530 INHERITANCE OF MENTAL TRAITS 



do not become hereditary. This appears to be equally 

 true of mental traits. The fact that our parents have 

 spoken English or studied Latin or refrained from doing 

 evil does not make it any easier for us to acquire these 

 habits. The chances that a parent of a given degree of 

 musical ability will transmit that ability to his offspring 

 are not in the least affected by the amount of musical 

 training he himself has received. There is only one way 

 in which we can benefit from the lessons our parents 

 have learned, namely, by following their example and 

 learning the same lessons for ourselves. Education must 

 begin all over again with every generation ; which means 

 that the school is and will always be the most important 

 of all our social institutions. 



