Environment and Variation 67 



changes latent in him, but if it is the same, it is likely to 

 confirm him in the same heredity. If life is full of variety, 

 as it is with progressive creatures, environment will proba- 

 bly promote change in structure and habits rapidly, but if life 

 is monotonous and constant to former conditions, the 

 environment will make little new impression. 



Now consider these influences as applied to humanity, 

 as to all other creatures, and further consider them as affect- 

 ing habits and conduct, as well as structure and physique; 

 and the life of the previously studied simple beings will 

 clearly illustrate their results. 



Gregarious creatures are observed as habitually profiting 

 by habits of association, which have become so necessary 

 that an individual acting independently is at a disadvantage. 

 He loses his share in the collective wisdom and power of 

 observation. The shoal of young fish has a hundred eyes, 

 and when one eye sees danger the whole shoal profits by 

 the alarm. Similarly when food is near all share in many 

 discoveries. One creature of gregarious kind, cut ofif from 

 its fellows, with but one tiny intelligence and one small 

 judgment, is so obvious an example of misfortune in any 

 species, that it is a favorite ob-ject of sentimental human 

 sympathy. It suffers always, and often it dies. This 

 obedience to the newly acquired gregarious habit is there- 

 fore established as good conduct because of its being bene- 

 ficial; the disregard of the habit is bad conduct because of 

 its being injurious. The benefit and injury are mainly for 

 the individual, although the phase of life observed is 

 gregarious ; the consequences to him are great, to the others 

 in mass they are minute and may be of small account, but 



