The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-01-27
Thoughtful Contribution on Subject
Of HGT6dity.
THEORY AND EVIDENCES
A Nation of Orators-"Chip of the
Old BlOck"-ViswS Taken
From Eminent Sources.

EDITOR p. c. Al read your pa
per daily, and few, if any. Of your
thoughtful and suggestive editorials
escape my eyes. Your leader, in this
issue, indorsing poins
made in DR.. Kincaid's sermon of last
should cause our educators,
whatever their sphere OF work, to give |
more prominence TO this subject.
It must be admitted that heredity |
is the law by which reproduction |
takes place, and that even the strong |
est influences of environment cannot |
fully control hereditary forces. There
is a scientific as well as physiological
truth in this sentence from the Mosaic
commandments: The sins of the ia
tiers are visited upon the children"
This is an old but true saying; He
is a chip OF the old block. The
Athenians were ready and eloquent
speakers. The talent for public speak
ing was Unborn. 1t was a blood-gift
from lather to son. Every Athenian,
who was indicted for crime, had to de
fend himself before a jury OF his
|countrymen, which often numbered
several hundred men The accused
party was forced to talk earnestly,
eloquen'tly, efficiently, with art of ora
tor and skill OF rhetorician. AS re
foremost orator of human history. He
was as much the product OF evolution.
the child of heredity as is the thor
oughbred trotting horse. His orations
have withstood the iconoclastic spirit
of every age; and so compact, so
clear, so concise are these pleadings,
that no critic has yet arisen to sug-
gest the slightest possible improve
otherwise. Rufus Choate was doubt
| less right in saying, that no word or
sentence could be stricken out with
out marring the entire argument.
l do not have my library at hand
at this writing; but my recollection is
that, in the discussion of this subject
of heredity, Joseph Cook, or DR.. Tai
mage holds that there are three kinds
of heredity, namely: direct. reyersiOn-
airy and collateral. 1t seems to me
that these cover and explain every
possible manifestation of character
Some nostrums, sold by druggists foI
use in Spring time carry the state
ment in their circulars of advertise
ments, The blood is the life" And
it is true. It is now an accepted prjn-
ciple of physiology as we'll as pathOl-
ogy, that inherent forces in the blood
assert themselves in reproduction
Moses wrote: And God said. Lei
the earth bring forth the living crea
ture after its kind, cattle and creep
) ing things, beast of the earth after it!
kind These we'll known cries o
Matthew Arnold are to the point:
Born into life-man grows
Forth from his parents stem,
And blends their blOOds, as those
Of theirs are blend III them;
: So each new man strikes root int
far fore-time."
The doctrine of direct heredity
generally understood. We have thes
= phrases in common use: He is
chip OF the old block" meaning tina
the boy is just like his father; what
bred in the bone must come out in III
flesh" meaning that one need not b
surprised to hear of q mean act OF
mean man, whose family traits ar
mean.
Some people are afraid OF this doc
trine OF heredity; and they claim tina
it is opposed to the doctrine of saliva
ton, holding that at conversio
Christ's blood not only cleanses 1ro1
D all sin, but re-creates character
D think that such people are in a cor
. stantly decreasing minority. Christ