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Hereditary Genius
xiii
sedulously guard against any bias of my own; it was also essential that the
group to be dealt with should be sufficiently numerous for statistical
treatment, and again, that the family histories of the persons it contained
should be accessible, and, if possible, already published.
The list at length adopted for this prefatory purpose was that of the
English Judges since the Reformation. Their kinships were analysed, and
the percentage of their “eminent” relations in the various near degrees
were tabulated and the results discussed. These were very striking, and
seemed amply sufficient of themselves to prove the main question. Various
objections to the validity of the inferences drawn from them may, however,
arise; they are considered, and, it is believed, disposed of, in the book.
After doing this, a series of lists were taken in succession, of the most
illustrious statesmen, commanders, literary men, men of science, poets,
musicians, and painters, of whom history makes mention. To each of these
lists were added many English eminent men of recent times, whose
biographies are familiar, or, if not, are easily accessible. The lists were
drawn up without any bias of my own, for I always relied mainly upon the
judgment of others, exercised without any knowledge of the object of the
present inquiry, such as the selections made by historians or critics. After
the lists of the illustrious men had been disposed of, a large group of
eminent Protestant divines were taken in hand—namely, those who were
included in Middleton's once well known and highly esteemed biographical
dictionary of such persons. Afterwards the Senior Classics of Cambridge
were discussed, then the north country oarsmen and wrestlers. In the
principal lists all the selected names were inserted, in which those who
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