290 CAUSES OF DEGENERATIVE EVOLUTION 



to account for the sudden degeneration of a 

 people where the physical surroundings had re- 

 cently undergone no special modifications, and 

 when there had been no sudden and violent 

 check upon social development. According to 

 Lapouge and other sociologists of the Darwinian 

 school, this social degeneration was merely the 

 outcome of hereditary influences. The destiny of 

 a nation is dependent upon the quality of the 

 elements of which it is composed and by which 

 it is directed. If a nation is rich in energetic 

 and intelligent qualities, the greatest of disasters 

 can only have a transitory and limited influence. 

 When the contrary is the case, the same circum- 

 stances may produce an arrest in development 

 or a complete decline and fall. Up to the 

 present time, and especially in antiquity and the 

 middle ages, these favourable qualities were gene- 

 rally supplied by a dominating minority establish- 

 ing itself in a conquered country. In the common 

 course of evolution, these superior elements, which 

 are indispensable to social progress, are eventually 

 eliminated. The inferior elements regain greater 

 power, and each step of their progress is attended 

 by a backward step towards barbarism. Although, 

 at first sight, this seems contrary to the Darwinian 

 theory, it is strictly in accordance with it. The 

 superior individuals are relatively inferior when 

 their chances of success or of posterity diminish. 

 The superior individuals may not only be swamped 



