NURTURE VERSUS NATURE 



individuals. And if it be objected that such an 

 application of cold scientific principles seems to 

 rob marriage of all romance, it is perhaps an 

 adequate and comprehensive answer to point out, 

 as I have been moved to do on various occasions, 

 that there is nothing appealingly romantic about 

 a brood of epileptic or neurotic or imbecile 

 children. 



It is possible, however, to supplement this sug- 

 gestion with the assurance that, in general, the ap- 

 plication of eugenic principles to the mating of 

 human beings would not by any means necessitate 

 the supplanting of the old traditional method of 

 matchmaking, but would only serve as a supple- 

 mentary procedure, aimed at the perfecting of a 

 method which must be admitted to lack something 

 of the ideal. 



NATURE AS EUGENTST 



In point of fact, it requires but the most casual 

 knowledge of the subject to convince one that 

 nature herself is the original eugenist, and that 

 the motives that actuate individuals under the 

 spell of the god of love are essentially eugenic 

 motives. 



To substantiate this suggestion, it is only nec- 

 essary to call attention to the fact expressed by 

 the common saying that opposites attract. This 

 means that a person is drawn toward one of the 

 opposite sex whose predominating tendencies cor- 

 respond to his subordinated ones. 



[307] 



