B^i i I "■■ «S>AIII fftllATAl RIDDELL 1 o^ V _ 9 I * *A V s ^ ^ % A^ j * / *+ V? ' % A ^, \6 .^' "V 4 s # A \ 0° ^^/r??^' 1 ^ t % ;'%.# f ■<-:: G .«:!"-. W • HEREDITY AND PRENATAL CULTURE CONSIDERED IN THE LIGHT OF THE NEW PSYCHOLOGY BY NEWTON N. RIDDELL AUTHOR OF "CHILD CULTURE, ACCORDING TO THE LAWS OF PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND MENTAL SUG- GESTION," "THE NEWMAN," ETC. LECTURER ON HEREDITY, CHILD CULTURE, PSYCHOLOGY. PSYCHIC PHENOMENA, BRAIN BUILDING AND SOUL GROWTH. ^ 1 RIDDELL PUBLISHING COMPANY ======== CHICAGO ================= MAILING DEPARTMENT 5240 INDIANA AVENUE 4 LIBRARY of CONGRESS Two Copies Received MAH 25 W&) Copyrigut Entry CLASS «U XXc. No copy 3. Copyright, 1900, By NEWTON N. RIDDEIvL, All Rights Reserved. REGAN PRINTING HOU8I, OMICAQO To My Father and Mother, James and Elizabeth Riddell, Who, by Their Religious Devotion During My Prenatal Development, Made the Desire to Follow the Christ In a Labor of Love for the Good of Mankind The Ruling Passion of My Life, This Book is Affectionately Dedicated. A WORD OF THANKS. In grateful memory, I would acknowledge my indebtedness to the late Frances E. Willard. In my humble efforts to popu- larise the study of heredity, for years her wise counsel and words of encouragement were a constant in- spiration. Her parting zvords to me, "God bless you, brother; go on!" spoken a few weeks before the Father called her home, now form a most sacred memory and hallowed benediction. I would also acknowledge my in- debtedness to Louise E. Francis for her efficient service in searching the libraries of the country. Without her faithful assistance in comparing and compiling statistics many valu- able facts here published must have been omitted, N. N. R. PREFACE. The present volume is intended to meet the increasing demand that I have found, not only at Chautauqua As- semblies and in centers of culture, but throughout the en- tire country, for a practical treatise on heredity and pre- natal culture. I have endeavored to reduce the known facts and laws of reproduction to a definite science and present them in a non-technical, concise form, hoping thereby to enable thoughtful parents to apply these laws to the improvement of their offspring. I have purposely avoided the discussion of biological problems and specula- tions on the physical basis of heredity, and confined my- self to what seems most important to the practical applica- tion to the science. I have considered prenatal culture in the light of, and in accordance with, the new psychol- ogy. This I deem one of the most important and helpful departures from other works on heredity. In recognizing the potency of a suggestion in prenatal impressions and introducing the new methods of brain building and soul growth, I fully realize that I shall incur the criticism of some, and that I am not in accord with certain time- honored theories. No matter; the new psychology has come to stay. The efficacy of suggestion in soul building is a demonstrable fact, therefore I do not hesitate to base vi "AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. my teachings upon the new science and to commend it to parents in prenatal training. I have dwelt at some length on psychology, the powers of the soul and the laws of brain building and soul growth, hoping thereby to make the work practical and helpful to all who seek to improve self or others. During the fifteen years spent in gathering and devel- oping the subject matter of this work, it has been my con- stant desire to prepare something that would be truly helpful in solving the problems of life and human prog- ress. I have tried to do my work faithfully and consci- entiously. Notwithstanding the many imperfections of this book, I can but feel that were its teachings put into practice they would prove a blessing not only to par- ents and their offspring, but to all ; at least such is my fond hope and sincere prayer. Yours in Humanity's Cause, Newton N. Riddell. Washington, D. C, 1900. AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. In the preparation of this work I have consulted many authorities and compared their facts, theories and statis- tics with my own observations. Every quotation used is duly credited to its author. To avoid the use of foot- notes, the principal works consulted, aside from encyclo- pedias, and the Bureau of Statistics, are here listed. I commend them to the student. "The Origin of Species" and "Descent of Man" — Dar- AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. vii win. 'The Evolution of Man" — Hseckel. "Principles of Biology" — Spencer. "Ascent of Man" — Drummond. "The Germ-Plasm" — Weismann. "Man's Place in Na- ture" — Huxley. "Natural Inheritance" and "Hereditary Genius" — Galton. "The Biological Problems of Today" — Hertwig. "Foot-Notes to Evolution" — Jordan. "The- ory of Development and Heredity" — Marshall. "Hered- ity" — Ribot. "Darwin and After Darwin" — Romanes. "The Science pf_ a^ JNew^JLJ . f e'I^-Co wan. "Creative and Sexual Science" — Fowler. "Prenatal Culture" — New- ton. "Marriage and Disease" and "Suicide and Insanity" — Strahan. "Marriage and Heredity" — Nisbet. "Sani- ty and Insanity" — Charles Mercier. "The Constitution of Man" — Comb. "The Psychic Life of Micro-Organ- isms." — Binet. "The Law of Heredity" — Brooks. "Civ- ilization's Inferno" — Flower. "A Study in Crime" — Dugdale. "Heredity, Health and Personal Beauty" — Shoemaker. "Stiripiculture" — Holdbrook. "Heredity and Christian Problems" — Bradford. "Tokology" — Stock- ham. "Maternal Impressions" — Bayer. "Crime and Criminals" — Christison. "Elements of Psychology" and "Mental Development in the Child"— Baldwin. "Mind in Matter" — Hemstreet. "The Temperaments" — Jac- ques. "The Senses and the Intellect" — Bain. "Abnormal Man" and "Juvenile Offenders" — Morrison. "The Crim- inal" — Ellis. "Darwinism and Race Progress" — Hay- craft. "Heredity and Personal Responsibility" — Wright. "Heredity with Preludes" — Cook. "Education and Her- edity" — Guyon. "Human Embryology" — Minot. "The Female Offender" and "The Man of Genius" — Lombro- so. "How the Other Half Lives"— Rhys. "White Slaves" — Banks. "Prisoners of Poverty" — Bois. "Manhood Wrecked and Rescued" — Hunter. "Character Building" — De Motte. "The Law of Psychic Phenomena" and "The viii AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. Divine Pedigree of Man" — Hudson. "Pathology of Mind" — Maudesley. "Science of the Soul" — Sherman. "The Degenerate" — Nordau. "Transmission" — Kirby. "The Philosophy of Generation" — Newman. "Psycho- logical Theory" — Bowne. "Essentials of Psychology" — Buell. "Elements of Psychology" — Compayre. "Ele- ments of Psychology" — Davis. "Elements of Psychol- ogy" — Day. "Psychology" — Dewey. "New Psychol- ogy" — Gordy. "Psychology and Psychic Culture" — Halleck. "Psychology" — Hewett. "Inductive Psychol- ogy" — Kirkpatrick. "Practical Lessons in Psychology" — Krohn. "Outlines of Psychology" — Kulp. "Elements of Physiological Psychology" — Ladd. "Outlines of De- scriptive Psychology" — Ladd. "Psychology" — McCosh. "Applied Psychology" — McLellen. "Lectures on Man" — Fowler. "Psychology and Education" — Roark. "The Science of Mind Applied to Teaching" — Hoffman. "Physiological Psychology" and "Experimental Psychol- ogy" — Sanford. "Psychology" — Schuyler. "Phrenol- ogy in the School-room" — Sizer. "Rudimentary Psychol- ogy" — Steele. "Outlines of Psychology" — Sully. "Brain and Mind" — Drayton. "Lectures on Man" — Weaver. "Psychology" — Titchener. "Principles of Psychology" — James. "Lectures on Human and Animal Psychol- ogy" — Wundt. "Mental Development" and "Handbook of Psychology" — Baldwin. "Apparitions and Thought- Transferrence" — Podmore. "An Introduction to Com- parative Psychology" — Morgan. "The Growth of the Brain" — Donaldson. "The New Psychology" — Scrip- ture. "Hypnotism" — Moll. "Hypnotism" — Anderson. CONTENTS. PART I. I.— INTRODUCTION 17—34 Let There Be Light — The Power of Light — The Light of Truth — The Light of the Spirit — The Light of Science — The Twentieth Century — The Study of Man — Heredity Is a Science — Objects in View — A Child cf Light — Facts, Not Theories — The View Point — Data from Personal Observa- tions — Studies in Prenatal Culture — Authorities Consulted — The Study of the Ages — Sacred History and Heredity — Ishmael — Aristotle's Studies — Heredity Applied in Rome — Plato's Plans of Wisdom — Modern Students of Heredity — A Self-Evident Truth — Why Thinkers Disagree — Peculiarities Are Inborn — Views of Mercier — Heredity Versus Environment — Mentality of Children — Variations in the Child Life — Genius Is Hereditary — Lom- broso's Studies — Galton on Hereditary Genius — Morbid Heredity — Sta- tistics on Criminal Heredity — Maudsley's Deductions — Heredity in Plant and Animal Life — Man the Product of Blind Chance — Few Children Are Well Born — The True Basis of All Reform — Prenatal Versus Postnatal Training. II.— SOME OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED 35—51 Why Objections Are Raised — Heredity the Scape-Goat for Crime — ■ Man the Product of Centuries — Prenatal Plus Postnatal Influences — ■ Heredity an Unknown Quantity — All Factors Are Potential — Inborn Versus Acquired Traits — Every Trait Has Many Causes — Generation, Education, Regeneration — The Triangle of Man's Life — The False Basis of Reckoning — Basal Tendencies Inborn — Heredity and Moral Responsibility — Responsibility Varies — Man's Ability to Do Right — Responsibility of Criminals — Few Criminals Are Blameless — Freedom of the Human Will — Hereditary Tendencies May Be Controlled — Divine Justice — "Who-so-ever Will" — Christian Science — Heredity of Mrs. Eddy — "Consistency, Thou Art a Jewel" — Theosophical Objections — Opposition to Prenatal Responsi- bility — Placing the Blame Upon God — Parents Are Responsible — Heredity a Proper Study — Frances Willard's Views — Divinity Is Here. III.— PSYCHOLOGY 52—68 James — Halleck — Ladd — Morgan — Wundt — Baldwin — Psychology De- fined — The Study of Metaphysics — School-room Psychology — Phrenology — Gall's Philosophy — Weak Points of Phrenology — Physiological Psychol- ogy — Field of Investigation — Experimental Stage of Psychology — Facts of Physiological Psychology — Nerve Action Determines Sensation — Physi- cal Basis of Memory — Limitations of Physiological Psychology — Prof. James — The New Psychology — The Duality of Mind — The Objective and CONTENTS. Subjective Minds — Subjective Perception — Prophecy — Subjective Memory — Occult Powers — The Psychology of the Future — The Study of Man — Relations of the Psychical and Physical Natures — Man a Psychic Organ- ism — An Essential to Right Thinking — Evidences of the Soul — Mind Without a Brain — Vital vs. Chemical Action — The Resident Life — Hered- ity Demonstrates the Soul — Psychic Impressions — Evidences of Telepathy —Proved by Hypnotism — The Soul Rules in Death — Job Saw a Spirit — I, the Ego Says So — Consciousness the Supreme Evidence — Darkness Can- not Measure the Light — Man Is a Soul — The Soul Evades Analysis — ■ Consciousness Explained — Mind Is Not Soul — The Brain Limits the Mind — Relations of the Objective and Subjective Minds — Gray Matter Cannot Produce a Thought — Modus Operandi of Mind — Vibrations Between the Objective and Subjective Minds — The Phenomena of Thinking — Thinking Controls Conduct. IV.— BRAIN BUILDING AND SOUL GROWTH 69—81 Truth Shall Make You Free — The Fetters of Ignorance — The Struggle for Liberty — Character Building — Establishing a Brain Area — The Brain Limits the Man — Sowing Wild Oats — Dr. DeMotte on Brain Tracks — Physical Basis of Vice — The Basis of Virtue — Re-forming the Brain — Effects of Old Brain Paths — General Joe Wheeler — The Government of Children — The Law of Brain Building — Repeated Mentation Required — The Brain Must Be Nourished — To Restrain Evil Tendencies — The Hidden Talent — Controlling the Appetites — Soul Building by Suggestion — A Hypnotic Demonstration — He Would Not Drink Liquor — A Fact of Su- preme Importance — The Potency of a Suggestion — The Law of Soul Growth — How to Lodge a Suggestion — The Secret of Self-control — Pre- fixing the Character — Suggestions to Be Lodged — To Strengthen the Will — Sequel of Soul Growth — The Holy Spirit — Freedom for All — The Law of Denial — Nature Abhors a Vacuum — The Three Great Essentials — Saved by Inexorable Law. V.— THE REPRODUCTION OF LIFE 82—93 Life Is a Mystery — Living Protoplasm — Spencer — Prof. Japp — The Phenomena of Life — The Vital Principle — The Immanent God — Evolu- tion — Reproduction Evades Analysis — Biological Speculation — The Physi- cal Basis of Heredity — Life Inheres in the Soul — Darwin's Theory — The Soul of a Cell — The Primordial Cell — Galton's Experiments — A Psychic Organism — How Life Is Reproduced — Physical Basis of a New Life — A Simple Explanation of Reproduction — Weismann's Theory — Chromatin — The Germ Cell — Origin of Germ-Plasm — Reproduction In Man — Continuity of Germ-Plasm — Bisexual Parentage — The Theory of Heredity — Darwin's Theory Contradicted — Mutilations Not Transmitted — Acquired Characters Are Transmitted — The Chinese Foot. VI.— THE FACTORS OF HEREDITY 94—104 Weismann — Bradford — Ribot — Heredity Defined — The Laws of Hered- ity — The Opposing Principles of Heredity — Man an Epitomy of the Race — The Gift of Heredity — The Factors of Heredity Defined — (1) Species — (2) Racial Types — (3) National Characteristics — (4) Family and Parental Traits — (5) Sex Potency — (6) Dual Parentage — (7) Atavism — (8) Pre- natal Culture — (9) Initial Impressions — (10) Maternal Impressions — (11) Abnormal Impressions — (12) Planetary Influences — Heredity Applied CONTENTS. xi to Character Study — Each Factor an Unknown Quantity — Factors in Opposition — Variations Explained — Factors Differ in Strength — Variations Through Parental Differences — Fixed vs. Acquired Characters — The He- brew Character — All Seeming Contradictions Explicable — No Exceptions to the Law of Heredity — Remote Factors Considered — Planetary Influ- ences — The Solar System an Organism — Magnetic Relation of Planets — Effects of Planetary Changes. VII.