The nineteenth century was a time of great economic, social, and political change. The population of a modernizing Europe began demanding more freedom, which in turn propelled the ongoing discussion on the philosophy of nature. This spurred on Central European sheep breeders to debate the deepest secrets of nature: the transmission of traits from one generation to another. Scholarly questions of heredity were profoundly entwined with philosophy and politics when particular awareness of “the genetic laws of nature” claimed natural equality. The realization that the same rules of inheritance may apply to all living beings frightened both the absolutist political power and the divided society of the day. Many were not prepared to separate religious questions from novel natural phenomena. Open-minded breeders put their knowledge into practice right away to create sheep with better wool traits through inbreeding and artificial selection. This was viewed, however, as the artificial modification of nature operating against the cultural and religious norms of the day. Liberal attempts caught the attention of the secret police and, consequently, the aspirations of scholars were suppressed by political will during approximately 1820–1850.

中文翻译：

---

政治压制如何扼杀中欧绵羊育种协会在孟德尔之前对遗传研究的新生基础

十九世纪是一个巨大的经济，社会和政治变革时期。现代化的欧洲人民开始要求更多的自由，这反过来又推动了有关自然哲学的持续讨论。这促使中欧绵羊饲养员对自然界最深层的秘密进行辩论：将特征从一代传给另一代。当对“自然遗传定律”的特殊认识要求自然平等时，关于遗传的学术问题就与哲学和政治深深地纠缠在一起。相同的继承规则可能适用于所有众生的认识使专制主义者的政治权力和当今分裂的社会都感到恐惧。许多人不准备将宗教问题与新颖的自然现象区分开。胸襟开阔的饲养员立即将其知识付诸实践，以通过近交和人工选择创造出具有更好羊毛特性的绵羊。但是，这被认为是对自然的人为改造，违背了当今的文化和宗教规范。自由主义的尝试引起了秘密警察的注意，因此，在大约1820至1850年期间，政治意愿压抑了学者的志向。