The Historical Child by OSCAR CHRISMAN

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Title: The Historical Child
Paidology; The Science of the Child

Author: Oscar Chrisman

Release Date: August 1, 2014 [EBook #46474]

Language: English

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THE HISTORICAL CHILD

Paidology

The Science of the Child

THE

HISTORICAL CHILD

BY

OSCAR CHRISMAN, A.M., Ph.D.

Professor of Paidology and Psychology in the Ohio University

logo

BOSTON

RICHARD G. BADGE R

THE GORHAM PRESS

Copyright, 1920, by Richard G. Badger

All Rights Reserved

Made in the United States of America

The Gorham Press, Boston, U. S. A.

TO MY WIFE

PREFACE

In the Pedagogical Seminary for December, 1893, in an article on "The Hearing of Children," the last paragraph,
page 438, occurred for the first time in print the word paidology.1 In The Forum for February, 1894, page 728, the
first article explanatory of paidology appeared. A more complete outlining of the subject was as a doctor's dissertation
at the University of Jena, Germany, 1896. In the first edition of the Standard Dictionary was included the word
paidology, wherein it was defined as "The scientific study of the child." Paidology originated in my mind at a very
unexpected moment one day in April, 1893.
This book is the first of a series that it is my purpose to write upon child life. The others will follow from time to time
upon the different phases of child being. This book and the others it is hoped may appear are the outcome of several
years of study and of teaching the subject to young men and women, which has proved to me that people are eager to
know about children in the past as well as in the present. He who wishes to acquaint himself with children and child
nature must have a knowledge of child life as it existed among the various nations of the world. The child as found in
Ancient Mexico and Ancient Peru is given place here because the life and doings of these peoples have always been
attractive reading to me, and also it is well to consider child life in these nations who reached such a high stage of
existence among the lower forms of human society and so far removed from the civilizations of Asia and Europe. It is
hoped there is value in this work to the student of child nature and that young people may find it interesting and
profitable.
It will be noted that there are topics of a general nature given in this work, which purports to be a study of child life.
When it is considered that the affairs of a nation affect every class and age of the persons constituting it and especially
react upon women, the mothers, then it may be understood how vital these matters become in a study of child life
among a people and how necessary they are for a better comprehension of what is directly connected with children.
Too the term "child" is used here in a general sense, to include all ages up to full manhood.
It seems to me that everything done and studied in my whole life touches this science of the child and that every one
with whom I have come in contact has aided me. It is wished here to express in a general way my thanks to these
friends for their help. I must, though, mention by name a few who have more directly made this book possible. First of
all is President G. Stanley Hall of Clark University, the great leader and pioneer in the study of children, with whom I
spent two years and from whom I first obtained the right ideas of studying child life. Another is Professor Wilhelm Rein
of the University of Jena, who kindly permitted me to use paidology as the subject for my doctor's thesis and extended
the time for working on it, thus giving me opportunity for use of material at Berlin and when completed he endorsed the
thesis, "Paidologie, Entwurf zu einer Wissenschaft des Kindes," to the Senate of his University. A third one to whom I
am greatly indebted is Professor Rudolph Eucken of the University of Jena, whose lectures listened to for a year gave
me a broader view of life and the sympathy he expressed for myself and work were of the utmost encouragement and
too at a time when well needed. I owe much to Prof. Dr. W. Preyer of the University of Berlin, now deceased, who
wrote me encouragingly of my work before my going to Germany and while there he talked over matters with me and
went over the thesis when completed and had faith in the idea I was promulgating, new at that time, that the study of the
child is a science in and of itself and for which I had originated the term paidology, and he advised and encouraged me
to make it my life study.
I must take this opportunity to express gratitude to my wife who so willingly gave up the many things which are so dear
to a woman and a mother that there might be acquired by myself the very best education the world could give and so
make possible the coming forth of paidology and all it may contain.

