260 Heredity, 



ing in mind the fact that by far the greater p art of tlie 

 external relations to which our actions are adjusted, and 

 to which it is necessary that they should conform, in 

 order to secure our preservation, safety, and welfare, are 

 fixed and definite, and have been substantially unchanged 

 for almost, if not quite, the whole period of human de- 

 yelopment, we see at once that, if the female mind is es- 

 pecially rich in the past experiences of the race, so far as 

 these have resulted in laws of conduct, it follows that, 

 since these experiences have been the same for all mem- 

 bers of the race, there must be a greater uniformity in 

 female character than in male character. As this state- 

 ment is very abstract, I will try to put it in a less gen- 

 eral form: 



Experience of the order of events has shown that un- 

 der certain circumstances, of frequent occurrence, cer- 

 tain conduct is proper and conducive to welfare, while 

 its opposite is hurtful. 



This experience being constantly repeated, tlie ten- 

 dency to do the proper tiling when the circumstances oc- 

 cur gradually takes the shape of an instinct, intuition, 

 habit, or law of duty. Henceforward, all persons wiio 

 have the impulse which has thus been formed will act 

 in the same way when the circumstances arise, but two 

 persons who have not the impulse will follow their indi- 

 vidual judgments, and may or may not act alike. 



As the female mind is characterized by the jiossession 

 of these impulses, it is plain that it must be much more 

 easy for one average woman to predict what another 

 average woman will do, or feel, or think, or say in any 

 given case, than for one average man to j^i't^dict in the 

 same way of another average man. 



We may carry this line of thought a little further. 

 Since male minds have the element of orioinalitv, male 

 characters differ among themselves; but, since all are 



