3 i6 MEMORIES OF MY LIFE 



as attractive, indifferent, or repellent. Of course this 

 was a purely individual estimate, but it was consistent, 

 judging from the conformity of different attempts in 

 the same population. I found London to rank highest 

 for beauty ; Aberdeen lowest. 



In another article, after some further discussion, I 

 say : 



" I hence conclude that the improvement of the 

 breed of mankind is no insuperable difficulty. If 

 everybody were to agree on the improvement of 

 the race of man being a matter of the very utmost 

 importance, and if the theory of the hereditary trans- 

 mission of qualities in men was as thoroughly under- 

 stood as it is in the case of our domestic animals, I 

 see no absurdity in supposing that, in some way or 

 other, the improvement would be carried into effect. 



" Most persons seem to have an idea that a new 

 element, specially fashioned in heaven, and not trans- 

 mitted by simple descent, is introduced into the body 

 of every new-born infant. It is impossible this should 

 be true, unless there exists some property or quality 

 in man that is not transmissible by descent. But the 

 terms talent and character are exhaustive ; they in- 

 clude the whole of man's spiritual nature, so far as we 

 are able to understand it. No other class of qualities 

 is known to exist, that we might suppose to have 

 been interpolated from on high." 



The article concludes as follows : 



"It is a common theme of moralists of many 

 creeds, that man is born with an imperfect nature. 

 He has lofty aspirations, but there is a weakness in 

 his disposition that incapacitates him from carrying 



