“I do not see anything strange in my perfectly natural curiosity. In my day we were graduated from college at twenty-two, and spent from two to six years in supplementary schools if we chose the profession of medicine or law or architecture.” “And then you were educated?” “And then we were educated, yes.” “In the higher castes we never cease to attend the University,” said Doctrina crushingly. “As we conceive life as a pursuit of knowledge, we naturally never cease our studies. Even Acquilla gives ten hours a week to following the lectures of our greatest teachers.” “Is this true of all castes?” “Certainly not. Why should it be? How absurd! The education of Domesticates is completed at the age of eight; the Cerenes have two years longer, the Vulcates likewise, the Æsthetes at twelve.” “What! But you are talking of children!” “We have abbreviated the period of childhood. In your day you spent half your life in the simplest preparation of how to live. With us the age of puberty is the one of complete maturity and the end of primary education. That,” she added acidly, “would be about the same as your college matriculation.” “So childhood has gone too,” I was betrayed into exclaiming. “Not at all. We give a full five years to it.” “But, Doctrina,” I persisted, carried away with my resentment, “if there is no maternal instinct left--” “I did not say that.” “But if the mother surrenders her child--” “These are the real mothers,” said Doctrina with a gesture that embraced the entire organization. “Because a woman bore a child, voluntarily or involuntarily, you ascribed to her maternal qualities. Rubbish! Sentimentality! Bearing of children has nothing to do with the maternal instinct! A woman is either egocentric or egofugal. In your day how many women, genuine mothers, were forced to sit and starve themselves in a lonely spinsterhood?” “It is true!” I exclaimed involuntarily, “and I say now as I said then, that the cruelest thing our society did was to deny the right of every woman who wanted, to have a child!” Doctrina looked at me with almost a human sympathy and continued in a less bellicose tone: “That remark does you honor. Any woman who loves children and wishes to find her happiness in their upbringing is privileged to enter this sisterhood. For remark another thing, which the later psycho-analysts recognized, the maternal instinct is not necessarily confined to one’s own child, but goes out to all.” “Even to friends and husbands,” I added smiling. “All this is undeniably true.” “More than this we recognize that in man too, this instinct exists and we permit a teaching brotherhood.” “Here?” I said, looking about eagerly.