248 THE PATH OF DEGENERATIVE EVOLUTION 



possibly, brutal and unintelligent, were normal 

 beings with the activity and stamina necessary 

 for future progress. 



The following two diagrams, borrowed from these 

 authors, represent clearly the differences between the 

 initial and reduced condition of an organ or institu- 

 tion : 



.- o 



In the diagrams the ascending lines represent 

 the progressive evolution of an organ or institu- 

 tion ; the descending lines represent the degenera- 

 tive evolution. From the point a, representing 

 the primitive condition progressive evolution passes 

 towards 0, an imaginary perfect condition of the 

 organ. Along the upward line, however, the points 

 a, 5, c, d, etc., represent obstacles to further pro- 

 gress that is to say, factors tending towards 

 degeneration. From these points lines of de- 

 generation pass towards z, and the condition at 

 z, although representing that at a, is not identical 



