TRANSMISSION OF CHARACTERISTICS 99 



call well-known instances in history, bore each a dis- 

 tinctive character. It would be easy to compile 

 examples of heredity from the pages of historians 

 alone. " The whole line of the Guises," says Voltaire, 

 " wa3 marked by boldness, insolent pride, and at the 

 same time by a seductive politeness." Of the Cond^s 

 Saint-Simon remarks that side by side with courage 

 and military aptitude they possessed the most odious 

 vices — malignity, baseness, avarice, and insolence. 

 Such generalisations, however, are open to the objec- 

 tion that they are of little scientific value. It is 

 more to the purpose to note, as Buffon does, that a 

 kicking horse produces foals of the same character. 



"Whether among the lower animals or in man, the 

 transmission of moral characteristics is a fact that 

 meets the inquirer at every turn. Lucas and other 

 writers cite cases to prove the existence of a tendency 

 not only to crime, but to particular classes of crime. 

 The individual who inherits a disposition to crimes 

 of violence may be inoffensive with regard to crimes 

 against property. The criminal's usual plea that 

 " something drove him to it " would therefore seem 

 to have some foundation. In fact, he murders or 

 thieves almost without a motive ; he is possessed by 

 a demon that impels him to a breach of the law. 



