7 A.M. 65 80 90 25 - 8, 10 P.M. 57 66 78 21 _ 9, 7 A.M. 65 80 90 25 ~ 10, rlO A.M. 60 82 95 35 XU) P.M. 58 70 76 18 Average Differential Pulse. Morning, - 28-7 Evening, - 21-3 Horizontal. Sitting. Standing. Average morning pulse, - 62 78'3 90 Average evenin g pulse, - 56 67 77 The apartments occupied by Mr S. (a gentleman of the most regular habits and in excellent health) seemed to me cold, and exposed to the boisterous westerly Avinds of this cUmate. I have no doubt that tlie temperature of the room had fallen greatly during the night, otherwise the difference between the morn- ing and evening pulse would have been still more marked. The morning pidse was of course noted before breakfast. AVithout doubt, were we to continue long without food, the pulse Avovdd first sink, and then become ex- ceedingly quick on the sUghtest excitement. No one doubts this ; but that tlie morning pulse is quicker than the evening one, altogether independent of anj' stimulants, is proved, I think, beyond a doubt by this and other tables. The next question, which is a more important one in many respects, is as to the existence of a diurnal revolution in the excitabihty of the heart ; by this I mean a varying susceptibility, according to the time of day, for a healthy powerful action of the heart, when influenced by food, exercise, &c. The numerous observations detailed throughout this paper, and in my former memoir, published in 1814-15, may, it is hoped, settle this question with mipreju- diced i)ersons. The excitability of the heart dimi- nishes regularly from an early hour until late in the evening. Indeed, I have reason to think that, since the publication of my first memoir in 181.5, few have doubted this fact ; and I beg leave, therefore, to refer at once to that memoir." The following observations will explain to the reader the nature of the " elements" omitted by M. Quete- let:— " I can nowhere find in the valuable woi'ks of M. Quetelet, that he was aware of the effects of position on the pulse, or of its diurnal revolution, or of the diurnal change in its excitabihtj- ; and this lessens, I regret to say, the otherwise entire confidence I and all others woidd be disposed to place in the results arrived at b}' this profound and ingenious philosopher. In the tables, for example, constructed to determine the influence of sleep on the pulse and respiration, compared with the waking state, no mention is made of the time of day or night, nor of the position of the person whilst awake, Avhether horizontal, sitting, or standing upright. The piUsation of the person sleep- ing woidd, in aU probability, be reckoned in the even- ing, at a time when the pulse sinks naturally, altoge- ther independent of sleep. Again, he found that in a male child from four to five years old, the pulsations and inspirations were — In the construction of these tables, two great data have been neglected, namely, the position of the per- son and the time of the day. If the pulsations and inspirations were reckoned during the night, as an index of the effects of sleep, then the effects of the time of day are mistaken for the effects of sleep ; for at midnight the pulse nume- rically is low in a healthy and stout person, whether asleep or not, and the excitability of the heart is nearly at its zero. Again, the pidse would be counted at one time whilst the person was in a horizontal position, and at another time whilst sitting, or even standing. This would also make a difference of 10 or 12 beats, which M. Quetelet has not taken into account. I question much if any effects arise from sleep, except- ing of a very trivial nature ; but restlessness and watchfulness, arising from any cause, when the body ought to sleep and requires it, would produce a highly excited pulse, the result of weakness and temporary ailment. In this climate, the temperatiu-e of our rooms often sinks very much during winter, and especially towards the morning ;* with the temperature the pulse sinks, and this may be one cause why, as I have just re- marked, some have doubted the fact of the pulse being quicker in the morning than towards evening. The effects of a cold room in depressing the pulse, is such, that even the active exercise of writing fails to counteract it. The folloAving table shows that the pulse remained much depressed under circumstances in which it ought to have risen very much : — 1st December. 2 A. M. — In bed, - - 5 A. .M.— Sitting and writing for some hours, (There was no fire in the room). 6 a.m. — Still writing, ... 