Clarksville evening chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn) 1886-1890, 1888-12-14
MARRIAGE OF COUSINS.
a Deep Seated Prejudice Against TIE
Practice-Darwin's Opinion

Deep Seateu lreJuClco Against ts-a
Practice-Dnrwin's Opinion.
These questions relate 10 a subjec
about which we are often consulted, anc
very naturally. because though mar.
riages between first cousins are of FIRE,
quent occurrence, there is general and
deep seated prejudice against them:
81. Is it proper from religious stand
point for firsteousins to marry9
80. Is it not a spositive sin to know
ingly enter into such marriage?
''3. Is it not probable that the Off
spring of such parents will become in
sane, idiotic, or weak persons, both
mentally and pllysicallyT'
The marriagg of first cousins is not
contrary to the Protestant canon law
that relationship not coming within the
prohibited degrees If consanguinity as
defined by the Church of England, and
as set forth in the table drawn up by
Archbishop Parker in 1868. In the
Roman Catholic church such marriages
are as a rule forbidden. yet they may be
permitted by special dispensation. As a
Catholic writer exp esses it, "in cases
cry, the church, as thoughtful mother,
grants her dispensaticn.
According to the Protestant theory,
therefore, the marriage of first cousins is
proper from religious standpoint, or,
more correctly, religious point of view,
and according to tbs Roman Catholic
rule it is permissible under certain cir
cumstances, and therefore cannot be de-
scribed as positive SIM"
If we turn to the Bible for our au-
thority we find that Lefore the period Of
Moses there was no prohibition at all
against marriage on t'ae ground of con-
sanguinity, and the prejudice was rather
against marrying out of the circle of
kinship. Adams sons married their own
sisters; Abraham hls half sister; his
brother Major his ME .,e, ana daughter of
another brother; Jacob married at the
same time two sstt rs who were Is
cousins; Esau's wife was his cousin, AIa-
rams his aunt. and JUdah's his daughter
in-law, the widow of his own son. The
aversion in those days was not to the
marriage of relatives, no matter how
near, but to interma:riage with foreign
ers. or those far removed in blood
But the Mosaic l;,w forbade fifteen
marriages within specified degrees,
though among them those of cousins
were not included In the New Testa-
ment we find few directions as to mar
riage, and those chiefly concerning mar
riages with unbelievelB; and Gregory the
Great, in writing OF marriages of own
cousins, put his objection to them on
physiological grounds, saying that 1--WE
have learned from experience that from
such marriage offspring cannot grow"
The physiological argument, the ono
most commonly advanced, has been care
fully examined Of lat. years by men Of
science, and more especially by Mr..
George II. Darwin. - son of the great
Darwin, and himself distinguished BIZ
ologist He went through very labori-
GUS inquiry and statistical study ON tho
subject, and found that the facts com
pletely upset Pops Grpgory's theory as to
the sterlity of first co1sin marriages sta
tistcs showing slight balance in favor
of the fertility of the first cousins" as
compared with ordinary marriage. This
circumstance, he suggests, may be eX-
planned by inference that marriages be-
tween cousins are more likely to occur
where there is large group of persons
bearing that relationship to one another,
and who therefore belong to families in
which fertility is hereditary. But no
found "a shade of evidence that the
death rate of offspring is higher than
among the families If non-sanguineous
marriages"
AS to insanity ami idiocy among the
offspring of first cousin marriages, Mr..
Darwn's Investigations led him to tho
conclusion that the facts did not Justify
the popular impression, he finding that
the percentage of such offspring in asy-
lumS is not greater than that in the gem
cral population to such an extent as to
enable one to say positively that the
of first cousins has any effect
OF the production of insanity and |
idiocy.' With respect to deaf mntes he |
discovered no difference
As the result of the whole inquiry, he
came to the conclusion ''that the evil !
has been often much exaggerated, but !
that there arc, nevertheless, grounds for |
that various maladIes take an !
easy hold of the offspring of consan-
guineous marriages. He is also dis
posed to give some weight to the popu-
lar prejudice against such marriages, as
probably grounded in actual experience,
little as the attainable facts seem to JUS
tify it, except to the light extenG he de-
scribes. Yet there ran be no doubt
About the danger Of The marriage Of u
man and : woman both of whom in
herlt from = common progenitor de-
ciGed tendency to some serious constitu-
iional disease or weakness. New York
san