Page:The Woman Socialist - Snowden - 1907.djvu/43

 its humanising power, denied to the terrible savage, slaying and gorging in the forests.

Time passed, and the benefits of the primitive domestic arrangements began to appeal to the man, who saw himself saved from danger and exposure if he stayed with the woman. She would build for him, work for him, give him food and shelter, heal him when he was sick, grow herbs and fruits for him on the little plot outside the dwelling, and bring forth sons for him, whom he might train to feats of daring, and to assist him in the chase and against his enemies. Then came a short period of woman’s superiority. She alone knew anything of the domestic arts which made for comfort and happiness. To her belonged the rude knowledge of medicine. For a time she received homage; then began her career of slavery.

As civilisation advanced and men began to form themselves into societies in which individuals bound themselves together by laws and customs evolved by themselves, the love of private property developed, increasing with each step in progress, until private property in women became the