— PARENTAL ADAPTATION 105—119 Marriage Is Natural — The Importance of Adaptation — The Basis of Marriage — What Constitutes Marriage — Legal Bondage — Inharmony Af- fects Offspring — The Search for a Law — Finding a Mate — Degrees of Adaptability — Looking for the Impossible — Natural Affinities — The Basis of Adaptation — Three Rules for Marriage — No Law Applicable to All — Unfavorable Unions — Married, But Not Mated — Children of Unmated Parents — Should Like Marry Like? — The Law of Complements — The Dream of the Sentimentalist — Love's Mismatches — Two Rulers in One Household — Children from Parents of Like Temperaments — Tempera- mental Requirements — The Union of Sanguine Temperaments — The Law of Sex Adaptation — Masculinity and Femininity — The Law of Attractions — Masculine Women and Feminine Men — Discernment of Adaptation — Family Resemblance a Key to Adaptation — Soul Harmony — Love's Lan- guage — The Basis of Soul Harmony — Organic Quality in Nature — Soul Vibrations — Why Some Cannot Understand Each Other — Natures That Do Not Blend — Composite Children. VIIL— SEX POTENCY 120—134 The Mystery of Sex — The Creative Principle of Life — A Bubbling Spring of Joy — The Three Functions of Sex — Influence of Sex Power — The Development of Manhood and Womanhood — Kings and Queens of Society — Virtue Is Its Own Reward — Supreme Cause of Degeneracy — Few Know Their Possibilities — The Old Serpent — Science and Tradition Agree — A Hint to the Wise — The Secret of Eternal Youth — Magnetism Defined — Voluntary and Involuntary Magnetism — Silent Forces Rule the World — Magnetism and Character — The Secret of Eloquence — Power of Personal Magnetism — Nature Proclaims Her Wisdom — Magnetism, Marriage and Parentage — The Nature and Duality of Love — Objective and Subjective Affinity — The Love of Men and Women Differ — Magnetism and Matrimony — Love Rules the Life — Love vs. Magnetic Attraction — Determining the Character of the Affections — What Separates Souls — Contradictory Feel- ings Explained — A Practical Demonstration — How to Choose Aright — The Three-Fold Character of Love — A Perfect Union — Sex Potency and Heredity — The Limitations of Parenthood — The Sons of Great Men — Children Superior to the Parents. IX.— DUAL PARENTAGE 135—142 Dual Parentage and Evolution — Dr. Jordan on Bisexual Parentage — The Three Great Races — The Combining of Races — The Formation of Nationalities — The Blending of Family Traits — Every Child a Compound of Its Parents — Combining of Morbid Conditions — Results of Favorable Unions — A Born Genius — Bad Combinations — The Formation of a Criminal — A Boy Vicious from Birth — Endless Variety Through Dual Parentage — Where Parental Natures Do Not Blend — Relative Influence of Parents — Family Resemblances — A Law of Heredity. xii CONTENTS. X.— ATAVISM 143—149 Atavism Defined — Atavism in Natural History — Pathological Atavism — The Fact of Atavism — Pepper's Observations — Family Traits Re- appear — Causes of Atavism — Effects of Use and Disuse — The Reappear- ance of Genius — Effects of Dual Parentage — Combination of Latent Forces — Slumbering Talents Awakened — Intermittent Heredity — Resemblance to a Grandparent — Atavism and Genius — A Descendant of Newton — Atavism and Variations. PART II.— PRENATAL CULTURE- XI.— PRENATAL INFLUENCES 150—163 Acquired Characters Transmitted — Darwin — Zeime — Cowan — Hol- brook — Newton — Fowler — Animals Transmit Acquired Characters — A Born Station Agent — The Child of a Train Dispatcher — Effects of Physical Culture — A Father's Regrets — Holmes on Prenatal Culture — Parental Duty — Prenatal Influences Too Long Ignored — Children Born of Blind Chance — Cowan on Law and Order — Why the Abnormal Prevails — Many Observe no Law — Thoughtful Parents Study Heredity — Prenatal Culture Prac- tically Applied — A Tokology Child — A Born Orator — A Musical Prodigy — Exceptional Memory of Names — Practical Stiripiculture — Children Supe- rior to Parents — What Prenatal Culture Would Do — Heredity Should Be Popularized. XII.— PHYSICAL PREPARATION 164—178 Possibilities of Prenatal Culture — Objects of Training — Self-Examina- tion — Deciding Upon the Objects in View — Mutual Preparation — The Time Required in Preparation — Improving Adaptation — Importance of Nutri- tion — A Nation of Dyspeptics — Good Cooks Are Scarce — Practical Dietetics — Oil-Tanned Beefsteak — Strengthening the Digestive Function — What to Eat — Respiration — The Blood Is the Life — Poor Ventilation — Why We Take Cold — Incubators of Disease Germs — Ailments Peculiar to Winter — Developing the Lungs — Breathing Exercises — Importance of Exercise — Weak Members Should Be Strengthened — Personal Habits — Cleanliness — ■ Dangers of an Idle Moment — The Mother's Preparation — The Matter of Dress — Physical Culture — Social Dissipation — Children of Society Women — The Creative Principle — To Increase Virility — Sir Isaac Newton — A Well Born Child. XIII.— MENTAL PREPARATION 179—204 Preparation for Parenthood — What Parents Should Cultivate — Op- posing Evil Tendencies — Unfavorable Combinations — The Training Re- quired — Susceptibility Varies — Genius Is Abnormal — A Well-Balanced Mind Best — The Law of Genius — Like Excites Like — The Secret of Domestic Harmony — Force of Character — Opposite Results from Overwork — To Improve the Financiering Instinct — Results of Training — A Boy's Ambition — Covetousness — Withholding Selfishness from Offspring — Trick- ery in Business — Effects of a Father's Forgery — Domestic Harmony — A Husband's Kindness — Prenatal Affection — Children of Love — Unaffec- tionate Children — A Mother's Disappointment — Source of Filial Affection — Self-Respect and Ambition — Suggestion for Strengthening the Charac- CONTENTS. xiii ter — Power of High Ideals — Children of Superintendents — Mechanical Ingenuity — Inventive Genius — To Increase Inventive Power — Originality Improved — The Heredity of an Inventor — Art and Music — Indifferent Mentatior ineffectual — The Perceptive Faculties — Cultivating Perceptive Power — Born Dullards — Why Some Are Slow to Learn — Effects of Cul- ture — Tommy and His Mother — Memory Denned — The Power of Recol- lection — Systems of Memory Culture — Memory Requires Brain Building — Improving the Memory — Specific Memories Vary — Laughter Is Invigo- rating—Cultivating Hope and Gladness — Effects of Worrying — The Burden of Care — Honest Men Wanted — Honesty May Be Inborn — Lying a Family Trait — A Mother's Experience — Cultivating Conscience — A Dishonest Suc- cess — Woman's Greatest Gift to the World — Kindness — The Measure of a Man's Religion — Altruism — To Cultivate Kindness — Suggestions for Soul Growth — Reverence and Faith — Reverence Essential to Government — Great Men Believe in God — Basis of Confidence — Letting in the Light — Faith a Dynamic Power — To Improve Reverence and Faith — Goodness in a Child's Face — Children of Light. XIV.— INITIAL IMPRESSIONS 205—214 Generation, Birth and Regeneration — The Three Decisive Periods of Life — The Supreme Moment — A Strange Inconsistency — The Formation of a New Life — Initial Impressions — Inception During Intoxication — Power of Initial Impressions — Effect of Transient States — An Editor's Daughter — A White Sheep in a Black Flock — An Orator's Strange Influ- ence^ — The Inception of Life — A Dream Destroyed — Virility Determines Results — Vitality of Spermatozoa — Season Most Desirable for Birth — Advantages of the Spring Time — Physical Vigor Indispensable — Recrea- tion — Virility Governs Transmission — To Increase Magnetic Power — Period of Greatest Viability — Mutual Love and Confidence — The Vivifying Power of Love — Perfect Sympathy Is Desirable — Mental Condition De- sirable — Spiritual Preparation — To Create a Child in God's Image. XV.— MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS 215—227 Evolutionary Heredity — Opinions of Authorities — Newton on Pre- natal Culture — Bayer on Maternal Impressions — When Education Should Begin — Fowler's Observations — Maternal Impressions and Genius — Napo- leon's Prenatal Training — "Buffalo Bill's" Heredity — Prof. Herron's Inheritance — Variations Through Impressions — Testimony of Mothers — Prenatal Education — Objections Answered — Relation of Mother and Child — The Order of Training — Hygenic Living Is Required — The Corset Must Go — Dr. Stockham — Chasity a Demand of Maternity — Helen Gardener — Dr. Cowan on Continence — The Abnormal Defended — A Chief Cause of Depravity — Infant Mortality — The World's Great Need — Maternal Free- dom — Enslaved Motherhood — The Principles of Liberty Transmitted — Patriots Are Born of Free Women — Influence of Surroundings — Raphael's Madonna — Frances Willard — Opposite Tastes in Sisters. XVI.— MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS (Continued) 228—250 The Formative Period— Prenatal Impressions Most Potential — No Short Cuts In Nature — Transcient Impressions Outgrown — Persistency of Fixed Factors — Persistent Training Required — The Animal Propensities — N© Rule Applicable to All — Appetites and Longings — Courage and Energy — Suggestloas to Strengthen Courage — The Acquisitive Instinct — Honesty xiv CONTENTS. Is Imperative — A Mother's Thief — Who Is to Blame — The Social Feelings — Why Children Are Bashful — Self-Consciousness — The Doors of Knowl- edge — Shaping the Intellectual Tendencies — A Mathematical Child — Mental Activity — A Noteworthy Fact — What to Read — Bad Literature — A Novel-Reading Preacher's Fate — Epidemics of Crime — Juvenile Offenders- Heredity vs. Environment — Vicious Impressions — Reading for Prenatal Culture — Companionship in Study — Unstudious Mothers — Stupid Childrea — The Esthetic Faculties — Weak Qualities Overcome — Special Genius — Picture Impressions — A Second Edison — Dormant Powers Not Transmitted — Musical Talent Lost — A Strange Contradiction — The Aspiring Senti- ments — Overcoming Sensitiveness — Maternity Is Divine — A Queenly Mis- sion — Reason, Intuition and Imagination — Importance of Mirthfulness — A Good Medicine — Smiles vs. Frowns — Rejoice and Be Glad — A Child of Joy — Influencing the Moral Sentiments — Religious Tendencies May Be Transmitted — Ordained from Birth — Born Preachers — Dedicated to God's Service — Her Boy Would Preach — Ministers' Sons Are Superior — Opposing Factors — Nominal Christians — Christianity Defined — Love Will Beget Its Own — Pass've Sentiments Are Not Potential — The Most Active Powers Control — Worldly Children — Spiritual Growth Requires Solitude — Enter- ing the Silence — Spiritual Communion — Suggestions for Strengthening the Religious Nature. XVII.— ABNORMAL IMPRESSIONS 251—268 Birth Marks — Physical Evidences — Birth Marks a Fact — Dr. Fearn's Opinions — Dr. Jordan's Views — Weismann — Osborn and Fairfield — Ridi- cule vs. Argument — One Scientist's Opinion — Academic Nonsense — The True Scientist — Abnormal Impressions — Frightened by a Dog — A Bean Mark — Goes on Tip-toe — Frightened by a Drunkard — A Clownish Child — A Desirable Mark — The Lily of the Valley — A Child's Profanity — The Materialist's Dilemma — Psychic Power Undeniable — Maternal Impressions Explained — The Soul Governs Development — Rapport Between Mother and Child — The Law of a Suggestion — Lodging a Suggestion — Suscepti- bility to Impressions — Prenatal Individuality — Periods of Greatest Sus- ceptibility — Only Repeated Suggestions Effectual — Prevention of Abnor- malities — Self-Control Essential — The Soul Should Be Free — Faith in Nature's God — Opposing Evil Influences — Prenatal Suggestions — Impres- sions May Be Controlled — A Short Cut to Genius — Sudden Impressions Seldom Effectual — Repeated Suggestions Required — Abnormalities Out- grown — Nature Maintains the Normal — Experimental Psychology — Normal Growth Requires Time — Results of Hypnotic Control — Mental Stimula- tion — Silent Suggestion — Control During Sleep — Hypnotism Practically Applied — Dangers in Hypnotism — Hypnotism Prenatally Applied — A Father's Experiments — Resemblance to the Unrelated — Possibilities of Motherhood — The Hope of Science. PART III.— THE ABNORMAL MAN. XVIIL— HEREDITY, INSANITY AND IMBECILITY 267—278 Increase of Degenerates — Crime in Europe — Crime in the United States — A Grave Problem — Education and Crime — Religious Training — Prison Reports — Percentage of Illiteracy — Heredity vs. Postnatal Influ- ences — A Tangled Skein — Number of Idiotic and Epileptic — Heredity vs. Feeble-Mindedness — Statistics of the Feeble-Minded — Morbid Heredity — CONTENTS. xv Causes of Feeble-Mindedness — Narcotics and Feeble-Mindedness — Intem- perate Mothers — Abortive Drugs and Epilepsy — Degenerates Willfully Produced — An Appalling Crime — The Final Remedy — Insanity — Increase of Insanity — Chief Causes of Insanity — Hereditary Insanity — Lombroso — Criminal Insanity — Dr. Guy's Conclusions — Alcohol and Insanity. XIX.— HEREDITY, HOMICIDE AND SUICIDE 279—295 The Increase of Crime — Crime in New York City — Crime in the United States — Frequency of Suicide — Foreign Criminals — Alcohol vs. Heredity — Hereditary Suicidal Tendencies — Suicide of an Oxford Student — A Family Mania — The Ishmael Family — Descendants of Frau Ada Jurke — Statistics in Criminal Heredity — Per Cent of Hereditary Criminals — The Principal Causes of Crime — The Well-Born Seldom Commit Crime — The Occasional Criminal — The Hereditary Criminal — The Juvenile Offender — Increase of Hereditary Criminals — Bad Maternal Impressions — Two Sons Born in Crime — Attempted Abortion Produces Criminals — Prenatal History of Vicious Children — Suicidal Tendencies in a Child — A Would-Be Parricide — Undesired Maternity — A Mother-Made Criminal — Extreme Cruelty Inborn — A Mother's Confession — An Awful Awakening — Increase of Criminal Abortion — Statistics on Infanticide — Dr. Chandler on Pre- natal Mortality — Number of Prenatal Murders — Is Abortion Murder? — Dr. Stockham on Criminal Abortion — Crime Inevitable — The Sin of Christendom — The Infant Host — The Judgment Day of Nations — At the Threshold of Eternity. XX.