Acquired Characters 21 



on this thought; naturalness has some other 

 source. 



If characters acquired by use are not directly 

 inherited, a clew to the acquisition of natural 

 characters may be obtained by a study of the 

 changed relations of parent and child, brought 

 about by the parents' acquired characters. We 

 know that acquired characters have an eco- 

 nomic use and permit a surer or a more abun- 

 dant supply of economic goods, whereby the 

 food is improved or new methods of obtaining 

 it are devised ; or perhaps some method of 

 defence is invented by which the situation may 

 be better utilized than before. Certainly no 

 action would be persisted in long enough to 

 make it an acquired character, either of an 

 individual or of a community, unless it gave a 

 decisive advantage to its possessors. It may, 

 therefore, be assumed that the new character 

 gives to its possessors more food, leisure, or 

 protection, and that some of these advantages 

 will be shared by their children, who will have 

 better food and a longer period of childhood 

 in which to develop their natural qualities. 

 While some parents might use the acquired 



