Bibliographical Notices. 55 



an endeavour to trace back the past phaenomena of human existence, 

 and to derive from this the laws which will regulate its future 

 progress. 



The natural history of the human race, or Ethnology, taking rank 

 as it now does from its method among the inductive sciences, has . 

 grown up rapidly in recent years, and now claims a place, which must 

 be assigned to it, at the head of those studies which deal with the 

 external phaenomena of the world we live in, in virtue of its subject, 

 the last and highest product of creation. Those who would know 

 how it has arrived at its present position will find a clear and brief 

 history of the growth of this science in the first of the two books 

 mentioned at the head of our notice. * Man and his Migrations* 

 forms a compendious introduction to ethnology, which will be hailed 

 with exceeding satisfaction by neophytes ; and by the terse, nervous 

 exposition of principles, and the pregnant suggestions of paths to be 

 opened and problems to be solved, is calculated to exercise no little 

 influence upon students reading with knowledge. In the first 

 three chapters are given the history, definition and method of the 

 science, treated in an eminently philosophical and logical manner ; 

 the three succeeding chapters contain an outline of the distribution of 

 the various races, so far as is at present known or reasonably sup- 

 posed ; so that in the brief compass of this little volume are traced 

 all the principal features of the science ; a sketch, it is true, but this 

 marked with such decision as to convey to the thinking reader a 

 clearer and more complete impression than could have been expressed 

 in a more diffuse and finished style within the space of half a dozen 

 such volumes. 



There is one point to which we may perhaps advert here, though one 

 of little importance practically speaking. This occurs in the definition 

 of the science. Dr. Latham draws a distinct line between a so-called 

 science of anthropology and ethnology proper, illustrating the differ- 

 ence between them by several striking examples ; but it seems to us 

 that the anthropology, which is confined, as Dr. Latham would confine 

 it, to the study of the natural history of man as compared with the 

 lower animals (while ethnology treats of the characteristics of his 

 varieties) is in fact a part of zoology, and not scientifically to be 

 separated from it. We can only understand anthropology as a sub- 

 stantive science when it is built upon both psychology and physiology. 

 In a word, we demur to the separation of anthropology and ethnology, 

 as given by Dr. Latham, since the natural history of the varieties 

 of a species (ethnology) is strictly speaking only the complete natural 

 history of the species (anthropology). 



Leaving this question of words, we have only space to say, that the 

 second work is a development of the subject-matter of the latter 

 chapters of * Man and his Migrations,' into the details of the distri- 

 bution of the races peopling Britain and its wide dependencies. In 

 this very interesting dissertation, fuller particulars are given respecting 

 the races treated of, than was possible in the limited compass of the 

 former work ; the interest attaching to these details will be more felt 

 by the professed ethnologist than by the general reader, from the 



