STUDIES IN EUGENICS 2$
life so widely that the changes on the surface of the earth, merely through his disforestings and agriculture, would be recognizable from a distance as great as that of the moon.
As regards the practical side of eugenics, we need not linger to reopen the unending argument whether man possesses any creative power of will at all, or whether his will is not also pre- determined by blind forces or by intelligent agencies behind the veil, and whether the belief that man can act independently is more than a mere illusion. This matters little in practice, because men, whether fatalists or not, work with equal vigor whenever they perceive they have the power to act effectively.
Eugenic belief extends the function of philanthropy to future generations; it renders its action more pervading than hitherto, by dealing with families and societies in their entirety; and it enforces the importance of the marriage covenant by directing serious attention to the probable quality of the future offspring. It sternly forbids all forms of sentimental charity that are harm- ful to the race, while it eagerly seeks opportunity for acts of personal kindness as some equivalent to the loss of what it for- bids. It brings the tie of kinship into prominence, and strongly encourages love and interest in family and race. In brief, eugenics is a virile creed, full of hopefulness, and appealing to many of the noblest feelings of our nature. 10
10 Space does not permit publication of the comments upon Mr. Galton's papers. A portion of the discussion at the two sessions of the Sociological Society devoted to them will appear in the department " Notes and Abstracts " of the September number.
