The pioneer student of marriage from the standpoint of science was Herbert Spencer, who with great labour supported the conclusion that monogamy is the highest, best and latest form of marriage. But in the absence of the great mass of evidence which is now before us, Spencer too readily assumed the truth of the popular notion that promiscuity was the primitive state, and taught that human marriage has developed from this through polygamy towards the ideal of monogamy. The work of Professor Westermarck, however--Spencer's chief follower in this path--has shown, and later writers have abundantly confirmed it, that this primitive promiscuity never existed. There is no nation or race or clan of man now extant, however primitive or barbaric, that has not definite marriage laws; there is no society on earth, however rude, that does not punish the unfaithful wife. Furthermore, polygamy, the only historical rival of monogamy, is now known to have played a quite trivial part in history, not merely compared with monogamy, but as compared with that which it was supposed to have played. Even in countries which we call polygamous to-day, polygamy is the relatively rare exception and monogamy the rule. On this most important question it is well, however, to quote the words of Professor Westermarck himself:-- “The great majority of peoples are, as a rule, monogamous, and the other forms of marriage are usually modified in a monogamous direction.” “As to the history of the forms of human marriage, two inferences regarding monogamy and polygyny may be made with absolute certainty; monogamy, always the predominant form of marriage, has been more prevalent at the lowest stages of civilisation than at somewhat higher stages; whilst, at a still higher stage, polygyny has again, to a great extent, yielded to monogamy.” “We may thus take it for granted that civilisation, up to a certain point, is favourable to polygyny; but it is equally certain that in its highest forms it leads to monogamy.” “But, though civilisation up to a certain point is favourable to polygyny, _its higher forms invariably and necessarily lead to monogamy_.”