Eugenics / by Edgar Schuster.

  • Schuster, Edgar.
Date:
[1912]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: Eugenics / by Edgar Schuster. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    EUGENICS 27 breeding, your dogs and birds would greatly deteriorate? G.—Certainly. /9.—And the same of horses and animals in general? 6r.—Undoubtedly. After some further conversation Socrates arrives at the conclusion that the rulers of his ideal republic would have to manipulate the unions of the citizens in such a way that the best of them should have the best mates, and the worst should intermarry among themselves. To avoid all the unpleasantness which he foresaw might arise from too much interference of the rulers in such a delicate matter, it w^uld be absolutely necessary that the citizens should know nothing what¬ ever about it. So it is suggested that persons of marriageable age should be brought to¬ gether at semi-religious festivals, where, to the accompaniment of suitable hymeneal songs, they would draw lots for their mates. But Socrates goes on to say : *We shall have to invent some ingenious kind of lots which the less worthy may draw on each occasion of our bringing them together, and then they will accuse their own ill-luck and not the rulers.' The less worthy, after being cheated into putting up with marriages against their inclinations, were not prevented from repro¬ duction, but good care was taken that their