LITERARY NOTICES. 



411 



edge converges upon this great human re- 

 search ; and " the proper study of mankind " 

 is now more fruitful of positive and preg- 

 nant conclusions than it has ever been be- 

 fore. The theme is itself of intrinsic mo- 

 ment to the students of nature, and is en- 

 gaging the assiduous attention of talented 

 men in all cultivated nations. From this 

 point of view alone, or as a repository of 

 facts and a lucid exposition of principles, 

 the volume has marked merit, and will do 

 excellent service simply as a popular ethno- 

 logical manual. 



But, while useful as a mere didactic dis- 

 cussion of anthropological questions, the 

 work has an interest of another kind in re- 

 lation to the special object for which it was 

 written. It is an able contribution to a seri- 

 ous modern controversy, which will bring it 

 into demand beyond the customary circle of 

 scientific and miscellaneous readers. The 

 Church has its traditional ethnology, vague- 

 ly assented to by multitudes who have never 

 inquired into the subject, but which is 

 now totally out of harmony with all the re- 

 sults of actual knowledge. It is the old 

 astronomical conflict over again, in a more 

 modern field. Knowledge still advances, 

 and stationary, dogmatic beliefs are left 

 standing as milestones to mark its progress. 

 The prevalent ecclesiastical theory of the 

 origin and history of the human race, which 

 is passively entertained by the great body 

 of orthodox believers, must be discarded or 

 squared with the results of scientific inves- 

 tigation. All fair-minded theologians will 

 recognize the significance of the crisis, and 

 welcome every efficient contribution toward 

 the settlement of the difficulty. Dr. Win- 

 chell's work is devoted to this object, and 

 it is executed with such learning and ability 

 that it must at once take rank as an author- 

 itative text-book of the subject. It is not 

 too much to say that it settles the contro- 

 versy ; and all Christian teachers, who have 

 any genuine interest in the adjustment of 

 their beliefs so that they shall harmonize 

 with scientific demonstrations, owe grati- 

 tude to the author of this work for the un- 

 tiring labor that he has bestowed upon the 

 inquiry, and the intrepid spirit in which he 

 has pursued it. 



The definite scope of Dr. Winchell's book 

 may be best obtained from his own state- 



ment. He says : " The central idea of the 

 work is human preadamitism ; all other 

 views presented are subsidiary or collateral. 

 The thesis implies that the characterization 

 of Adam, in the document which has given 

 us the name, is such that the name can not 

 be applied to the first progenitor of the hu- 

 man kind, and that all the collateral state- 

 ments either involve or permit the deriva- 

 tion of Adam from an older race. But the 

 defense of the thesis does not rest, as it 

 once did, on the purely linguistic interpre- 

 tation of the Bible. We have now the facts 

 of race-histories, and the discovered laws of 

 animal life, past and present, to summon to 

 the sanction and support of the conclusion. 

 I have not contented myself with the em- 

 ployment of the direct argument, but have 

 attempted to show that the old hypothesis 

 of the descent of the black races from Ham 

 is equally unscriptural and unscientific. Fi- 

 nally, assuming the thesis proved, I have 

 endeavored to gratify the natural and intel- 

 ligent curiosity which expresses itself in the 

 questions : Who, then, were the first men ? 

 Where did they appear, and how long since ? 

 How have the races come into existence, 

 and what has been the method of their dis- 

 persion over the earth ? These questions 

 necessarily lead us to the very borders of 

 the field of recognized facts, and even into 

 the domain of speculation ; but I hope I 

 have in most cases presented views which 

 coordinate the facts in a rational concep- 

 tion, if I have not enunciated conclusions 

 which will stand the test of future investi- 

 gation. I hope, also, that on some of these 

 themes I have presented groupings of the 

 facts and tentative generalizations which 

 will interest the strictly scientific inquirer. 

 In any event, I desire the reader to con- 

 sider that the defense of the main thesis is 

 not involved in any of the hazard of the 

 speculative suggestions brought forward in 

 the sequel." 



It is impossible here to enter into any 

 detail of the views developed in this work ; 

 but the reader will get a good idea of the 

 nature and breadth of the discussion by an 

 ennumeration of the subjects treated. Dr. 

 Winchell's chapters are: I. "Some Tradi- 

 tional Beliefs " ; II. " Biblical Language " ; 



III. " The Hamites and their Dispersion" ; 



IV. " The Semites and their Dispersion " ; V. 