— HEREDITY AND COMMERCIALISM 296—309 Mammon Worship — The Power of Wealth — Poverty a Disgrace — The Right to Acquire — Abuses of Wealth — Succeeding Generations Affected — Slaving Is Unnecessary — Excessive Toil Injures Offspring — Children Born Tired — Overwork Depletes the Brain — Commercialism Begets Selfishness — Mind Is a Limited Quantity — What Constitutes a Genius — The Future American — Gold May Rule to Ruin — Selfishness Begets Dishonesty — Dis- honest Children from Honest Parents — Business Deception Produces Criminals — The Offspring of Thieves — A Family of Counterfeiters — In- crease of the Gambling Instinct — Gambling Common to All Classes — Tendency Towards Gambling Inborn — A Characteristic of Gamblers — Fourth of July Bombast — Class Distinction — Nihilism and Anarchy — Ling, the Anarchist — The Colored Criminal — The Product of Slavery — Money and Matrimony — Character a Secondary Consideration — Unhappy Unions — Commercial Bondage — Where Criminals Are Born — Poverty and Crime — Environment and Crime — Commercialism and Vice — Scene in a Sweat Shop — A Struggle for Existence — Shop Girls as Wives and Mothers. XXL— HEREDITY AND INTEMPERANCE 310—332 King Alcohol — More Cruel Than War — Basis of Reckoning — Chief Cause of Hard Times — Annual Cost of Narcotics — Cost of the Liquor Traffic — Revenues Collected — A Conservative Estimate — Liquor vs. Gov- ernment Expenses — A Startling Comparison — The Greatest Commercial Problem — Poverty and Heredity — The Family of the Inebriate — Intem- perance and Poverty — The Poor Man's Bank — Drink and the Labor Problem — Intemperance and Crime — Prison Statistics — Parents of Criminals — Inebriety Transmitted — Race Degeneracy — Defective Offspring from Alcoholics — Temperate vs. Intemperate Parentage — Demme's Observa- xvi CONTENTS. tlons — Alcohol and Prostitution — Parentage of Erring Girls — Prostitution Is Hereditary — The Juke Family — The Children of Scarlet Women — Evidence of Transmitted Inebriety — A Struggle with a Demon — Tobacco Fed the Python — A Minister's Experience — The Appetite for Narcotics Inborn — A Young Lady Uses Tobacco — A Child Drunkard — The Daughter of a Sporting Man — Varied Effects of Alcoholism — The Children of a Hard Drinker — Morphine, Opium and Nicotine — Delerium Tremens — Tobacco Restricts the Mind — Cigarette Smokers — Pathological Effects of Tobacco — Hereditary Effects of Tobacco — Children of Tobacco Users — Alcoholics in Epidemics — The Disgrace of Intemperance — Liquor Drinking a Crime — A Base Inconsistency — A Man's Plain Duty — Sequel to a Father's Intemperance — Personal Liberty — The Social Organism — The Consequences of Drink — Before the Judge of the Nations. XXII.— HEREDITY AND THE DOUBLE STANDARD 333—344 Social Ethics Abnormal — Origin of the Double Standard — Woman's Crowning Virtue — "Keep Thyself Pure" — The Command of God — "A White Life for Two" — Man's Unjust Demand — Two Codes of Morals — Society's Biased Verdict — The Double Standard Reversed — An Untenable Proposi- tion — The Crying Need of the Hour — Obey More to Enjoy More — Chivalry Is Not Dead — Love the Great Reformer — Inspiration of a Pure Life — Woman's Greatest Mistake — Reformed Men as Husbands — The Union of the Perverted — Children of Reformed Men — Martial Ethics Demoralizing — The License of Marriage — A Fact for Parents to Consider — Custom Is Not Law — The Law of Chastity Is Right — Temperance Increases Happi- ness — Preaching and Practicing — The Coming Civilization — A Personal Invitation — Come With Me. HEREDITY. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. God said, "Let there be light." Sublime com- mand ! Matchless conception ! Infinite wisdom ! Only He who gave the command and watched the ^hP 6 '* ** radiating effulgence rush through the seas of quivering ether to burst in resplendent glory on a million worlds; who saw the light dispel the darkness until beauty flashed across the star-lit dome ; who felt inanimate nature become animate and throb with myriad forms of life; who heard the seas and mountains echo with shouts of joy and songs of praise ; only He can comprehend its meaning or know its achievements ! Light is essential to life. Generally speaking, where darkness reigns there death reigns also. This law is universal; it is manifest alike in the The Power of realm of the physical, the intellectual and the ** spiritual. Throughout all nature in proportion as there is light, there is life and growth. Where the days are longest and the nights shortest, there life is most abundant and growth is most luxuriant. Truth is the light of the mind. It is the essence The Light of of knowledge, the basis of reason, the guide to Truth. 18 HEREDITY. philosophy, the champion of progress; it is the power that moves the world forward. As all forms of life are dependent upon the solar rays for their existence, so the intellect of man must have the light of truth if it is to develop. The mental life and growth of man in any direction is but the measure of his cognizance and applica- tion of truth. The Holy Spirit is the light of the soul. With- out this light there is no spiritual life nor spiritual the Spirit growth. In proportion as man receives and re- flects the Holy Spirit does he grow spiritually. Christ said, "I am the light of the world." This ''true light," radiating from Golgotha's cross shed its golden beams of glory through the dark- ness of pagan idolatry, and our Christian civiliza- tion with all its splendid achievements is the result. As "a quiver from the eternal sun smote the earth and life throbbed in the heart, and The Light of beauty flashed in a formless world," as Jesus Christ darting into the arena of moral darkness, dispelled the superstition of the ages, gave birth to a new era, quickened the consciences of men and created in them a life all but Divine so the light of science is fast penetrating the hidden mysteries of nature and transforming them into living truths of priceless value. The twentieth century is to be the century of science. Long before it has passed into history The Twentieth a u ] mes f industry, commerce, government and even religion will have been brought to the plane of natural law. Turn whichever way we may, there comes the demand for definite knowledge, INTRODUCTION. 19 invariable rule and infallible principle. Never in the history of the world was this demand so strong. Never before was man so willing to "put away childish things," and exchange his time- honored beliefs and poetic superstitions for plain facts and demonstrable truths. The century that has just passed into history witnessed great ad- vancement and marvelous achievements in the physical sciences; but the century, in the dewy morning of which we live, will witness much greater achievements and more marvelous results in the realm of the psychical and spiritual. The Science of the Soul is to be the science of the future. Already the best minds of the age are turning from the physical to the metaphysi- T he Science of cal; from the study of matter to the study of the Future, mind; from the anatomy of the universe to its psychology. Men are coming to recognize that "the proper study of mankind is man." Within the last few years every branch of anthropology has received a new impetus. Archaeology has unearthed relics of a prehistoric civilization ; eth- JJkL y ot nology has received a new classification, while sociology, once the dream of the idealist, is now a practical science, commanding the attention of all classes of men. The secrets of the Mystics and the occult philosophy of ancient Egypt are being studied in the light of the new psychology, revealing to us the laws and powers of the soul. The Christian religion is no longer a matter of faith alone, but one of knowledge. All of Christ's teachings relative to the soul can now be scientifically demonstrated. The new psychology, based upon the physiol- 20 HEREDITY. ogy of the brain and the demonstrable powers of the subjective mind, is fast taking the place of the speculative philosophy of pedagogy, and af- fords not only a definite science of mind, but re- Heredity is a liable methods for brain building and soul Science. growth. Heredity is no longer a myth of the nursery or a theory to account for certain phe- nomena in nature, but an established fact; a science that needs only to be studied and applied in the light of the new psychology to make it a most potent factor in solving the problems of human progress and redeeming the race from vice and crime. Within half a century the study of heredity and psychology will have revolutionized our methods of teaching, juvenile government, crimi- nal law, sociology and religion. The purpose of the present treatise is: (i) to reduce the known laws and facts of heredity Objects in View, to a definite science and give a concise statement of its several factors ; ( 2 ) to explain the relation of heredity to the physical, mental and moral life of man, and indicate the power of prenatal influ- ences for good or evil ; ( 3 ) to show how the great social evils of the country exert an ante-natal in- fluence upon children and produce in them nat- ural tendencies toward vice and crime; (4) to explain heredity and prenatal culture in the light of the new psychology and the facts of maternal A Child of V tt i m P ress i° ns > an d offer such suggestions as will 'enable parents to apply these laws to the im- provement of their offspring; (5) to give such directions for physical culture, brain building and soul growth as are calculated to enable parents INTRODUCTION. 21 to endow each child with a good physical con- stitution, a well formed brain, a mind hungry for knowledge and a soul imbued with the princi- ples of morality; so that in its birth they may give to the world a child of light. In order to present with any degree of practi- cability the many factors of heredity in a single volume, I shall have to omit the theoretical and Theories speculative phases of the subject and confine each paragraph to a concise statement of a fact or law ; referring the reader, from time to time, to such works as give a more extensive presentation of the subject under consideration. We shall study heredity, largely from the psy- chological point of view, touching the physio- logical in a general way only, and the patho-T^e View Point logical but incidentally. As this work is intended for the general reader rather than the scientist, all technicalities will be purposely avoided and an effort made to faithfully express the facts of science in the language of the people. In presenting the subject of heredity I have no pet theories to sustain. My plan is to recite facts and let others draw conclusions. The facts j) ata From used are taken largely from personal observations Personal 1 t 1-1 • 1 r Observations* and experiments. In gathering the material for this work I have personally visited all the princi- pal cities of America except Quebec and those of the Gulf States ; have consulted with hundreds of educators, physicians, prison wardens, chiefs of police, superintendents of reformatories, or- phanages and insane asylums and have made care- ful comparison of the facts and statistics obtained. I have examined the psychology and heredity of 22 HEREDITY. several thousand persons, including some five thousand convicts, over one thousand homicides, and nearly two thousand epileptics, feeble minded and insane patients. I have also made a careful study of a great number of children and com- pared their hereditary tendencies with those of their parents and the existing parental states prior to the birth of each child. Many of these little folks were exceptionally well born; others were the product of outraged nature and manifested vicious or criminal tendencies before the age of ten. In hundreds of instances I have been able to get from the parents, or family physician, a detailed account of the prenatal conditions under which the child was born. Many thoughtful parents have studied and ap- plied heredity with excellent results. A number Studies in Pre- have told me the story of a beautiful maternity, and the careful ante-natal training given to their superior child. Others who had willfully or ig- norantly committed vicious or criminal acts prior to the birth of their unfortunate children have confessed their mistakes, thereby giving me a splendid opportunity for studying the effects of both good and evil prenatal influences. Again, speaking on this subject almost every week for twelve years to large, cultured audiences, at the Chautauquas and in the principal cities through- out the country, has subjected my thought to the most varied and liberal criticism and enabled me to gather much valuable data, otherwise unob- tainable. In addition to my own observations I have, with the aid of my assistants, reviewed every men- INTRODUCTION. 