i 3 o THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



forgetfuluess of those wliich lie at every man's door ; and, by bringing 

 into prominence the stupidity which is irremediable, they lead us to 

 neglect examination of that which may be prevented. 



In truth, the varieties of hebetude are numerous. It must be ad- 

 mitted that some of them are displayed by persons whose intellects 

 are obscured by organic defect, " native and to the manner born," in 

 the nervous apparatus by continuing deficiency, or excess, in the 

 composition or quantity of the circulating fluid ; and it is probable 

 that, in many cases of this nature, the scalpel, or the microscope and 

 test-tube, would fail to disclose the cause of the infirmity. Inherited 

 diathesis, or hereditary disease, may doubless weaken the faculties of 

 the mind, as they evidently weaken the physical powers of the body, 

 and may produce effects varying in degree from idiocy to mere dul- 

 ness of apprehension. We are far from saying that in these instances 

 stupidity can neither be alleviated by judicious, nor confirmed by im- 

 proper treatment ; but we indicate them as affording a substratum of 

 truth to popular prejudices touching the general invincibility of the 

 state in question, and as giving evidence of its centric rather than 

 eccentric origin. 



But leaving this subdivision of the stupid entirely out of consider- 

 ation, and remarking, by-the-way, that the word stupidity is misap- 

 plied when used to denote the mere absence of brilliant talent, we 

 would call attention to the large class of persons who are dull and 

 obtuse, not by reason of any probable congenital deficiency, nor by an 

 unfair comparison with great wits or geniuses, but by comparison with 

 what the individuals themselves clearly ought to be with what they 

 would have been had their faculties been developed in the right way. 

 And this comparison is not so difficult as it may appear ; for the sim- 

 ple reason that the human capabilities do not greatly depart, save in 

 exceptional cases, from the standard of mediocrity. Among a score of 

 men taken at random, but approaching to equality in point of confor- 

 mation, we may observe that physical strength or endurance will vary 

 only within very narrow limits : there being perhaps a single athlete, 

 or a single weakling, and a remainder composed of individuals whose 

 powers are not precisely on a level, but nearly so. 



Let us suppose, however, that among the twenty men there were a 

 certain number who had been employed from their early years in pur- 

 suits calculated to produce muscular vigor and hardihood, and who 

 had observed all rules and precautions likely to insure to such pur- 

 suits their most favorable effects. It is certain that, whatever differ- 

 ences might exist among themselves, these -men would surpass all their 

 competitors. Bendigo, the champion of the prize-ring, was one of a 

 triple birth, and was the weakliest child of the family in which, by 

 reason of diligent training, he became the strongest man. 



So universally has this principle been recognized and acted upon, 

 that in every barbarous or half-civilized community, or under all cir- 



