50 A STUDY IN HEREDITY 



Wise diplomacy and happy chance, war and racial 

 spirit play their parts and are chronicled by his- 

 torians. But, speaking generally, their achieve- 

 ments have no great permanence. The gains of 

 one generation or century are often lost by the 

 next. All the old empires thus founded are dead 

 or dying. Even China seems in the throes of 

 dissolution. The Spanish Empire, born but yester- 

 day and suddenly so great, is already dead. 

 Portugal is in the melting-pot. Who can say how 

 long the fortunes of war and diplomacy will continue 

 to favour the Anglo-Saxons ? Judged then by 

 ancient standards, every empire has its term. 

 But, as we see, the physical natures of some races 

 have long been undergoing a momentous change. 

 When the New World was discovered four hundred 

 years ago, a new factor in empire-building came 

 into play. Unnoticed by historians, it has given 

 to one vast empire, founded by a little people, a 

 stability so great that it will probably endure as 

 long as the human race inhabits the earth. 



