xv MAN 183 



transmission of something intrinsic from gamete to zygote 

 and from zygote to gamete. It is the participation of the 

 gamete in the process that is our criterion of what is and 

 what is not heredity. 



Better hygiene and better education, then, are good 

 for the zygote, because they help him to make the fullest 

 use of his inherent qualities. But the qualities them- 

 selves remain unchanged in so far as the gamete is con- 

 cerned, since the gamete pays no heed to the intellectual 

 development of the zygote in whom he happens to dwell. 

 Nevertheless, upon the gamete depend those inherent 

 faculties which enable the zygote to profit by his oppor- 

 tunities, and, unless the zygote has received them from 

 the gamete, the advantages of education are of little 

 worth. If we are bent upon producing a permanent bet- 

 terment that shall be independent of external circum- 

 stances, if we wish the national stock to become inherently 

 more vigorous in mind and body, more free from con- 

 genital physical defect and feeble mentality, better able 

 to assimilate and act upon the stores of knowledge which 

 have been accumulated through the centuries, then it is 

 the gamete that we must consult. The saving grace is 

 with the gamete, and with the gamete alone. 



People generally look upon the human species as having 

 two kinds of individuals, males and females, and it is for 

 them that the sociologists and legislators frame their 

 schemes. This, however, is but an imperfect view to 



