CIVILIZATION AND THE RACE. 63 



uals with an imperfect toe had for millenniums the same 

 chance of survival as those in whom it was as fully devel- 

 oped as other toes. If such conditions in which the im- 

 perfect form of a limb has no special disadvantage continue 

 for any length of time imperfections are naturally favored, 

 or at least on equal terms with normal forms, and so the 

 crippled limb will through panmixia gradually displace 

 the original form. 



If Weismann's view is correct the race can be modi- 

 fied only by a modification of the germ. While this would 

 slacken the pace of evolution, it would at the same time 

 act as a check on sudden changes and thus make the ad- 

 vance wherever it occurs more assured. It would base 

 the mutation not on haphazard incidents or particular con- 

 ditions of individuals, but would have them rooted in the 

 more recondite region of the germ, where they would be 

 more stable and less easily displaced. The evolution of 

 the race would be accomplished by a selection, not of in- 

 dividual characteristics, but of racial traits, which would 

 prevent rapid obliterations of well established character- 

 istics, and put the appearance of new modifications to a 

 severe test. 



Changes are brought about by two forces that coun- 

 teract one another ; one is expansion, the other elimination. 

 When conditions are favorable life sprouts forth and pro- 

 duces great varieties of new forms, some of which possess 

 desirable qualities, while others indicate a weakening of 

 the type and aberrations. Good times produce superior 

 types together with many others that are inferior, but 

 when the time of tribulation arises the weaker forms 

 quickly die off and leave only the stronger ones. Good 

 times give a chance to any form of life, while hard times 

 put creatures to the test and select the fittest for survival. 

 In good times the weak and the strong, the clever and the 

 stupid, the poorly endowed and the well equipped, have 

 frequently equal chances to make an easy living, and 



