But that is obviously not so as regards the worst stocks.

It is, therefore, fortunate that the aim here seems a little clearer.

There are still many abnormal conditions of which we cannot say positively that they are injurious to the race and that we should therefore seek to breed them out.

But there are other conditions so obviously of evil import alike to the subjects themselves and to their descendants that we cannot have any reasonable doubt about them.

There is, for instance, epilepsy, which is known to be transformed by heredity into various abnormalities dangerous alike to their possessors and to society.
There are also the pronounced degrees of feeble-mindedness, which are definitely heritable and not only condemn those who reveal them to a permanent inaptitude for full life, but constitute a subtle poison working through the social atmosphere in all directions and lowering the level of civilisation in the community.