666 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



to imitate the industrious and honest habits of their guardians and 

 neighbors, exemplifying the logic of reason, that " an ounce of preven- 

 tion is better than a pound of cure." 



Observing the analogies of nature might teach the social scientist 

 as well as the philanthropist that the measures taken to produce excel- 

 lence in the animal and vegetable kingdoms are equally applicable to 

 human beings. And what is the course of an arboriculturist or horti- 

 culturist if a plant shows abnormal qualities and a tendency to disease ? 

 If the owner desires to restore it to a healthy condition, would he allow 

 it to remain among the aborted or monstrous members of its kind ? 

 Would he not rather remove it from the soil where its development 

 had proved so unfortunate, to better-selected ground, and to the vicin- 

 ity of normal healthy plants ? So with stock : no breeder of horses or 

 cattle would hope to cure a distemper among his animals if he allowed 

 the diseased to herd together, mutually infecting each other. No, the 

 worst cases he would speedily remove and isolate, and all in succession 

 who showed symptoms likely to result disastrously to themselves or 

 others. The sick would be put into clean quarters, and a more careful 

 system of air and diet provided. Can we expect to cure abnormally 

 developed human beings with less trouble ? 



The conclusion to be drawn from these considerations of the differ- 

 ent phases of crime suggests at least this practical idea : that, in all 

 stages of education, the proper direction of the toill, the due control of 

 the emotions, and the subjection of nervous impulses to the cool judg- 

 ment of the reason, are far more important than the mere acquisition 

 of this or that branch of so-called knowledge. A large majority of 

 crimes, particularly crimes of violence, occur because the perpetrators 

 have never been taught or compelled to control their feelings ; prob- 

 ably nine tenths of all the crimes, follies, and disasters of which hu- 

 man beings are victims, might be prevented if the youth of the coun- 

 try were habitually instructed in the danger of allowing themselves to 

 be controlled by impulse and feeling if they could be taught that 

 their nerves and muscles, as well as their desires, should be always un- 

 der the direction of the intellect or will : and, if this sort of education 

 could supplant that which is usually given to girls and young ladies, 

 might we not hope to see a diminution of that weakly, nervous, hys- 

 terical class, which we are almost tempted to rank as criminal, since 

 their very existence is a bane to every family in which they exist ? To 

 diminish crimes' of all sorts, let the teaching of self-control, the subor- 

 dination of the emotions to the will, a knowledge of the nervous sys- 

 tem, and a worthy, definite object in life, become a part of the educa- 

 tion of every youth, male and female. Many crimes which are penally 

 punished are the outcome of semi-insane persons, whose really abnor- 

 mal condition is not recognized by court or jury, while others are ex- 

 cused as insane when their culminating crime is but the outcome of 

 habitual indulgence of violent temper. Of all the insane, but the 



