32 Luck, or Cunning ? 
people left off selling it at all, and if any one wanted it he 
must think it out at home as best he could; this was 
troublesome, so by common consent the world decided no 
longer to busy itself with the continued personality of 
successive generations—which was all very well until it 
also decided to busy itself with the theory of descent with 
modification. On the introduction of a foe so inimical to 
many of our pre-existing ideas the balance of power among 
them was upset, and a readjustment became necessary, 
which is still far from having attained the next settlement 
that seems likely to be reasonably permanent. 
To change the illustration, the ordinary view is true for 
seven places of decimals, and this commonly is enough ; 
occasions, however, have now arisen when the error caused 
by neglect of the omitted places is appreciably disturbing, 
and we must have three or four more. Mr. Spencer 
showed no more signs of seeing that he must supply 
these, and make personal identity continue between 
successive generations before talking about inherited 
(as opposed to post-natal and educational) experience, 
than others had done before him; the race with him, 
as with every one else till recently, was not one long indi- 
vidual living indeed in pulsations, so to speak, but no more 
losing continued personality by living in successive genera- 
tions, than an individual loses it by living in consecutive 
days ; a race was simply a succession of individuals, each 
one of which was held to be an entirely new person, and 
was regarded exclusively, or very nearly so, from this point 
of view. 
When I wrote ‘‘ Life and Habit ” I knew that the words 
“experience of the race’’ sounded familiar, and were 
going about in magazines and newspapers, but I did not 
know where they came from ; if I had, I should have given 
their source. To me they conveyed no meaning, and vexed 
me as an attempt to make me take stones instead of bread, 
and to palm off an illustration upon me as though it were 