7 A. M. — Ditto, .... Asleep. Awake Pulsations, - - 77-3 Pulsations, - 93-4 Inspirations, - - 24-5 Inspirations, - - 29-3 Here the pulse ought, but for the cold room, to have risen very much, for the action of writing raises the j)ulse considerably ; that of composition still more. Those whose minds are much occupied with business, are not/a(> subjects for experiments on the pulse. The use or abuse of Avine and spirituous liquors, renders all observations on the pulse inaccurate. These liquors, in my opinion, are purely medicinal. Their daily, or even frequent use in any cUmate, or in any quantity, I apprehend to be a great error in regimen, and can never be required. I think them directly opposed to the enjoyment of perfect health and strength." I shall conclude these remarks by adding the gene- ral residts : — " 1. The velocity of the heart's action is in the direct ratio of the age of the individual, being quickest in 3'oung persons, slowest in the aged. There may be exceptions to this, but they do not affect the general law. 2. The question of an average pulse for all ages has hitherto been determined upon insufficient data. .3. There is a morning acceleration and an evening retardation in the number of the pulsations of the heart, independent of any stimulation by food, &c. * The thermometer being seldom above 61 or 62 degrees of Fah- renheit, even with a strong fire in the room. It is unnecessary to remark to any medical person that, if he sits before a strong fire, his pulse will rise almost at any time, and that if he sits still in a cold room imtil his feet feel chilled, his pulse will sink pro- portionally ; hence, if possible, all observations on the pulse ought to be made in summer. I attribute to an inattention to the fact of the coldness of apartments in this country generally during the night and towards morning, why some have thought that there is no diiuTial revolution of the pulse as to its numbers, inde- pendent of stimulation by food and otherwise ; or, in other words, that the pulse will not accelerate towards morning spon- taneously. 122 ON MAN. 4. The excitability of the heart undergoes a daily revolution, that is, food and exercise most affect the heart's action in the morning and during the forenoon, least in the afternoon, and least of all in the evening. Hence Ave should infer that the pernicious use of spiri- tuous liquors must be greatly aggravated in those who drink before dinner, 5. Sleep does not farther affect the heart's action than by a cessation of all voluntary motion, and by a recumbent position. 6. In weak persons, muscular action excites the ac- tion of the heart more powerfully than in strong and healthy individuals ; but this does not apply to other stimulants — to wine, for example, or to spirituous liquors. 7. The effects of the position of the body in increas- ing or diminishing the number of pulsations, is solely attributable to the muscular exertion required to maintain the body in the sitting or erect position ; the debility may be measured by altering the position of the person from a recumbent to the sitting or to the erect position. 9. The law of the differential pulse is not universal. There are exceptions to be found even in those in per- fect health. It is also possible that there may be some in whom the diurnal revolutions of the pulse takes place only in consequence of the use of stimulants. But this has not been proved satisfactorily. 10. The most powerful stimulant to the heart's ac- tion is muscular exertion. The febrile pulse never equals this. 11. The law of relation between the inspiration and pulsation of the heart lias been stated by M. Quetelet." II.— CLIMATE. Since the publication of M. Quetelet's work, the different effects of various climates on tlie sickness, mortality, and invaliding of British troops, have been carefully and admirably investigated by Major Tul- loch.* Tliese researches are not confined exclusively to British troops, as they include an inquiry into the effects of climate on the Negro or black troops in the British service, when removed from the tropical to colder but yet comparatively warm, or at least mild, regions of the earth. Previous to laying before the reader some of the more important results deduced by Major Tulloch, from the data placed in his hands by the unwearied exertions of Sir James Macgrigor (to whom the chief merit of these reports is due), I shall take the liberty of making the following observa- tions. The various cUmates of the globe may practically be arranged under two zones or belts — inter-tropical and extra-tropical, north and south of the equator. The extra-tropical regions may again be subdivided into two or three regions, whicli may be designated as warm, temperate, and cold or frozen. These respective regions differ much in climate, and, to a great extent, in their botanical and zoological sections, including man himself; for, whilst the tropical regions of the Old World liave been inhabited from the earliest his- toric