Her] AND SYMBOLS. 147 



The Ministration of the Heavenly Bodies. 



In Arctic regions the moon and the stars alone temper the 

 darkness of the long winter's night, and all who have read the 

 story of polar voyages will recollect the thankfulness with which 

 the moonlight is welcomed. The Arab of the desert steers on 

 emergency by the light and position of the moon. Over the 

 pathless seas the moon is the navigator's friend and counsellor, 

 and places within his reach a sure means for measuring the 

 longitude and fixing the spot where the ship may be. When 

 we think of the fleets of noble vessels with their wealth of 

 merchandise, and the thousands of lives whose safety is depen- 

 dent on its teachings, we may form some estimate of the value 

 of this blessing. " Without the moon's aid," an astronomer 

 observes, " our ships, instead of fearlessly traversing the ocean 

 from pole to pole, would probably even now be incapable of 

 performing long voyages, and would content themselves with 

 exchanging commodities and intelligence between well-known 

 and neighbouring shores." BE. 



The Transmission of Hereditary Peculiarities. 



Tendencies to particular vices are inherited, and are exhibited 

 in cases where the early death of parents, or the removal of the 

 children in infancy, prevents the idea of any imitation or effect 

 of education being the cause. That the organisation of a thief\ 

 is transmitted from father to son through generations seems/ 

 tolerably certain. Gall has cited some striking examples. 

 And murder, like talent, seems occasionally to run in families. 

 Parents with an unconquerable aversion to animal food have3 

 transmitted that aversion ; and parents with the horrible pro- 

 pensity for human flesh have transmitted the propensity to 

 children brought up away from them under all social restraints. 



PH. 



Hereditary Results. 



It appears that many habits, physical as well as moral, are to 

 a remarkable extent hereditary; of this we could adduce 

 numerous instances. The hereditary tendency to certain moral 

 or immoral habits in particular persons has long been known ; 



