82 A STUDY IN HEREDITY 



wills, than their fellows. In other words, it is 

 supposed that the moderate man is temperate 

 merely because, through training or choice, he 

 exercises self-control early and always ; but the 

 deep drinker drunken because he exercises it 

 never. But this view errs because all the factors 

 are not taken into account. All men of course 

 start life without any craving for alcohol, and, in 

 so far, are equal ; but the essential fact remains that 

 they differ vastly with respect to the ease with 

 which the craving may be awakened and the 

 strength it may attain. Even if it be contended — 

 erroneously I am certain — that all men are capable 

 of enjoying drunkenness ; that in every man the 

 craving for drink may gather volume with 

 indulgence, like a rolling snow-ball, it must still be 

 admitted that it gathers volume much more swiftly, 

 easily, and irresistibly in some men than in others. 

 The speed with which a snow-ball grows depends, 

 among other things, on the slope of the hill. In 

 some men the hill is steeper than in others. A 

 well-trained child is certainly less liable to become 

 drunken than a worse-trained ; but, nevertheless, 

 of two children, equally well-trained, the one with 

 the greater capacity for enjoying alcohol is the 

 more likely to yield to temptation. However 

 good the training, men still tend to drink in pro- 

 portion to their desires. 



