78 Social Environment 



of the inborn physical tendencies and the ac- 

 quired social influences are intricate, and 

 usually beyond our unraveling. Man, born 

 of the flesh, combines from his physical ances- 

 try certain potentialities that the fates have 

 selected for him ; born of the spirit, he acquires 

 certain tendencies and modes of thinking and 

 acting that come to him in part by chance and 

 in part by choice. The results in the develop- 

 ment of character are diverse and incalculable. 

 The social heritage, particularly in its creative 

 ideals, contains dynamic spiritual forces which 

 when brought home to a soul vitalize it and 

 inspire it to the achievement of almost miracu- 

 lous results. Poetry and art and religion, 

 touching the emotional springs of conduct, ac- 

 complish such results at all times to a certain 

 degree, but in epochs when new life is germi- 

 nating the process is seen in its highest meas- 

 ure. The great man is the embodiment of the 

 budding spirit of his age, created by the power 

 of the ideals to which he has submitted 

 himself. Thus Lincoln was the embodiment 

 of American democracy, Shakespeare of the 

 Renaissance, and Jesus of tribal brotherhood 

 as it blossomed into universal brotherhood. 

 The Word is made flesh first in some pioneer- 



