142 The Third and Fourth Generation 



reappear, but just what individual each will 

 strike it is impossible to prophesy without 

 knowing much more definitely the nature of the 

 germ plasm involved. One may say that the 

 convergence of a number of lines of descent 

 from great ancestors toward one individual 

 makes it probable that he will be exceptionally 

 able. 



This is nowhere better illustrated than in 

 the family tree of Frederick the Great of the 

 Prussian house of HohenzoUern, as will be seen 

 from the chart on page 143. Of his great- 

 grandparents, three scale 10, one 9, one 8, two 7, 

 and one 6. Not one is below mediocrity, and 

 the majority are of very high grade. Of his 

 fourteen ancestors back three generations, only 

 one is distinctly inferior. Of his brothers and 

 sisters, four are distinctly great, three mediocre, 

 and one inferior. 



It is interesting to trace the effect of the 

 mating of such splendid stock with another 

 brilliant line, that of the Swedish royal house. 

 Gustavus I, or Gustavus Vasa, is another 

 instance of the brilliant mutant, with some 



