Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1912-05-21
linked IN GENIUS.
Great Fathers Who Gave to the
World, Great Sons.
THE QUESTION OF HEREDITY.


eisnt and Modern, TO That Dletuna.
An allusion by Henry W. Lacy. an
acute Judge Of contemporary notables.
10 Winston Spencer Churchill as born
parliamentarian in whom the genius
Of bis father, Lord Randolph Churchill.
lives again and who may yet prove to
overshadow the fame Of Lord Ran
dolph, even as William Pitt eclipsed
the renown of Lord Chatham. moves
Thomas McCaleb, In the New York
American. to say:
I'VE are prompted by these illusions
to ask ourselves the we'll worn query.
Is genius transmissible? And. though
the most authoritative latter day die
tum Of science answers In the mega
tive, there are not few noteworthy
exceptions that lnvoluntarlly occur to
the mind.
might we not. first Of all. cite from
among the ancients such fathers and
sons respectively as Philip Of Macedon
and Alexander the Great. Hamilcar
and Hannibal. Marcus Junius Brutus
and LucIus JunIus Brutus. Vespaslan
and Titus2 Also we find genius resi-
dent both In PepIn and his offspring.
Charlemagne. to which case might be
added. did space permit. the few great
medieval English kings who were also
the sons Of great kings. Nor should
we omit to mention the poets Bernardo
Tasso and his progeny. Torquato Tas-
so; also the great Nicholas Bacon and
the still greater Francis Bacon. In
deed. the list might be multiplied to an
appreciate figure by taking an ex-
tended tour In universal biography.
There are. besides. quite a number OF
fathers and their sons possessed OF
such extraordinary talent that they
might. by slightly stretching a point.
be likewise called men Of genius.
"In the biographies Of great Germans
we see this fact especially creeping out
now and then, and in France, to men,
ton only three cases. we find genius
exemplified in such sire and offspring
rs Etienne Saint Hilaire Geoffroy and
Isidore Saint Hilaire Geoffroy. as La.
zare Hippolyte Carnot and Sadi Carnot
and as Alexandra Dumas pere and
Alexandra Dumas f1ls.
"Quite rich in illustration Of the ap'
parent hereditary transmission Of gen.
ius is the list among Englishmen.
Here, combining our examples to those
whose fame belongs to the last cen.
fury, we may select at random such
names as Sir William Herschel and
Sir John Frederick William Herschel,
astronomers: George Canning, orator
and prime minister. and Charles John
Canning (earl, first viceroy Of India;
Edward Bulwer. Lord Lytton, novel.
list, and Robert. Lord Lytton Owen
Incredibly. poet: James Mill. philoso-
pher and historian. and John Stuart
Mil, economist; Isaac Disraeli, author,
and Benjamin Disraeli. Lord Beacons-
field, statesman and novelist; Gabriel
Rossetti, poet. and Dante Gabriel Ros.
setti, poet and puinter; Thomas Ar.
mold, educator and historian. and Mat
thew Arnold. poet and critic; Justin
Mccarthy. politician and historian, and
Justin Huntly Mccarthy. advocate.
I'm American biography we find the
names of such famous fathers and
sons respectively as Increase Mather
and Cotton Mather. theOlogians: John
Adams and John Quincy Adams. both
presidents and statesmen; Light
Horse Harry Lee, patriot, and Robert
q. Lee, soldier: General Zachary Tay.
lor and General Richard Taylor: 10.
seph Story. jurist. and w. w. Story.
sculptor: Oliver Wendell Holmes. hui
luorist and poet. and Oliver Wendell
Holmes. jurist: Louis Agassiz and
Alexander Agassiz. naturalists: Ma
thaniel Hawthorne and Julian Haw-
thorne, writer's Of fiction; Thomas
Crawford, sculptor, and Marion Craw-
ford. novelist: Henry George and
Henry George, Jr.. economists; the two
George Illnesses. landscape painters:
Henry James. the most famous Of the
swedenborglans. and his son and
namesake, the gifted novelist.
"That the genius Of Interpretation, q
truly great art. may betimes be in
herited would appear from the in
stances of such great actors and their
Sons respectively as Junius Brutus
Booth and Edwin Booth. Sir Henry
Irving and Henry B. Irving, the two
Salvlnis, Tommaso and Alessandro.
and both Coquelin pere and als.
ut is observable from the examples
recorded in this article that the genius
Of fathers and sons ofttimes manifests
itself in the same sphere Of endeavor,
either of them approximating or ex.
ceiling, as the case might be. the fame
or excellence Of the other.
1T goes without saying that illus
trations. perhaps far more numerous,
might be given to prove the conten-
ton of the best recent scientific
thought-namely. that mental attri-
butes are not Unbeatable. For all that
we believe we have produced sutfi.
Client number of concrete exceptions to
affirm that In this particular the late
dictum of science. which, Of course, Is
never empirical. Is not altogether and
absolutely conclusive"