Essays on Life 



eyes, and the transmission to descendants of 

 the effects of those efforts. But this, as I 

 said in my book, " Evolution, Old and New," l 

 is like saying that horses are swift runners, not 

 by reason of the causes, whatever they were, 

 that occasioned the direct line of their pro- 

 genitors to vary towards ever greater and 

 greater swiftness, but because their more 

 slow-going uncles and aunts go away. Plain 

 people will prefer to say that the main cause 

 of any accumulation of favourable modifica- 

 tions consists rather in that which brings about 

 the initial variations, and in the fact that these 

 can be inherited at all, than in the fact that 

 the unmodified individuals were not successful. 

 People do not become rich because the poor 

 in large numbers go away, but because they 

 have been lucky, or provident, or more 

 commonly both. If they would keep their 

 wealth when they have made it they must 

 exclude luck thenceforth to the utmost of 

 their power, and their children must follow 

 their example, or they will soon lose their 

 money. The fact that the weaker go to the 



1 Longmans, 1890,, p. 376. 

 260 



