2^8 NATUR&S STORY OF THE -YEAR 



ture. Strife and stress are the necessary nurses of 

 the human race ; the battlefield is its cradle. But 

 the contest might be waged without cruelty and 

 without fraud. We cannot all of us, however, choose 

 our weapons, and claim pen or cap or sword for 

 our own. Some must be armed with pick and 

 shovel, and often from these the ultimate victors 

 are derived. Not at once ; for it takes some gene- 

 rations of toil and honesty to harden the muscles 

 and the brain to endure the thought stretches of 

 business, and to provide the energy for great 

 enterprises. Similarly, the natural effect of ease, 

 in lowering the physical and mental powers, may 

 not be immediately apparent. It may be delayed 

 through many generations ; but it comes at last. 



The man who has made a million pounds can- 

 not effect a miracle. The gold may not be 

 destroyed or lost, but the sons of the owner, as- 

 sured of a competence, will probably prefer sport 

 to business ; at any rate they will be less keen than 

 their father to get money. Sooner or later their 

 descendants will be of the type which is quick to 

 spend but slow to earn ; and then Nature will 

 use the goad of necessity to teach her truths. 



