472 HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT 



the most extensive and the most varied en- 

 vironment, and its effect upon his personality 

 is correspondingly great. Of all animals man 

 has the longest period of immaturity and it is 

 during this period that the play of environ- 

 mental stimuli on the organism is effective in 

 modifying development. In addition to the 

 material environment he lives in the midst of 

 intellectual, social and moral stimuli which are 

 potent factors in his development. By means 

 of his power to look before and after, he lives 

 in the future and past as well as in the pres- 

 ent; through tradition and history he becomes 

 an heir of all the ages. The modifying influ- 

 ences of all these environmental conditions on 

 personality are very great. Each of us may 

 say with Ulysses: "I am a part of all that I 

 have met." So great is the power of environ- 

 ment on the development of personality that it 

 may outweigh inheritance ; a relatively poor in- 

 heritance with excellent environmental condi- 

 tions often produces better results than a good 

 inheritance with poor conditions. Of course 

 no sort of environment can do more than bring 

 out the hereditary possibilities, but on the 



