ENVIRONMENT 55 



agency of heredity, it can be, and usually is, modi- 

 fied, for good or for evil, by environment. The 

 action of Jacob in putting rods before the eyes of 

 Laban's cattle, that the strong ones might have 

 offspring " ring-streaked," shows that the crafty 

 patriarch understood the influence of surround- 

 ings on the life and physical appearance of 

 animals.^ And the care with which the laws of 

 Moses dealt with the sanitary and hygienic con- 

 dition of the people in the Exodus shows that the 

 Hebrew lawgiver knew that there was a vital re- 

 lation between the circumstances in which human 

 beings live and their moral and spiritual character. 

 Climate is one of the most potent factors in 

 •the moulding of character. Differences in the 

 nature of men are largely the result of the con- 

 test between the individual and the various ele- 

 mental forces and influences, in which he is but 

 partially successful, and by which " he becomes 

 unnaturally or morbidly removed from the primi- 

 tive type." All a man's circumstances help to 

 determine his life and the character of his diver- 

 gence from the original type. The effect of cli- 

 mate is evident and easy of observation. Those 

 that live in malarial regions bear the marks of 

 their residence in their bodies and send them 

 1 Genesis xxx. 25-41. 



