San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-09-23
WHY IS THE RIGHT HAND USEr
IN PREFERENCE TO THE LEFTY

Opinions of Learned Men on the Habits
of the Observation-Disclosures That Writing
Was Done with Either Hand-Charles
Reade's Support of Ambidexterity.
Every little custom or popularity has
history attached to it, and it would be sur
prising therefore, if so curious problem as
the general use of the right hand in prefer
ence to the left had escaped notice 1t is, as a
matter of fact, an old subject, and one that
has furnished scope for great deal Of wild
theoriZing. Even the derivation of the term
left" has been a source of much controversy
Archbishop Trench says the left" hand is so
called because it is left unemployed so much.
In that view he does not receive much sup
port; indeed, his conclusion has been sturdily
opposed.
The question as to whether our ancestors
were what we call dexter" handed may be
answered emphatically in the affirmative.
All are agreed on this point But were the
ancient Hebrews a left handed peoplei DR..
Erlenmeyer has given an interesting and
learned lecture to prove that they were.
Most of the Aryan people write from the
left to the right of the sheet of paper, and in
their books the lines run in the same direc-
ton. Most of the Semitic people, on the con-
trary, write from right to left. Instead Of
regarding this essential difference as q mere
characteristic of habit, kept up by that rev.
Ell ence for tradition which is deeply rooted in
tie Semitic mind, Dr. Erlenmeyer thinks
that the direction taken by the hand of a
Semitic scribe was due to physiological cause
namely, that the left hand was the better
of the two-and insists that the writers of
the Old Testament, and probably the early
Talmudists after them, naturally wrote with
their left hands, and would have found it diff
ficult, if not impossible, to write with thu
other hand Dr. Erlenmeyer says he has
found striking confirmation of the theory in
the Talmud. and cites passage which insists
that certain special prayers and Inscriptions
are always to be written with the right hand
and not with the left. AS the execution of
this exceptional work was difficult, and re-
Quired time and patience, it is implied that
the process of writing with the right hand
Tas departure from the ordinary method
then in vogue
History, LCWeVer-aS was pointed ont soon
after the publication of the doctors lecture
does not support this ingenious theory. The
most ancient forms Of Semitic letters within
our reach are the Phunician characters of
the MOaUitG stone, which characters date
from about the year 800 B. c. The inscrip-
ton in this instance reads from left to right,
as we do III the present day. A learned cor
respondent Of The British Medical Journal
states that the practice Of writing from right
to left came into use about the time of Ezra,
when probably the square form of the He
brew characters began. THE earliest Greek
inscriptions, nearr allied with the Pha-
nician, are" I've adds, sometimes written
from right to left; others from left to right.
Others, again, show how the difference be-
tween the two methods was BRIDGE over by
the immediate practice of writing alter
nately-like all OK plowing-and therefore,
called BOustrOphedon writing"
The net result of this interesting contro-
yersy seems to be that the ancient Hebrews
were approximately near Charles Reade's
ideal, namely, "either handed" or, rather,
that they did not solely confine themselves to
the education of the right hand. But the
question asked nowadays is: is the use of
the right hand, in preference to the left,
natural, or is it acquiredF'
Aristotle strongly contends that in this, as
in all other instances, the organs of the right
side are more powerful than those on the left.
Plato, however, ridicules the idea that the
use of the right hand is natural, and attri-
butes the weakness of the left side to the bad
habit established by nurses and mothers.
Finally, several doctors say there is no
anatomical difference in the two hands
Here conflict of authorities with a VEN
geance! Though it is not for us to step in
and decide whore doctors disagree" certain
conclusions are so obvious that they will &C.
Gu" to anybody after little reflection. In
the first place, if the use of what we call the
dexter" hand, in preference to the left, We're
an original instinct" all men alike would
be right handed-there could be no exception
The fact that there are exceptions proves con-
clusively that the Partially for the right hand
is acquired
There seems no reason to doubt that the
left side might he educated equally as well as
The right. In cases Of accident, the left hand
is often made to do work that was formerly
mOnopolized by the dexter hand; and the
special excellence which not infrequently
characterizeS performances under such diff
Guilty is notorious. OF a schoolmaster who
was born without right hand, the following
amusing epigram was written:
Though Of thy right hand nature hath bereft
thee
Right well thou writest with the hand that's left
thee
In this particular case the dexter hand
could not have been missed; but even when
it is, the left hand soon becomes accustomed
to its new duties
Charles Reade, who once started long
newspaper discussion on ambidexterity, was
of opinion that mankind can, ought to and
eventually will be either handed That it is
possible to train both hands IS evident from