322 MEMORIES OF MY LIFE 



individuals who compose it as the range of his affec- 

 tions can include. If a man devotes himself solely 

 to the good of a nation as a whole, his tastes must be 

 impersonal and his conclusions so far heartless, de- 

 serving the ill title of " dismal '* with which Carlyle 

 labelled statistics. If, on the other hand, he attends 

 only to certain individuals in whom he happens to 

 take an interest, he becomes guided by favouritism 

 and is oblivious of the rights of others and of the 

 futurity of the race. Charity refers to the individual ; 

 Statesmanship to the nation ; Eugenics cares for both. 



It is known that a considerable part of the huge 

 stream of British charity furthers by indirect and 

 unsuspected ways the production of the Unfit ; it 

 is most desirable that money and other attention 

 bestowed on harmful forms of charity should be 

 diverted to the production and well-being of the Fit. 

 For clearness of explanation we may divide newly 

 married couples into three classes, with respect to the 

 probable civic worth of their offspring. There would 

 be a small class of "desirables," a large class of 

 " passables," of whom nothing more will be said here, 

 and a small class of "undesirables." It would clearly 

 be advantageous to the country if social and moral 

 support as well as timely material help were extended 

 to the desirables, and not monopolised as it is now 

 apt to be by the undesirables. 



I take Eugenics very seriously, feeling that its 

 principles ought to become one of the dominant 

 motives in a civilised nation, much as if they were 

 one of its religious tenets. I have often expressed 

 myself in this sense, and will conclude this book by 

 briefly reiterating my views. 



