The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Origin of the Family Private Property
and the State, by Frederick Engels

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Title: The Origin of the Family Private Property and the State

Author: Frederick Engels

Translator: Ernest Untermann

Release Date: July 8, 2010 [EBook #33111]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE ORIGIN OF THE FAMILY PRIVATE PROPERTY AND THE STATE

BY

FREDERICK ENGELS

_TRANSLATED BY ERNEST UNTERMANN_

[Illustration: Logo]

CHICAGO
CHARLES H. KERR & COMPANY
1908

COPYRIGHT, 1902
BY CHARLES H. KERR & COMPANY

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Page.
Translator's Preface 5

Author's Prefaces 9-12

Prehistoric Stages 27

The Family 35

The Iroquois Gens 102

The Grecian Gens 120

Origin of the Attic State 131

Gens and State in Rome 145

The Gens Among Celts and Germans 158

The Rise of the State Among Germans 176

TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.

"An eternal being created human society as it is to-day, and submission
to 'superiors' and 'authority' is imposed on the 'lower' classes by
divine will." This suggestion, coming from pulpit, platform and press,
has hypnotized the minds of men and proves to be one of the strongest
pillars of exploitation. Scientific investigation has revealed long ago
that human society is not cast in a stereotyped mould. As organic life
on earth assumes different shapes, the result of a succession of
chemical changes, so the group life of human beings develops different
social institutions as a result of increasing control over environment,
especially of production of food, clothing and shelter. Such is the
message which the works of men like Bachofen, Morgan, Marx, Darwin, and
others, brought to the human race. But this message never reached the
great mass of