Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 62.djvu/274

268 every means to corrupt his morals and stunt his education that she might get the more power in her own hands. I only mention this to show a good example of the sort of cases that should make us bend strongly towards the importance of environment in molding the psychical form. It is the relative absence of such cases that has led to the view taken in this book. In spite of the fact that Christian VII. married his first cousin, related on the bad side of the house, since she was a sister of George III., his two children were not of the worst sort by any means, though in general we may say that one took after the father and one the mother. Louisa Augusta, the daughter, had relatively very little intellect, no ambition and a very quick temper, while Frederick VI., the next king, mild, affable and sensible, resembled his mother.

The remaining characters, Christian VIII. and Frederick VII., were merely examples of good normal men, liberal, popular and sufficiently able to fill their positions with honor to their country. There is nothing particularly interesting just here, so we can conclude the chapter of the Oldenburg dynasty with a glance back at the seventeenth century.

It will be noticed that there is one little region where the intellectual ratings are fairly high and that included in this group is Christian IV., the greatest of Danish kings. The only slight error from expected heredity is. that the intellectual eminence fails to be perpetuated to quite the extent we might have expected in any of the children of Frederick III. Ulrica Elenora, the only gifted child, was 'distinguished for her knowledge.' She was the mother of Charles XII., of Sweden, and in him the genius was more than rejuvenated.

Aside from this heredity is very well satisfied in the study of this country, there being not more than one or two exceptions at most to what we might expect from the workings of this force. It is also important to note that the age of absolutism entirely failed to produce a type of cruel and arrogant kings. Had such a type been here engendered it would certainly have been ascribed largely to the environment in which they lived.