THE LA WS OF HEREDITY. 75 



III. INDIRECT OR COLLATERAL HEREDITY is said to 

 occur when a child resembles mentally, morally, or 

 physically, some relative out of the direct line of its 

 descent, as an uncle or aunt. This is in reality not 

 a distinct form or mode of transmission, but only a 

 modification of the atavism we had under the last head, 

 and, like it, is to be explained by reversion. That is to 

 say, the parents in the direct line are variations from 

 the original family stock, while the collateral descen- 

 dants have followed it more nearly ; and the children, 

 in displaying the characters common to such collateral 

 relatives, and absent in their parent, are merely show- 

 ing a reversion to that family type from which their 

 parent had varied. 



IV. INITIAL HEREDITY. This depends upon the tem- 

 porary mood or condition, good or evil, fortunate or 

 unfortunate, of the parents when they become such. 

 This form of heredity is not given by Bibot, but its 

 existence is perfectly well established, and it has, per- 

 haps, more influence in ordaining what the child shall 

 be than any other heredity except the direct only. 

 In fact, it is a form of direct heredity, and, save that 

 it deals only with temporary conditions, and at a parti- 

 cular time, it might be included under the first law. 



An American writer says : " A good initial heredity 

 may produce virtue in the descendants by predis- 

 position merely from a temporarily ennobled nature 

 although there was a general vice in the parents, and 

 so a bad direct heredity. If you are in a lofty mood, 

 Providence is on your side ; but when a drunkard on 



