, , thesumoftendenciestoactinacertainway, whichwecall "character," "character"—thismoralandintellectualessenceofaman—doesveritablypassoverfromonefleshlytabernacletoanother, -borninfant, thecharacterofthestocklieslatent, , veryearly, thesebecomeacutalities;fromchildhoodtoagetheymanifestthemselvesindulnessorbrightness, weaknessorstrength,viciousnessoruprightness; andwitheachfeaturemodifiedbyconfluencewithanothercharacter, ifbynothingelse, thecharacterpassedontoitsincarnationinnewbodies.
TheIndianphilosopherscalledcharacter, asthusdefined, "karma."[6]Itisthiskarmawhichpassedfromlifetolifeandlinkedtheminthechainoftransmigrations; andtheyheldthatitismodifiedineachlife, notmerelybyconfluenceofparentage, , infact, strongbelieversinthetheory, somuchdisputedjustatpresent, , orimpeded, byconditions, ofwhichself-discipline, ortheabsenceofit, areamongthemostimportant, isindubitable; butthatthecharacteritselfismodifiedinthiswayisbynomeanssocertain; itisnotsosurethatthetransmittedcharacterofanevilliverisworse, orthatofarighteousmanbetter, , however, didnotadmitofanydoubtonthissubject; thebeliefintheinfluenceofconditions, notablyofself-discipline, onthekarmawasnotmerelyanecessarypostulateofitstheoryofretribution, butitpresentedtheonlywayofescapefromtheendlessroundoftransmigrations.
