OUR SURROUNDINGS 11 



permanently one from another. Probably no two human 

 beings would ever remain exactly alike, even if the germs 

 from which they all sprang were identical. And these 

 differences between men, which result from differences in 

 the surroundings to which they had been exposed, may be 

 called acquired differences. If one man had been exposed 

 to the sun more than another, the resulting difference in 

 appearance between them would be an acquired difference. 



When we study any particular difference between two 

 men, we shall nearly always be led to believe that it is 

 due partly to a difference between the germs from which 

 they sprang, and partly to differences in their past sur- 

 roundings. It is generally, therefore, very difficult to say 

 what part of any human quality or character is acquired 

 and what is inherited. It is, nevertheless, very important 

 that we should get clear ideas as to the differences in the 

 behaviour, so to speak, of these two kinds of differences. 

 With this object in view, we shall discuss acquired differences 

 in this chapter, leaving inherited differences for considera- 

 tion in the following chapter. 



Now, the first question we have to ask about those differ- 

 ences between human beings which we have described 

 as being acquired, is whether they are passed on by natural 

 inheritance to succeeding generations. Do good surround- 

 ings and good training tend to improve the actual breed of 

 man ? Will the descendants of well-cared-for and well- 

 educated human beings show any natural superiority in 

 consequence of this care and education ? This is known 

 as the question of the inheritance of acquired characters, 

 and it is still one which is to some extent in dispute. 



In the first place, it is universally agreed that the results 

 of accidents or mutilations are not inherited. The soldier 

 who lost a leg in the war, or who sustained any other inj ury , 

 need have no fear that his children will be in any way 

 inferior because of his misfortune. 



As to the more general question, the following is the kind 

 of enquiry to which an answer is needed. If one of a pair 

 of identical twins becomes a blacksmith and the other a 



