22 HEREDITY AND SOCIETY 



without coming to the conclusion that ability of a 

 literary or scientific kind is more fully recognized than 

 that which shows itself in successful administration 

 the special characteristic of the first class so that the 

 record of the numerical proportion of all relatives is 

 actually weighted against the type that comes out at 

 the head of the list. Again, the anomalous position 

 of Lords Thurlow, Eldon and Stowell who have 

 practically no relatives of distinction shows that even 

 the position of Lord Chancellor, with its extraordinary 

 opportunities in the disposal of patronage, is unable to 

 discover ability in a family circle where it does not 

 exist in reality. In the same way, in the third group, 

 Sir Joshua Reynolds and Sir Christopher Wren, both 

 of whom attained social positions leaving nothing to be 

 desired, were nevertheless unable to point to a younger 

 generation who should follow in their footsteps, where- 

 as the Wesleys, Wordsworths and Wollastons, inter- 

 marrying for several generations with families of 

 corresponding qualities, show all the phenomena of 

 recurrent distinction chiefly associated with members 

 of the first group. 



But a careful study of the biographical details reveals 

 to us that the key to the mystery lies in the marriage 

 of the men and their relation to their social surround- 

 ings. From this point of view, the difference in the 

 number of relatives of distinction to be found in each 

 group in the families of the mothers is of great import- 

 ance. When we turn to the list of names in our first 

 group, read their family histories and recall the gradual 

 building up of the social life of the country, we are 

 aware that, through long centuries, much of the national 



