But the dying-out of the intellectually
superior part of the population is a pathological condition, not a part
of normal evolution; for barring artificial interference with the
birth-rate, fertility has been found to go hand in hand with general
superiority. This demonstration is due to F. A. Woods' study[71] of 608
members of the royal families of Europe, among whom, for reasons of
state, large families are desired, and among whom there has probably
been little restraint on the birth-rate. Averaging the ratings of his
individuals from grade 1, the mentally and physically very inferior, to
grade 10, the mentally and physically very superior, he found that the
number of children produced and brought to maturity increased in a
fairly direct ratio. His figures are as follows:
BOTH SEXES (AVERAGED)
Grades for virtues 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Average number of
adult
children. 1.66 2.86 2.99 2.41 3.44 3.49 3.05 3.03 3.93 3.83
Investigations of Karl Pearson and Alexander Graham Bell[72] show that
fecundity and longevity are associated. It follows that the mentally
and morally superior, who are the most fecund, are also the
longest-lived; and as this longevity is largely due to inheritance it
follows that, under natural conditions, the standard of the stratum of
society under consideration would gradually rise, in respect to
longevity, in each generation.
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