584 LIFE : OUTLINES OF GENERAL BIOLOGY 



lined above — as the two alternative courses of woman's realisation 

 of her sex ; although that author's pessimistic view and treatment 

 laid especial stress upon the instinctive impulses and towards 

 undesirable result. 



Though Weininger may now be forgotten — as indeed on the whole 

 is for the best — we cannot but recognise the creatively poetic power 

 and passion of Nietzsche, limited though may be our acceptance 

 of all his teaching. Yet are not his fundamental concepts derived 

 from his own tragic life-problems, even more deeply than from his 

 Hellenic culture? Has he not thus truly prefigured himself first of 

 all, with man's adolescence also, in his hard struggles, of passage 

 through the stormy phase of Dionysos at his intensest, and towards 

 his aspirations to attaining the serene perfection of Apollo? So, too, 

 for his impassioned scorn and revolt against the contemporary 

 world upon its lower sides, so much as above outlined. Above all, 

 let us give credit to his aspirations at their fullest — not only as 

 Apollonian, but at times Herculean, often to Promethean, and even 

 to Immortal! As Zarathustra at his best, is not he much of all 

 these, by turns and together? 



THE EUGENIC IDEAL IN SCHOOL 



The aim of eugenics — one of the oldest of ambitions — is the im- 

 provement of the racial qualities of future generations, and there 

 is no nobler endeavour open to man. "Eugenics is the study of the 

 agencies under social control that may improve or impair the racial 

 qualities of future generations either physically or mentally." This 

 quotation of Sir Francis Galton's familiar definition is sufficient 

 answer to the ignorant or malicious suggestion that eugenics is 

 altogether redolent of the stable and the barnyard. It might, 

 indeed, smack of worse, but as a matter of fact it takes to do with 

 character and intelligence as much as with physique. Its chief 

 thought is of racial qualily, the hereditary "nature"; but it is 

 well aware that this cannot be expressed without the appropriate 

 "nurture". 



In this section we wish to discuss the extraordinarily difficult 

 problem, how the eugenic ideal may be introduced into school 

 education. Relatively little has hitherto been attempted in this 

 direction, and it is doubtful whether we can wisely advance beyond 

 giving hints for experiment and looking about for some general 

 educational principles that have been shown to be sound in other 

 cases, and that have some bearing on the present problem. 



What is it then that we want? Certainly not to coerce youth into 

 the acceptance of a dogma, but to stir the imagination into hero- 

 worship. Certainly not to force something in from the outside, but 



