The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1871-07-08
Consanguine0us Marriages.

Society has decided, that the man or
woman. who is so unfortunately situated
as to marry a relative, must be regarded as
. occupying a position that is pitiable indeed.
The chief objection, however, to intermar-
rage of this character is that the results
are fraught with inca.culable harm to the
world, for physiological and ecclesiastical
law declares that the SINS Of tile parents
are uisited on their children, euen to the
third and fourth generations.
This rule of deterioration constantly ap-
plies, as a result of unholy- intermarriage.
Nature abhors such consanguineous rela-
tionship, and therefor impresscs her ter
rible displeasure in the race Of blemishes
of form and mind, idiocy and insanity of
the offspring of such guilty parcntage.
Women of impressible or melancholy
habits and dispositions, especially should
not marry relatives by blood. The emo
tional disturbances to which they are often
unhappily subjected, derange the maternal
functions. and the effects arc certainly and
deeply impressed on the unborn child.
Persons of sensitive, moody, sullen and
nervous dispositions, often seriously suffer
from convictions that they have been gull
W VI d IIIluIlldl dCL dSdliiSI iI9LuiC III udN-
ing intermarried, and their melancholy
and gloomy reflections often make them
monomaniacs. Women are more effected
by these influences than men are, and
when such a condition occurs during preg-
nancy, the embryo becomes mysteriously
imbucd with tendencies to insanity and
hideous malformations. These are simply
the impressions of the mental obliquities
transmitted by the reflections Of the parent.
As mental influences do not exist in beasts,
these impressions are not conveyed in
them, and herein is the difference that
exists between them and human beings.
Whenever blood relations marry in
defiance of the laws of nature and in dis
respect of the opinions of society, there
is a mental disturbance existing in the
contracting parties, which will produce a
sad influence on the offspring, whose in
heritance is certain to comprise all the
evil, and none of the good qualities neces-
sary to make valuable citizens of the
world.
There is a criminal outlines and defec-
tiveness in our system of jurisprudence
concerning such conditions, for where the
little sense of the people who are disposed
to form such unnatural connections does not
come 10 the rescue, the strong arm of the
law shonld be put in force to protect the
community against the evils of issue of
this character. When such unions occur,
surely Providence is most kind, when the
law of barrenness is pronounced against
unnatural and inccstuous alliances.
The history of four generations of a
family, as sketched by NJ. Morel, a dis
tinguished French writer, is full of %instruc-
tion in this matter.
First GeRerGtion-The father was an
habituaI d~runkard, and was killed in a
public-house brawl.
Second Generation-The son inherited
his fathers habits, which gave rise to at
tacks of mania, terminating i'll paralysis
and death.
Third Generation-The grandson was
strictly sober, but was full of hypochon-
driacal and imaginary fears of persecution,
etc., and had homicdal tendencies.
Fourth GeaerGtioa-The fourth in
descent had very limited intelligence, and
had an attack of madness when sixteen
years old, terminating in stupidity, nearly
amounting to idiocy. With him the family
probably becomes extinct. Thus we per
ceive the persistence of the faint in the
fact that a generation of absolute temper
ance will not avert the total issue
Southland.