Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1870-03-23
Hereditary Genius.


ENGLAND AND AMERICA.
William Pitt, says the New York
Post, was the son of one Prime Min
lister, the nephew of another, and the
cousin of a third. Fox had amongst
his relatives the Duke of Richmond,
Secretary of State; Lord Holland. Sc
cretary of War, Sir Stephen Fox,
Paymaster of the Force, two other
Lords Holland, eminent men; and
his aunt married a Napier, and was
mother of the famous family IF that
name. George Canning's family
count Lord StratfOrd de Redcliffe,
Lord Garvah, and Earl Canning, Gov
ernor General of India. Earl Hard
wicke, Lord Chancellor, had q son
who attained the same dignity; and
of his grandsons, one became a Bish-
Op, another a Lord of the Admiralty,
u third was made Baron Dover for
military achievements, and a fourth
was a distinguished Admiral.
Mr.. Francis Galton, AN English wri-
ter, cites these and numerous other in
stances, among them that of the Ad-
ans family in this country, to prove
that genius is hereditary or may, at
least, be handed down like any other
quality. Mr.. Galton writes ingeni-
Ously, and he has taken great pains
to look up his instances. But his
method is cumbrOus and not easily
cOmprehended and on the whole we
do not think be proves his case
What he undertakes to prove is, in
his own words thus:
"That two children are taken, of
whom one has parent exceptionally !
gifted in high degTee-say one in |
1000, or as one in a milliOu-and the |
other has not. the former child has al |
enormously great chance of turning |
out to be gifted in q higher degree /
than the other. Also, / argue that, |
as a new race can be obtained in ami |
NAL and plants, and can be raised to
so great a degree of purity that it will /
maintain itself, with moderate care, !
in preventing the more faulty mem
bers of the flock from breeding, so q !
race of gifted men might he obtained, |
under exactly similar conditions"
Whether, by proper breeding, a |
race of gifted men might be obtained, |
we shall not assume to decide; but il /
is extremely unlikely that such a race /
will ever actually be obtained in this /
way. That remarkable qualities are
handed down for several generations
is, s,however, a matter very well known.
Mr.. GaltOn cites many instances, a
the P"TsOn memory; almost every
one knOws-Of some family in which
a particular trait of character is per
petual; and this, not because of the
training of children by the parents,
but by natural gift of inheritance.
Mr.. Galton has, however. many
very suggestive observations, and the
question itself is of great interest to
all thoughtful men. He remarks that
three qualities go to make up ability"
capacity, zeal and vigor.-
He who has nut two of these will not
qecome eminent. He shows that to
achieve greatness is n work of time,
and remarks that in war the greatest
genius may be killed before he has
time to make a reputation. Thus
small men, ability being equal, have
a better chance than tall men. Large
men are more likely to be hit. A man
six feet two and half inches high. (
and stout in proportion, would be hit
three times where another of five feet {
six would be hit twice, according to
the calculations Of Mr.. GaltOn; and to
show how slow is promotion, thai
when Nelson received his first pen
sion he had been in action one hun
lred and twenty times, and had lost
IN arm and an eye, and had other
This was before Copenha-
gen, the Nile, and Trafalgar. !
Nelson was a small man; so was
so was Napoleon. Grant
90, is a small man, and many of the !
notable commanders in the late war I
we're below theordinary size, Ito have :
remarks Mr.. Galton, sis I
IN essential condition to becoming a
AIMED commander" and it may be
added that health and sound digestion.
he ability TO sleep well, and that kind 4
# constitution which gives long life.
ire as essential to the achievement of q
as capacity and zeal. v
Mr.. Galton argues that the three v
qualities which he believes to make f
lp ability" it will not be easy to t
leep their pOssessor down. Artifi- t
.ial advantages he counts for little v
Family influences, special training {
arly education, he thinks small mat il
ers; the able man may do without
hem. Some of his instances are in 9
U
yicke was the son of poor attorney; n
Lord Eldon was his brother, the great 4
Judge. Lord StOnewell. /;
whose name was often quoted in the 5
IecisiOn of the Alabama claims. were b
he sons of a "coal filter" Lord Chan C
ellOr Truro was the son ofa sheriff7s
ffieer; Lord Chancellor st. LeOnards
nd Lord Tenterden. Chief Justice of g
Common Plens, we're the sons of bar "
ers. Lord Erskine was first in the u
avy, and then in the army, before = =
e entered the bar. Lord Chelmsford p
egan life as a midshipman. Il
These instances are all taken from 5,
England; in our own country the list a
f men who have begun life in COM p
non pursuits and become eminent W
iter as statesmen and rulers is almost ri
ndless. U
In this country it has commonly 8
cen held that the sons of eminent -
len very seldom inherit the power of -
heir fathers. We suspect, however, n,
nat the sons of our public men are N
% often kept down by the desultory s.
nd exciting life of their fathers. 1t \
difficult to imagine a less promising IS
art in life than that which a boy gets Vi
hose father is in public life here
-nless the father has not only very
qualities, but wealth NJ
esides, his children are too apt to be Y
lcrificed in some way to the exigen- eC
es of the fathers career. AS mat W
n of fact, we believe there are to be o,
'und amongst us a number of fami- c.
es like the Edwards and the Beech bI
s., in which conspicuous ability is do
ereditary. But few of our ablest
Iblie men, however, have founded
miles, and many of them have IL
zen childless, like Washington and II
icksOn, or have had short-lived des- IN
like Calhoun. ey
Mr.. Spinner, of the United States -.
-easury Department, Washington, is a =