I2I0 LIFE : OUTLINES OF GENERAL BIOLOGY 



to see that considerations of health do not always count for much 

 in human marriages. 



From man one should expect great things as regards health; 

 for he stands apart from the beasts of the field in his language, in 

 his power of conceptual inference (reason), in his consciousness of 

 his own history, and in his capacity for controlling his conduct in 

 reference to ideals. Yet our contrast has shown that as regards 

 healthf ulness man is still muddling along ! 



If we are asked to formulate the largest idea that biology has to 

 contribute to the theory of social reform, including social hygiene, 

 we would say this: that integrative human evolution must proceed 

 along three lines, and these in unison, if it is to be stably progressive. 

 The three lines are on the sides of the "biological prism" : Organism, 

 Function, Environment; or, in human terms. Folk, Work, Place. 

 The improvement of the breed is fundamental. You cannot gather 

 grapes off thorns, or figs off thistles. Yet what is inherited must be 

 functioned with, if it is to be realised. Even if hereditary talents 

 cannot be increased as regards their number, they can be increasingly 

 traded with. Next, who shall set limits to the value of environ- 

 mental nurture ? The good seed requires good soil. The buds of our 

 inheritance, as Walt Whitman said, are "to be opened on the old 

 terms". If the wan blind Proteus of the Dalmatian caves be taken 

 young enough, it may become pigmented under appropriate illu- 

 mination, and may actually develop a seeing eye. Many social 

 reforms fail of their fuU fruition because it is not realised that 

 Organism, Function, and Environment (Folk, Work, Place) must 

 evolve together if progress is to be sure. 



Towards an improvement in the positive health of the nation, 

 many factors are contributing, {a) Sanitary and hygienic advances, 

 the efforts of Health Committees and Medical Officers of Health, 

 and the development of Preventive Medicine must be gratefuUy 

 recognised, (b) Many teachers, clergymen, and family doctors are 

 helping nobly towards a higher ambition of personal health and 

 moral control, (c) Every man and woman of goodwill is furthering 

 some one or other of the many movements that directly or indirectly 

 make for health — ^boy scouts, girl guides, open-air clubs, gardening, 

 sports, hobbies for leisure time, mothers and babies' clubs, women 

 citizen associations, temperance societies, and many more, so diverse 

 in their nature, that there is always one or another that appeals to 

 each of us. 



But we venture to submit some personal suggestions that appeal 

 particularly to ourselves. No one can exaggerate the value of 

 health. From childhood onwards, it is more than half-way to 

 happiness; it unifies our whole being, which disease distracts and 

 disrupts; it tends to be associated with healthy-mindedness ; it 

 helps us to rebel against ignoble acquiescences ; it is a sensitive 



