WHICH HAS THE GREATER INFLUENCE ON CHARACTER — HEREDITY OR ENVIRONMENT ?

Otago Witness, Issue 2812, 5 February 1908, Page 83

WHICH HAS THE GREATER INFLUENCE ON CHARACTER — HEREDITY OR ENVIRONMENT ?

HEREDITY.

There is an old. saying that a m *P. 9 1 first duty is to be true to ihimself. This, inward fidelity t£ the type which he represents, as well as to the particular form of his individuality is based upon his knowI ledge of himself and of the gifts and talents Ihe possesses. Mankind, according to the divine idea, exists only v as a 'variety of I peculiar persons who depend on each other ' \ by their very diversity and belong to each ! other by their very variety. In this great , realm of diversity we com© upon our first personal , inheritance, that which comes f through parents and pedigrees. The doc- | trine of heredity has in thes*- days been* established by a line of evidence which is undeniable. Every child, inherits tendencies which are none the less distinct that they are often not disclosed at once to the eye of a fond parent, ye^ must surely evolve themselves as the child's life develops. Writers on heredity nave agreed on several points which are of great interest. One is that when a child repeats a parent's features, .resemblance in disposition and character goes along with the ' physical similarity. very seldom does a boy resemble his father in feature and his mother in character. Exceptions only go to prove the rule. Again, it frequently happens tfliat the -resemblance is more to the grandparent than to the parent. The temperament and. mental qualities of a grandfather or 'grandmother have a very strong <tendenCr- to reproduce themselves in the grandchildren. In the list of famous men in. G-alton's book on (hereditary ability this is very noticeable. The law accounts largely for the strange variety of feature, of temperament, and of taste, within a family sprung from! the same two parents. One would naturally eatpect a strong family likeness to be the -unvarying result.' So it is in many instances, but ire others the most striking characteristic in the family is the variety. It is accounted for mainly by the fact that children ate the offspfing not only of two -parents, but also of four grandsparents. Confining ourselves to the parents and grandparents, we find it is probable that the characteristics, of any of the six may be presented! in the child, but more especially the features of one of the four grandparents. ' Their talents and temperaments may in the grandchild be mixed in various degrees. We may hold it to be now an established fact of science that heredity has h*d to do with the ohwractei of every one of us. ~ Environment is- an influence of. great power in moulding the young, but it is external and operates in later years. Dr M'Cosh states, in his "Psychology," that "character depends, on heredity, surroundings, and will." Certainly, if the environment influences character it is "fed not less from the springs of heredity. i Every parent knows how his responsibility for the upbringing of his children is in- ' creased by the need of watching the out- [ come of unexpected tastes or dispositions which may have come down from a long de- ! ceased ancestor. * Frequently we find that a, child who has had the best of fathers and mothers; and! whose home influence anoT en- * vironment were all that could be* desired, turn out badly as manhood .approaches'. In hundreds of cases of wrong doing the evil j is not owing to environment, , but to the inherited weakness of will of the person in question. ( The importance of heredity is seen when we consider how a man's individuality is marked out by his instincts, his temperament, and' his capacities, and how all these may be inherited. No man can make his pedigree, but every man may study it. For we are what our forefathers have made us. We look at the worlfl with their eyes; we carry to men their features. They (have transmitted to ua the brain* with which, we think, the voices with which we speak, the temperament through which we express our physical and fundamental moods. Th«y have fiTom us th*t pnyslcal constitution yrtta all its sensibilities, in which our personality appears, and by means of which we are to So our work in the world. It is notorious how the commercial iustinot has been the characteristic, of the Jews for 'centuries. The family of the Medici in Italy were for many generation* illustrious by their literary and scientific acquirements. There have been families of artists, of singers, of traders', and of soldiers, in wnonr again and again the sa.mi& striking capacities appear which withL out cUmbi: were inherited! from, the foref atheja