O. C.

The Ohio University.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER
PAGE

PREFACE
7

I. THE CHILD IN MEXICO
15-38

The people
15

Women and marriage
16

Birth
18

Casting the nativity of the infant
19

Baptizing and naming child
19

Care and treatment of children
19

Dress
24

Food and drink
25

Lore
27

Human sacrifice
28

Slavery
30

Industries
30

Couriers
33

Amusements
33

Education
36

II. THE CHILD IN PERU
39-51

The people
39

Buildings
41

Dress
41

Food, drink, narcotics
42

Marriage
43

Care and treatment of children
44

The Virgins of the Sun
44

Human sacrifice
45

Industries
45

Training of the Inca and the Order of the Huaracu
49

Education
50

III. THE CHILD IN EGYPT
52-84

The country
52

The people
53

Slavery
54

The home
55

Women and marriage

57

Child and parent
58

Dress
59

Food and drink
62

Food and clothing of children
64

Industries
65

Sickness and death
74

Child and religion
76

Amusements
76

Games, plays, and toys
81

Education
82

IV. THE CHILD IN INDIA
85-103

Caste
85

Women and marriage
85

Boys and girls
96

Infanticide
97

Dress
98

Amusements
98

Rites
99

Adoption
99

Inheritance
100

Education
100

V. THE CHILD IN CHINA
104-129

Women and marriage
104

Infancy
112

Boys and girls
115

Child and parent
116

Deformation of the feet
117

Amusements
118

Dress
121

Religion
122

Education
123

VI. THE CHILD IN JAPAN
130-160

Women
130

Marriage
134

The mother's memorial
138

Dress
140

Regulations
140

The care of children
143

Naming children
145

Carrying children
145

Adoption and inheritance
145

Power and duty of father
146

Amusements
146

Lore
152

Religion
155

Suicide
155

Work
156

Education
157

VII. THE CHILD IN PERSIA
161-166

Characteristics
161

Women and marriage
161

Dress
163

Child and parent
163

Inheritance
163

Amusements
164

Education
164

VIII. THE CHILD IN JUDEA
167-176

Historical
167

Women and marriage
167

Care and treatment of children
170

Duties of children
171

Dress
171

Amusements
173

Education
173

IX. THE CHILD IN GREECE
177-211

Physical characteristics
177

The people
177

The home
178

Girls and women
178

Marriage
182

Dress
186

Food
190

Child and parent
191

Care of children

191

Infanticide
193

Duties of children
194

Adoption and inheritance
194

Toys and playthings
194

Games and plays
195

Sports and festivals
197

Other amusements
199

Sickness and death
201

Religion
202

Education
203

X. THE CHILD IN ROME
212-263

Characteristics
212

The people
213

Slavery
214

The home
215

Women
218

Marriage
224

Dress
231

Food
237

Child and parent
238

Names
239

Care and treatment of children
239

Citizenship
240

Inheritance
241

Adoption
242

Sickness and death
243

Industries
246

The spectacles
249

Other amusements
253

The bath
254

Games and plays
254

Religion
255

Vestal Virgins
255

Education
257

XI. THE CHILD IN EARLIER AND MEDIEVAL EUROPE
264-312

Historical and critical
264

Feudalism
265

The feudal castle and its life
267

Chivalry
268

The peasantry
271

The town people
273

The aristocracy
275

The home
276

Women
277

Marriage
279

Dress
282

Food
285

Children of the ancient Britons
287

Children among the early Christians
289

Child and parent
289

Care and treatment of children
290

Apprenticeship
290

Military training for the young
291

Amusements
292

Education
296

The children's crusade
302

Other child-pilgrimages
310

XII. THE CHILD IN EARLIER UNITED STATES
313-455

Customs relating to land
313

The people
314

Slavery
316

Servants
318

The home
322

Women
334

Marriage
336

Dress
348

Infants' clothing
359

Boys' clothing
360

Girls' clothing
361

Food
364

Drink
369

Food and drink of children
374

Infancy
376

Number and names of children
379

Child welfare
380

Manners and courtesy of children
382

Diary of a Boston school girl of 1771
384

Inheritance
388

Sickness and death
389

The illness of children
396

Amusements
398

Games and sports of children and young people
407

Children's toys and story books
412

Holidays and festivals
413

Public punishments
416

Manufactures
421

Boys' work and manufactures
422

Girls' and women's work
423

Religion
428

The child and religion
438

Education
442

INDEX
457

THE HISTORICAL CHILD

CHAPTER I

THE CHILD IN MEXICO

The People. When the Spaniards entered Mexico, in the sixteenth century, and conquered it, they found the ruling
people to be the Aztecs and whose capital city, Tenochtitlan (Mexico City), was on an island in the lake of Tezcoco.
The Aztecs were not the first inhabitants of Mexico as they had entered the country some five hundred years before the
Spanish conquest and through alliances and conquests had become the ruling power about a century before the
appearance of the Spaniards. The people whom the Aztecs found when they entered Mexico told them of a great
people who had lived before their time and the ruins of whose great buildings remained and still exist to the present day
and who were designated the Toltecs. It has been claimed for the Toltecs a very high state of civilization, much in
advance of the Aztecs, and some even holding that it really equaled the civilization of the present time.
Mexico at the time of the conquest by the Spaniards was a monarchy, in which the king stood supreme as he was a
priest of their great god, commander-in-chief of the military forces, and supreme judge. The throne, however, was not
hereditary, as upon a vacancy a ruler was selected by four officers appointed for that purpose by the nobles and
principal officials of the kingdom. The king was usually taken from the ruling family and might have been a brother of the
