Note 89 — Chapter VII · VILLAGE LIFE AND LAND TENURE

This may be compared with Hindu custom. "The instant a child is born he acquires a vested right in his father's property, which cannot be sold without recognition of his joint ownership" (Maine's Ancient Law, p. 228). Cf. also Plato, Laws, xi.: "You cannot leave your property to whomsoever you please, because your property belongs to your family, that is, to your ancestors and your descendants." This is the Chinese theory precisely.