罗马帝国应对低生育率的政策探析

An Analysis of the Policy of Coping with Low Fertility Rate in Roman Empire

由于共和时期的对外征伐和内战仇杀,罗马公民人口呈减少趋势。帝国时期,精英阶层盛行不婚不育之风,人口生育率下降,公民家庭少子化现象严重。为解决人口危机,奥古斯都相继出台《反通奸法》《婚姻法》,倡导传统家庭观念,鼓励结婚多育并惩罚不婚不育。后世诸帝大都奉行这类婚育法令,并加以补充和优化,特别是颁行了保障母子(女)权益、禁止弃婴及设立贫儿补助计划等法律,在一定程度上保障了妇女儿童的基本权益。为推行这些法令,帝王们通过发表演说、公开树立婚育典范、建造纪念碑和铸造钱币图案等形式宣传生育的重要性。这些生育政策旨在确保罗马公民的人口优势,维持帝国稳定与繁荣,具有政治性的功利动机,但在一定程度上缓解了人口出生率低的严峻形势,也带有一定的人道主义色彩。

In the continuous external conquest and civil wars,a large number of citizen soldiers casualties led to a significant reduction in the population of citizens in the early days of the empire.At the same time,the trend of living a single life without marriage or children is prevalent among the elite class,and the fertility rate is constantly decreasing.In order to increase the population of citizens,Augustus enacted Lex Julia de adulteriis and two Marriage Statutes,advocating traditional family values,encouraging marriage and fertility,and punishing non-marriage and infertility.Later emperors generally regarded Augustus' fertility policy as a basic policy,issued laws to improve the rights and interests of mothers and children,and established alimenta for poor children.Emperors generally used speech propaganda,setting up models,building monuments,and minting coins to provide moral education to citizens and promote the importance of the procreation of children for the state.Although these fertility policies were designed to ensure the population advantage of Roman citizens and maintain the stability and prosperity of the Empire,they alleviated the low fertility rate of the population to a certain extent,and also had a certain humanitarian characteristic.