290 EUGENICS 



some have greatness thrust upon them. But those 

 who are born great meaning by this not those in 

 high position, but great in themselves are the men 

 and women to whose descendants we must look for 

 the future greatness of mankind. 



If this view be justified, we shall be obliged to revise 

 very carefully our ideas of what is desirable in social 

 legislation. Important as education, sanitation, and 

 the like may be, their effects are strictly limited. 

 The relative birth-rate of good and bad stock, on the 

 other hand, is the fundamental factor. Its influence 

 in a single generation may be so small as to be barely 

 recognizable, but its effect increases from generation 

 to generation, and, moreover, it is an effect which, once 

 produced, is quite irrevocable. We have to consider, 

 therefore, how the relative incidence of the birth-rate 

 falls at the present time, and" what are the causes 

 which affect it. We have to consider especially 

 whether existing and proposed legislation of which the 

 intention is to improve the education and condition 

 of upbringing of children has any effect, direct or in- 

 direct, upon the relative birth-rate of different classes 

 of society. For if such legislation be found to favour 

 the rapid reproduction of the less-efficient, it will 

 become a matter for serious consideration whether the 

 advantages of mental and physical improvement in the 

 individual are not being purchased too dearly at the 

 expense of posterity. 



Individuals, as well as Governments, will do well 

 to look closely into the possible results of the best- 

 intentioned proceedings. To quote Galton once more : 



