liow e v e r , i t ia c h e e r in g to k n o w t h a t t h e la b o r s o f B lumenbach,
M orton, P richard, L awrence, R et ziu s , H il s son , a n d o th e rs, h a v e
a t l e n g th r e s u l te d i n t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f a Thesaurus Ethnologicus,
c o n s is tin g o f a v a s t n u m b e r o f w e ll- a s c e r ta in e d f a c ts w a i t in g th e
a p p lic a tio n o f m o r e e ffic ie n t m e th o d s o f g e n e r a liz a tio n .
Again, the novelty of the science, the startling character of some
of its propositions, and the unfortunate errors which have been foisted
upon it by certain hasty theorizers, whose speculative zeal has outrun
the slow accumulation of facts ; and its apparent relation to a dubious
science,15 have all conspired to bring the cranioscopical department of
Human Hatural History into disrepute. But its political importance
alone outweighs these errors ; for amidst its manifold details we must
seek- for the reasons of the diversities so evident in the human family ;
the extent, permanence, and meaning of these diversities ; and the
best means of harmonizing the discrepancies in modes of thought
and action flowing therefrom. It endeavors to elucidate the societary
condition of man by appealing to a correct anatomy and physiology,
and the zoological laws based upon these. Hot a few ethnologists
have indicated its importance in their writings. Thus Coürtet de
L is l e 16 attempts — and I think successfully — to show that Political
Economy is necessarily founded upon our science. K nox17 and
E l l is 18 dwell with emphasis upon its political significance, while the
C ount de G obineau19 seeks in it the solution of those sudden and
apparently inexplicable changes which have given to European , history
so enigmatical a character. A moment’s reflection will show
that the connection here attempted to be established is a perfectly
logical one. If the acts of an individual are to a considerable extent
constitute the most valuable contribution to Ethnography that has appeared since the publication
of the Crania Ægyptiaca of Morton. The text betrays evidence of much thought,
extensive research, and critical observation of a high character, while the numerous
lithographic representations of ancient British and Roman Crania are executed in the finest
style of art.
15 The fundamental propositions of Phrenology are equally true of Cranioscopy. Of the
truth of these propositions, there can be little doubt. Comparative Anatomy, Physiology,
and Pathology, all tend to substantiate the multiple character of the structure and function
of the brain, and demonstrate that mind is not only connected with brain, but connected
with a particular portion of it. Little doubt can be entertained of the general adaptation
of the skull to its contents. Thus mind, brain, and cranium are connected. Thus far
science confirms Phrenology; but in the “ mapping-out details,” to which the followers of
Gall and Spurzheim have bo unwarrantably resorted, Phrenology is no longer a science.
16 La Science Politique fondée sur la Science de l’Homme, &c., par V. Courtet de Lisle.
Paris, 1838.
11 The Races of Men: a Fragment, by Robert Knox, M.D., &c. Amer. Edit., Philada.,
1850.
18 Irish Ethnology, Socially and Politically Considered, by Geo. Ellis. Dublin, 1852.
19 Op. cit.
the outward expressions, or functional manifestations of the organism,
and if the acts of a society are the sum total of the individual
acts of its members, then it necessarily follows, that the civil history
of a nation in great measure arises from, and is dependent upon, the
natural or physical characters of its citizens. Thus, then, paradoxical
as it may seem, the polygamy of the Orient, the cannibalism of the
South Sea Islands, the differences between the civilizations of Europe
and Asia, between the artistic powers of the negro and the “ Caucasian,”
are so many indications of the philosophical value of human
osteology.
But to the American citizen, especially, does our science recommend
itself as one worthy of all consideration, since upon American
soil, representatives from nearly all parts of the earth have been
gathering together during the last two hundred years. The peaceful
and semi-civilized Toltecan man—once the proud master of our continent,
which he busily dotted with forts and mounds, with mighty
monuments and great cities—has just been swept away by the unrelenting
hand of the longer-headed but less intellectual nomade of the
Horth—the red Indian—who, in his turn, is suffering annihilation in
the presence of, and by contact with the yet larger-headed Teuton of
Europe. 'While the lozenge-faced Eskimo of our Polar coast-line is
mysteriously fading away, under the action of influences tending to
render the extreme north an uninhabited waste,20 from the old world
a steady stream of human life, a heterogeneous exodus of various
races of men, is inundating our soil, and threatening to change our
entire political aspect by the introduction of novel physical and
intellectual elements. The Scandinavian, the German, the Selavo-
nian, and the Kelt of Southern Europe, the follower of Mahomet, and
the disciple of Confucius, the aboriginal Red Man, and the unhappy
children of Africa, have in congress assembled in the Hew World—
not brought together fortuitously, for chance has nothing to do with
the history and destiny of nations—but impelled by laws of humanitarian
progress and change, as yet improperly understood. All these
have assembled to work out the problem of human destiny on the
one hand, and the stability of our boasted republic on the other.
Let the American reader steadily contemplate this picture, and study
its details; let him give ear to some of the momentous questions
which are anxiously disturbing the peace and quietness of this congress,—
the ultimate disposition, for example, of the prognathous
man, imported by our English forefathers, and left with us, a fearful
element of discord,—the operations of the “ manifest destiny princi-
20 See The Natural History of the Human Species, &c., By Lieut. Col. „Chas. Hamilton
Smith; edited by S. Kneeland, Jr., M. D. Boston, 1851, p. 294.