The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1878-02-19
Are we to blame for what we are ?

In view of the evident fact that in q life
of virtue man finds his greatest happiness, IL
becomes an interesting question, as we look
upon the vast army Of apparently hopeless
wrecks of moral character, How far is man
really responsible for his deprayity ?" Iii
certainly impossible to account for the en-.
nifty of human nature 10 its own best inter
ests, to its own happiness, on any principle
other than at least its partial -unaccounta-
bility. How far the imperfections of pre-
ceding generations may Affect those that
follow, there is of course no way to deter
mine; but the moral nature appears to be
20 intimately connected with the physical,
and the good and bad points OF the latter be-
ing so readily, and us n rule, SO unerrlngiy
transmitted, that there seems to be little
room for doubling that the good and bad
points of the moral nature are equally capa-
BILE of easy transmission. The face is an I'M
erring index of the heart, and generation
after generation of the same family carry the
same face in all that goes to make up the
family resemblance. 1t is true q very bad
face may index an apparently very good
heart, and the life of the owner may not be
long enough for the heart to show what the
face says It contains. But this is the result
of especially fortunate circumstances, and it
is nm exception to the rule. The miser carries
the sign Of his propensity in his face; so
does the selfish, -treacherous, or dishonest
man. Every one has noticed the very mark
ed resemblance of some countenances to
those of different animals. The fox, the dog,
the wolf, the bear and the hog find their pho
tographs in the human face, and whenever
the face bears the resemblance to an animal
the nature will bear just as striking q resem-
blance to the nature of the animal repre-
scented. Even the hand is an indication OF
nbnror.,r IL.Arv Eunar avaru linn and
every motion tells of the bent Of the mind
and of the natural promptings of the heart.
If these things, therefore, are true, to
h extent is man responsible for his
moral character and his actions? Richard
III. was not responsible for his physical de-
fOrmity, but how far was he responsible for
his moral d%eformity 7 The man who wears
The countenance of n mastiff is entirely
blameless for his Disagreement, and if so,
upon what principle can we hold him
responsible for the nature which seems
either to have been produced by these
physical characteristics, or is the cause of
those characteristics That the moral
nature Is susceptible OF culture cannot be
doubted but character, being to a very large
degree developed before the individual ar
rives at an age when he is likely to take
any interest in himself in this respect, this
subject of hereditary moral deficiency is at
least Of sufficient Importance 20 claim the
earnest attention Of parents, guardians and
governments that have the care of the rising
generation. The reformation of men who
have started wrong on the road Of life is at
best n very uncertain thing. Indeed, look
ing at its results upon the masses h need
reformation, it is an utter failure. For
every one who is rescued from the thraldom
of vice, hundreds, and perhaps it would not
DO overstating it to say thousands, are en-
quilted in the vortex. The child's nature
should be carefully studied by the parent
or teacher; its ancestry should, as far as
possible, be examined, and the moral de-
iiciencies which the child is perhaps in dan
ger of inheriting, learned and varied
against. We are all largely the creatures of
circumstances, and the fact cannot be too
strongly impressed upon the minds of those
who have the rearing of children. Moral
principle needs to be strengthened, and
sometimes wholly created, and with the
most robust Of moral character, men often
culver in the presence of temptation like u
eaf in the wind. and not unfrequently go
down before the storm. But it such results
are possible in the case of those who have
40 moral tim to begin with. OF whose moral
characters have beeu curetl lily constructed
oy.a judicious training, VIVA can be expect
ed of those whose parents may have intlict-
I'd them with moral weakness, and who have
been permitted to grow up like Il weed by
;he roadside : There is a fearful response
oility upon parents and teachers, if there is
my truth in this doctrine of heredity, and
t is too deep n subject to dismiss lightly,
and the truth or falsity of it is too impossi-
Die to satisfactorily demonstrate, to allow
Is TO neglect our duty to the rising genera
ion, and to future generations which may
pc affected by such neglect.