late ruler or a nephew belonging to an elder branch. The office-holders were usually appointed for life and at their death
the vacancies were filled by appointment by the king. The people were divided into classes. The highest class was a
landed aristocracy, who paid no definite taxes but owed service to the king; a second class, who ranked with the
landed aristocracy, was a military nobility who held land at the king's goodwill; the next class embraced the freemen,
who held land in common and paid taxes in common; below these were a class of freemen who rented the lands of the
lord and made payment to him for the same; and the lowest of all were the serfs, who were bound to the soil. They
maintained a military system and made war upon neighboring tribes; at the time of the coming of the Spaniards this
seemed to have been carried on mostly for the purpose of securing captives for the human sacrifices demanded by their
religion. They had an elaborate and efficient judicial system and the laws seem to have been justly administered to all
alike, whether the ones before the courts were of higher rank or of the common people.
Women and Marriage. The women were described by the Spaniards as being pretty, with long black hair, and with
a serious and rather melancholy cast of countenance. It would appear that they were treated with much consideration
by the men who permitted them to engage in festivities and entertainments equally with themselves.
Marriage was an important institution with the Mexicans and it was held in such high esteem that there was a tribunal
appointed for the sole purpose of attending to matters relating to it. The customary age with men for marriage was
about twenty, women marrying at a younger age. When a young man reached this age it became his duty to marry and
sometimes the high priest commanded it of him. The selection of the bride was made by the parents and if a young man
refused to abide by his parents' decision and made his own choice, he was looked upon as being quite ungrateful to his
parents. Should he refuse to marry, it was his duty to remain continent through his life and devote himself to the service
of the gods. Should he afterward decide to marry, he was despised by his friends and publicly denounced for not
keeping his vow to the gods and no respectable woman would marry him.
When the parents had decided it was time for their son to marry, all the relatives were called together and a feast given
at which the father announced to them that the son was of proper age to be married. The son was then informed that his
parents were about to select a bride for him, to which the young man gave consent. Then they called in the priests under
whom the young man had received his education and their permission was obtained and one of the priests addressed
the young man with advice for the occasion. The next step was to ascertain the day and sign of the young man's birth
and also the birthday and sign of the young woman, which was obtained through astrologers or soothsayers. If the
horoscopes of both were favorable and showed that the union would have good fortune all was well; if not, another girl
had to be selected. If the augurs were favorable to the union, two discreet and virtuous elderly women were called in as
go-betweens. These women were given their directions and they called upon the parents of the bride and after a second
visit preliminaries were arranged.
The parents of the girl then called in the relatives and friends and informed them of the affair and the girl was given
much advice by them. Then their decision was sent to the parents of the young man. A favorable day for the marriage
was found by the augurs and both families made preparations for the day of marriage and sent out invitations to relatives
and friends. On the day set for the marriage the relatives and friends of the bride went to her home as did also some of
the bridegroom's relatives and friends and in procession escorted her to his home, where the best room in the house had
been fitted up for the occasion and the house festooned with green branches and garlands of flowers. The bridegroom
met the bride at the entrance to his home and took her by the hand and led her into the room for the ceremony. They
were then seated upon a special mat, the woman at the left of the man. The mother of the bridegroom gave presents to
the bride and the mother of the bride gave presents to the bridegroom. Then the priest made a long talk to the couple,
defining their duties to one another and toward the married state. The couple then arose and the priest tied the end of
the man's mantle to the dress of the woman. A feast was then partaken of but in which the couple did not participate as
they were required to spend four days in fasting and prayer in the room, closely guarded by old women. Upon the
fourth night two priests prepared a couch of two mats and the young people were left to themselves. The next day they
underwent a baptismal ceremony and they were adorned with new apparel and some more advice was given them by
the mothers-in-law or nearest relatives, another feast was given of which they partook, and the marriage ceremony was
then fully completed.
Cousins were allowed to marry but not nearer relatives. As a rule a widow was not permitted to remarry except a
brother of her deceased husband and in case she had children by the first marriage, then it was the duty of the brother-
in-law to marry her that the children might not be without the care and protection of a father. Divorce was allowed but