period by the Negro and other dark-coloured races, the warm chmates have equally been held by the Pelasgic, Copt, Syrian, Arab, and Jewish (on the supposition that these are distinct races of men) ; the temperate by the Celtic and Saxon ; and probably (for the fact is not certain) the cold or frozen by a race, the Fin and Laplander, differing from all the others. The following observations may conveniently form an introduction to the subject of emigration, which I shall discuss in the next section. * See Statistical Reports ordered to be printed by the House of Commons. The influence of climate over the health of Euro- peans of the Saxon and Celtic races, in tropical regions possessing no countervailing advantages, such, more especially, as great elevation (this being seemingly the only security), had been ascertained, at least practi- cally, and on a great scale, long prior to Major Tul- loch's researches. The first report of that gentleman referred to the West Indies. " The main object kept in view," says the major, " lias been merely to deter- mine the extent of sickness and mortality at each sta- tion, the diseases by which it has been induced, and such causes of these diseases as appear sufficiently obvi- ous or tangible to admit of remedy." This report was followed by a second on the sickness, mortality, and invaliding among the troops in the United King- dom, the Mediterranean, and British America ; and this by a third on Western Africa, St Helena, the Cape of Good Hope, and the Mauritius. It would appear, from these documents, that neither the Saxon, nor Celtic, nor mixed race, composing the troops of Great Britain, can withstand, even imder the most favourable circumstances, the deleterious influence of a tropical climate. Disposed at one time to ascribe this sad result to the deplorable habits of intemperance, the besetting vice of all soldiers, I am now, though most reluctantly, compelled to admit that even temperance, however it may diminish the effects of the climate, and add to the chances in favour of the European, is by no means a permanent security. So far as regards the vast regions of the earth — the most fertile, the richest — the question as to their per- manent occupancy by the Saxon and Celt — I mean as Britain and France are now occupied, or any other country, by its native inhabitants — will be regarded as settled by almost all who peruse these reports. The Anglo-Saxon is now pushing himself towards the tropical countries ; Mexico has been invaded and partitioned ; another battle of San Jacinto wiU shortly decide the fate of California ; Central Mexico may follow, and Peru : but can the Saxon maintain him- self in these countries — in Brazil, Columbia ? — It is to be feared not. Experience seems to indicate that neither the Saxon nor Celtic races can maintain them- selves, in the strict sense of the word, within tropi- cal countries. To enable them to do so they require a slave population of native labourers, or of coloured men at least, and, in addition, a constant draught from the parent country. The instances of Cuba, Brazil, Mexico, Columbia, &c., where the Spanish and Por- tuguese seem to be able to maintain their ground, do not bear so directly on the question as many may suppose : for, in the first place, we know not precisely the extent to which these have mingled with the dark and native races ; and, secondly, the emigrants from Spain and Portugal partook, in all probability, more of the Moor, Pelasgic, and even Arab blood, than of the Celt or Saxon. But can these latter maintain their ground in the warm but extra-tropical regions of the earth ? This question has not yet been fully answered. The Dutch have held possession of the Cape for nearly two hun- dred and fifty years, and have thriven well ; have been free of disease, and multipUed exceedingly ; but — and here comes the trying part of the question — they have never laboured. So with Algeria, which the Celt now attempts to colonise. Can he stand labour in the field ? I doubt it exceedingly. Time alone can satis- factorily offer a solution of this question. Yet in many parts of Southern Australia, the Saxon and Celtic races can withstand labour in the field ; but the ex- periment has been made on too limited a scale to warrant important deductions. But the cold and frozen regions they tolerate easily ; it seems, indeed, to have been their congenial soil. Yet even here, fever, that scourge of the human race in aU climates, commits sad ravages, and consumption of the lungs, by its numerous victims, causes many ever-recurring woes. But the reproductive principle is equal and ON MAN. 123 even much superior to all the diseases incident to these climates when inhabited by their indigenous races ; not so, however, when