292 Human Physiology. 



the condition of either parent at the period of conception, 

 or of the mother during gestation, is very remarkable, 

 and should be universally known and heeded. A child begot- 

 ten by an intoxicated father may be insane or idiotic. Any 

 remarkable disorder, mental or physical, in either parent, may 

 show itself in the whole life of the child. In one case, where 

 the union which resulted in the birth of a child was an outrage 

 on the mother, her indignation produced such an effect upon 

 the child that it was never able to speak to the father. Many 

 children have inherited a strong repugnance to their male 

 parents. The children of mutual love are affectionate to both 

 parents. They inherit the love of father to mother and mother 

 to father a happy inheritance. They may also inherit indif- 

 ference or hatred. 



Any shock to the mother during the period of pregnancy 

 may produce very striking effects upon the child. It is re- 

 corded that in a famous siege, which ended in blowing up the 

 arsenal of the city, a large number of the children born subse- 

 quently were maimed, had their bones broken, or were rendered 

 idiotic. Mother's marks an impression upon the child of 

 something the mother longed for are common ; and tastes for 

 particular fruits or kinds of food are often impressed upon 

 children by the desires of the mother during this period. One 

 of the most unfortunate of inherited tastes is that for intoxicat- 

 ing drinks which may be given by either parent, before birth, 

 or acquired from the mother or nurse after birth. Drunken- 

 ness and sensuality are the sad inheritance of a vast multitude 

 of children, as well as exhausted nervous systems and many 

 bodily and mental diseases. 



When men and women are free to select their mates solely 

 by their instinctive and intuitional powers by the free play of 

 their attractions and repulsions, presided over by reason and 

 religion, or the sense of truth and right, the law of hereditary 

 transmission of qualities will carry the human race to its highest 



