may stimulate
types of activity that lie dormant, although possible, among
other races. Thus by some investigators the flexibility and
emancipation of the Greek genius were attributed to their
access to the sea and their constant intermingling with other
cultures, especially the Egyptian.

On the subject of the fundamental equality of races despite
their seeming disparity, as that at present, let us say, between
whites and negroes, Professor Boas writes:

Much has been said of the hereditary characteristics of the Jews,
of the Gypsies, of the French and Irish, but I do not see that the
external and social causes which have moulded the character of
members of these people have ever been eliminated satisfactorily;
and, moreover, I do not see how this can be accomplished. A number
of external factors that influence body and mind may easily be
named--climate, nutrition, occupation--but as soon as we enter
into a consideration of social factors and mental conditions we are
unable to tell definitely what is cause and what is effect.

* * * * *

The conclusions reached are therefore, on the whole, negative. We
are not inclined to consider the mental organization of different races
of man as differing in fundamental points. Although, therefore, the
distribution of faculty among the races of man is far from being
known, we can say this much: the average faculty of the white race
is found to the same degree in a large proportion of individuals
of all other races, and although it is probable that some of these
races may not produce as large a proportion of great men as our own
race, there is no reason to suppose that they are unable to
reach the level of civilization represented by the bulk of our own
people.[1]

[Footnote 1: Boas; _loc. cit._, pp. 116, 123.]

In contrast must be cited the opinions of a large class of
psychologists and anthropologists who are inclined to regard
racial differences as intrinsic and original. Of such, for example,
is Francis Galton, who claims in his _Hereditary Genius_,
that taking negroes on their own ground they still are inferior
to Europeans by about one eighth the difference, say, between
Aristotle and the lowest idiot. Recent psychological
experiments in the army reveal, again, certain fundamental
intellectual inferiorities of negroes, though whether this is
environmental or to be traced to hereditary causes is open to
question.

The fact remains that