The Economic Functions of Vice

Project Gutenberg's The Economic Functions of Vice, by John McElroyThis eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and withalmost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away orre-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License includedwith this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.orgTitle: The Economic Functions of ViceAuthor: John McElroyRelease Date: March 25, 2010 [EBook #31768]Language: English*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ECONOMIC FUNCTIONS OF VICE ***Produced by David Widger (Images obtained from the Google Books Project)THE ECONOMIC FUNCTIONS OF VICEBy John McElroyWASHINGTON, D. C.Published by The National TnbuneCopyright, 1906"Are God and Nature then at strife,That Nature lends such evil dreams?So careful of the type she seems,So careless of the single life."———"And the individual withers,and the world is more and more."—Tennyson.THE ECONOMIC FUNCTIONS OF VICEFOR some inscrutable reason which she has as yet given no hint of revealing, Nature is wondrously wasteful in the matterof generation. She creates a thousand where she intends to make use of one.Imbued with the maternal instinct, the female cod casts millions of eggs upon the waters, expecting them to return aftermany days as troops of interesting offspring. Instead, half die embryotic gadi are almost immediately devoured byspawn-eaters, hundreds of thousands perish in incubation, hundreds of thousands more succumb to the perils ...