It is a Law of Nature with us that a male child shall have one
more side than his father, so that each generation shall rise (as a
rule) one step in the scale of development and nobility. Thus the son
of a Square is a Pentagon; the son of a Pentagon, a Hexagon; and so
on.
But this rule applies not always to the Tradesman, and still less
often to the Soldiers, and to the Workmen; who indeed can hardly be
said to deserve the name of human Figures, since they have not all
their sides equal. With them therefore the Law of Nature does not
hold; and the son of an Isosceles (i.e. a Triangle with two sides
equal) remains Isosceles still. Nevertheless, all hope is not such
out, even from the Isosceles, that his posterity may ultimately rise
above his degraded condition. For, after a long series of military
successes, or diligent and skillful labours, it is generally found
that the more intelligent among the Artisan and Soldier classes
manifest a slight increase of their third side or base, and a
shrinkage of the two other sides.
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