458 HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT 



one of the most important factors of develop- 

 ment, whether of the body or of the mind. 



The influence of environment upon the 

 minds and morals of men is especially great. 

 To a large extent our habits, words, thoughts ; 

 our aspirations, ideals, satisfactions; our re- 

 sponsibility, morality, religion are the results 

 of the environment and education of our early 

 years. It cannot be doubted that if we had 

 been born in other countries or ages we should 

 have been different from our present selves in 

 many important respects ; if we had been born 

 and reared in the slums of great cities we 

 should have been other than we are ; indeed if 

 the little illnesses, accidents and contingencies 

 of our lives had been different we should have 

 been different in our bodies and minds, as iden- 

 tical twins come to differ from each other under 

 such circumstances. The conditions of early 

 life and education have a great influence in 

 shaping personality and are almost as much 

 beyond the control of the individual as is 

 heredity. 



If personality in all of its main features is 

 fixed by heredity and environment over which 



