But in all, the result aimed
at is reached, if by different processes. The Will is strengthened,
encouraged and directed, and the elements opposing its action are
demoralized. Now, to any one who has thought out and connected the
various evolution theories, as taken, not from any occult source, but
from the ordinary scientific manual accessible to all--from the
hypothesis of the latest variation in the habits of species--say, the
acquisition of carnivorous habits by the New Zealand parrot, for
instance--to the farthest glimpses backwards into Space and Eternity
afforded by the "Fire Mist" doctrine, it will be apparent that they all
rest on one basis. That basis is, that the impulse once given to a
hypothetical Unit has a tendency to continue; and consequently, that
anything "done" by something at a certain time and certain place tends
to repeat itself at other times and places.
Such is the admitted rationale of heredity and atavism. That the same
things apply to our ordinary conduct is apparent from the notorious ease
with which "habits,"--bad or good, as the case may be--are acquired, and
it will not be questioned that this applies, as a rule, as much to the
moral and intellectual, as to the physical world.
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