yellow soil of their steppes, brightened by the saffron flowers
of the iris and tulip;—if he were placed near the solitary dens
of the Bushmen, where the leamand hungry savagecrouches
m silence, like a beast of prey, watching with fixed eyes the
birds which enter his pit-fall, or ihefinCeets and^repfcites
which chance may bring within his gra^i ;Wif he were carried
into the midst of an Australian forest, where the squalid
companions of kanguroos njay. .be, seen crawling in ^procession,
in imitation of q u a d ru p e d swo u ld 'the spectator
_ of such phenomena imagine^the different grQupes which’^e
had-surveyed t 6 be the offspring of We, f a n % ¥ and if he
were led to adopt that opinion, hew- Would he attempt to account
for the striking diversities in their aspect and manner
of existence^-
To those who have considered the subject of this-inquiry
with the greatest attention, and are well aware of all its bearings,
the task appears scarcely less difficult , to di-scoveia
solution of the problem that may satisfy all ^doubts?. It is
found to involve a number of subordinate-questions inclose
relation with subjects which have-long been the themes of eOn^
troversy among naturalists and philosophers; Among, these
are investigations belonging to physiology, ’as well as-others
of andafeent kind, comprising researches into the riatmrexof
moral and intellectual diversities^orftfioje^fmind and
character, and the perhaps, still more difficult inquiries-which
relate to the origin and formation of languages.'v. .
It will be, the principal-object of the following work tojiebi-
lect data for illustrating these subjects;, and fe e tu c id a fin g
the inquiry, whether all the races,of men, scattered over the
surface of the earth, distinguishedkas they aredfromaeach
other in structure m body, in features; and in eblou-r, and differing
in languages , and manners, are the offspring of a single
stock, or have descended respectively .from several original
families. This problem is so extensiveum its bearings, and in
many particulars so intricate and? complex, that I cari scarce-
ly-hope to discover evidence conclusive in respect to. every
part of the investigation. I shall endeavour to collect and
throw upon it all the light that can be obtained from different
sources.
j^gCTIoN I I .—Probable Considerations on one side o f the
Questionf,
That every part of the world had' originally its u autochthones,?
ordndigenaus inhabitants, adapted to the physical cir-
cumstaneesiofeacficlimate; is the conjecture which any person
who. allowed' himself to speculate uj>on the subj ect would be
>at; first inclined fo adopt. Many probable reasons suggest
.themsekvesJn-jfaVouf $ of this opinion, add it seems to afford a
ready? solution of, some most difficult questions which
the?history-of? mankind presents; fr,'.|Hence its general preva-
;j|$SB$a ajnodgi the^ ancients, though it was at variance with the
traditions of-.their mythology ; and hence' the willing reception
givbn' ,%fvthb same hypothesise by i‘many naturalists and
Speculative''waiters' ofimbderh, times.
^ lfh jsr doctrine, in. th'ei first place; , appears to account for all
Itfid^varieties in figure and-complexion which are observed in
■different natioj».« ylt explains th e »diversity of colour so re-
'^aarkable-between (fha dative races o f Africa and th e inhabitants
of Europe. It accounts for th e ;woolly appearance of
the .h a ^ n the-Negro tribes, and ferdits, flowing and glossy
fextureum the. Esquimaux, and for the peculiar features and
structure of limbs1 belonging to either race, by representing
hhe§e ■natipns’ as tribes^ of people originally distinct. The singular
physiognomy and proportions of the broad-faced
-Kalnstuksf• and » the pot-bel lied Samoiedes ;•■ i the humps and
other; ymfi-known ffdfor-riiitiesbof the Bushmen*; the hairy,
bodies jand apish, countenances of the Mallicollese, occasion
no further ]difficultytothe physiologist, .as soon as he has
determined to.,regard theta ■-x as; thef distinguishing characters
pf \ d ifferent: r a t e s t - i
■ The history of languages presents faets which are very difficult
o f explanatiWy white we maintain the opinion that all
thq families of men, and all their dialects, are derived from a
common origin. . The antiquity of some languages carries us
back to. a very , early peridd -te the -history df mankind. We
trace the Egyptian language already existing in the time of
the; Exodus, and even in th a t of the patriarch Joseph, if not
so early as the days of Abraham ; and even the dialectic difb
2