the natives of tropical countries attempt to settle in them. IMajor Tulloch has proved that to them such climates are at least as disastrous as the tropical regions have proved to Eu- ropeans. Before concludmg these general remarks, I take the liberty of adding a single one in respect to acclimata- tion. When our troops occupied Walcheren and Flush- ing, during the deplorable scheme of invading Europe, the mortality assumed a most alarming character : it more than decimated the British troops, as it seems always to have similarly affected the French, the Dutch or Saxon inhabitants suffering, as was said, in no shape from fever, wondering at the mortality amongst the British, and asserting the climate to be as good as any other. Now all this, if true, must arise from acclimatation, seeing that both races, English and Dutch, arise from one parent stock ; and it seems probable, therefore, that in progress of time the de- scendants of those very men who fell in the prime of life at Flushing, cut off by fever, might experience no ill effects from a climate to which they and their fore- fathers, for several generations, had become inured. This is merely thro^vn out as a hint for future in- quirers. In the mean time, it has been proved tlvat the mortality of our troops increased with length of residence in the West Indies and in all tropical coun- tries, so that acclimatation is the reverse of salutarj', at least in so far as regards the first emigrants. This law holds even in cold climates, such as Britain, at least in regard to large towns, a residence in which, by persons who have come to reside in them from the country, is constantly injurious to health ; the longer always the worse. So much for the theories of medi- cal men in respect to acclimatation ; on careful in- quiry they have proved (a not unusual occurrence) the reverse of truth. Upon the whole, every reliance may be placed in the following deductions by Major Tulloch, the result of the first series of his inquiries. " It has been supposed by many, that the diseases which prove so fatal to Europeans in these latitudes, especially fevers, are, if not a neccssarj', at least a very general, consequence of continued exposure to a high temperature. The suificiency of this, however, as a uniform cause of sickness and mortahty, is con- tradicted by the fact, that these vary considerably in different stations, the mean temperature of whicla is nearly alike. The range of the thermometer, for in- stance, in Antigua and Barbadoes, is rather higher than in Dominica, Tobago, Jamaica, or the Bahamas ; yet we find that the troops in the latter stations suif'er nearly three times as much as those in the former. There are also several instances in which epidemic fever made its appearance, and raged with the utmost virulence during the winter months — a circumstance not likely to have taken place if that disease had originated in increased temperature. If elevated temperature was an essential cause of the mortality to which Europeans are liable in this climate, we might expect it in every year to produce similar effects ; whereas, on the contrary, it appears, from the tabular statements in the preceding report, that the mortahty in one year is sometimes twenty times as high as in another, without any perceptible difference in the range of temperature. This fiict has already attracted the notice of some medical authors, Avho, in treating of yellow fever, adduce instances of various epidemics both within and beyond the tropics, during which the temperature was not above the average, and was sometimes even a Uttle below it, and inversely where the existence of a high tem- perature was not attended with the prevalence of fever.* ♦ Craigie— Prac<«c« if Phytic, pp. 224, iX, 2rj. I In accounting for the unhealthiness of these colonies, great influence has been ascribed to excess of mois- ture. That neither heat nor moisture can be the prknary causes which influence the health of troops in the West Indies, is at once established by referring to the comparative view of the ratio of mortahty in each year at every station, in which there are numerous instances of two adjacent islands, or even of two con- tiguous stations in the same island, being subject in an equal degree to the operation of these agencies ; and yet, while the one has been desolated by the ravages of fever, the other has been enjoying a de- gree of salubrity equal to that of Great Britain. Though heat and moisture are not the primary causes of fever, however, it is highly probable their operation tends in some measure to increase its in- tensity. The tables illustrating the influence of the seasons on the health of the troops in each station, show, that the greatest number of admissions into