FIFTY YEARS OF DARWINISM 41 



preserved as if of the most essential importance 

 for the species. If the efficient cause of the 

 stages of ontogeny resides in the fertilized ovum 

 — as we cannot doubt — ^Weismann's hypothesis 

 satisfactorily accounts for their hereditary trans- 

 mission. For the portion of the ovvim set aside 

 to form the germ-cells from which the next gen- 

 eration will arise is reserved with all its powers 

 and includes the potentiality of these stages no 

 less than the other inherent characteristics of the 

 individual. 



It is, I think, unfortunate to seek for analogies 

 — and vague analogies they must always be — 

 between heredity and memory. However much 

 we have still to learn about it, memory is, on its 

 physiological side, a definite property of certain 

 higher cerebral tissues, — a property which has 

 clearly been of the utmost advantage in the strug- 

 gle for life and bears the stamp of adaptation. 

 Compare, for instance, the difficulty in remem- 

 bering a name with the f acihty in recognizing a 

 face. Adaptation would appear to be even more 

 clearly displayed in the unconscious registration 

 in memory and the instant recognition of another 

 individual as seen from behind or when partially 

 concealed. Such memory is quite independent 

 of the artistic power. Without any intelligent 

 appreciation of what is peculiar to another indi- 

 vidual, his characteristic features are stored up 

 unconsciously so that when seen again he is in- 

 stantly recognized. 