only after a careful hearing by the tribunal on marriage, and when a divorce was granted the couple could not under any
circumstances be reunited. Concubinage was practiced and it might occur even with young people under marriageable
age upon the consent of the parents. In this there was no contract or ceremony, the two simply living together. In case a
child was born to them a marriage was performed or else the woman returned to her parents' house, taking the child
with her which was then considered as belonging to her parents. This was not considered dishonorable on the part of
the girl nor were her chances for marriage in any degree lessened by her having thus lived in a state of concubinage.
Polygamy was permitted but perhaps it was not greatly indulged in and it was chiefly among the wealthiest people. The
necessity for monogamy seemed to be understood, as a record is given of a father counselling his son that for the
proper perpetuation of the race but one man is ordained but for one woman.

Birth.

As soon as a woman was found to be pregnant the relatives and friends were informed of it and a feast was prepared,
to which all were invited who had been present at the wedding. Speeches of congratulations and of admonition were
made to the future parents. During the period before the birth of the child, the mother was careful and she observed
many rules. "Thus, sleeping in the daytime would contort the child's face; approaching too near the fire or standing in the
hot sun would parch the fœtus; hard and continued work, lifting weights, running, mental excitement, such as grief,
anger, or alarm, were particularly avoided; in case of an earthquake all the pots in the house were covered up or
broken to stop the shaking; eating tzictli, or chicle, was thought to harden the palate of the unborn child, and to make
its gums thick so that it would be unable to suck, and also to communicate to it a disease called netentzzoponiztli;
neither must the edible earth, of which, as we shall see in a future chapter, the Mexicans were very fond, be eaten by
the mother, lest the child should prove weak and sickly; but everything else the woman fancied was to be given her,
because any interference with her caprices might be hurtful to her offspring."2 When the time of confinement drew near
another feast was given and speeches and suggestions were made. Among the higher classes a midwife was procured
and careful preparation was made for the confinement. A woman dying in childbirth was honored by a burial with great
ceremony. When the child was born, there was rejoicing with praises to the mother and congratulations to parents and
grandparents, and even the child itself was spoken to in welcoming words by the midwife as it was being dressed.
Casting the Nativity of the Infant. Astrology was held in high esteem by the Mexicans and it was used to decide
the fortune of the infant. On the birth of a child the astrologer was summoned and upon being told the time of the event
he cast the horoscope of the infant. If the augury was favorable he told of the great fortune coming to the child and of
the honors and happiness to fall upon him. Should the augury prove unfavorable, it was made less severe by the
horoscopist who found accompanying signs that helped allay the evil coming from the bad omens.
Baptizing and Naming the Child. The rite of baptism was early performed upon the child, at which time it was given
a name. The house was decorated with branches and flowers, a feast was prepared, and relatives and friends invited.
Miniature weapons were used, if a boy, to show that he was born a warrior, and, if a girl, small weaving utensils as
symbols of her future calling of housewife. The child, if a boy, was usually named from the sign of the day or a bird or
