Law of Success (21st Century Edition)

204 THE PRINCIPLES OF SELF-MASTERY

'~ person who is powerful fears nothing; not even God. The powerful person

loves God, but fears Him never! Enduring power never grows out of fear. Any

power that is built upon fear is bound to crumble and disintegrate. Understand this

great truth and you will never be so unfortunate as to try to raise yourself to power

through the fears of other people who may owe you temporary allegiance. 1/

HOW LESSONS ARE LEARNED

It is hardly sufficient to say that social heredity is the method through
which humans gather all knowledge that reaches us through the five
senses. It is more to the point to say how social heredity works, in as
many different applications as will give you a comprehensive under-
standing of that law.

COMMENTARY

Appropriately enough, Hill here turns to animal stories as a way of discussing the

development of human character. Hill's frequent references to Nature's bible

demonstrate that he believed human beings are a part of Nature. But he also

values the importance of the human social environment. In weighing in on the

relative influences of Nature and nurture, Hill uses the term physical heredity for

what we today might call genetic predisposition. By social heredity he means

what we might simply call conditioning or social conditioning or socialization.

The Law oj Social Heredity

Let us begin with some of the lower forms of animal life and examine

the manner in which they are affected by the law of social heredity.

COMMENTARY

Many authors and lecturers of Napoleon Hill's day prided themselves on being

storytellers, and they often drew upon the natural world for examples around