The Law of Population (Volume 1); A Treatise, in Six Books in Disproof of the Superfecundity of Human Beings, and Developing of the Real Principle of

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. OF THE THEORY OF HUMAN SUPERFECUNDITY. THE PRINCIPLE STATED, AND ITS CLAIMS TO ORIGINALITY REFUTED. (1) THE necessity of setting down, in the very be- ginning, the definitions of our words and terms1, especially in an inquiry like the present, induces me, in the first place, to explain the principle I am about to controvert, and this I shall do in the constantly repeated, and sufficiently significant, language of its principal advocate?it is that of a natural tendency, and constant effort in population to increase beyond the means of subsistence2: which I shall generally express throughout by an expressive term, not in general use, though not of my creation3, ? superfe- cundity. (2) In proceeding to disprove that there is any such principle in nature as this superfecundity, in reference to the means of subsistence, I must premise that the argument has nothing whatsoever to do with such acts or institutions as have at any time spread misery amongst mankind: if these were to be recognized as the laws of nature, then indeed it would be no difficult task to shew that human beings have been, alas, redundant in every age and country of the world. It is obvious, however, that these inflictions have no more to do with the principle of population than, for instance, the first murder, or the miseries of the siege of Jerusalem. But it is unnecessary to dwellon this point; the author who will be most frequently alluded to, in attempting to prove the evils resulting from that principle, has expressly treated the subject as totally distinct from such considerationsl; nay, it is not attempted to be denied, that, according to the theory of the anti-populationists, the most perfect institutions would but accelerate that dreadful catastrophe with which it threatens th...