Searchlights on Health: The Science of EugenicsJefferis, B. G. (Benjamin Grant)
Philosophy
Searchlights on Health: The Science of Eugenics
Jefferis, B. G. (Benjamin Grant)
Eugenics; Hygiene; Marriage; Medicine, Popular; Sexual ethics
4. THE CHILD IS FATHER OF THE MAN.--The child's character is the
nucleus of the man's; all after-education is but superposition; the
form of the crystal remains the same. Thus the saying of the poet
holds true in a large degree, "The child is father of the man;" or
as Milton puts it, "The childhood shows the man, as morning shows the
day." Those impulses to conduct which last the longest and are rooted
the deepest, always have their origin near our birth. It is then that
the germs of virtues or vices, of feelings or sentiments, are first
implanted which determine the character of life.
5. NURSERIES.--Thus homes, which are nurseries of children who grow
up into men and women, will be good or bad according to the power that
governs them. Where the spirit of love and duty pervades the home,
where head and heart bear rule wisely there, where the daily life
is honest and virtuous, where the government is sensible, kind, and
loving, then may we expect from such a home an issue of healthy,
useful, and happy beings, capable as they gain the requisite strength,
of following the footsteps of their parents, of walking uprightly,
governing themselves wisely, and contributing to the welfare of those
about them.
6. IGNORANCE, COARSENESS, AND SELFISHNESS.--On the other hand, if
surrounded by ignorance, coarseness, and selfishness, they will
unconsciously assume the same character, and grow up to adult years
rude, uncultivated, and all the more dangerous to society if placed
amidst the manifold temptations of what is called civilized life.
"Give your child to be educated by a slave," said an ancient Greek
"and, instead of one slave, you will then have two."
7. MATERNAL LOVE.--Maternal love is the visible providence of our
race. Its influence is constant and universal. It begins with the
education of the human being at the outstart of life, and is prolonged
by virtue of the powerful influence which every good mother exercises
over her children through life. When launched into the world, each
to take part in its labors, anxieties, and trials, they still turn
to their mother for consolation, if not for counsel, in their time of
trouble and difficulty. The pure and good thoughts she has implanted
in their minds when children continue to grow up into good acts long
after she is dead; and when there is nothing but a memory of her left,
her children rise up and call her blessed.
8. WOMAN, ABOVE ALL OTHER EDUCATORS, educates humanly. Man is the
brain, but woman is the heart of humanity; he its judgment, she its
feeling; he its strength, she its grace, ornament and solace. Even
the understanding of the best woman seems to work mainly through
her affections. And thus, though man may direct the intellect, woman
cultivates the feelings, which mainly determine the character. While
he fills the memory, she occupies the heart. She makes us love what
he can make us only believe, and it is chiefly through her that we are
enabled to arrive at virtue.
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