284 THE PRINCIPLES OF HEREDITY 



454. Certain homes, certain stages of society, certain 

 environments undoubtedly tend to endow the individuals 

 exposed to them with definite mental characters. In one 

 environment they grow up morose and irritable. In another 

 they imbibe the spirit of the Greek mariners, who 



" With a frolic welcome took 

 The sunshine and the storm." 



Under some circumstances they become timid and effeminate ; 

 under others brave and hardy. Apart from conditions of 

 health, happiness and despondency are habits. A joyous 

 childhood is usually a prelude to a buoyant manhood ; while, 

 conversely, a miserable childhood is often the precursor of a 

 manhood of despondency. The common-sense of mankind 

 has recognized the extreme importance of education. For 

 this reason do we so carefully train our children, seeking to 

 realize in them our ideals of character and conduct. For 

 this reason have Governments endowed great educational 

 establishments, and Churches for centuries striven to bring 

 the world to their ways of thinking. 



455. To sum up : Man is mentally a bundle of capacities 

 for making acquirements, actual acquirements, and instincts 

 which are mainly incitements to make acquirements. In the 

 case of any given man it is hard to distinguish the inborn 

 from the acquired. It is hard even to estimate his true 

 capacity for making acquirements, for this faculty may be 

 largely increased or diminished by acquirement. 1 Neverthe- 

 less we are entitled to declare that in the mental characters 

 he exhibits acquirements enormously predominate over inborn 

 traits. "We often hear of hereditary talents, hereditary 

 vices, and hereditary virtues ; but whoever will critically ex- 

 amine the evidence will find that we have no proof of their 

 existence. The way in which they are commonly proved is 

 in the highest degree illogical ; the usual course being for 

 writers to collect instances of some mental peculiarity found 

 in a parent and in his child, and then to infer that the 

 peculiarity was bequeathed. By this mode of reasoning we 

 might demonstrate any proposition ; since in all large fields 

 of inquiry there are a sufficient number of empirical coin- 

 cidences to make a plausible case in favour of whatever view 

 a man chooses to advocate. But this is not the way in which 



wicked. Whenever such a one makes a downward step he is liable to 

 make many more. Extreme austerity of principle and conduct in 

 parents may, therefore, be positive evils to the child unless accompanied 

 by as marked a tenderness and cordiality of feeling and manner. 

 " 1 See Chapter XXIII. 



