Man, have thereby been kept in darkness, that is, out of the popular
sight, by erroneous interpretations of God’s works.
Albeit, in his last edition, Prichard evidently perceived, in the
distance, a glimmer of light dawning from the time-worn monuments
of “ Old Egypt,” destined eventually, to dispel the obfuscations with
which he had enshrouded the history of Man ; and to destroy that
darling unitary fabric on which all his energies had been expended.
Had he lived but two years longer, until the mighty discoveries of
L epsitjs were unfolded to the world, he would have realized that the
honorable occupation of his long life had been only to accumulate
facts, which, properly interpreted, shatter eveiything he had built
upon them. In the preface to vol. iii., he says :
“ If it should be found that, within the period of time to which historical testimony
extends, the distinguishing characters of human races have been constant and' undeyiating,
it would become a matter of great difficulty to reconcile this conclusion [i. e. the unity of
all mankind,] with the inferences already obtained from other considerations.”
, In other words, if hypotheses, and deductions drawn from analogies
among the lower animals, should be refuted by well-ascertained
facfe, demonstrative of the absolute independence of the primitive
types of mankind of all existing moral and physical causes, during
several thousand years, Prichard himself concedes, that every argument
heretofore adduced in support of a common origin for human
families must be abandoned.
One of the main objects of this volume is to show, that the criterion-
point, indicated by Prichard, is now actually arrived at; and that the
diversity of races must be accepted by Science as a fact, independently
of theology, and of all analogies or reasonings drawn from thè
animal kingdom.
I t will be observed that, with the exception of Morton’s, we
seldom quote works on the Matura! History of Man; and simply
for the reason, that their arguments are all based, more- or less, on
fabled analogies, which are at last proved by the monuments of Egypt
and Assyria to be worthless. The whole method of treating the
subject is herein changed. To our point of view, most that has been
written on human Maturai History becomes obsolete ; and therefore
we have not burthened our pages with citations from authors, even
the most erudite and respected, whose views we consider the present
work to have, in the main, superseded.
Such is not our course, however, where others have anticipated any
conclusion we may have attained ; and we are happy to find that
Jaequinot had previously recognized the principle which has overthrown
Prichard’s unitary scheme :
“ If the great branches of the human family have remained distinct in the lapse of ages,
with their characteristics fixed and unalterable, we are justified in regarding mankind as
divisible into distinct s p e c ie s10
Eour years ago, in our “ Biblical and Physical History of Man,” 11
we published the following remarks: —
“ If the Unity of the Races or Species of Men be assumed, there are but three suppositions
on which the diversity now seen in the white, black, and intermediate colors, can be
aooounted for, v iz .:
“ 1st. A muacle, or direct act of the Almighty, in changing one type into another!/
“ 2d. The gradual action of Physical causes, such as climate, food, mode of life/&c.
“ 3d. Congenital, or accidental varieties.
“ There being no evidence whatever in favor of the first hypothesis, w® pSss it by. The
second and third have been fhstained with signal ability-by-Dr. 'Frichard, in his Physical
History of Mankind.”
Although, even then, thoroughly convinced ourselves that the second
and third hypotheses were already refuted by facts, and. that they
would soon be generally abandoned by men of science, WA cqpfess
that we had little hope of seeing this triumph achieved so speedily ;
still less did we expect, in this matter-of-fact age, to behold a miracle',
which exists too, not in the Bible, but only in feyqrish imaginations,
assumed as a scientific solution. Certain sectarians12 of the evangelical
school are now gravely attempting, from lack of argument, to
revive the old hypothesis of a miraculous change of one race into
many at the Tower of Babel! Such notions, however, do not deserve
serious consideration, as neither religion nor science has anything to do
with unsustainable hypotheses.
The views, moreover, that we expressed in 1849, touching Physical
Causes, Congenital Varieties, &c., need no modification at the
present day; but, on the contrary, will be found amply sustained by
the progress of science, as set forth in the succeeding chapters. We
make bold to add an extract from our opinions published at that
time: —
“ Is it not strange that all the remarkable changes of type spoken of by Prichard and
others should haye occurred in remote antehistoric times, and amongst ignorant erratic
tribes ? Why is it that no instance of these remarkable changes can be pointed out which
admits of conclusive evidence ? The civilized nations of Europe have been for many centuries
sending colonies to Asia, Africa, and America; amongst Mongols, Malays, Africans,
and Indians; and why has no example occurred in any of these colonies to substantiate
the argument ? The doubtful examples of Prichard are refuted by others, which he cites
on the adverse side, of a positive nature. He gives examples of Jews, Persians, Hindoos,
Arabs, &c., who have emigrated to foreign climates* and, at the end of one thousand or
fifteen hundred years, have preserved their original types in the midst of widely different
races. | Does nature anywhere operate by such opposite and contradictory laws ?
“ A few generations in animals are sufficient to produce all the changes they usually
undergo from climate, and yet the races of men retain their leading characteristics for
ages, without approximating to aboriginal types.
“ In fact, so unsatisfactory is the argument based on the influence of climate to Prichard
himself, that he virtually abandons it m the following paragraph: ‘ It must be observed,’
says he, ‘ that the changes alluded to do not so often take place by alteration in the phy sical
character of a whole tribe simultaneously, as by the springing up of some new congenital
peculiarity, which is afterwards propagated, and becomes a character more or less constant
8