172 THE HISTORY OF CREATION. 



order to increase the standing army as much as possible, all 

 healthy and strong young men are annually selected by a 

 strict system of recruiting. The stronger, healthier, and 

 more spirited a youth is, the greater is his prospect of being 

 killed by needle-guns, cannons, and other similar instru- 

 ments of civilization. All youths that are unhealthy, weak, 

 or affected with infirmities, on the other hand, are spared by 

 the "military selection," and remain at home during the 

 war, marry, and propagate themselves. The more useless, 

 the weaker, or infirmer the youth is, the greater is his pros- 

 pect of escaping the recruiting officer, and of founding a 

 family. While the healthy flower of youth dies on the 

 battle-field, the feeble remainder enjoy the satisfaction of 

 reproduction and of transmitting all their weaknesses and 

 infirmities to their descendants. According to the laws of 

 transmission by inheritance, there must necessarily follow in 

 each succeeding generation, not only a further extension, 

 but also a more deeply-seated development of weakness of 

 body, and what is inseparable from it, a condition of mental 

 weakness also. This and other forms of artificial selection 

 practised in our civilized states sufficiently explain the sad 

 fact that, in reality, weakness of the body and weakness of 

 character are on the perpetual increase among civilized 

 nations, and that, together with strong, healthy bodies, free 

 and independent spirits are becoming more and more scarce. 

 To the increasing enervation of modern civihzed nations, 

 which is the necessary consequence of military selection, 

 there is further added another evil The progress of modern 

 medical science, although still little able really to cure 

 diseases, yet possesses and practises more than it used to 

 do the art of prolonging life during lingering, chronic 



