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Hereditary Genius
333
This double culmination was strongly marked in the group of Artists,
and distinctly so in that of the Poets, but it came out with most
startling definition when I laid out the cases, of which I had made
notes, 92 in number, of men remarkable for their precocity. Their first
culmination was at the age of 38, then the death-rate sank till the age
of 42; at 52 it had again risen to what it was at 38, and it attained its
maximum at 64. The mortality of the men who did not appear to have
been eminently precocious, 180 cases in all, followed a perfectly
normal curve, rising steadily to a maximum at 68 years, and then
declining as steadily. The scientific men lived the longest, and the
number of early deaths among them was decidedly less than in any of
the other groups.
The last general remark I have to make is, that features and mental
abilities do not seem to be correlated. The son may resemble his
parent in being an able man, but it does not therefore follow that he
will also resemble him in features. I know of families where the
children who had not the features of their parents inherited their
disposition and ability, and the remaining children had just the
converse gifts. In looking at the portraits in the late National
Exhibitions I was extremely struck with the absence of family
likeness, in cases where I had expected to find it. I cannot prove this
point without illustrations; the reader must therefore permit me to
leave its evidence in an avowedly incomplete form.
In concluding this chapter, I may point out some of the groups that I
have omitted to discuss. The foremost Engineers are a body of men
possessed of remarkable natural qualities; they are not only able men,
but are also possessed of singular powers of physical endurance and
of boldness, combined with clear views of what can and what cannot
be effected. I have included Watt and Stephenson among the men of
science, but the Brunels,
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