138 THE MENDEL JOURNAL 



or must be inherent, but this in itself is quite in- 

 sufficient to determine the value of the child and 

 the desirability of keeping him alive. Consider 

 again a boy with a strong enjoyment of bodily 

 pleasures, whose desires if unwisely indulged may 

 turn to devils within him, but who if temperately 

 tiained may keep the love of beautiful and pleasant 

 things as a deep rich undertone to all his life, making 

 that life delightful to himself and to all around 

 him. If we as benevolent autocrats held power of 

 life and death over such children, we should be 

 bound to ask not only, What is in them ? but, How 

 are you going to bring them up ? What are the 

 opportunities and temptations of their environment 

 to be ? For on the answer might depend whether 

 they would grow up to be the best supports or the 

 worst burdens for the community. 



(c) The existence of a third and l^y far the 

 most important class of values depends upon the 

 commonplace of ethics, that nothing in heaven or 

 earth is good without qualification, except the good 

 will. 



Being interpreted, the truth in this classical 

 doctrine shows itself as what common sense knows, 

 that we can scarcely say whether a quality is good 

 or bad until we know in the service of what purpose 

 its owner is using it. The energy and inventive- 

 ness which make a small boy the plague of his 

 school, may so be turned presently as to make that 

 boy the leader of the school in all that is admirable. 



