(_e_) The view is very general that the corporal punishment of children plays an essential part in the process of education. The child becomes to some extent accustomed to such punishment, whereby the punishment ceases to be effective; as a result of this, yet more severe punishment is inflicted. (_f_) Alcoholism is a cause, both direct and indirect, of the maltreatment of children. The father of a family who, in a state of intoxication, will maltreat his family, and who, when sober again, is bitterly ashamed of himself, is a familiar figure. (_g_) Maltreatment of children (especially by clergymen, monks, and nuns) often depends on the belief that it is necessary to mortify the flesh in order to save the soul. There is also some connection between exaggerated piety and sexual perversion. (_h_) A quite considerable proportion of cases in which children are maltreated are dependent upon sexual motives. But the maltreatment of a child may give rise to sexual excitement, not only in the active agent, but also in the passive. Cases of this nature occur chiefly in the upper classes. (_i_) In an unhappy marriage, one of the parents will often maltreat the child simply because the latter loves the other parent. Ill-usage of children may be the act either of relatives or of strangers. Among the relatives, we have first of all the unmarried mother; secondly, the natural father; thirdly, the stepmother; fourthly, the lawful parents. Among strangers, we have chiefly to consider teachers and foster-parents. (_a_) Among children suffering from gross ill-treatment, we find a preponderance, in view of their respective numbers, of illegitimate as compared with legitimate children. (_b_) We are always told that an illegitimate child will be horribly ill-treated if its mother marries, not the child’s father, but another man. It will be ill-treated by the man because it is a stepchild, and by the woman because it interferes with her relations to her husband, and awakens unpleasant memories. But these views are exaggerated. (_c_) The rôle of the stepmother is also commonly exaggerated. It is easier to excuse a stepmother for ill-treating a child than it is to excuse the child’s own parents. When all is said and done, it is impossible to expect a stepmother to have the same love for the stepchild as for the children of her own body, and it is only natural that the stepchild which stands between her and her husband should be differently treated from her own children. A stepchild is certainly more likely to be ill-used when the stepmother has children of her own. (_d_) A mother is more likely to ill-treat children than a father. The father cannot love children so well as a mother, nor can he hate them to the same extent.