544 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



A very large amount of the elements of success consists in the 

 advantages with which an individual may start in life, and over which 

 he himself may have no control. The case of Smith and Brown al- 

 ready referred to may serve to illustrate this fact. When conclusions 

 are arrived at relative to hereditary genius, these advantages may he 

 considered. The son of a judge becomes a judge, and we may claim 

 hereditary genius as the cause. We should, however, be scarcely jus- 

 tified in assuming hereditary genius because the son of a general officer 

 became this general's aide-de-camp. A general officer with five thou- 

 sand efficient troops gains a complete victory over fifteen thousand in- 

 differently armed savages, and he is looked upon as a hero. Another 

 general with a like number of men is defeated by an army of ten 

 thousand well-armed but unsoldier-like-looking men, and he is regarded 

 as a failure ; and yet, of the two, the defeated army may have pos- 

 sessed the better general. In order, therefore, to judge of the relative 

 powers of two individuals, we must take into consideration all the ad- 

 vantages or difficulties with which each starts in life, or in any under- 

 taking. The relative success is by no means the only criterion from 

 which to judge of capacity, any more than it would be correct to judge 

 of the capacity of two whist-players, when one held four by honors 

 and six trumps and his adversary beld a necessarily poor hand. 



In the great battle of life these conditions are perpetually interfer- 

 ing with the results to be derived from the relative value of brain- 

 power, and are so numerous as to have an extensive influence. For 

 example, a man possessing great brain-power has succeeded in attain- 

 ing an official position of eminence. He selects a nephew or particular 

 friend to be his assistant. We have competed with this assistant in 

 various things, and there is no doubt as to his inferiority. Time goes 

 on, and this assistant succeeds to the post of his relative merely from 

 what may be called departmental claims, and he is ex-officio supposed 

 to be possessed of the talents and knowledge which appertain to his 

 post. Our opinion, if opposed to that of the official, will by the su- 

 perficial outsiders be considered valueless ; yet ours may be correct, 

 and that of our opponent erroneous. It is by such means that very 

 feeble men often occupy official scientific positions to which they are 

 by no means entitled in consequence of their intelligence. 



When such an event occurs, an immense amount of damage is done 

 to the caflse of truth and real science, because the individual thus 

 raised by personal interest to the position of a scientific judge or ref- 

 eree, too often fails to judge of a question on its merits, and condemns 

 it if it be not in accordance with routine. A question thus disposed 

 of is very difficult to again bring into notice without prejudice. There 

 is no doubt that even among the so-termed educated people, the ma- 

 jority possess only stored minds, and are incapable, consequently, of 

 reasoning on any problem, other than by bringing to bear on it their 

 stock of knowledge which, probably, granting the problem is original, 



