Heredity of the Will. 95 



doubt, furthermore, possess a broad and penetrating intellect, 

 passion to rouse men and enforce obedience ; but their distin- 

 guishing characteristic is action, and that strong, bold nature 

 which commands. It is only through the will one man gains an 

 irresistible influence over others. A lofty intellect excites admira- 

 tion, but it is only a strong will that demands obedience. 



The word ' will ' is here used, of course, in its ordinary sense, 

 and as commonly employed. We lay aside for the moment all 

 those philosophical discussions about free-will and its relations to 

 heredity, 1 and here consider the will only as the active faculty, 

 without inquiring whether the tendency to action be the result of 

 individual inclination, of a fixed idea, or of an invincible passion. 



The ancient moralists distinguished three kinds of life, according 

 as pleasure, action, or contemplation was looked on as the end of 

 man ; they thought that a choice must be made between the three. 

 They all, or nearly all, agreed in placing the life of pleasure in 

 the lowest rank ; but they long discussed the question whether the 

 active life or the contemplative were preferable. This discussion 

 is infinite, for every man decides according to his tastes, his tem- 

 perament, and his habits. Men of action and men of thought 

 contribute, each in his own way, to the common weal the former 

 sway the present, the latter prepare the future. The distinction, 

 however, which lies at the base of this discussion is founded on a 

 true observation of human nature. Except the mere sensualist, 

 every man, from the highest to the lowest, is either active or 

 contemplative : every one is a Caesar or a Plato, as far as his 

 intellect will allow. He who in some obscure village, in some 

 remote land, takes trouble to conduct some small business, is akin 

 to those who govern great states, or who win great battles. He 

 who prefers leisure, who loves to dream and meditate, who aspires 

 to some rude education as his ideal, is akin to great thinkers and 

 great poets. The more closely we study men, the better we see 

 that they may be brought under these two categories. Even 

 where the contrast is not striking, it still exists, and we detect it 

 when we observe more deeply. ' The keener the mind, the more 

 men of originality will it discover.' 



1 See Part Second, ch. iii. 



