登陆注册
15752600000070

第70章

The chieftain who last exercised authority may have outlived hiseldest son, and the grandson who is primarily entitled to succeedmay be too young and immature to undertake the actual guidance ofthe community, and the administration of its affairs. In such anevent, the expedient which suggests itself to the more settledsocieties is to place the infant heir under guardianship till hereaches the age of fitness for government. The guardianship isgenerally that of the male Agnates; but it is remarkable that thecontingency supposed is one of the rare cases in which ancientsocieties have consented to the exercise of power by women,doubtless out of respect to the overshadowing claims of themother. In India, the widow of a Hindoo sovereign governs in thename of her infant son, and we cannot but remember that thecustom regulating succession to the throne of France -- which,whatever be its origin, is doubtless of the highest antiquity --preferred the queen-mother to all other claimants for theRegency, at the same time that it rigorously excluded all femalesfrom the throne. There is, however, another mode of obviating theinconvenience attending the devolution of sovereignty on aninfant heir, and it is one which would doubtless occurspontaneously to rudely organised communities. This is to setaside the infant heir altogether, and confer the chieftainship onthe eldest surviving male of the first generation. The Celticclan-associations, among the many phenomena which they havepreserved of an age in which civil and political society were notyet even rudimentarily separated, have brought down this rule ofsuccession to historical times. With them, it seems to haveexisted in the form of a positive canon, that, failing the eldestson, his next brother succeeds in priority to all grandsons,whatever be their age at the moment when the sovereigntydevolves. Some writers have explained the principle by assumingthat the Celtic customs took the last chieftain as a sort of rootor stock, and then gave the succession to the descendant whoshould be least remote from him; the uncle thus being preferredto the grandson as being nearer to the common root. No objectioncan be taken to this statement if it be merely intended as adescription of the system of succession; but it would be aserious error to conceive the men who first adopted the rule asapplying a course of reasoning which evidently dates from thetime when feudal schemes of succession begun to be debated amonglawyers. The true origin of the preference of the uncle to thegrandson is doubtless a simple calculation on the part of rudemen in a rude society that it is better to be governed by a grownchieftain than by a child, and that the younger son is morelikely to have come to maturity than any of the eldest son'sdescendants. At the same time, we have some evidence that theform of Primogeniture with which we are best acquainted is theprimary form, in the tradition that the assent of the clan wasasked when an infant heir was passed over in favour of his uncle.

There is a tolerably well authenticated instance of this ceremonyin the annals of the Macdonalds.

Under Mahometan law which has probably preserved an ancientArabian custom, inheritances of property are divided equallyamong sons, the daughter taking a half share; but if any of thechildren die before the division of the inheritance, leavingissue behind, these grandchildren are entirely excluded by theiruncles and aunts. Consistently with this principle, thesuccession, when political authority devolves, is according tothe form of Primogeniture which appears to have obtained amongthe Celtic societies. In the two great Mahometan families of theWest, the rule is believed to be, that the uncle succeeds to thethrone in preference to the nephew, though the latter be the sonof an elder brother; but though this rule has been followed quiterecently in Egypt, I am informed that there is some doubt as toits governing the devolution of the Turkish sovereignty Thepolicy of the Sultans has in fact hitherto prevented cases forits application from occurring, and it is possible that theirwholesale massacres of their younger brothers may have beenperpetuated quite as much in the interest of their children asfor the sake of making away with dangerous competitors for thethrone. It is evident, however, that in polygamous societies theform of Primogeniture will always tend to vary. Manyconsiderations may constitute a claim on the succession, the rankof the mother, for example, or her degree in the affections ofthe father. Accordingly, some of the India Mahometa sovereigns,without pretending to any distinct testamentary power, claim theright of nominating the son who is to succeed. The blessingmentioned in the Scriptural history of Isaac and his sons hassometimes been spoken of as a will, but it seems rather to havebeen a mode of naming an eldest son.

Ancient Law

by Henry Maine

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 浮生拾欢莫邪

    浮生拾欢莫邪

    千年古城青州有一座荒废的神庙。深深庭院,有一株干枯的老树合欢,醉风醒雨不死不灭,传说当古树花开时,虔诚祈祷,你的愿望就会实现。青青月色,暗香浮动,浅浅春风中丽音飘荡:浮生若梦,人生几何,何不拾欢而乐,幽香一世。是谁?在低吟浅唱六道浮生。
  • 武妖独尊

    武妖独尊

    武妖大陆,妖兽横行,吴起重生少年时代,突然发现自己再次站在命运的转折点,不甘心重蹈覆辙,他迎难而上,开辟妖脉,在绝路中轰出一个未来······
  • 虚幕

    虚幕

    西历2024年,旅行者一号回传信号消失;西历2030年,探秘者一号出发,缓慢进发收集太空作息并寻找旅行者一号,后消失;西历2100年,载人远距离太空探测飞船兄弟号出发,于20年后回传一丝微弱的讯息“我们……看到……了……天际………”,随后联合国要求停止一切远距离太空探索;西历2250年,天幕理论在华夏诞生;西历2500年,第四次科技革新开始,天幕理论受到重视,于次年太阳系外太空观测系统虚幕计划实施;西历2987年,江明出生。
  • 时间飞船

    时间飞船

    现在有许多穿越小说,80后的朋友们,还记得我们小时候看过的一部日本动画片《时间飞船》吗?可见我们的前辈已经热衷于时空穿梭了。还等什么,跟随我们的主人公去世界的每一个角落探险吧!
  • 重返学园:校草教你重新做人

    重返学园:校草教你重新做人

    莫凡七回到了最应该拼搏的年纪这一次,她想擦亮双眼好好学习,一定要有能力护着她爱的人!奈何总有人不死心往她身前凑,还想坑她?顾霄:来,我来教你们重新做人。男友力MAX~小七表示很满意
  • 病娇老公:夫人,快到我怀里来

    病娇老公:夫人,快到我怀里来

    三年前,因一场误会,他远赴他国,而她却在岁月里磨练了性子三年后,他归来,她早已不是原来的她,而他却爱她依旧她当他如陌路,他却百般心思的“勾引”她且看病娇老公如何扑倒高冷夫人
  • 发明家之崛起

    发明家之崛起

    不管是重生还是穿越,都少不了一个现象,那就是掌握着不应该出现的跨时代科技,所以他们在穿越、重生之后才能成功,那么不穿越、不重生我们就不能掌握类似的科技、不能成功了吗?当然能,那就是寻找划时代科技的替代品……发明。杨雷,一个普通的大专毕业生,他唯一不普通的就是有一个爱思考的头脑,且看他是如何从普普通通的煤矿工人走上人生的巅峰。注:这是一个没有金手指,只有金脑袋的故事。
  • 霸血修仙

    霸血修仙

    四年筑基的失败,是的昔日的天才李浩一下子沦为安城众所周知的废材。霸血的觉醒使李浩在一夜之间发生天翻地覆的变化。出安城,震天河,一步步走上无上巅峰!
  • 玄古之巅

    玄古之巅

    玄古世界,大千皆变;位面之难,谁与知晓;斩天破地,为赎苍生。无知少年的使命,该如何完成?
  • 羽落曲

    羽落曲

    时间会带走一切,包括自身的精神、气运...若想永生,则瞬间即永恒。