1846-47-] OBSERVATION ON THE NEGROES. 293 



ralist was his contact with a large population of negroes. 

 With his power of comparing zoological characters, it 

 was impossible for him to consider the black man as a 

 species identical with the white man. To one who 

 considered not only the species, but even the genus, as 

 natural divisions, whatever the system of classification 

 adopted, the conclusion was irresistible. 



One of his last lectures, just before leaving Neuchatel, 

 was on the geographical distribution of animals (" Notice 

 sur la geographic des animaux," "Revue Suisse," avril, 

 1845), m which he had insisted that every animal and 

 plant is confined to a certain portion of the earth, 

 while man is the only one which covers the whole 

 surface. As he says, " L'homme, malgre la diversite 

 de ses races, constitue une seule et meme espece sur 

 toute la surface du globe." It was hard for him to 

 abandon this view ; but he was too thorough a natu- 

 ralist, and had a too exalted idea of the immutability 

 of species, like his master, Cuvier, to believe in only 

 races for man. After his first visit to South Carolina, 

 species, in his eyes, existed for man as well as for every 

 other genus. That is to say that the genus Jwnw is 

 composed of several species; for instance, the Caucasian 

 or white man is one species, with many varieties or 

 races, such as the Arabs, Indians, Turks, Scandinavians, 

 Irish, Slavic, Greeks, Italians, etc. The negro is an- 

 other species with many races or varieties, such as the 

 Hottentots, the Soudans, the Congos, the Zambesi, 

 etc. But it would be erroneous to conclude, from his 

 opinion as a naturalist, that he was in favour of slavery. 

 This was an abyss which he never crossed. The pas- 



