SEXUAL HYGIENE 179 



of imbecile asylums, etc., for the purpose of proving 

 that the marriage of cousins results in the production 

 of idiots, and children defective in other ways ; but the 

 results of a more careful examination of the subject 

 invalidate the views heretofore held, and it must be 

 acknowledged that when both parties are healthy, there 

 is no more liability of mental incompetency in the chil- 

 dren of cousins than in the offspring of persons more 

 remotely related. It must be added, however, that 

 there are other reasons why the marriage of cousins 

 is not to be generally recommended. Besides the fact 

 that the feeling existing between cousins is often only 

 that which is felt by brothers and sisters for each 

 other, there is the still more important fact that on 

 account of the blood relation, unions of this kind are 

 more apt than others to bring together persons having 

 similar morbid tendencies. 



4. Persons having serious congenital deformities 

 should not marry. 



The reason for this rule is obvious. Persons suffer- 

 ing with serious congenital defects, as natural blind- 

 ness, deafness, deformity of the limbs, or defective 

 development of anj^ part, will be more or less likely 

 to transmit the same deformities or deficiencies to their 

 children. There are, of course, cases of natural blind- 

 ness, as well as of disability in other respects, to which 

 this rule does not apply, the natural process of devel- 

 opment not being seriously defective. It has even been 

 observed that there is a slight tendency to the repro- 

 duction in the offspring of deformity which has been 

 artificially produced in the parents, and has existed 

 for a long time. 



Many ancient nations observe this rule. Infants 

 born cripples were strangled at birth or left to die. A 