23 torious work on heredity and kindred subjects published in the English language. I have had Authorities the advantage of the libraries of Chicago, Bos- Consulted, ton, New York, and the Medical and Congres- sional libraries of Washington, D. C. The facts and statistics used have been compiled from per- sonal observations and a careful comparison of the most authentic statistics available. The for- mer may be depended upon, the latter are the best obtainable. Just here, it is proper to say, that we have no absolutely reliable statistics that cover all of the United States. Many states have no enforced registration of births, deaths, pauperism, vice, insanity, or crime. Therefore most so-called au- thentic statistics are but estimations based upon limited observations and are not infrequently highly conflicting. The study of heredity, according to the Bible, is as old as civilization. Writers of both the Old and the New Testament scriptures every-—. where recognized the potentiality of heredity. Ages. This is obvious from their frequent references to the inherited superiority of certain families and the necessity of one's being a lineal descend- ant of Abraham, if he was to lay any just claim to greatness. Not only did the ancient Hebrews place special emphasis upon the importance of being born of the seed of Abraham, but they un- questionably understood and practiced the law of selection and prenatal culture. The application of the latter is very plainly set forth in the story andHeredityJ of Jacob dealing with the flocks of Laban, Genesis xxx. In Numbers xiv:i8 we are told that "The 24 HEREDITY. Lord is long suffering and of great mercy, for- giving iniquity and transgression and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation." The old proverb that says, "The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge," had a wide application in Hebrew lore. The story of Ishmael, the child T fa \ of the bond-woman, who turned out to be a bad man, the founder of the Ishmaelites, "whose hand was against every man," is well known to all students of the Scriptures. History tells us that the notorious wandering Bedouins of the plain, are the lineal descendants of Ishmael. It is a fact worthy of note that "Ishmael" is the name of the largest criminal family in America. According to secular history Aristotle, who was born 384 B. C, was the first to discover and clas- Aristotle's sify the laws of heredity. By experimenting with Studies. plants and animals, he demonstrated certain laws applicable to the human family. From his time the subject seems to have commanded the atten- tion of philosophers and reformers, until it finally gained expression in the laws and customs of the people. The Roman mothers were, by a law of the na- tion, surrounded by examples of strength, heroism Heredity Applied an d purity so that these qualities might be trans- in Rome. mitted and become the birthright of children. To be a Roman mother was an honor, special hom- age was paid her, even on the street and at the arena. This sense of freedom and superiority she gave to her child. The young Roman thus inherited that love of liberty and power which INTRODUCTION. 25 in its aggregation made Rome mistress of the world. Later on, when capital had consolidated in high places, Roman society no longer recog- nized the sacredness of wedlock nor the sanctity of maternity. Dissipation reigned in high places, children received an unfortunate inheritance and the nation was thereby robbed of its physical strength, mental vigor, moral courage and social purity. Rome fell, because depravity had shorn the nation of its strength. Various methods have been suggested, from time to time, for the application of the laws of heredity to the improvement of the human family. Plato in his "Republic" proposed certain arrange- ^dom. ments for marriage and the bringing up of chil- dren intended to improve the race. Among other things he forbade the use of wine by the newly married, and required that the best of either sex should be united with the best as often, and the inferior with the inferior as seldom, as possible. Plato's idea was carried into practice by Lycurgus in his government of Sparta. Lycurgus consid- ered children not so much the property of the parents as of the State; and, therefore, he could not have them begotten of ordinary persons, but by the best men in it. He instituted laws calcu- lated to favor the selection of the best and the rejection of the inferior. At present we have but little legislation that__ bears directly upon heredity, nevertheless there of Heredity, is widespread and rapidly increasing interest in the subject; not only among biologists but among the laity as well. The able contributions of Dar- win, Wallace, Tyndall, Huxley, Spencer, Brooks, 26 HEREDITY. A Self-evident Troth. Why Thinkers Disagree* Peculiarities are Inborn* McCosh, Fowler, Drummond, Ribot, Weismann, Cowan, Dugdale, Galton, and a score of others whose names are familiar to the reading public, have made the study of heredity the common property of the people and brought to light an array of facts that need only to be formulated into a definite system and practically applied to be of incalculable value to the race. The fact of heredity is universally admitted ; it is self-evident. To deny it would be to deny existence. All there is of a man, in both his physical and mental constitution, whether rudi- mentary or fully developed at birth, constitutes his heredity. The term "heredity," however, is used by many in a more restricted sense and made to include only those special peculiarities of body or mind that offspring are supposed to derive from their immediate parents. When used in this restricted sense, authorities are not fully agreed as to just how far the peculiarities of the parent, especially their acquired characters, may effect the offspring ; some have denied even the possibility of parents being able to influence the offspring in the least. This extreme ground, however, has been taken only by those who, according to their theory, could not see how the transmission of acquired characters was possible; it certainly never has been advocated by any unbiased, close observer of the facts of nature. All nature attests that the mental and tempera- mental peculiarities of each individual, that dif- ferentiate him from all others and largely deter- mine his possibilities in life are inborn. Morri- INTRODUCTION. 27 son says, 'The result of all recent research points to the conclusion that human beings are born into the world with a distinct bent of temperament and character which will always manifest itself in some form, no matter what process of training the individual is called upon to undergo." Mercier in "Sanity and Insanity" observes: "Every man is the outcome and product of his ancestry; this is true not only of the broad f un -Mercfer! damental characteristics by which he is animal, by which he is human, by which he is national, by which he betrays the country and family from which he proceeds, but extends to the trivial and minutely trivial characteristics by which he is dis- tinguished from other individuals of his own race, country and family." Physical and mental peculiarities are often fully as strongly marked in young children before there has been time for the force of environment to modify materially their characters, as among adults, proving conclusively that they are inborn. Again, where the environments have been theg*^^^^ us same, the differences in the dispositions, tastes, talents and moral tendencies are often quite as marked as among children of different families surrounded by substantially different environ- ments. Surroundings and education do not wholly control the character, so potential are the inborn traits that it is absolutely impossible to produce two characters strikingly alike solely by the force of environment. All are familiar with the variety of talent and peculiarities of mind displayed in the primary grades of school. One pupil is apt in arithmetic, 28 HEREDITY. but masters spelling or grammar with difficulty. Another excels in history or the languages, but is poor in arithmetic. Occasionally there is a pupil that seems equally apt in all studies. Again, Mentality of some are unable to learn from the printed page, yet learn rapidly from oral explanation. Others are lost in a book and any assistance offered is an interference. Some little minds are like a flashlight photographic instrument; they grasp a thought instantly, know all they know in a minute, can get a lesson in one half the allotted time, and not infrequently forget it quite as easily. Others are like an old fashioned time camera, that has to stand a while on each subject to pro- duce an impression; such seem dull of compre- hension simply because they are slow, yet they often become good scholars and retain their knowledge to a ripe old age. These variations in intellect are inborn and can not be attributed to environment. What is true of the intellectual powers and talents of children is equally true of all their C&ld L°ife. m theener gi es > emotions, feelings and sentiments. Some are by nature tame, inactive, cautious and tender hearted; others are aggressive, selfish, cruel, tak- ing a delight in torturing and killing. Some are loving, sympathetic and obliging, others are cold and indifferent. Some are direct, honest and loyal; others are sly, tricky and deceitful. One child in a family will be neat and orderly, an- other slovenly and careless ; one will be respect- ful and reverential, while another evinces no rev- erence for God or man. Again, one boy in a fam- ily will take delight in the use of tools, another INTRODUCTION. 29 will read continually, while a third dislikes both books and mechanics, but has a commercial turn of mind. These and similar mental phenomena observable in the child life indicate that the hered- ity determines the natural bent of every man. All history, both sacred and profane, bears wit- ness to the potency of heredity. Special genius for war, crime, cunning, commerce, mechanism, science, literature, art, music, morals or religious Hereditary, fervor, has characterized almost every person whose name appears in history. Moreover, the special genius is often transmitted for several generations, as in the case of the Adamses, the Beechers or the Fultons. Lombroso in "The Man of Genius," says, "Genius is most often he- reditary in musicians and artists. Beethoven's father and grandfather were both musicians. Lpnibros's 1 i 1 1 r -i 1 • • Studio. Mendelssohn s family contained several musicians of note. The Bach family presents a fine example of mental heredity. It began in 1550 and passed through eight generations. During two centuries this family produced many musicians of high rank. They were all organists or church singers. When they became too numerous to live together they agreed to reunite on a fixed day once a year. This custom was preserved up to the middle of the eighteenth century and sometimes one hun- dred and twenty persons by the name of Bach met at the same place. Fetis counts among them twenty-nine musicians of eminence." Galton estimates that "the chances of the sons of eminent fathers becoming themselves eminent Galton on are shown to be in the case of literary men 5 1 Genius. y per cent, men of science 60 per cent, poets 45 30 HEREDITY. Morbid Heredity. Statistics on Criminal Heredity, per cent, painters and musicians 89 per cent. In the average family the chances are about one hundredth part of one per cent, or one in ten thousand." Nowhere is the fact of heredity and the influ- ence of maternal impressions more fully demon- strated than in the transmission of hereditary or acquired morbid conditions. A genius for vice or crime is as inheritable as a taste for music, mechanism or art. Abnormal instincts run through families. The reader is doubtless famil- iar with the history of the notorious outlaws, the James boys, the Younger brothers, and the Dal- tons, all of whom were related. From Max Jukes, a great drunkard, there descended in 75 years 200 thieves and murderers, 285 invalids attacked by blindness, idiocy or consumption, 90 prostitutes and 300 children who died prema- turely. The various members of this family cost the state of New York more than a million dol- lars. Of 233 prisoners at Auburn, New York, 27, per cent were of insane or epileptic stock. Vir- gilio found that 195 out of 266 criminals were affected by hereditary diseases, while Marro found morbid inheritance in yy per cent. Sichard ex- amined almost 4,000 German criminals, in the prison of which he is director, and found an in- sane, epileptic, suicidal or alcoholic hereditary taint in 36.8 per cent. Prussian statistics for 1877 show that among 10,676 lunatics morbid heredity may be traced in 6,369. Penta found that among 184 criminals only 4 to 5 per cent were quite healthy. Charles Marcier, M. B., says that "20 per cent of the patients admitted to the INTRODUCTION. 31 insane asylums have other members of their fam- ily who are insane." Ribot says, "Every work on insanity is a plea for heredity." According to Maudsley, "More than one-fourth and less than one-half of all insanity is heredi- tary." In 73 cases given by Trelat 43 are rep- resented as due to heredity. A report made to^^^j^ the French government shows that of 1,000 in- sane persons of each sex admitted to the asylum 264 males and 266 females had inherited insan- ity. Carefully compiled and compared statistics from all parts of the United States indicate that about 45 per cent of our insane, 70 per cent of our criminals, 75 per cent of our prostitutes, 80 per cent of the feeble-minded, and 95 per cent of the epileptics were born from drunken, neurotic or criminal stock or were the product of bad maternal impressions, about one-third being due to this latter cause. Heredity has been studied and its laws applied to the improvement of plant and animal life for centuries. Flowers, fruits and vegetables have Heredity in been doubled in size, quantity, quality and variety Animal Life. within the last century. Domestic animals of all kinds have been enlarged and improved in shape and quality. The bovine of the plain has lost his crooked back and crooked limb to be- come a thing of beauty. The wild boar with his hump back, long snout and savage nature has been replaced by the good natured grunter of the barnyard, or the performing pig of the cir- cus. Nor is this improvement in the animal lim- ited to form and size, to quality and appearance; it is quite as marked in brain development and 32 HEREDITY. aptitude for learning. All animal trainers agree that progeny of trained animals learn much more readily than do those of the untrained. The ac- quired character of the setter, the pointer, the watch dog, the foxhound or bloodhound has become so fixed as to be instinctive in the young. What is applied to animals is denied to man. How strange, how unfortunate it is, when the laws of heredity are generally understood and applied to the lower animals, that so little ap- plication of them has been made to the improve- ment of man! We have great stock shows and stock journals all over the country; we visit for- !rf Blind Chance! e *£ n conntr i es an d P a y fabulous prices that we may improve our herds; but when we would bring a child into existence — a human being that is to partake of our nature, our weaknesses of body and mind, our virtues and vices; a being that is to become a member of society and exert an influence for good or evil as long as the pendu- lum of time continues to vibrate ; a being endowed with an immortal soul, that must some day stand at the judgment bar of God and give account for the deeds done in the body; when we would be the cause of such a being as this coming into existence — we too often shut our eyes to the light of science, close our ears to the voice of wisdom and turn this most divine function over to perverted impulse or blind chance! Comparatively few children are well born. It is safe to say that less than one-fourth are as well born as they could be, if the laws of here- dity and prenatal culture were better understood and put into practice. By the abuse of these INTRODUCTION. 