Claudius F. Mayer: From Plato to Pope Paul / Orvostörténeti Közlemények – Supplementum 17. (Budapest, 1989)
of DOMITIAN forbade voluntary emaculation. 20 9 Roman contraceptives were described in many forms. 21 0 In the Roman empire, persecution of the Christians is a prominent example of genocide, although Rome resented the intrusion of any new religion. 21 1 Emperors, concerned about depopulation, 21 2 used to order the movement of various peoples. 21 3 There were also several unsuccessful attempts in the 2. 21 4 and 1. centuries B.C., 21 5 and in the 3. century A.D. 21 6 to establish an ideal communistic state in imitation of Lycurgos and PLATO. V. MIDDLE AGES CHRISTIANS, MOSLEMS, HERETICS The fall of the Roman empire is the greatest tragedy of history. 21 7 Among the different causes of this decline, some are of biological order, and belong either to the category of artifical, inverted selection ("the rotting of the best") 21 8 or partly to the great innate differences between the multiple races of the empire. 21 9 The old civilization ceased, and society split up small units. In the feudal system, the inhabitants were rooted to the soil. Inbreeding started to replace race blending. 220 Few informations remained about the genetic practices of the new tribes and races which emerged at the transition to the Middle Ages. 22 1 In the old German law, infanticide was treated as murder of a relative, and the guilty mother was buried alive in a sack. 22 2 The primitive usages of Teutons also included exposure of infants. 22 3 In 1000 A.D., the Icelanders wanted to retain the right to expose children even after the acceptance of Christianity. The old Germans of TACITUS 22 4 had one wife, considered the limitation of children infamous. They valued many children, who usually inherited the vigor of their parents. By the existing laws, procreation was considered a duty of the people who had to provide inhabitants for the country. Thus, the laws promulgated by ALFONSO X. (1263-1348) called for early marriage, helathy mates, 22 5 and gave eugenic advices for avoiding the begetting of defective children. 22 6 Christian marriage, as a sacrament, favored practices conducive to population growth. Marriage prohibitions, and rules about consanguinity and affinity were contained in the Institutes of JUSTINIAN. 22 7 MOHAMMED also held it one of the greatest duties of man to procreate children for the glorification of the Creator, and he promised the Paradise to every one who had ten children. The Visigothic Code also set limits against excessive inequalities in the ages of the marriage partners. 22 8 Some heretic medieval sects, as the Adamites, lived naked, and practiced polygamy. 22 9 Among brothers of the same family, polyandry was also customary in some European countries. 23 0 In the Middle Ages, population problems resulted from the universal movement of peoples, 23 1 and the great forces of Nature's selection: —wars, famine (Egypt,. India), epidemics, including the Crusades. The practice of the rulers war to transport people for the remedy of political troubles. 23 2 Later, during the internal colonization, the participation of monastic orders also helped in the repeopling of Europe. After the Black Death (1348), immigration to cities in France and elsewhere was made 15
