Page:An Essay On Hinduism.pdf/113

Ostracism being unorganized, it differs in effect considerably from excommunication. Excommunication can be revoked at any time, ostracism cannot be revoked at any definite period.

Very often persons who are ostracized are gone for ever. Sometimes an ostracized person is taken back into society, when the society forgets or forgives the offence. As ostracism is unorganized, it is confined to a very small section of the society in ordinary cases, and becomes general only when the nature of the offence is grave. In America ostracism takes place in the following classes of cases.

The fact which can be very easily observed is that if a white man or woman marries a negro woman or man, the former is ostracized by the white race. Here the ostracism is all-pervading and spontaneous. There is no necessity for making the least effort to bring it about. All white people instinctively avoid the monster. The white individual goes out from the white caste and joins the caste of the negro.

Intermarriage between classes among Americans does cause some ostracism, but that ostracism is impermanent and is not very strong, one of the reasons being that the classes in America are not so strongly marked as they are in Europe.

There is still a great deal of ostracism, consequent upon the marriage with Jews. But even this ostracism is not very strong. Christian Americans will forsake the person who marries with Jews; and the Jews will do the same. But there is a section among both the peoples which tolerates and even approves of such marriages.

I think if any American becomes faithless to his country, the people in general will ostracize him, even though he may