The writer, apart from his own casual observation of the relation of men and environment, can think of: two conspicuous institutions in which it hag been definitely proved that men are born of different capacity and moral trend and that environment makes little perceptible change in the gap between the fit and the unfit in the course of their growth and development throughout life. These institutions are the American Army and the London County Council school system. Without going into details, the most elaborate and cautious scientific examinations in both large fields have shown beyond all cavil that mental capacity is innate, that all men differ and that environment, even through many generations, that education and the accumulation of knowledge, even through many generations, or total illiteracy and confinement under miserable living conditions remote from cultural influence, do not materially affect inherited mental capacity. It has been shown that some men are born with little warped brains, who cannot be so stuffed with knowledge or pampered by environment that their minds have more capacity than that of a normal child of six and who inherit ineradicable criminal instincts just as surely as others inherit unshrinkable long noses or unfading red hair. Others grow up with ten-year-old minds, others with twelve-year-old minds, others with fifteen-year-old minds, some have initiative and creative instincts, in spite of the most depressing environment, while others are born followers, with lazy, imitative minds, in spite of the best environment and training.
We have all had enough experience with men of different types in
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.