The Plurality of the Human Race (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1864. Excerpt: ... THE INFLUENCE OP CLIMATE. Monogenists--starting from unity of origin as a fact, if not proved, at least accepted and unquestionable, --were necessarilyled to discover a physiological explanation of the profound differences which we find at the present day among mankind, and which would have led them, according to monogenists, from one extreme state to the other, or from a medium state to the two extremes. Now, it is necessary to remember that every question concerning influence implies a previous historic notion. We cannot establish that a modification is not produced in a body (here is humanity), except by comparing it with itself at two distinct moments of duration, more or less distant. When a monogenist admits as-an origin one uniform human race, he places a term of comparison in the past, he gives an historical date more or less definite to this uniform human species. And it is because religious cosmogonies alone dare, at the present day, to arrogate to themselves the power of making history dart back to the commencement of humanity, that we shall always be much troubled by not seeing a theological influence as the basis of monogenist ideas; now, they say, however, that they have discovered the trace of this human uniformity upon which they rely, in order to prove this great historical fact. In our own opinion, history is very far from commencing with mankind; it only goes back two or three ages before the invention of figurative language, --a more important and difficult language for man than articulated language, which was discovered long before, and at many different points. It is writing which makes the Asiatics and the lost people of Central America better than savages; and if we were asked for a specific distinction with regard to intelligence be.