THE LAW OF INHERITANCE. 191 



voluntary direction of man. The very terms used in discussing 

 the doctrine of selection, presuppose the doctrine that force is 

 persistent and is subject to the law of matter. 



Malformations. — These are all subject to law, which is not 

 only a priori reasonable, but which has been already partially 

 formulated and discussed. These, whether monstrosities or 

 the opposite, can derive an explanation from the consideration 

 of the doctrine of forces. In the case of dwarfs, develop- 

 mental force is present, growth force seems defective. In 

 monsters, we may have a deficiency of certain forces at a 

 determined point, as in cases of arrest of development, or an 

 accumulation of forces in a direction injurious to the individ- 

 ual. Nature only attains perfection (equilibrium) through 

 repeated efforts, and those not fitted to exist perish in the 

 struggle of life. 



Imagination. — That there is an influence between the womb- 

 contents and the mother, is illustrated in many ways. In the 

 woman, the development of new ova is checked upon the 

 occurrence of impregnation, and lactation also appears, in 

 the majority of cases, to have the same effect. Diseases of 

 these parts are apt to produce mental disturbance, and in 

 other ways a close connection is shown between the mental 

 and reproductive functions. Causes, therefore, acting on one 

 must necessarily affect the other ; and, through persistence of 

 force, the child must also be influenced in turn, for it receives 

 its supply of force through the mother. The physical con- 

 nection of mother and offspring is not, however, direct, and 

 the influence of one on the other is not as well marked as if it 

 were otherwise; yet the influence on each other must be 

 reciprocal. An impression of long duration would seem to 

 have a power greater than one of short duration, or even, 

 possibly, than a violent impression of short continuance. 



Effects of a previous impregnation. — By the law of causa- 

 tion, there must be a mutual relation between mother and 

 offspring in the womb. We recognize this fact in practice, 

 and in reasoning it naturally follows from persistence of 

 force. The force received from or through the father, uniting 

 with the force presented by the female, coalesces, and during 

 growth and development must influence, in some way, the 

 female structure, — for causes and effects are correlative ; and 



