INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENT 365 



ment of character. Luxury, easy lives, refined 

 surroundings have less of educational value 

 than we commonly suppose and they may be 

 a positive menace. That environment is bad, 

 however cultured, refined or pleasant it may 

 be, which leads to the development of bad 

 traits of body or of mind. In general the best 

 environment is one which avoids extremes, one 

 which is neither too easy nor too hard,- — one 

 which produces maximum efficiency of body 

 and of mind. 



In education also we are strangely blind to 

 proper aims and methods. Any education is 

 bad which leads to the formation of habits of 

 idleness, carelessness, failure, instead of habits 

 of industry, thoroughness and success. Any 

 religious or social institution is bad which 

 leads to habits of pious make-believe, insin- 

 cerity, slavish regard for authority and 

 disregard for evidence, instead of habits of sin- 

 cerity, open mindedness and independence. 



Frequently the training of the human being, 

 like the training of a star-fish, consists in limit- 

 ing his activities to particular lines. Some 

 physical defect which prevented a child from 