33 laws many excellent parents, who are strong of body and sound of mind, have very inferior chil- dren; while thousands through ignorance or w il- j-^Cnildrenare ful outrage of nature's laws give to their off- spring an inheritance that makes vice and crime natural and virtue a thing to be acquired. The study of heredity lies at the foundation of all reform. More and more does it become apparent to students of sociology that these laws The True Basis must be practically applied before the problems of ° a c orm * intemperance, vice and crime can be solved and a high moral standard for the masses attained. Frances Willard once said, "If man is to over- come the evils of intemperance, children must be better born." If it is possible to mold or even influence the physical, mental and moral character of a child before it sees the light of day, then this molding should be done in such a way as to give to its nature the most desirable qualities possible. If education is a factor in brain building and mental development, then education should be- gin when the brain is forming. If environ- ment molds character, then the environ- Prenatal versus ments that obtain during the formative period T^iSing, of a life are the most potential for good or evil. If the principles of virtue and morality can be instilled into a nature and made a part of its conscious will, then the earlier the instilla- tion is begun the more completely will these prin- ciples control the life. If vicious and criminal tendencies can be produced by evil impressions made upon the mature mind and established brain centers, how much more determinate must be such 34 HEREDITY. impressions when made upon the plastic mind and forming brain! If reformation through good influences and the grace of God is possible in a nature that has long been distorted by sin, how much more effectual must be these influ- ences when brought to bear upon a forming soul ! It is during the prenatal period of a life that education, home influences and the grace of God do their most effectual work in the formation of character. CHAPTER II. SOME OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. All great truths have had to struggle for rec- ognition. The story of the crucifixion is typical of all history. Every sublime fact that now helps to form the galaxy of law, science and religion has been crucified by ignorance, buried by estab- lished custom and compelled to rise against popu- lar prejudice. Heredity forms no exception to the rule. Three general causes tend to retard a popular interest in and a general acceptance of the doc- trine of heredity. ( i ) The public has been edu- cated to look upon environment, education and religion as the all-controlling factors in the pro- duction of mind and the formation of character; hence heredity is not deemed essential. (2) It is generally, but erroneously, supposed that to Why Objections admit of prefixed tendencies partly relieves man are 1SC * from moral responsibility ; such a supposition con- flicts with our religious training and ideas of jus- tice. (3) The abuse of the plea of insanity in criminal courts and the frequent acquittal of mon- eyed rascals on the ground of unsound mind, morbid tendencies, degeneracy, dipsomania, atav- ism, etc., has greatly prejudiced the public mind. Heredity has been made synonymous with fatal- ism, feeble-mindedness, insanity and crime. Any morbid condition is considered a case of heredity, 36 HEREDITY. while virtue, genius and morality are attributed to postnatal influences. Thus heredity has been made a scapegoat, an apology, for all of man's shortcomings. It is no wonder it should be looked upon with disfavor by those who take this false view of the subject. In this chapter I Sca»f-Go t for s ^ a ^ a * m to arr ^ ve at tne true conception of the Crime. relation of heredity to postnatal influences in the formation of character, and consider some of the more plausible objections urged against its ac- ceptance. Before we proceed to consider these objections it will be well for us to get a clear idea of the formation and development of a life. Every man is the outgrowth of a series of influences. This < « a .series began with the inception of the primal cell Man the Product s F F of Centuries. (from which the race has been evolved) when "God breathed into man the breath of life, and man became a living soul." The series includes all those processes and influences whereby the race has been brought to its present condition. Each new life at its inception partakes of the sum total of all that has preceded it, and because of its dual parentage, has a character unlike any other person from the beginning. During em- bryonic development it unfolds after the pattern given it by its parents, but is continually sub- ject to maternal impressions, which further dif- ferentiate it from all other human beings. After birth it receives impressions intuitively and through the five senses and these impressions con- tinue to change, develop, form and reform the character throughout its entire existence. Now, heredity deals with the part of the series SOME OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 37 of influences that obtains before birth, environ- ment, education and religion deal with the part that obtains after birth; but there is no break Prenatal Plus in the series, neither should any conflict arise from Influences. recognizing the prenatal, as well as the postnatal influences. Some high in authority have presumed to say that one-fourth of a man's mental power, char- acter and conduct is due to heredity, three- fourths to environment, education and religion. To my mind all such attempts to divide the potency of Unknown^ the several factors in a man's life are very irra- Quantity, tional. For instance, A, B and C are all first class mechanics. A inherited but little mechan- ical ingenuity, was brought up in a work shop, was thoroughly educated in a manual training school and became a skilled artisan by training, B had considerable natural talent and with fair advantages became a skilled artisan. C was a natural mechanic, he had but few advantages, never attended a manual training school, but by the application of his native genius became a skilled artisan also. In the case of A the here- dity represented but 10 per cent and the train- ing 90 per cent; with B 50 per cent was due to heredity and 50 per cent to training; while with C 90 per cent was due to heredity and 10 per cent to training. Now this simple illustration applies with equal force to vicious or criminal tendencies, to genius, All Factors ar< virtue, or moral worth. All the factors are po- Potential. tential in every life, but their degree of influence is ever varying, and therefore can not be reduced to a mathematical statement. 38 HEREDITY. The same variation in causes obtain in the in- dividual life. To illustrate : I had a friend who was a skilled mechanic, a good farmer, an able and eloquent speaker. His mechanical ingenuity- was inborn. He was never in a manual training school, but was an expert with tools and was able to do exceptionally fine work. He had some natural ability as a farmer, was brought up on Inborn versus a ^ arm an d made a success at farming. As a Acquired Traits, boy he was timid and diffident, could not appear before an audience and was sadly deficient in lan- guage; but by persistent training and careful study he became one of the best extemporaneous speakers on the platform. Now, his mechanical ingenuity was largely inherited, his success as a farmer was perhaps as much due to postnatal training as to heredity, while his ability as a pub- lic speaker was largely acquired. In like manner all of our tastes and talents, vices and virtues, are a product of a series of E T 't ha P renata l an d postnatal influences of ever varying Many Causes, potency. It is, therefore, irrational to attribute one-fourth to heredity, or to attempt to break the chain of influences at birth and say that this is entirely due to heredity and that is entirely due to postnatal influences. To simplify the subject, we may divide the formative elements of a man's life into three gen- Generation, eral divisions — generation, education and regen- Education, eration; or the force of heredity, the force of en- vironment and the grace of God. Each of these three factors has its part to perform in the pro- duction, development and maturing of every well rounded life. They are incomparable; no one SOME OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 39 or two can take the place of any other; no one can be said to be of greater importance than either of the others, for all three are essential to the highest development of man. To be well born is to receive the greatest gift within the power of parentage ; to be surrounded by a favorable environment and good educational advantages is the greatest gift within the power of society; to be born again is the gift of God. These three factors constitute the triangle, or the three sides, of a man's life. His character depends upon their uniform strength. A man M a ^ s Life, may be well born, yet from bad environment and lack of educational advantages make a complete failure in life. He may have excellent educa- tional advantages and be surrounded by the best of home influences; yet if he did not inherit a good brain and the basis of morality his educa- tion will amount to but little and the home in- fluences may fail to produce a moral character. A man may be well born, well educated and surrounded by the best of influences, yet if he does not know the regenerative power of the Holy Spirit, nor has not the love of God in his soul, he is not all that a man should be, and despite his good inheritance and his educational advantages, may come short of the true object of life. It is customary to estimate a man's ability and fitness for a position by his educational advan- tages, by the degrees he has taken and the diplo- *% False Basis « , . i -kt 11 r r • of Reckoning, mas he has received. Yet all of our professions have their share of practitioners who unfortu- nately have but little aside from their diplomas 4Q HEREDITY. Basal Tendencies Inborn* Heredity and Moral Responsibility. to recommend them. Schools and colleges do not make great men, except of those who have native genius. Men of mediocrity are failures without education, yet succeed with it. Genius may suc- ceed without the schools; but certainly it can do much better with them. Too much cannot be said in favor of thorough schooling and mental discipline ; yet as between heredity and education, the public places far too much stress upon the relative value of education. \ Heredity fixes the natural bent of a mind and its rudimentary pos- sibilities; education directs, develops and matures the inherited powers; the two determine the men- tality and possibilities of the man. Tendencies toward good or evil are inborn. Moral conduct, vice and virtue, like intellectual power are the result of several factors, some of which are prenatal others are postnatal. We are inclined to expect a man to be good or bad, hon- est or dishonest according to his early home influ- ences and his spiritual awakening. That these are great factors in the formation of every char- acter is true, but the hereditary tendencies toward good and evil are also highly potential. The honest, inmost prayer of the mass of intelligent, erring humanity to-day is not for more knowl- edge of what is right nor for deliverance from bad environments, but for the strength and grace to overcome their own innate, selfish tendencies or vicious desires. Another objection to heredity closely allied to the one we have just been considering is that the recognition of good and evil tendencies as being inborn destroys the sense of moral respon- SOME OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 41 sibility and opens the way for wholesale wrong doing. It is said that if a man is born with moral and virtuous tendencies no credit is due him for his noble conduct; if born with vicious or criminal tendencies, he should not be held re- sponsible if he commits crime, and, therefore, that it is dangerous to recognize heredity at all. Certainly there is danger of placing too little or too much stress upon the factor of heredity in judging the conduct of a man; but this is equally true of all other factors. We can not tell how little or how much of a man's morality is due to good or evil home influences, how much of his success is due to college training or the want of it; yet we do not think of denying the poten- tiality of these factors simply because they are an unknown quantity. Now, it is quite as irra- tional to deny the influences of heredity as to deny the influences of the home and the school. Heredity is a fact. Men are born with ever varying intellectual, social, esthetic and moral tendencies; therefore, we must recognise these natural differences if we would be rational in our philosophy, or even approach justice in our judg- ment. Men vary in their innate sense of moral re- sponsibility, just as they do in their talent for R ., business, mechanics, science or art. All men, Varies, generally speaking, may learn