Tuesday 1 July 2008

Genealogical wisdom from Perth

A genealogical thought written by my five times great uncle, Dr. William Henderson of Perth, and published after his death in 1870 in his book "Byegone Days; or, Sketches Illustrative of the Manners and Customs of the Scottish Peasantry Seventy Years Ago" (by an Octogenerian):

"In my estimation, a long line of ancestry entitles no man to trample on his brother, nor does a high sounding title give its possessor a right to wound the heart, which vibrates with the finer feelings of a common humanity, merely because accident has cast his lot in an elevated station of life, which he degrades by his vices, and in doing so prostrates the gifts of Providence, and makes them the means of wounding the peace and ruining the prospects of thousands, who though below him in station are nevertheless immeasurably raised above him in talent, in virtue, and proper feeling. Whether in prince or in peasant a genuine heart elicits from me the response of a brother."

I could not have put it better myself...!

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

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