706 THE DESCENT OF MAN. 



love and jealousy and the appreciation of the beautiful in 

 sound* color or form; and these powers of the mind mani- 

 festly depend on the development of the brain. 



Man scans with scrupulous care the character and pedi- 

 gree of his horses, cattle and dogs before he matches them; 

 but when he comes to his own marriage he rarely, or never, 

 takes any such care. He is impelled by nearly the same 

 motives as the lower animals, when they are left to their 

 own free choice, though he is in so fai superior to them 

 that he highly values mental charms and virtues. On the 

 other hand he is strongly attracted by mere wealth or rank. 

 Yet he might by selection do something not cnly for the 

 bodily constitution and frame of his offspring, but for their 

 intellectual and moral qualities. Both sexes ought to re- 

 frain from marriage if they are in any marked degree in- 

 ferior in body or mind; but such hopes are Utopian and 

 will never be even partially realized until the laws of in- 

 heritance are thoroughly "known Every one does good 

 service, who aids toward this end. When the principles of 

 breeding ana inheritance are bette:; understood, we shall 

 not hear ignorant memberr of our legislature rejecting with 

 scorn a plan i:or ascertaining vhether or not consanguineous 

 marriages are injurious to man. 



The advancement of the welfare of mankind is a most 

 intricate problem; all ought to refrain from marriage who 

 can net avoid abject poverty for their children; for poverty 

 is not only a grea; evii, but tends to its owr. increase by 

 leading to recklessness in marriage On the other hand, 

 as Mr. Galton hasremaiKed, ii' the prudent avoid marriage, 

 while the reckless many, the inferior members tend to 

 supplant the better members of society. Man, like every 

 other animal, has no doubt advanced to his present high 

 condition through a struggle for existence consequent on 

 his rapid multiplication ; and if he is to advance still higher, 

 it is to be feared that he must remain subject to a severe 

 struggle. Otherwise he would sink into indolence, and the 

 more gifted men would not be more successful in the battle 

 of life than the less gifted. Hence our natural rate of 

 increase, though leading to many and obvious evils, must 

 not be greatly diminished by any means. There should 

 be open competition for all men; and the most able should 

 not be prevented by laws or customs from succeeding 



