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race biologist tries to answer, are of extraordinary importance for the whole world.
Meanwhile they must have access to a very comphrehensive material.
The investigations in heredity made in modern times, tcaches us that the
natural type (genotype), developed during the course of hundreds and thousands
of years, in different peoples and races, is the essential type and that it never
wholly repeats itself in different individuals except in the case of such twins
who have their origin in one and the same ovum or egg. More or less diverse
hereditary combinations form therefore as a rule, the groundwork of every new
individual who is conceived. Within certain bounds the environment afterwards
becomes a force causing still further dissimilarities, but these alterations in one
or another direction (modifications) acquired during life do not change the
natural disposition.
Mankind, like all the other higher organisms, can be compared to a mosaic.
The many small pieces, which correspond to the different hereditary units (or
factors) taken together form a whole picture. These bits can be combined in
varying patterns and so give rise to different natural types, different individuals,
and, in the course of time, different races and nations.
It is certain that the hereditary substance or natural type in different indivi*
duals, peoples and races may be quite different. In the common language there
are many phraces which bring to light the faet that mankind half unconsciously,
recognizes this, for instance, »He (or she) belongs to a good race», »That nation
is a strong race», »One can tell the race», etc.
The different dispositions, the outward characteristics as well as the inner,
are inherited according to a fixed law, each one for itself. It remains now to
ascertain how this happens, examining characteristic after characteristic. This work
is now eagerly being done in different countries. A great deal of knowledge
has really been won already, but the greater part still remains to be done.
A careful study of individuals belonging to different races and nations is
necessary, and the work must be done systematically and exaetly.
In a free country with free institutions, a stratification among the people,
layer after layer, arises of itself. One can distinguish a natural aristocracy, (the
result of fortunate hereditary combinations and a favourable environment) a middle
class, and a lower class, which in ancient days formed the so*called serf or thrall class.
As a rule these three layers are fairly unlike each other, in some countries to
such an extent, that they are formed of wholly different racial elements. For»
tunately Sweden is not one of these, but one finds even here that among Swedes
belonging to different classes, a not unimportant difference can be observed in
the combinations of race.
A people composed of good racial elements creates for itself good conditions of
society, if it is allowed to develop freely, a people of bad race is not capable of this.
There are at present (as in the past of the world) nations of wholly diffe«
rent quality, some are elever, enterprising and vigorous, others are weak, sluggish
and lacking in vitality, in a word nations that are dying out. A whole series
of different grades are to be found between these two poles.
No nation remains altogether unaltered during the course of time, it developes and
becomes ennobled or it degenerates and becomes debased. History shows us many
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