78 A STUDY IN HEREDITY 



except their delight in alcohol. It is only 

 reasonable to expect that he who has the stronger 

 desire will be the more likely to yield to temptation. 

 So, also, generally speaking, men indulge in sugar, 

 or salt, or tobacco, or anything else in proportion 

 to their desires. Of course there are exceptions to 

 this rule. Human life is very complex ; alcohol is not 

 the only factor that determines our actions. Some 

 men to whom deep indulgence would be delightful, 

 as conferring positive pleasure or as dulling pain, 

 lack opportunity, and, therefore, temptation ; others 

 of the same nature, but with plenty of opportunity, 

 resist temptation from moral motives. But I speak 

 only of the general rule. I suppose, merely, that, 

 on the average, the man who is so constituted as to 

 be much tempted by alcohol, yields more often, and 

 to a greater extent, than he who is so constituted as 

 to be less tempted. The contrary assumption 

 involves the obvious absurdity that all men are 

 equal in their delight in (and, therefore, desire for) 

 alcohol, or the yet greater absurdity that, generally, 

 deep drinkers are those who have moderate desires 

 but little self-control ; whereas moderate drinkers, 

 as a rule, have deep desires, but much self-control. 



One or other of these assumptions is constantly 

 made. For example, many sober men, and, in 

 particular, many temperance reformers, have a 

 theory very flattering to their self-esteem. They 



