"If Barclay had had a different home and education, he would have turned out differently, of course."
"To some extent, yes—either better or worse. You and I cannot judge how far he might, if he would, have changed his associations—or resisted them. We don't know where he has or has not deliberately yielded to evil."
"But isn't yielding or resisting a matter of will? And isn't will inherited?"
"Yes—partly, no doubt. The natural will may be strong or weak; and it becomes stronger or weaker through training."
"And if a man's will is paralysed—?"
"I doubt if any sane man's will is paralysed. Most people have will enough to do what they like. Apparent paralysis is commonly shown only in apparent powerlessness to do what they don't like."
"But if the will is what it is, through heredity and training—" pronounced Jean slowly—"and if a man can't control either the heredity or the training—then I don't see how he can help being what he is?"
"Not badly put, for a one-sided view of the question. But you must take care not to lose sight of the other side—the absolute freedom of the will—its God-given freedom. No man living can be forced into evil. It is a matter of inducement, not of force. The will sways right or left, according to the strength of the inducements offered—inducements to self-pleasing on the one hand, inducements to right-doing on the other hand."
"That brings one again to a man's surroundings. But suppose Barclay's surroundings have been all bad? Suppose he has never once had the strong-enough inducement to do right?"
"Jean, are you trying to climb upon the judgment-seat?" asked Jem, in a quiet low voice; and a flush rose to her face. "No wonder your task proves puzzling! Omniscient Eyes are needed there to discriminate—to award due praise or blame. I suppose there is nothing in which we blunder more fearfully."