268 Life and Litters of Francis GaUon 



D. LATER PSYCHOMETRIC RESEARCHES 



After the publication of the Inquiries into Human Faculty, Galtoii's psy- 

 cliical researches cejused to flow with the ampHtudo of the years 187G- 1884, 

 but, as in the case of Geography, he never lost his interest in these matters, 

 and this is shown in a number of minor papers which he continued to issue 

 till at least 180G. These papers may be referred to here, but they mark the 

 transition of his mind to the more definite statistical standpoint of his 

 later years. His anthropometry was largely psychometric, but tne statistical 

 basis was giowing more develoj)ed and more SJitisfactory. 



The first paj)er of this series which we must consider is entitled "Measure- 

 ment of Character." It was published in the Fortnightbj for August, 1884', 

 and the material appears to have been largely that of Galton's llede Lecture 

 in the Senate House at Cambridge"''. The opening paragraph explains Gal- 

 ton's purpose: 



"I do not plead guilty to taking a shallow view of human nature, when I propose to apply, 

 as it were, a footrule to its heights and depths. The powers of man are finit«>, and if finite 

 they are not too large for niea,surenient. Those persons may justly lie accused of slmllowness 

 of view, who do not discriminate a wide range of diflVrence, but ({uickly lose all sense of pro- 

 j)ortion, and rave about infinite heights and unfathomable depths, and use such like expi-e.s- 

 sions, which are not true and betray their incapacity. Examiners are not I believe much 

 stricken with the sense of awe and infinitude when they apply their footrules to the intel- 

 lectual performances of the candidates they examine; neither do I see any reason why we 

 sliould be awed at the thought of examining our fellow creatures as l)est we may, in respect 

 to other faculties than intellect. On the contrary, I think it anomalous that the art of 

 measuring intellet!tual faculties should have become highly developed, while that of dealing 

 with other qualities should have been little practised or even considered." (p. 17'J.) 



Galton then emphasises the importance of measuring the emotional 

 characters in man, for only by so doing can the individual know where he 

 stands among his fellow-men, and whether he is getting on or falling back. 



"The art of mea.suring various human facultitts now occupies the attention of many in- 

 quirers in this and other countries New processes of inquiry are yearly invented, and it 



seems as though there was a general lightening up of the sky in front of the path of the 

 anthropometric experimenter, which lietokens the approaching dawn of a new and interesting 

 science. Can we discover landmarks in character to Kerv(' as bases of a survey nr is it alto- 

 gether too indefinite and fluctuating to admit of nietusurement ? Is it liable to sjxjntaneous 

 changes, or to be in any way affected by a caprice that renders the future necessarily un- 

 certain) Is man, with his power of choice and freedom of will, so difFerent from a conscious 

 machine, that any proposal to measure his moral (jualities is lutsed upon a fallacy? If so it 

 would Ije ridiculous to waste thought on the matter, but if our tempt^rament and character 

 are durable realities, and persistent factora of our conduct, we have no Proteus to deal with 

 in either ca.se, and our attempts to gra.sp and measure them are rejisonable." (pp. I7D-80.) 



« Vol. XXXVI, N.S. pp. 179-85. 



* I cannot find that this Rede Lecture was ever independently issued. "He [Frank] was 

 Re<le lyocturer at Cambridge on May 27th, and wo went to the Vice-Chnncellor's and after to 

 Mrs Darwin's, and greatly enjoyed the four days; fortunately I was well at the time." 

 L. G.'s Jiecord under 1884. 



