ulated by some such law as
the following: He who in the sad disorder of his soul has a mind, justly
or unjustly, to expel from his family a son whom he has begotten and
brought up, shall not lightly or at once execute his purpose; but first
of all he shall collect together his own kinsmen, extending to cousins,
and in like manner his son's kinsmen by the mother's side, and in their
presence he shall accuse his son, setting forth that he deserves at the
hands of them all to be dismissed from the family; and the son shall be
allowed to address them in a similar manner, and show that he does not
deserve to suffer any of these things. And if the father persuades them,
and obtains the suffrages of more than half of his kindred, exclusive
of the father and mother and the offender himself--I say, if he obtains
more than half the suffrages of all the other grown-up members of the
family, of both sexes, the father shall be permitted to put away his
son, but not otherwise. And if any other citizen is willing to adopt
the son who is put away, no law shall hinder him; for the characters of
young men are subject to many changes in the course of their lives. And
if he has been put away, and in a period of ten years no one is
willing to adopt him, let those who have the care of the superabundant
population which is sent out into colonies, see to him, in order that
he may be suitably provided for in the colony. And if disease or age or
harshness of temper, or all these together, makes a man to be more out
of his mind than the rest of the world are--but this is not observable,
except to those who live with him--and he, being master of his property,
is the ruin of the house, and his son doubts and hesitates about
indicting his father for insanity, let the law in that case ordain that
he shall first of all go to the eldest guardians of the law and tell
them of his father's misfortune, and they shall duly look into the
matter, and take counsel as to whether he shall indict him or not. And
if they advise him to proceed, they shall be both his witnesses and his
advocates; and if the father is cast, he shall henceforth be incapable
of ordering the least particular of his life; let him be as a child
dwelling in the house for the remainder of his days. And if a man and
his wife have an unfortunate incompatibility of temper, ten of the
guardians of the law, who are impartial, and ten of the women who
regulate marriages, shall look to the matter, a