THE EVOLUTION OF A MOTHER 371 



On occasion Sympathy will be called out in 

 unusual ways. Crises will occur — dangers, famines, 

 sicknesses. At first the Mother will be unable 

 to meet these . extreme demands — her fund o^. 

 Sympathy is too poor. She cannot take anyV 

 exceptional trouble, or forget herself, or do any- 

 thing very heroic. The child, unable to breast the 

 danger alone, dies. It is well that this should be 

 so. It is the severity and righteous justice of 

 Nature — the tragedy of Iv^n Ivanovitch antici- 

 pated by Evolution. A Mother who has failed 

 in helpfulness must leave no successor to per- 

 petuate her unworthiness in posterity. Somewhere 

 else, however, developing along similar lines, there 

 is another fractionally better Mother. When the 

 emergency occurs, she rises to the occasion. For 

 one hour she transcends herself That day a 

 cubit is added to the moral stature of mankind ; 

 the first act of Self-Sacrifice is registered in favour 

 of the human race. It may or may not be that 

 the child will acquire its Mother's virtue. But un- 

 selfishness has scored ; its child has proved itself 

 fitter to survive than the child of Selfishness. It 

 does not follow that in all circumstances the nobler 

 will be always victorious : but it has a great 

 chance. A few score more of centuries, a few 

 more millions of Mothers, and the germs of Pati- 



