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Modern science is proving more and more clearly that heredity plays an ever-decreasing part in the evolution of the higher creatures, that mental and moral qualities are not transmitted from parents to offspring, and that the higher qualities the more patent is this fact ‘ the child of the genius is oft-times a dolt; commonplace parents give birth to a genius.

— Annie Besant The Ancient Wisdom (1897)

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More quotes by Annie Besant

A prophet is always much wider than his followers, much more liberal than those who label themselves with his name.

Refusal to believe until proof is given is a rational position; denial of all outside of our own limited experience is absurd.

Annie Besant: An Autobiography (1893)

Sun-worship and pure forms of nature worship were, in their day, noble religions, highly allegorical but full of profound truth and knowledge.

The Will of the Black Magician has the strength of iron, pointing ever to the personal end, and it strikes against the great Will, and sooner or later must shiver itself into pieces against it.

A Study in Consciousness: A Contribution to the Science of Psychology (1904)

There is no suffering for him who has finished his journey, and abandoned grief, who has freed him self on all sides, and thrown off all fetters.

In the Outer Court (1895)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Annie Besant (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.