602 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



rise of the manufacturing cities in modern times. ... It does not appear to be 

 the case, on the whole, that men of distinction spring from the lowest classes, 

 as some assert. It may be that such a man is the son of a poor man, or of one 

 in an inferior trade, but the greater men are ascertained to spring from gentle- 

 manly families or from families formerly in easy circumstances. The popular 

 belief is the other way, because we have books giving the names of those who 

 have risen from the lowest pursuits. 



From a table given, it appears that out of the 2,000 English writ- 

 ers of celebrity, only 58 exercised a mechanical trade, and only 40 

 were sons of such, thus giving a total of only 3 per cent, connected 

 with such occupations. 



The conclusion to be drawn is, that intellectual exertion is not manifested 

 in the lower classes, or in the children of such, to the same extent as in those 

 where the means of instruction are more available. 



This seems corroborated by a glance at the relative proportion of 

 distinguished men in the several districts of England. The south 

 and south midland districts contributed 60 per cent., the north and 

 north midland 17, Wales 1, Scotland 12, and Ireland 4 per cent. The 

 low figures for Wales and Ireland are accounted for by the Celtic lan- 

 guage prevailing, the influence of this being further shown by the fact 

 that Cornwall produced 21, and Devon 97 instances, though the two 

 counties join. 



London has produced, not only in number, but also in value, a larger por- 

 tion of the celebrities of the country Milton, Spenser, Pope, Byron, Chaucer, 

 Cowley, Gray, Surrey, Herrick, Keats, Johnson, Fletcher, Gibbon, Mitford, C. 

 Mill, Camden, Bacon, Canning, Fox, Blackstone, De Foe, Arnold, etc. . . . 

 The facts appear to show that literary attainments are in relation to literary 

 culture, or the culture of the educated classes, and not of the uneducated 

 classes. . . . The development of intellectual improvement cannot be effected 

 by sole exertion of the nervous system, but by the proper application of all the 

 faculties dependent on the physical condition of men. It is, in fact, a creation 

 of selection on the best principles. Journal of Mental Science. 



-+- 



CIVILIZATION AS ACCUMULATED FOKCE. 



By L. DUMONT.i 



THE word civilization is of somewhat indefinite meaning. It were 

 easy to say which of the two is the more civilized, a European 

 or a New-Caledonian savage. But, when we have to assign their re- 

 spective ranks to two civilized nations, the case is more difficult. Each 

 philosopher has his own definition of civilization. One will say that 



1 Translated from the Revue Scientifque, by J. Fitzgerald, A. M. 



