Peter Stewart.
One of my cherished books is (boring title) "Your Family Tree" by David
Starr Jordan and Sarah Louise Kimball, originally published in 1929. The
genealogy contained in this book is rather "iffy", but one of the
introductions "Scientific Aspects of Genealogy" contains lots of interesting
observations.
It contains lots of fun quotes, for instance a Danish proverb "No harm to be
born in a duck yard, if laid in a swan's egg".
.....that many a man or woman is aptly termed a "chip of the old block" and
that these inborn peculiarities are very hard to eradicate.
An Arab proverb puts the matter bluntly: "Father a weed; mother a weed; do
you expect the daughter to be saffran root?"
Ancestry never gathers grapes from thorns nor figs from thistles.
The development of the individual man (and woman) is dependent on two very
distinct but cooperating factors, called by Sir Francis Galton "Nature and
Nurture" On these rest the twin sciences eugenics and euthenics.
What I am trying to say is that, I believe, if your ancestors have good
genes you benefit but if they are bad------- this applies whether your
ancestors are famous or not. I'd rather descent from unknown ancestors with
healthy genes than being proud of an ancestor who made a name for him or
herself. Borrowed feathers is so silly, but good genes is not to be sneered
at.
Best wishes
Leo van de Pas
Canberra, Australia
----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Stewart" <p_m_stewart@msn.com>
Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.medieval
To: <gen-medieval@rootsweb.com>
Sent: Friday, August 24, 2007 7:58 AM
Subject: Re: Swineherds and Trollops
"Nathaniel Taylor" <nathanieltaylor@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:nathanieltaylor-003147.14543523082007@earthlink.vsrv-sjc.supernews.net...
On Aug 22, 9:54 pm, "Peter Stewart" <p_m_stew...@msn.com> wrote:
"taf" <farme...@interfold.com> wrote in message
Its not like anyone chooses their ancestors
anyhow, so they can hardly be blamed for them.
Or credited.
Marshall liked to quote Plutarch, from his 'On the Training of Children'
in the _Moralia_: "It is indeed a desirable thing to be well-descended,
but the glory belongs to our ancestors." I suppose this has made the
rounds of all these groups several times.
I've never taken issue with Plutarch before, and probably never will
again, but I don't agree with this at all.
If it's desirable to be alive in the first place then it's desriable to be
descended. Full stop.
From whom you are descended can be no credit to anyone living or dead,
unless perhaps to a succession of midwives, or if you are the result of
in-vitro fertilisation or some other scientific advance for which
researchers and other practitioners deserve credit.
Peter Stewart
-------------------------------
To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to
GEN-MEDIEVAL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the
quotes in the subject and the body of the message