Man scans with scrupulous care the character and
pedigree of his horses, cattle, and dogs before he
mulches them; but when he comes to his own marriage
he rarely, or never, takes any such care. He is impelled
by nearly the same motives as are the lower animals
when left to their own free choice, though he is in so far
superior to them that he highly values mental charms
and virtues. On the other hand he is strongly attracted
by mere wealth or rank, Yet he might by selection
do something not only for the bodily constitution and
frame of his offspring, but for their intellectual and
moral qualities. Both s**es ought to refrain from
marriage if in any marked degree inferior in body or
mind; but such hopes are Utopian and will never be
even partially realised until the laws of inheritance are
thoroughly known. All do good service who aid towards
this end. When the principles of breeding and of inhe-
ritance are better understood, we shall not hear ignorant
members of our legislature rejecting with scorn a plan
for ascertaining by an easy method whether or not con-
sanguineous marriages are injurious to man.
The advancement of the welfare of mankind is a most
intricate problem: all ought to refrain from marriage
who cannot avoid abject poverty for their children; for
poverty is not only a great evil, but tends to its own
increase by leading to recklessness in marriage. On the
other hand, as Mr. Galton has remarked, if the prudent
avoid marriage, whilst the reckless marry, the inferior
members will tend to supplant the better members of
society.