business, mechanics or art, yet some learn much- more readily and with much more proficiency than others. In like manner all men are morally responsible for their conduct, but not equally so. Man's ability to do right seemingly depends 42 HEREDITY. upon three conditions : ( i ) a knowledge of the law involved; (2) a desire to do the right or obey the law; (3) the self control and will pow- er to follow his desire. Jesus Christ, the perfect d^^ht^* 7 t0man > born as the ideal of the Father, had a per- fect knowledge of all law; had all desire to do right, had the freedom and strength of will requi- site to enable Him to follow His desires and was, therefore, absolutely responsible in the bal- ance of morals, for His every act. The unfor- tunate man born just a little above the brute, with so little intelligence that he does not com- prehend the law, with so much of propensity and so little of sentiment that he has no desire to do right, and so weak in will power that he has no control over his gross appetites, is absolutely irresponsible for his conduct in the balance of morals. Between these two extremes all hu- manity is found. The moral responsibility of each individual depends upon his position on the scale. As there is but one Christ, one absolutely responsible character, so there are very few who are totally irresponsible. The question of the moral responsibility of criminals is a vital one, whether considered from a legal, a psychological or an ethical point of ^OiminaJ^ view. According to modern biology man is a creature of heredity and environment. From this point of view the abnormal man is scarcely responsible for his crime ; but according to recent experiments in psychology the soul — the ego — is supreme and is far less subject to inherited or acquired tendencies than has generally been sup- posed. Whatever there is in the new psychology SOME OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 43 for the restoration of the criminal, certain it is that the average man is controlled largely by his brain centers. If these are normal and prop- erly trained his will may be said to be free to determine his conduct ; but if these are abnormal, either through heredity or otherwise, he cannot justly be considered a free moral agent. All criminologists consider the habitual criminal as psychologically abnormal, and therefore only partly responsible. Dr. Thompson said: "Ha- bitual criminals are without moral sense. Out of five hundred murderers that I have known, only three of them ever expressed any remorse.' ' The number of criminals who are wholly, or even largely, irresponsible form but a very small F _ , . per cent of our legal offenders. Occasionally are Blameless, there is one whose thirst for blood or mania for wrongdoing is so strong that he is positively in- capable of self restraint, yet, such a one is rare. Fully 92 per cent of our convicts — according to their own testimony — were partly or wholly to blame for their conduct. In the United States there is one criminal for every 560 of the popu- lation. Now, if but 8 per cent of our criminals are wholly irresponsible, and there is but one criminal to every 560 of the population, it fol- lows that there is but one person out of every 1,800 who is wholly irresponsible. Taking this as a basis of reckoning, considering the fact that most offenders are largely responsible, also that society must be protected from the abnormal man, whether he is entirely responsible, partly so, or wholly irresponsible, it is certainly best and near- 44 HEREDITY. est to justice to hold all men as morally respon- sible for their conduct in the eyes of the law. The doctrine of the absolute freedom of the human will in all men is without foundation in fact. Man is not without his limitations in any direction. Man is free to do the best he can, yet some are capable of doing much better than others. A man should therefore be credited or condemned not for what he does or fails to do. SSM^wau* but for doin & or failin g t0 do his best The strongest argument in favor of the moral respon- sibility of the average man is found in the fact that when he does wrong he is conscious that he did not have to. The last step in vice or crime is often imperative ; the first step is invariably one of choice. The responsibility, therefore, is to be reckoned not by the final conduct, but by the first choice. An inebriate may not be to blame for homicide committed while crazed with liquor; he is to blame for forming the habit of drinking. Waving aside all further consideration of man's moral responsibility, or the freedom of the human will, the fact that concerns us in this connection is that man is as responsible morally for con- Hereditary d uc t springing from heredity as from acquired Tendencies may tendencies, because both are subject to the control of the will if that power is exercised at the ap- proach of temptation. The fact that a man has a tendency toward mechanics does not necessi- tate his becoming a mechanic; it only inclines him in that direction and makes it easy for him to become a mechanic, but it does not compel him to follow mechanics for a livelihood. In like SOME OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 45 manner, if one has an hereditary tendency toward intemperance, theft, cruelty, or even homicide, he will be inclined to vice or crime; he may find it easy and natural to commit vice or crime, but he is not compelled by this hereditary tendency to do so; therefore, the fact of heredity does not destroy the moral responsibility of man. It is frequently urged by those who have de- cided upon the limitations of the Divine nature, Ivmc J 1JstIce * that the doctrine of heredity must not be admit- ted, because it destroys the possibilities of Divine justice. They say, if it is easier for some to do right than for others; if some are so born that vice is natural, while others by nature love to do right, then where is the justice of God in holding all men alike responsible, and thereby giving a heaven to the few and a hell to the many? Personally I never worry about this proposition, for He who gave the law and formed the soul can adjust their relations. Moreover, there is nothing in Scripture, philosophy or sci- ence to indicate that God holds all men alike re- sponsible; while there is much to indicate that God requires of every man that he shall do the best he can and holds him accountable accord- "Who-so-ever ing to his ability. Will/' In this connection it should not be forgotten that God has placed His Spirit in the world and that "whosoever will" may receive Him and be transformed by His power and thereby freed from the domination of both hereditary and acquired evil tendencies. The acceptance of the Holy Spirit is a matter of choice ; therefore he who re- fuses God's plan of redemption and continues 46 HEREDITY. in sin is certainly responsible, and God is but just in holding him accountable. Christian Scientists oppose heredity. They Christian must in order to be consistent with their creed. Science. Mary Baker Eddy denies the existence of mat- ter, the testimony of the senses, the reality of the body and, of course, to admit heredity would be inconsistent. She says: "God, Spirit, being all, nothing is matter." "It is a false supposi- tion, the notion that there is real substance, mat- ter." "We define matter as error because it is a false claim to life, substance and intelligence." "Heredity is a prolific subject for mortal belief to pin theories upon, but if we learn that noth- ing is real but the right, we shall have no danger- ous inheritances, and fleshly ills will disappear." Despite the many good things taught by Mary Baker Eddy, her fundamental propositions put her creed at variance not only with heredity but with all the physical sciences. Heredity of Mfs. Mary Baker Eddy is said to have been born Bddy# from a most devout, highly spiritual mother, who gave her child to God in prayer before it saw the light of day. Evidence of this is found in the child life of Mrs. Eddy. Her early history indicates that she was an exceptionally spiritually minded child ; that she early formed the habit of earnest prayer and before the age of ten was ac- customed to going in simple, trusting faith to God for everything desired, plainly indicating the good effects of her own prenatal training. Christian Scientists may well deny the power of heredity to control a life that has been made free by God's love; but since they place so much SOME OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 47 stress upon the influence of one life over another and the outworking of a principle in a soul, they, above all others, should accept the fact of pre- "Consistency, natal culture. If, as they teach, the good and jewel/' evil thoughts of one life can affect another, then surely the prospective mother can and does mod- ify the character of her offspring. How irra- tional to speak of evil thought waves, or oppos- ing minds influencing the adult life sufficiently to cause sickness, error and even death, and then to insist that such influences do not affect the forming child ! Theosophists, especially those who accept the teachings of the oriental cult, usually oppose heredity because it conflicts in a measure with the Tfoosophical , r r™ Objections* ancient dogma of reincarnation. The doctrine of reincarnation is based largely upon negative evidence; it is supported by very little, if any, positive evidence. It is an ancient theory insti- tuted to account for certain facts and phenomena in human life that in the absence of a knowledge of heredity and psychic law were inexplicable. In our day heredity and psychic law combined ac- count for all the phenomena upon which this doctrine is based. Even if reincarnation were true, the law of heredity would still apply; for all theosophists admit that the soul during its incarnation is limited in its powers of expres- sion, and largely in its development, also by the body it inhabits. Now, since the body is con- trolled by physical heredity, the theosophists to be consistent should acknowledge its potency in the formation of a soul and strive to promote rather than to retard the study of its laws, so 48 HEREDITY. that the soul might have a more fit abiding place, a better instrument of expression during its weary march on this mundane sphere. Some oppose heredity because it places respon- Oppositionto sibility upon parents and holds them accountable Responsibility, (in a measure at least) for the physical constitu- tion, mentality and disposition of their offspring. When a child is exceptionally bright it is usually easy to discover the origin of its intelligence, but when one is unfortunately born, parents can sel- dom undertsand why it should be so. Self preser- vation is a primary law in man's nature, therefore it is no wonder that persons given to self indul- gence and the abuse of the propensities, should oppose the doctrine of heredity. It is much more soothing to the conscience, and certainly sounds better in society, to attribute the bad inheritance of a child to blind chance or "Divine providence" than to acknowledge it to be the result of the will- fid violation of nature's laws. The old idea that God sends all the children in a family, few or many, in rapid succession or far apart, strong or weak, bright or stupid, good or Pkc' th ^ a< ^' anc * P re0I "d anis tne i r nves nas little place in Blame Upon the minds of the well informed. This malicious GcxJ * doctrine, born of man's selfishness and paraded under the cloak of religion has caused thousands to be unfortunately born. Suppose we should apply the same doctrine to the postnatal develop- ment of children, pay no attention to their physical welfare, intellectual training or moral develop- ment, but just turn the whole matter over to Providence and blind chance, what sort of children would we raise? The proposition is SOME OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 49 ridiculous, yet not more so than to leave the origin and prenatal development of children to Provi- dence and blind chance. Parents should realize that they are responsible not only for the number and frequency of births, but for the physical, mental and moral character of their children. When this parental responsi- Responsfbfe. bility is more generally accepted children will be better born. A young minister recently became angry in my lecture room and bolted, making a very uncomplimentary remark as he left the church. I learned later that seven years before he had married a beautiful, strong, noble woman who was now confined to her room a physical wreck. During her brief married life she had given birth to six children; the two eldest were strong but very ungovernable, two were puny and nervous, and two were stillborn. The rev- erend gentleman had undoubtedly entrusted the birth of his children and the health of his wife to Divine providence ! I was not surprised that he opposed the doctrine of heredity and parental responsibility. The propriety of the free discussion of heredity has been questioned by a certain class of good, but falsely educated, persons, and made an excuse for opposing the whole subject. Surely, such persons must have a perverted view of parentage. „ ,, As Dr. Cowan beautifully says : "What God, in Proper Study. the might of His wisdom and the greatness of His love, has created, no man nor woman need be ashamed to read, talk of, learn and know; for it cannot be that He has ordained it that knowledge 50 HEREDITY. so essential to the well-being of mankind can be destructive to moral purity." Frances Willard once said : "When I was a girl, for a woman to know very much about maternity View" an d heredity was enough to make her morals questionable. Now, for the prospective mother not to understand these things is known to be criminal. What was deemed a vice under the artificial light of false modesty, under the true light of higher culture has become a virtue." The better element of society no longer believes in darkness and ignorance as a guide to virtue. All are coming to realize that the