EMOTIONS IN THE PRIMITIVE MAX. 335 



unaffectionate ; superstitious and grossly irreverent ; brave and cowardly, ser- 

 vile and oppressive ; obstinate, yet fickle and fond of changes ; with points of 

 honor, but without a trace of honesty in word or deed ; a lover of life, though 

 addicted to suicide ; covetous and parsimonious, yet thoughtless and improvi- 

 dent." 



With the exception of the Bechuanas, of whom even temper and 

 self-command are asserted, the like is true of the races farther south. 

 Thus, in the Damara, Galton says the feeling of revenge is very tran- 

 sient " gives way to admiration of the oppressor." Burchell de- 

 scribes the Hottentots as passing from extreme laziness to extreme 

 eagerness for action. And the emotional nature of the Bushmen is 

 summed up by Arbrousset as quick, generous, headstrong, vindictive 

 very noisy quarrels are of daily occurrence : " Father and son will 

 attempt to kill each other." Among the scattered societies of the 

 Eastern Archipelago, those formed of Malays, or in which the Malay 

 blood predominates, do not exhibit this trait. The Malagasy are said 

 to have " passions never violently excited " are not quick in resent- 

 ing injuries, but cherish the desire for revenge ; and the pure Malay 

 is described as not demonstrative. The rest, however, have the ordi- 

 nary trait. Among the Negrittos, the Papuan is "impetuous, ex- 

 citable, noisy ; " the Feejeeans have " emotions easily roused but tran- 

 sient," and " are extremely changeable in their disposition ; " the An- 

 damanese " are all frightfully passionate and revengeful ; " and Ave 

 are told of the Tasmanians that, " like all savages, they quickly 

 change from smiles to tears." Among other of the lowest races there 

 are the Fuegians, who " have hasty tempers," and " are loud and furi- 

 ous talkers ; " and the Australians, whose impulsiveness Stuart im- 

 plies by saying that the " angry Australian Jin exceeds the European 

 scold," and that a man " remarkable for haughtiness and reserve 

 sobbed long when his nephew was taken from him." Bearing in 

 mind that such non-impulsiveness as is shown by the Malays occurs in 

 a race that has reached a considerable degree of civilization, and that 

 the lowest races, as the Andamanese, Tasmanians, Fuegians, Austra- 

 lians, betray impulsiveness in a very decided manner, we may safely 

 assert it to be a trait of primitive man, possessed, probably, in a 

 greater degree than is implied by the above quotations. "What the 

 earliest character was, we may best conceive by reading the follow- 

 ing vivid description of a Bushman. Asserting his simian appear- 

 ance, Lichtenstein continues : 



" What gives the more verity to such a comparison was the vivacity of his 

 eyes, and the flexibility of his eyebrows, which he worked up and down with 

 every change of countenance. Even his nostrils and the corners of his mouth, 

 nay, his very ears, moved involuntarily, expressing his hasty transitions from 

 eager desire to watchful distrust. . . . When a piece of meat was given him, 

 and half rising he stretched out a distrustful arm to take it, he snatched it 

 hastily, and stuck it immediately into the fire, peering around with his little 



