INTRODUCTION. 29 



will read continually, while a third dislikes both 

 books and mechanics, but has a commercial turn 

 of mind. These and similar mental phenomena 

 observable in the child life indicate that the hered- 

 ity determines the natural bent of every man. 



All history, both sacred and profane, bears wit- 

 ness to the potency of heredity. Special genius 

 for war, crime, cunning, commerce, mechanism, 

 science, literature, art, music, morals or reli 

 fervor, has characterized almost every person 

 whose name appears in history. Moreover, the 

 special genius is often transmitted for several 

 generations, as in the case of the Adamses, the 

 Beechers or the Fultons. Lombroso in "The 

 Man of Genius," says, "Genius is most often he- 

 reditary in musicians^ and artists. Beethoven's 

 father and grandfather were both musicians. 

 Mendelssohn's family contained several musicians 

 of note. The Bach family presents a fine example 

 of mental heredity. It began in 1550 and passed 

 through eight generations. During two centuries 

 this family produced many musicians of high 

 rank. They were all organists or church singers. 

 When they became too numerous to live together 

 they agreed to reunite on a fixed day once a year. 

 This custom was preserved up to the middle of 

 the eighteenth century and sometimes one hun- 

 dred and twenty persons by the name of Bach 

 met at the same place. Fetis counts among them 

 twenty-nine musicians of eminence." 



Galton estimates that "the chances of the sons 

 of eminent fathers becoming themselves eminent Galton on 

 are shown to be in the case of literary men 5 1 

 per cent, men of science 60 per cent, poets 45 