animal, and, if a girl, was named from a flower. Sometimes a child took its name from some important event which
occurred at the time of its birth. A solemn invocation to the gods was made, after which the head and lips of the infant
were touched with water, the name was given to it, and then it was lifted up to heaven and a prayer of blessing said
over it.
Care and Treatment of Children. Upon the arrival of a child into a family, friends and neighbors congratulated them
upon such, for it was deemed quite a blessing. Although children were welcomed, yet the discipline of younger children
was rather severe and children were taught to reverence and obey their parents and superiors. Both boys and girls were
carefully reared by the best parents.
The following admonitions of a father to his son show how greatly these ancient Mexicans would have their children
observe a right living:—
"My son, who art come into this light from the womb of thy mother, like the chicken from the egg, and like it, art
preparing to fly through the world, we know not how long heaven will grant to us the enjoyment of that precious gem
which we possess in thee; but, however short is the period, endeavor to live exactly, praying God continually to assist
thee. He created thee; thou art His property. He is thy Father, and loves thee still more than I do; repose in Him thy
thoughts, and day and night direct thy sighs to Him. Reverence and salute thy elders, and hold no one in contempt. To
the poor and the distressed be not dumb, but rather use words of comfort. Honor all persons, particularly thy parents,
to whom thou owest obedience, respect, service. Guard against imitating the example of those wicked sons who, like
brutes, that are deprived of reason, neither reverence their parents, listen to their instruction, nor submit to their
correction; because, whoever follows their steps will have an unhappy end, will die in a desperate or sudden manner, or
will be killed and devoured by wild beasts....
"When any one discourses with thee, hear him attentively, and hold thyself in an easy attitude, neither playing with thy
feet, nor putting thy mantle to thy mouth, nor spitting too often, nor looking about you here and there, nor rising up
frequently if thou art sitting; for such actions are indications of levity and low breeding.
"When thou art at table do not eat voraciously, nor show thy displeasure if anything displeases thee. If any one comes
unexpectedly to dinner with thee, share with him what thou hast; and when any person is entertained by thee, do not fix
thy looks upon him.
"In walking, look where thou goest, that thou mayest not push against any one. If thou seest another coming thy way,
go a little aside to give him room to pass. Never step before thy elders, unless it be necessary, or that they order thee to
do so. When thou sittest at table with them, do not eat or drink before them, but attend to them in a becoming manner,
that thou mayest merit their favor.
"When they give thee anything, accept it with tokens of gratitude; if the present is great, do not become vain or fond of
it. If the gift is small, do not despise it, nor be provoked, nor occasion displeasure to them who favor thee. If thou
becomest rich, do not grow insolent nor scorn the poor; for those very gods who deny riches to others in order to give
them to thee, offended by thy pride, will take them from thee again to give to others.
"Support thyself by thy own labors; for then thy food will be sweeter. I, my son, have supported thee hitherto with my
sweat, and have omitted no duty of a father; I have provided thee with everything necessary, without taking it from
others. Do thou so likewise....
"Stay no longer than is necessary in the market-place; for in such places there is the greatest danger of contracting