who possessed them. If, then, these gift* wero the property of those who went before! us, how important is it that we should know it! For then we know where our strength! lies and along what line our tastes and aptitudes are likely to develop. It is heredity, that largely decides whether, a man shall "bo brave or cowardly, cautious, or reckless, voluble or silent, hopeful or melancholy. The study of one's congenital endowment is ono which should never be overlooked or underestimated. He who' knows the characterisi tics of h-iB xace will com© to know himself in the way in which the student of anatomy] or psychology never can. Francis G-alton, in his most interesting hook, tries to prove that high reputfttiort is generally m test of high *bxlHy. Accord^ ingly he examines in. order the English judges from 1660 to 1868, then the statesmen and Premiers of the last hundred years, _ and afterwards literary men, and men of science, poets, divines, ■etc. On the whole he finds that the men. of great genius throughout the whole historical experience of mankind do not amount to more than four hundred, 08 whom a considerable number wets inter-re^ lated. He traces the 'hereditary tra-nsmk-", sion of gifts, arad he stows in a very interest-, ing' way, how a mari of genius, however long! unconscious of his- powers-, is sure on some* occasion to discover them, And in a very} short, time to make up for past arrears',' And I beli»ve> met matter in what environs 'ment a man's _ lot' may be cast, in almost! every case the inherent good or bad in him) will push' its way to the front. A man reared! in. luxury «ftnd refinement may - turn. ovM badly; as well as one reared in squalor and! poverty. Of ' course, I do not mean .to saw that environment 1 has no influence on ch«- ' rtcter, because without a' doubt it has — butf in a lesser degree. , _ \ ,' ■The- '~Utcts of heredity warn 113 that inherited tendencies, though they lie latent fop many a yeaT, may .spring up, like evil weedY in a garden, -and injure the fairest character^ Yet no man is '''compelled to let the weed* flourish in his garden. If he> will put fortli energy he m*y 'keep them down, and givt the flowers and fruits room- to grow. Here< dity does not destroy responsibility. On thr contrary, it enhances responsibility, and if greatly increases our interest in all educa< tional and spiritual work. It is a cowardly spirit that denies responsibility and excuse* one's vices by vilification c£ one's pedigree. It may be true thiat the children's teeth ari set on edge beoause> their fathers ate soui grapes. Yet what we inherit constitutes p*x{ of our probation: it jloes not determine oni destiny. The. issue of our probation ddf. pends on ourselves; it is determined by tha[ spirit in which we accept or refuse tile graca offered ' to aid us in meeting temptations And, however much the popular mind man have been foolishly alarm>ed through th« writing* >of somet novelists, everyone will fin^ it advantageous to study the problem 10* himself. It is intimately connected witty the doctrine of original sin. The word ol God affirms that a depraved nature has been* transmitted to us from the first parents o^ the race. That old theological doctrine, sup* posed by some 66 be exploded, is -now found to correspond closely to sciemtifio fact. "The? fathers ate •our' grapes, and the children's' teeth a*« set on edge." This proverb ha* got a vetry modern application in the science of to-day. ( Those who ire born to-day come into ai wonderful heritage. Past generations havqc been preparing the way, and making efiecr tive advances in art and science. Our nation! has been, accumulating materiel and mental wealth. Its accumulated experiences nave^ by the art of printing, become the perina^ nent possession of the raoe. Even though/ ,the average capacity oL men may not b« augmented yet' a wonderful social develops ment has taken place. Our forefathers toiled^ and wo inherit the products and methods of their work. They wrought hard for many] a day to give us our homes, our schools, oui? universities, and cur accelerated industrial pro* cesses. Above all, through tnuch suffering*-' they, struggled to win our political and rej" ligious privileges. To them we owe tl£ inestimable boon-- of civil lights and of r« ligious' freedom. We are "the sons of hop* because they were the sons of toil. Ever their spirits rise before us, / Our noble brothers, yet one in blaodt By bed and table they lord it o'er ul, With looks of beauty and words of gooo.

If we have come to '-understand this 'wi shall see that none of us 'stand alone: noindividual is isolated. , We are but links in' a great continuous chain of ancestry. We are part of a society and a nation. We are members of a State. We belong to a people who have a national genius of their own which is partly the creation of their ti»a* history as well as part of their original 1 endowment. That history has exercised an influence on the ,nationai character, and acoounts for the peculiarities of our national genius. It has felt the influence of the soil; of the mountains and of the valleys. I« has something of th« *ir and of the sea ia it. > We all bear in our constitution thei character of our native land; and he wha goes abroad carries with him something of the character of the old homes into the newi world, and bears on him 1 the stamp and super-f scription of his ancestry. Thus we are born, into a nation, into a . great heritage or national history, «. national tempeTament> national privilege, c as well »s into a. family, and a home. Of such a gift it is ior otuf interest to have a clear concepfipn. Man's influence does not end with ni« death, but coritinues round and round the world, like a Marconi ray, long after he ir* his mere physical state is forgotten. Shakespeare's influence is more potent to-day than, when he lived, contributing to mans manli^ ness; and, on the other hand, many are being dragged down and degraded by the spirit influences of evil men and women, who ceaseo! to be centuries ago, but who, being dead' ( yet speak. It is a mystery you say: ayej a mystery indeed, and a great reality 1 lad evil that men do lives after them ; so doe« the good, and it behoves us, therefore. daiW to meserve a clean tongue, dean hands, ana; a clean heart. Thoughts come before actions: let the fountain head be pure and the «hoW life will be pure. When we raise our hand or lift up our voice let us remember that we are sheddi»g a tiny wave light of influence that is to go on forever; that will come as « whisper to man's hearts bringing a smile oi a cloud of gloom when we long since have been gathered home to rest. — CEBES. rowing to the pressure on >ur space thfa week I K'~ compelled to hold ove>' Harry's 1 ' Silt" Environment " till nes week's ti&g>»ii»T-3 -"'