216 SOCIAL HEREDITY AND SOCIAL EVOLUTION 



does many wonderful things when first appearing in 

 the world, but all chicks do the same thing under the 

 same circumstances. With man the initiative phase 

 of action becomes far more prominent and assumes a 

 larger control over action. 



Nevertheless, though provided with great initia- 

 tive powers, man too is largely ruled by the 

 instinctive side of his mental nature. In his early 

 infancy, of course, it is this side of his nature alone 

 that controls his actions. It requires years of slow 

 teaching of experience before we begin to see in the 

 human child even the glimmerings of the higher side 

 of his nature. Very slowly does he free himself from 

 the routine and instinctive phase of action. Even in 

 his adult life the routine rather than the initiative 

 side takes precedence in ordinary life. Our daily 

 actions have become such a part of ourselves that 

 they are pure routine. After patiently learning 

 to form letters with a pen, at great labor to ourselves, 

 we finally train our nerves and muscles to this task, 

 until our writing becomes a matter of routine. We 

 no longer think of the movements of the fingers, 

 rarely indeed, of the letters which form the words. 

 This impulsive or routine side of nature not infre- 

 quently overrides reason. A soldier leads a forlorn 

 hope, recognizing that it is to be at the expense of 

 his life. The man who sits down to reason it out will 

 let another go in his place. Two men break down in 

 health, one from overwork, the other from dissipa- 

 tion. Eeason tells us that both are equally to blame. 

 But our impulses tell us the contrary, and, while we 

 blame the one in unmeasured terms, we commiserate 

 the other, or perhaps even commend him. Thus, in 

 the human race, as well as in animals, it is the 