highest order of refinement, the purest virtue and the truest mod- esty is most easily attained and sustained by those best acquainted with the laws of life. In the study of parentage and heredity, we should remember that through this sacred func- tion immortal lives are born. By its sublime laws all the great, gifted and holy men and women Divinity is ere. Q £ ^ p agt an( j p resen t we re brought into ex- istence. Through these laws God expresses His Divine will and stamps His decree upon human life. Maternity is the creative office of Divinity, sacred as humanity is sacred, holy as God is holy. In the contemplation of this subject, shall we be controlled by a false pride and refuse to study these great truths? Shall we, the children of light, prefer night rather than day? Shall we at the dawn of the Twentieth Century, be bound by the chains forged in the Dark Ages? Shall per- verted desires blind our eyes to the light of truth ? Shall we refuse to worship in the temples of our God, because ignorance has defiled the temple? SOME OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 51 God forbid! Let us rather slip off the sandals of mock modesty, uncover the head of foolish pride, and remember that we are the temples of the Living God; that the place where we now stand is holy ground, and that Divinity is here. CHAPTER III. PSCHOLOGY. James. Halleck. Ladd, Morgan* Vundt. The student of heredity should understand psychology. A knowledge of the modus operandi of mind, the powers of the soul, the laws of brain- building and soul growth, are essential to the in- telligent study of prenatal culture. Assuming that some of my readers have not had occasion to acquaint themselves with the current psychology, I shall devote this and the succeeding chapter to the study of man's psychic nature and its relation to the brain. "Psychology is the science of mental processes." — Prof. James. "Psychology is a scientific study of the mind." — Prof. Halleck. "Psychology is the description and explanation of the states of consciousness as such." — Prof. Ladd. "That which is in your mind at any moment is a state of consciousness. Psychology is a study of nature, mode of origin and manner of sequence of these states of con- sciousness." — Morgan. "Psychology has to investigate that which we call inter- nal experiences — i. e., our own sensation and feeling, our thought and volition — in contradistinction to the objects of external experience, which form the subject matter of the natural sciences. Man himself, not as he appears from without, but as he is in his own immediate experience, is the real problem of psychology." — Wundt. "Psychology is the science of self (psycho plus logy equals soul plus science). But each self is a type of the race and PSYCHOLOGY. 53 stands for humanity. My sensorium and motorium give me direct connection with the universe. I have my head- quarters for life in my cerebrum. In some unknown wayg a ^ w i m I think, love and decide in and through my cerebral ganglia and their connections. I cannot comprehend it ; this knowl- edge is too high for me ; but I know that self is generated with the body, lives in it, works through it, and leaves it at death." — Baldwin. Psychology may be defined as the science of the soul. In its broadest application it includes all the mental phenomena that belong to a senti- Psychology ent being. Psychology as used in pedagogy is the science of the mind; mind signifying simply the sum total of all man's conscious thoughts and sensations. Physiological psychology is the science of mental processes as related to the nervous system. The new psychology as taught by students of psychic phenomena, includes both of these, together with the science of the subject- ive mind. The study of metaphysics and mental phe- nomena antedates history. How much the ancient psychists knew of occult power and psychic law is Mefaphvsics! now a matter of speculation. It would seem, how- ever, that they were further advanced in these matters than is the present generation. The cur- rent psychology is yet in its speculative state. Even the most advanced students differ widely in their conceptions of the divisions of the mind and the nature of the ego. The German school of psychology tends strongly toward dualism, the English toward monism, while the American school is divided between the two. The present psychology of pedagogy, or the system of mental philosophy used in most Normal 54 HEREDITY. School-room Psychology. Phrenology. Gall's Philosophy. Weak Points of Phrenology. schools, can hardly be called a science. It gives an indefinite theoretical explanation of the several powers of mind, such as sense-perception, reten- tion, the will, volition, etc., but affords no explana- tion whatever of the peculiarities of the individual, and is, therefore, all but worthless as a basis of education. The Gall system of psychology, known as phrenology, is a system of mental philosophy based upon the physiology of the brain. Its funda- mental teachings are : ( i ) The brain is the organ, or instrument, of mind. (2) Each primary ele- ment of mind has its specific center in the brain. (3) The strength of each element of mind is determined by the size, activity or functional power of its brain center. (4) All elements of mind are strengthened by use and weakened by disuse. (5) The normal manifestations of all primary propensities, feelings, faculties and senti- ments are good, but all are subject to perversion and abuse. Gall's system of mental philosophy, when divorced from cranial development and cerebral localization, contains the groundwork of the psychology of the future. It furnishes by far the best explanation of the phenomena of mind and the peculiarities of the individual that has yet been presented. It fell into disrepute and failed to reach the colleges largely from two causes: ( 1 ) Gall and his successors assumed too much in regard to the divisions of the mind and cerebral localization that was not susceptible to scientific demonstration; (2) The possibility of applying the system to the art of reading character gave it PSYCHOLOGY. 55 a commercial value that placed its dissemination largely in the hands of men who knew more about examining heads and collecting fees than they did of mental philosophy or the physiology of the brain. Physiological psychology is defined by Prof. Ladd as: "The science of the phenomena of the human consciousness in their relations to the [w^ofy? * structure and functions of the nervous system. It is psychology because it is the science of the human mind, or soul ; it is physiological psychol- ogy because it regards the mind as standing in peculiar relations to the bodily mechanism. It attempts to bring the two orders of phenomena, those called mental and those belonging to the nervous system, face to face. It considers them as mutually related. It endeavors, as far as pos- sible, to unite them in terms of a uniform char- acter, under law. Its method is to explain the phenomena of man's sentient life as correlated with the life and growth and action, under stimuli, of his nervous system." Physiological psychology deals exclusively with the relation of nerve function to sensation and mental phenomena. It has to do with the last g^ n of Investi " series of physical phenomena before we pass into the realm of purely psychic phenomena. It con- siders the stream of consciousness the manifest function of the brain; or that the psychic life con- sists of a series of conscious states connected with physical states that begin with sensation and end with action. According to Francis Galton, "The field of physiological psychology embraces- r . a j.- j • *• i j 4. -1 J \ j r Views of Galton. reflex action and instincts ; detailed study of sen- 56 HEREDITY. Experimental Stage of Psychology. Facts of Physiological Psychology. Nerve Action Determines Sensation. sation, with questions relative to time and space in the limits of experiment, movement, modes of expression and language; the conditions of the will and attention ; the forms of the more complex feelings in their relation to the nervous system." Physiological psychology is yet in its experi- mental stage. Despite the fact that it is being taught in all of our colleges and universities, it would be difficult to find two authors or instruct- ors who are fully agreed. Even a casual com- parison of the writings of James, Titchener, Her- bart, Wesley, Mills, Romanes, Morgan, Baldwin, Gross, Kuelpe, Ladd, or Wundt reveals a great diversity of opinion, and leaves the student far from any definite conception of mind. Notwithstanding the diverstiy of opinion held by physiological psychologists, they are substan- tially agreed upon certain very important proposi- tions, chief among which are : ( i ) All sensation and conscious mentation are related to and dependent upon nerve action. (2) Sensation, consciousness and the power of mind in any given direction is determined by the functional power of the nerves and brain areas through which they are manifested, and the degree of stimulus. (3) Stimuli passing from the sense organs through the afferent or sensory nerves are transformed in the brain and transmitted over to the efferent, or motor nerves, resulting in action. (4) Repeated sensations, emotions or thoughts tend to establish nerve paths and fixed combinations in the cortical structure of the brain so that a like stimulus will flash over the established paths, discharge through the same efferent nerves and thereby reproduce PSYCHOLOGY. 57 the mental image, action or conduct that produced the nerve path. (5) All definite perceptions, mental images, repeated sensations and thought forms have a physical basis in the cortical struc- ^| lcaI ^ asis ture of the brain and may be reproduced in the form of memories either by external stimulus or by the retracing of nerve paths and the co-ordina- tion of associated centers. Physiological psychology adds nothing to mental philosophy. It explains the relation of the nervous system to objective consciousness and Limitations of demonstrates the dependence of the latter upon p S y C holo|y? the former. As a basis of brain building, educa- tion and character forming it is of incalculable value. When applied to its legitimate sphere, too much cannot be said in its favor. But when a physiological psychologist presumes to say that all mental phenomena and psychic power are the product of cerebration, his teachings become not only dangerous, but non-scientific. Prof. James aptly says : "It is obvious that our knowledge of Pfof * James * our mental states infinitely exceeds our knowledge of their concomitant cerebral conditions. Our assumption that mind states are absolutely dependent upon brain conditions, must still be understood as a mere postulate. We may have a general faith that it must be true, but any exact insight as to how it is true, lags wofully behind." Within the last quarter of a century the study The New of psychic phenomena has developed what is Psychology, known as the New Psychology. Hindu philoso- phy, theosophy, Christian science, mental science, hypnotism, mental therapeutics and spiritualism, 58 HEREDITY. The Duality of Mind* The Objective and Subjective Minds. Subjective Perception. have each added something of fact or phenomenon to the development of this science of the soul. The new psychology has demonstrated many very important facts relative to the powers of the soul, chief among which are: (i) Man is en- dowed with two minds, or the ego has a dual manifestation as conscious, or objective, mind, and super-conscious, or subjective, mind. (2) The objective, or conscious, mind is limited in its manifestation by cerebration. It is controlled by the functional powers of the brain, through estab- lished nerve tracks and brain centers. Its mediums of communication with the outer world are the five physical senses. (3) The subjective, or super- conscious, mind is a form of intelligence that the ego manifests independent of the brain and nervous system. It is immanent, or in-dwelling, but not inherent, or dependent upon the physical organism. (4) The subjective mind is more or less amenable to control by suggestions from the objective mind. It usually acts upon these sug- gestions without questioning their correctness unless they are opposed by an auto-suggestion or an established rule of thought or character. (5) The subjective mind has the power to communi- cate telepathically with other minds in the absence of ordinary physical means. It may take cog- nizance of conditions in the realm of both the physical and the psychical, independent of the objective mind, and under certain conditions may transfer these to the plane of consciousness, there- by giving the person a conscious knowledge of things otherwise unknown or imperceptible to the objective mind. (6) As things often exist PSYCHOLOGY. 59 or occur in the realm of the psychical long before they do in the physical, the subjective mind may take cognizance of them and translate its know- P*°pk«cy« ledge to the plane of consciousness, thereby giving the power of prophecy. (7) The memory of the subjective mind is supposed to be infallible; not that all it retains can be consciously recalled, but that the ego holds within itself the effects of every subjective impression made upon it, whether received sub- Memory. jectively or objectively. The new psychology reveals much that is con- ducive to a better understanding of life and its possibilities. It accounts for the occult powers of the soul and will yet teach us how to develop u owefS and use them. It gives a rational explanation of dreams, visions, prophecy, telepathy, mental thera- peutics, clairvoyance, clairaudience and all so- called "spirit phenomena." It does not attempt to define the primary elements of mind nor to explain the peculiarities of the individual. Most of its advocates have been caught in the mesh of speculative mental philosophy and hold therefore very indefinite conceptions of the elements of both the objective and subjective minds. The true psychology, which shall correctly de- fine the primary elements of the mind, the func- tions of the brain, the powers of the soul and explain all the facts of man's super-conscious, conscious and sub-conscious life, is yet to be writ- The Psychology ten. All the present systems of psychology are° c utarc * more or less fragmentary and conflicting. Yet they all contain much that is true. So, without commenting upon the merits or demerits of any system, I shall endeavor to use the facts of all in a brief explanation of human nature. 