hospital, and deaths, has, on the average of a series of years (though not uniformly or equally in each year), taken place in those months Avhen the greatest degree of heat Avas combined with the greatest mois- ture ; and it may be observed, as a striking exempUfi- cation of this fact, that as the sun proceeds northward in the ecliptic, carrying heat and moisture in his train, the period generally termed the unhealthy season is later in the northern colonies than in those to the south. The unhealthy character of that period of the year in whicl) the greatest degree of heat and moisture is combined, is not, however, confined to the West Indies, but extends also to the East, as well as over a large portion of the northern temperate zone." Hence (Major Tulloch continues) these causes cannot spe- cially render the AVest Indies so unhealthy. He also shows, by a comparison of stations, that neither can tlie rank vegetation of marsh or savannah be held the primary cause of West Indian maladies, and concludes with the following suggestion, which chimes in with an idea gradually acquiring more and more importance in medical statistics : — " We are too sensible of the diflSculty of the subject to venture on any theory of our own, which might on subsequent examination prove as futile as those which preceded it ; but we merely wish to call the attention of such persons as may be disposed for further inquiry, to the circumstance tliat as j^et no experiments have been made on the electrical condition of the atmo- sphere in the West Indies, diu-ing periods of epidemic ; and as it is possible either an excess or deficiency of that powerful thougli miseen agent, may exercise an important influence on the vital functions, the subject seems worthy of attention. Heat and moistiire are Avcll known to be intimately connected with the deve- lopment of electrical phenomena, and its influence on vegetation has also recently been estabUshed by ex- periment ; consequently, if the prevalence of disease could be satisfactorily traced to that source, the rea- son why heat, moisture, and vegetation should have been mistaken as the causes, when acting oiUy as auxiharies, would be readily accounted for ; and even should the results leave the cause of disease as unde- termined as before, science will at least be benefited by the inquiry." The main practical result accruing from the researches of IMajor TuUoch, has reference to the effect of an elevated site on the he;dth of a resi- dent population within the tropics. This is a point deeplj^ affecting all such colonisa- tion schemes as that proposed for the Darien isthmus, and other tropical locahties. The report demon- strates, beyond a doubt, as regards remittent fever, " that, at an elevation of from 2000 to 2.500 feet, set- tlers or troops are likely to be either wholly exempt from that disease, or to encounter it in so very mo- dified a form, that the mortality from all causes will not, on the average of a series of years, materially 124 ON MAN. exceed that to Avliich an equal number of European troops would be subject in the capital of their native country. The diseases of the tropics seem, like the vegetable productions of the same regions, to be re- stricted to certain altitudes and particular degrees of temperature. The researches of Humboldt on this subject haA'e tended to establish that yeUow fever is never known beyond the height of 2500 feet, so that the nearer this boundarj' can be approached the more likely is the health of the troops to be secured." In the second report by the same able statistician, ^ve find the following deductions. Tliey refer chiefly to the comparative salubrity of the lilediterrauean stations, and those occiipied by our soldiery in North America. After showing that the Mediterranean troops, from many causes independent of climate, are less exposed to the influences producing pulmonary disease; Major TuUoch proceeds thus : — " When M'e find, notwithstanding all these circiun- stances apparently so favourable to the greater deve- lopment of these diseases in Canada and Nova Scotia, that the troops there do not suffer fi'om them to a greater extent than in the Mediterranean, it would manifestly be incorrect to attribute their prevalence in North America to the reduced temperature, and sudden atmospherical vicissitudes, incident to that quarter of the globe, seeing that the sufferings of the troops from these diseases are equally gi-eat in other climates Avhere no such causes are in operation to induce them. The caution necessary to be exercised in attribut- ing to certain pecuUarities of climate the prevalence of any class of diseases, is so strikmgly exhibited by the proportion of rheumatic affections ascertained to have occurred among the troops in different colonies, that the following abstract wiU best serve to illustrate our observations on this head : — Admissions from Rheumatic Affections annually per 1000 of mean Strength. Jamaica, . . - - 29 Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, 30 Bermudas, - - - - 33 Malta, .... 