itself felt upon the
offspring through the operation of the law of atavism, before alluded
to, and thus prevent the children from equaling their parents in their
natural endowments. Notwithstanding the workings of these opposing
forces, and others which might be mentioned, we find abundant
illustration of the hereditary nature of talent and character.

Of six hundred and five names occurring in a biographical dictionary
devoted to men distinguished as great founders and originators, between
the years 1453 and 1853, there were, as has been pointed out by Mr.
Galton, no less than one hundred and two relationships, or one in six.
Walford's _Men of the Time_ contains an account of the distinguished men
in England, the Continent, and America, then living. Under the letter A
there are eighty-five names, and no less than twenty-five of these, or
one in three and a half, have relatives also in the list; twelve of them
are brothers, and eleven fathers and sons. In Bryan's _Dictionary of
Painters_, the letter A contains three hundred and ninety-one names of
men, of whom sixty-five are near relatives, or one in six; thirty-three
of them are fathers and sons, and thirty are brothers. In Fetis's
_Biographie Universelle des Musiciens_, the letter A contains five
hundred and fifteen names, of which fifty are near relatives, or one in
ten. Confining ourselves to literature alone, it has been found that it
is one to six and a half that a very distinguished literary man has a
very distinguished literary relative; and it is one to twenty-eight that
the relation is father and son, or brother and brother, respectively.
Among the thirty-nine Chancellors of England, sixteen had kinsmen of
eminence; thirteen of them had kinsmen of great eminence. These thirteen
out of thirty-nine, or one in three, are certainly remarkable instances
of the influence of inheritance. A similar examination has been
instituted in regard to the judges of the Supreme Court of
Massachusetts, and other American States, with like results. The Greek
poet AEschylus counted eight poets and four musicians among his
ancestors. The greater part of the celebrated sculptors of ancient
Greece descended from a family of sculptors. The same is true of the
great painters. The sister of Mozart shared the musical talent of her
brother. As there are reasons, to be detailed hereafter, for believing
that the influence of the mother is even greater than that of the
father, how vastly wo