6o HEREDITY. The Study of Man. Relations of the Psychical and Physical Natures. Man a Psychic Organism. An Essential to Right Thinking What is man? Man, physiologically con- sidered, is an organism of bones, muscles, organs, nerves, etc., adapted to the performances of the several functions of the resident life. Man, psychologically, is a soul, a complex, organized, individualised ego, developing and expressing itself on the earth plane through and by means of its physical organism. So long as man is man his physical and psychical natures form the com- plete counterpart of each other, act and react upon each other, limit and modify the expressions of each other. Through the physical organism the material universe influences and becomes known to the psychic man. Through the psychic man the physical organism receives transforming im- pressions. The dividing line between the two natures no man can draw. That man has a psychical nature that is superior to and in a sense independent of the physical organism is now very generally conceded. / state without fear of suc- cessful contradiction that man is primarily a soul. Immanent in, but not inherent in the body ; opera- tive through, but not dependent upon, the brain and nervous system. It is not necessary that the reader accept the foregoing propositions in order to appreciate what I have to say about heredity, brain building and soul growth. It is essential, however, that every person should realize that he is a soul. Without the acceptance of this fact, we have no abiding foundaton upon which to build a science of mind, a system of education, a moral code or a philoso- phy of life. Those who deny the existence of the soul and the Immanent God have failed utterly to PSYCHOLOGY. 61 produce even a working hypothesis that would account satisfactorily for the phenomena of life in any form — much less its highest form, the consciousness of man. There is an abundance of purely scientific evidenec to prove the existence of man as a psychic ^f # cnces of the ego independent of cerebration and nerve action. Some of these evidences may be stated briefly as follows. i. We know that man is a soul independent of the brain because the rudiments of all the powers Mind Without a of his subjective mind are present in the lowest organisms that have neither brain nor nervous system.* 2. We know that man is a soul because vital action is not chemical action. Chemical action Vital versus is destructive to an organism ; vital action is con- StnJ caI structive. A vitalized organism has the power of transforming other substances into itself; *"Unicellular organisms," says Dr. Gates, "possess all the different froms of activity to be found in the higher ani- mals. Thus the simplest cell can transform food into tissue and other metabolic products; and this is the basis of all the nutritive activities and processes of the higher animals; the cell can move part of itself and is capable of locomo- tion; and this is the basis of all movement in the higher animals brought about by bones and muscles. The cell can feel a stimulus and respond, and this is the basis of the sensory faculties of the higher animals ; the cell can repro- duce itself by segmentation, and this is the basis of repro- duction in higher animals ; the cell on dividing inherits the actual qualities of its parent mass, and this is the basis of heredity; in short, the cell contains, in simplest form, all of the activities to be found in man." For further con- sideration of this proposition see "The Divine Pedigree of Man," by Hudson. 62 HEREDITY. The Resident Life. Heredity- Demonstrates the Soul. Psychic Impressions. chemical combinations have not. The first process of digestion may be purely chemical, but the second is vital and cannot be duplicated by any chemical process. No phenomena of life, beyond the first stages of digestion, are explicable upon a purely chemical basis. 3. We know that man is a soul because the resident life controls the physical organism. Every function and action, voluntary or invol- untary, is the manifestation of something that lies back of the brain and nervous system. 4. We know that man is a soul because in the process of reproduction, functional potency de- termines transmission. The physical organism may be mutilated, as in the removal of a hand, yet the offspring inherits the perfect hand; but if we continue to amputate the member for gen- eration after generation, until we destroy the func- tion of the hand, it will no longer be transmitted. This indicates plainly that soul-form and function, not physical organism, determine the heredity, and that life inheres in the soul rather than the body. 5. We know that man is a soul because of a mother's power to impress the developing embryo. There is no anatomical connection between the nervous systems of the two, yet it is an established fact that the mental states of the mother make their impression upon the forming life t© such an extent that extreme excitement, unnatural longing or a sudden fright may produce abnormalities (birthmarks) in her offspring, thus proving con- clusively that their psychical natures are not only PSYCHOLOGY. 63 en rapport, but that the psychic controls and has the power to form or deform the physical. 6. We know that man is a soul because the subjective mind has the power of independent per- Sy^ 11 ^ 6 °* ception and mentation. It can take cognizance of the physical world, receive impressions from other minds telepathically and communicate with other subjective minds when the brain is at rest, either in natural sleep, in induced coma or when otherwise inhibited. 7. We know that man is a soul because when Proved by the subjective mind (which is dependent upon the ypno m * brain and nervous system) is controlled by hypnotic suggestion and the brain's action inhib- ited, the subjective mind and resident life can be controlled so as to produce or suspend pain, in- duce or overcome physical conditions. 8. We know that man is a soul because in the hour of death when the brain ceases to act and the objective consciousness is extinct, the soul's T fae 5°^ Roles consciousness, or subjective mind, is frequently 111 most active, expressing in highest ecstacy the joy that breaks upon it at the threshold of eternity. So marked is this that the distorted features of a sufferer are often changed into an angelic smile, showing that the soul that formed the body ruled it after the physical senses died. 9. We know that man is a soul because of thousands of well authenticated apparitions. Many Job Saw a Spirit persons are said to have seen their departed friends within a few hours after the death of the body. Testimony is not limited to spiritualists, mediums, the credulous, the superstitious, the imaginative, nor to neurotic persons, but has been given by the 64 HEREDITY. cool-headed, critical scientist and by innocent children. 10. We know that man is a soul because every saysso °' highly developed person, whether pagan or Christian, anicient or modern, gradually but surely becomes conscious of his super-physical existence. He is conscious that the I, the ego, is something that supercedes the brain, belongs to a realm that is not physical and has the power to exist as a conscious individuality independent of its corporeal home. Socrates is not the only one who could triumphantly say, "Bury me? my body, I suppose you mean; give that to the dogs for aught I care, but Socrates' soul, and that is Socra- tes, goes to be with the gods." I deem this consciousness of the soul's inde- pendence the highest and strongest proof of its existence as a super-physical being. True, not all have this consciousness, for not all are suffi- Supreme ciently developed to possess it, but this does not Evidence. militate against its being the supreme evidence that man is a soul. The beauty of the world and the pleasure of freedom are not to be decided by the testimony of a toad living in a well, but rather by the one that has enjoyed the liberty of Darkness cannot the garden in the sunlight of a June morning. Measure the So the powers and possibilities of a soul are not to be measured by the consciousness of one living a contracted, selfish life entombed in ma- terialistic beliefs ; but rather by the consciousness of those who have been born into the larger life and have enjoyed the glorious privileges of high intellectual culture and spiritual growth. The foregoing propositions are too briefly PSYCHOLOGY. 65 stated to carry the weight of evidence they other- wise would. If fully devevloped and carried to their ultimate conclusion they are sufficient toM* 11 * 8 * 80 " 1 justify the former proposition that "man is a soul." This point decided, we shall proceed to study the manifestations of the soul and its rela- tions to the brain and nervous system. The soul in its ultimate nature evades analysis. We do not know what it is. From what we do know it seems to be a distinct, separate entity, possessing individuality and personality, which The Soul Evades are expressed materially through the physical or- AnaIvMS ' ganism. The soul is triune in its character, or rather has three planes of manifestation, present- ing three widely different phenomena. In its highest expression it presents the phenomena of the super-conscious, or subjective, mind. In its relation to the brain and nervous system, it is manifested as the conscious, or objective, mind. In its relation to the physical organism, it be- comes sub-conscious life. All consciousness is the result of vibrations. The five senses are organs adapted to receiving vibrations from without and conveying them to the seat of consciousness, the brain. Vibrations Consciousness passing from the external world to the soul, or p from the soul through the brain and nervous sys- tem, produce when sufficiently strong a sensation ; repeated sensations produce an impulse ; connected and consecutive sensations and impulses produce feelings, desires and thoughts. Continuous thoughts, feelings and desires constitute conscious mind. Mind, whether conscious or super-conscious, 66 HEREDITY. Mind is not Soul. The Brain objective or subjective, is not soul, but a product of vibration. It is a function of the soul, an operation, a process ; but not an entity, not an in- dividuality, as is the soul. Mind, soul and body bear much the same relations to one another as do the message, the electric current and the wire. The wire is the medium (body), the elec- tric current is the resident force (soul), the mes- sage is the product of the vibrations (mind). As long as the soul is resident in the body its manifestation as conscious mind is determined en- i nc erain tirely by the functional power of the several brain centers. In other words, objective mind or con- sciousness, as we experience it, is dependent upon the cerebration. It varies in strength and char- acter with the functional activity of the brain. The destruction of a brain area completely ob- literates its function; i. e., the faculty of mind it manifested. The relation between the objective and sub- jective minds is most intimate. They are in a sense only two expressions of the I, the inner and the outer manifestations of the ego. The object- ive mind, while always limited by the functional power of the brain, is none the less the expression of the soul, for when the soul is absent there is no mentation. No amount of gray matter, unless it be animated by a resident life, can produce a conscious thought. The materialist who attempts to explain mind as a "secretion of the brain" has mistaken an ef- fect for a cause, a process for a force, a physical change for a resident life. The phenomena of the objective mind can no more be produced bj- Relation of the Objective and Subjective Minds, PSYCHOLOGY. 67 the combustion of gray matter in a brain, in the absence of a soul, than heat can be produced by a convex lens in the absence of light. On the other 5 fay M ^ tte ' .- , -. . °, . , , L Cannot Produce hand, objective consciousness, being dependent a Thought. upon cerebration, all our thoughts, powers of per- ception, feelings and sensations are determined by the strength and functional activity of the several areas of the brain. The objective mind is the instructor of the sub- jective mind; while the subjective, in a sense, inspires the objective. The objective mind through its external organs, the five senses, con- Modus Operandi „ . . fe . - . . of Mind, tmually receives impressions from the external world and transfers them to the subjective mind, where they become registered upon the super-con- scious ego. Mental images and thought forms resident in the subjective mind, whether placed there by objective perception or subjective in- tuition, continually pass to the objective mind and become conscious thoughts or memories. New incoming impressions continually excite the resi- Vibrations dent thought forms, and, to a greater or less ex- Objective and tent, change the psychic self. Thus the ego is^". b ^ ctive continually being modified by impressions from without. The phenomena of thinking, or conscious men- tation, is not easily analyzed. It consists mainly in taking cognizance of objective and subjective impressions and adjusting them to old thought forms, plus the recollection, readjustment and re- construction of resident images, feelings, thoughts and sentiments. To illustrate, while passing down the street recently, I noticed a photograph of Niagara Falls. This miniature picture imme- 68 HEREDITY. diately recalled my first visit to the great cataract, the impression it made upon me, the friends with