THE SCIENCE OF HAPPINESS 



forced and become dominant in the next; by this 

 means, in other words, atavism is accomplished. 



Note, as practical illustrations, how the tall man 

 is attracted by small women, blonde by brunette, 

 genius by mediocrity. It is even matter of common 

 experience that the most virtuous young women are 

 often fascinated by the opposite moral traits in their 

 male associates, while, contrariwise, the most vicious 

 of men would always choose virtuous helpmates if they 

 could. Thus, within the ranks of any caste of society, 

 there is a constant effort to equalize the average 

 tendencies and bring back that hereditary balance 

 which environment is forever tending to disturb. 



A like effort in a wider way is manifest in balancing 

 the castes themselves. For every specialized develop- 

 ment far in one direction, brought about through a 

 pampering environment aided by consanguineous 

 marriages or marriages of expediency, carries its own 

 Nemesis, in the fact that growing instability always goes 

 hand in hand with extreme development. We noted 

 how specialized races of domestic animals have been 

 rapidly developed by special environment and artificial 

 selection (corresponding to marriages of expediency), 

 and now we have further to note that the specialized 

 race so developed is always an unstable race as com- 

 pared with the mother stock from which it has sprung. 

 Only by a perpetually pampering environment and a 

 selective in-breeding of an unnatural kind can it be 

 kept from reverting through atavism to the original 

 type; and if it is allowed to return to natural environ- 

 mental conditions, it immediately does begin to return 



