124 DARWINISM ANT> HTMAN LIFE 



Man's origin is hidden, and, whatever our ancestry 

 was, we cannot change it ; man's future is also 

 hidden, but it will be, in some measure, of our 

 making. Now, it is evident that some variations 

 are imdesirable : they make their possessor miser- 

 able, and his neighbours hardly less miserable. We 

 admit that there is an " optimism of pathology " ; 

 unpromising buds may burst into flowers as fair as 

 they are unexpected, weaklings bend Titans to their 

 will, cripples make the world go round, and those of 

 marred visage teach us what beauty really is ; but, 

 with all the breadth of view that biology will allow, 

 there are some variations on which the verdict of 

 history is that they make for retrogression. Every 

 one wishes these variations to die out. 



There are other variations that are unmistakably 

 desirable — in the direction of fine physique, 

 artistic skill, keen mental abihty, originality, 

 sociahsed disposition, and strength of character. 

 Every one wishes these variations to be widely 

 distributed. 



Inquiry into the history of good animal stocks 

 shows that steady progress has always rewarded 

 the mating of nearly related forms, while the 

 blending of distant and incompatible tjrpes seems 

 often to lead to reversionary mongrels. Here we 

 have a warning to the thoughtless experimenter 

 with his own stock. 



One of the characteristics that should dis- 

 tinguish the biologist is an expectancy, an open- 

 mindedness, a tolerance, even a reverence, with 

 respect to variations ; for these new departures 

 on the part of the ever-changing organism are the 

 raw materials of progress, and should be sedulously 

 guarded. IndividuaUty is often born, often 



