CIVILIZED NATIONS. 131 



tion of a domestic race; but excepting in the case of man him- 

 self, hardly any one Is so ignorant as to allow his worst animals 

 to breed. 



The aid which we feel impelled to give to the helpless is mainly 

 an incidental result of the instinct of sympathy, which was orig- 

 inally acquired as part of the social instincts, but subsequently 

 rendered, in the manner previously indicated, more tender and 

 more widely diffused. Nor could we check our sympathy, even 

 at the urging of hard reason, without deterioration in the noblest 

 part of our nature. The surgeon may harden himself whilst per- 

 forming an operation, for he knows that he is acting for the good 

 of his patient; but if we were intentionally to neglect the weak and 

 helpless, it could only be for a contingent benefit, with an over- 

 whelming present evil. We must therefore bear the undoubtedly 

 bad effects of the weak surviving and propagating their kind; but 

 there appears to be at least one check In steady action, namely 

 that the weaker and inferior members of society do not marry 

 so freely as the sound; and this check might be indefinitely in- 

 creased by the weak in body or mind refraining from marriage, 

 though this is more to be hoped for than expected. 



In every country in which a large standing army is kept up, 

 the finest young men are taken by the conscription or are en- 

 listed. They are thus exposed to early death during war, are 

 often tempted into vice, and are prevented from marrying during 

 the prime of life. On the other hand the shorter and feebler men, 

 with poor constitutions, are left at home, and consequently have 

 a much better chance of marrying and propagating their kind." 



Man accumulates property and bequeaths it to his children, 

 so that the children of the rich have an advantage over the poor 

 in the race for success, independently of bodily or mental su- 

 periority. On the other hand, the children of parents who are 

 short-lived, and are therefore on an average deficient in health 

 and vigor, come into their property sooner than other children, 

 and will be likely to marry earlier, and leave a larger number of 

 offspring to inherit their inferior constitutions. But the in- 

 heritance of property by itself is very far from an evil; for with- 

 out the accumulation of capital the arts could not progress; and 

 it is chiefly through their power that the civilized races have 

 extended, and are,now everywhere extending their range, so as 

 to take the place of the lower races. Nor does the moderate ac- 

 cumulation of "wealth interfere with the process of selection. 

 When a poor man becomes moderately rich, his children enter 

 trades or professions in which there is struggle enough, so that 



"Prof. H. Pick ('Einfluss der Naturwissensohaft auf das Recht,' 

 June 1872,) has some good remarks on this head, and on other such 

 points. 