34 Ionian Islands, 3ii Gibraltar, ... 38 Canada, .... 40 Mauritius, ... 46 AVindward and Leeward Command, 49 United Kingdom, 60 Cape of Good Hope, - 67 Thus we find that in the mild and equable climate of the Mediterranean, or the Mauritius, tlie proportion of rheumatic affections is even greater than in the inclement regions of Nova Scotia and Canada, and that, though some of the provinces of the Cape of Good Hope have occasionally been without rain for several years, these diseases are more frequent in the dry climate of that command than in the West Indies, where the condition of the atmosphere is as remark- ably the reverse ; yet have extreme cold and atmo- spheric vicissitudes, coupled with excess of moisture, been assigned as satisfactory causes for their preva- lence. Considering that medical officers have hitherto pos- sessed no means of comparing the influence of sucli diseases in different climates, any erroneous impres- sions which may be entertained on that subject, need not excite surprise. The information now collected, in regard to those prevalent among troops in every colony, will best serve to counteract such impressions, and afford a surer basis for future theories on that subject. The results of this report, in regard to the relative prevalence, at different stations in British America, of remittent and intermittent fevers, add still further to the difficulty of establishing any uniform connexion between the presence of marshj^ ground and the ex- istence of those febrile diseases to Avhich the exhala- tions from it are supposed to give rise. When, in subsequent reports, we come to investi- gate the operation of these diseases on the west coast of Africa and other colonies, Ave shaU be able to ad- duce stiU more satisfactory evidence on this subject ; in the mean tune, we have felt it our duty to place the preceding facts in a prominent point of view, not for the purpose of establishing any particular theory, but to show how inadequate, in many instances, is the supposed influence of emanations from a marshy sod to account for the origin of these diseases. AU the evidence obtained seems only to A^arrant the in- ference, that a morbific agency of some kind is occa- sionally present in the atmosphere, which, under cer- tain circumstances, gives rise to fevers of tlie remit- tent and intermittent type; and that, though the vicinity of marshy and swampy ground appears to favoiir the development of that agenc}^ it does not necessai'Uy prevail in such locahties, nor are they by any means essential either to its existence or opera- tion. Notwithstanding the doubt in which this branch of the investigation is still involved, we may venture, from the facts adduced in all the reports hitherto sub- mitted, also to draw the conclusion, that when this morbific agency manifests itself in the epidemic form, its influence is frequently confined to so limited a space, as to afford a fair prospect of securing the troops from its ravages, by removal to a short dis- tance from the locality where it originated. The history of the epidemic fevers at Gibraltar furnishes several remarkable instances of this kind ; and we liave also shoAvn that, both in the West Indies and Ionian Islands, one station has frequently suffered to a great extent from yellow fevei% while others, Avithui the distance of a few miles, have been entirely exempt. In the epidemic cholera at Montreal and Hahfax, which seems to have been in this respect somewhat analogous in its operation, we have also had occasion to remark the sudden cessation of the disease imme- diately on the removal of the troops, even to a short distance. Instead of entering, therefore, into any discussion as to the causes which seem thus to limit the range of these epidemics to particular localities, we shall merely call the attention of medical officers to the fact, that on the outbreak of any serious disease of that nature, they may forthwith take into considera- tion the expediency of removing the troops from the locality where it originated — a measure which, when- ever camp eqvupage can readily be procured, or the necessary accommodation obtained for them, is likely to be attended with but little temporary inconve- nience, and may probably lead to the happiest results. ^Ve are aware that this suggestion is by no means a new one, having already been made and acted upon in various colonies, and we only advert to it now, for the ijurpose of bearing testimony to its