Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 7.djvu/312

298 Thus, the author shows that the propensity to crime in men is about four times as great as in women, in France. Now, while this holds true as to crime in general, it does not as to crime in particular. In poisoning, the proportion is 91 women to 100 men, while in murder by other means the difference falls to 4 in 100. If we define the propensity to crime by the enormity of the offense, we find the ratio of M. Quetelet reduced just one-half, as the crime of parricide gives the ratio of 50 to 100. Contrasting with this last offense the wounding of parents, the ratio falls to 22. As the fact of a wound involves the necessity of a personal encounter, we perceive that women instinctively—if I may use the word—shrink from this; therefore, in estimating the means by which the parricides. so greatly exceeding the ratio of other murders, were accomplished, it is evident that some method peculiar to women entered largely into the crime. Next, taking into consideration two crimes, which may, inferentially, be attributed largely to the motive of revenge in both sexes, we find for that of incendiarism a ratio of 34, and for that of assassination a ratio of but 12 in 100. From this it is evident that the propensity to crime and the degree to which women recoil from publicity in its execution are widely different matters, and are traits which distinguish women from men in the perpetration of crime. So marked is this trait that the author, in analyzing crime in general with reference to sex, says that "their numbers diminish in proportion according to the necessity of the greater publicity before the crime can be perpetrated." There are other facts to be reached in this direction showing the extent to which women's criminal acts are affected by sexual peculiarities. In the two great divisions of crime, that against persons and that against property, we find that the sexes are engaged in almost a constant ratio. This is fixed for a series of years for the first class of crimes as 0.16, and for the second at 0.26. In connection with this is a fact, which reiterates itself with the force of a law. It is found that the proportions of the sexes engaged in the crimes against persons and property represent very nearly the same ratio as that of the strength of the two sexes, 16 to 26. The law which controls the commission of crime by the sexes evidently cannot be reduced to the formula of a difference in the propensity to crime dependent upon the relative morality of men and women, but is governed by mental and physical sexual peculiarities. All these figures relate to four years previous to 1830.

The application of this to the matter under investigation is evident. These various actions, involving more or less of thought and resolve, exhibit a radical difference, both in degree and quality, which must have their factors in mental peculiarities. It cannot be objected that there is simply a fundamental physical basis for this difference, since the mental differences of sex must have their origin in the