before Blumenbach entered upon the inquiry, no work
of extensive and accurate research had been written
on the comparative anatomy of human races; * nor
until he had formed his admirable collection, of
skulls, did there exist any adequate means of investigating
the most important of those diversities in
structure, which distinguish one tribe of the human
family from another.
The origin and mutual relation of human races is
a subject which had strongly excited my curiosity at
an early period; and I had made it the theme of
careful study and research, even before Blumenbach.?s
treatise came into my hands. His work was . the Only
one of great value that existed at that time on the
natural history of mankind,, and J t was not then
so generally known as it has since become. From it
I obtained however the most important aids, and I
was encouraged to pursue the investigation with
greater interest on remarking that while some Conclusions
to which I had been led differed-co-nsiderably
from the opinions of Blumenbach, the main inference
deduced by him was exactly that, the soundness of
which, as it had been strongly impressed upon my
* The comparative physiology and psychology of'different races of
men had never been made expressly the subject of inquiry, until the
publication of my work. -
own mind, I was most desirous to establish and to display
to the conviction of others. I accordingly chose
this subject for the argument of an inaugural essay
which was printed at Edinburgh in 1808. In 1813,
the same treatise was enlarged, and in a new form it
became the; first edition of the work, of which I am
now about to bring the third before the public. Each
edition has been almost entirely Written anew; every
topic comprised in it has been reconsidered, with the
advantage of such additional-information as I have been
in the intervalfiipabled to acquire^ n
^ Since the first edition of this work made its appearance
many treatises have been published on the same
subject. ^'-In.airof, these, as far as they are known to
me-r—with tfie exception of Mr. Lawrencé’s well known
Lectures, in which the able author has maintained, with
great extent of research, the unity of species in all
human races—an opposite doctrine has been upheld.
M. M. Rudolphi, Virey, Desmoulins, Colonel Bory de
St.-Vincent and others have asserted, in the most positive
manner, an original diversity of races in mankind.
Even Clfvier has admitted this conclusion, although he
had adopted a definition or criterion of species which
would have led to a different inference; and the most
celebrated scientific travellers have been impressed
with a similar persuasion, which may be traced, if I
b 2