apparent effi- cacy, and encouraging the adoption of it Avhenever circumstances will permit." It may be interesting to many of our readers to have placed before them the following section on the " Influence of the Seasons in producing Sickness and Mortality among the Trooi)s serving in North Ame- rica" : — " The following table, illustrative of this subject, has been prepared from the retiu-ns of the Canada command. In Bermuda, Nova Scotia, &c., the dates of the admissions and deaths have not been recorded Avith sufficient regularity to admit of similar results being exhibited on as extensiA^e a scale, and avc have therefore confined our calculations to Canada, Avhere, on account of its severity, Ave might expect to find the influence of Avinter on the health of the troops very strongly manifested .- — ON MAN, 125 Table showing the Influence of the Seasons on the Sickness and Mortality of Troops in British America. IMonths. Admissions into Hospital in 20 Years of Troops in Canada. Deaths in 20 Years of Troops in Canada. By Acute Diseases. By Chronic Diseases. By Surgical Diseases. Total by aU Diseases. By Acute Diseases. By Chronic Diseases. By Surgical Diseases. Total by aU Diseases. January, Februaiv, JIarch, April, - - - Jlay, - Juue, July, - Augxist, September, October, - November, December, 2,142 1,918 l,f»oO 2,551 2,820 4,183 5.144 4,440 3,055 2,708 2,252 273 227 206 294 303 298 353 354 .•)32 241 229 197 2,270 2,026 1,910 2,038 2,216 2,479 2,570 2,678 2,436 2,280 2,241 2,072 4,085 4,171 4,126 4,883 5,339 5,840 7,105 8,176 7,208 5,576 5,268 4,521 3(J 31 31 33 28 58 53 103 54 38 32 35 35 23 41 39 34 37 29 21 24 27 27 23 5 3 3 1 9 8 4 4 3 3 76 57 75 73 64 104 9 Average Duration of each i Attack of Sickness, - J .20 to 30 \30 to 40 20 to 30 30 to 40 20 to 30 30 to 40 11-4 13-2 Days. 4-1 4-8 15-4 18-3 Days. 5-6 6-6 13-6 1 13-8 ; Days. 4-021 5'06> 18-7 I 22-6 < 19-9 Days. 7-3 13-2 23-4 Days. 8-5 In the third report by IMajor Tulloch, the two ex- tremes are happily contrasted, viz.. Western Africa and the Cape of Good Hope ; the latter, perhaps— nay, almost certainly — ^the healthiest climate in the world, the former proverbial for being a grave to Europeans. His details fully bear out the general character of the stations. In conclusion, it may be remarked, that, independent of all other important results, these reports are peculiarly valuable from the ample refutation they afford, to all minds open to conviction, of the more generally received medical theories in respect to the causes of many fatal and harassing diseases. They may also prove of much practical benefit, in freeing the minds of emigrants from those terrors which the very thought of particu- lar localities has long been apt to induce. Rheumatism and ague rise to the mind, whenever men think of a Caniidian winter ; but we find that, in reality, the soldiery in the Mauritius suffer more severely from that disease than they do in British America. In short, jMajor TuUoch's elaborate researches lead to the conclusion, that atmospheric causes, operating on all climes in common, and modified only to a compara- tively slight degree by local circumstances, form the great source of the morbific influences affecting man kind. When this point is more fully investigated, and fitting remedial means discovered, emigration will be stripped of half its difficulties, and a new lease given to civilised man, as it were, of a large portion of the globe, of which at this moment he can scarcely be called the occupant. END OF TREATISE ON MAN. Kdinbit.om : Tbintbd by W. and R. Chambkhs, Jarv. Feb. Jfardv. Jpra. Mmj. .w_/aZ^. J^. Sept. Oct.. J^gr. JPe^ PiATE 1. JoJv. Feb. Joji.. Feb. Ifardv. ^ril. May. Jime,. Jubj. Jv^. Sept. Oct. Tov. Decern.. J^. 'M ^^^^^^caXin^^^Mormiyofeo.ch.Mon&vforcarcreM.ages. p,2^e 36. XtZ^MaOuSamT. rricsland Fl.uiclor s ■ ^t-M ■V^T1.I« ilsacp IVaiK'lic (VuuiG Bordeaux Lande> Pvi euros xX N:\-^^ ^. '^^' Ma^ Elustrattvc of the comparative araowil of Iiisivnctioa in Franir, IJu Low Coii/itries.c^tAf Pnc/iy o/thf flower Rhine. Corsica N|^ X Ti u'sldiid HoIbiKJ AmI.im.I I ."r? ^ Gi'oiunsen #■ 1 ^ (.in Mres DiuliY ofllic Lo"'tl IvJiilii -i ^ f hanrlu' CouiTi' Veudi'i Bordeaux '''^^^^ r Co. ^^^kv^.' Alps landes ^\^ rncnees *1 "Ssss^--^- Corsicj I Jlap IHustratiyc of the Crim/^ against property. ,J Gellatlr Fricsland PtATE/. Xotjuandy UoDand Rcardv Ddchy of tlic -lis.'K'O Veadet J'l'aiicho CdiiiU'' £ ordcaux Laades # Geneva ^ps Map, IlUistratiye of the Crcmes against persons. Corsica I J.&cJlakx UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. m'f^u SEP 2 ^ •••OCf NlftY 9 1991 RECEIVED At 4I^W JMH U^'!'-' j5 i^mm^ SEP,^, m w NOV 1 im M W 2003 f^XOZ -R|EC'DYRL REC'DYRL..;2O2003 315 University of California, Los Angeles L 005 962 252 2