ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF PARIS. 391 



sion, only Avitliin the circle of lmui.au society. If MM. Alix, Rocbct, Voisiu, 

 sig'ualizecl, uuder differcut points of view, the sui)ei-ionty, uncontested as 

 it is, of man, MM. Sanson, Letourneau, Simouot, Rijujou, Gaussin, and others 

 pleaded, with not less conviction, the cause of animals. The disputation, it is 

 true, turned only on a single character, on that which henceforth will serve exclu- 

 sively as a basis for th<! conception of the human kingdom, on the religious sen- 

 timent. It imported first of all to know whether this sentiment necessarily 

 exists among all the tribes of men; whether it is si'llicieutly universal to serve 

 as the characteristic of luunanity. While ]\[]\I. Quatrefages, Pruuer-l)ey, ^Mar- 

 tin de Moussy, have no doubt of this, the opposite thesis was sustained by JMM. 

 Prat, Letourneau, Dally, Coudereau, and Lagneau. Let us not be surj)rised at 

 these divergencies of opinion, inseparable from a subject Avhich connects itself 

 uith all the UK^st arduous questions of ])sychology. l>ut let us recall with satis- 

 faction that in this interesting debate, in which everything was in play that might 

 rouse the feelings, and opinions the most contradictory found the utmost freedom 

 of expression, no germ of discord was allowed to take root. . Every one proved 

 himself capable of respecting the convictions of his neighbor, and urbanity of 

 language, the consequence of reciprocal esteem, constantly sustained tlie discus- 

 sion at the level of the serene heights of science. 



I am very far from having finished, and yet it is necessaiy that I should 

 stop. Time would fail me to complete the analysis of the labors which 

 have so fully occupied our sessions. I liavQ been obliged to pass in silence 

 many interesting facts, many important discussions. But if I have not been 

 able to accomplish all my task, let the blame fall where it is due ; by the 

 aggrandizement of the field of research, bv the multiplicity of their produc- 

 tions, my colleagues of the society have themselves rendered it impossible to 

 condense in a few pages the results which have been accomplished. Thanks 

 to their persevering eflbrts, the impulsion given to anthropological studies 

 increases from day to day ; the movement of our science becom<?s generalized, 

 and is propagated in all parts of the world. It suffices to cast a glance on the 

 first steps of the society to recognize with just satisfaction the extent of the 

 route which has been traversed in less than eight years. What has been done in 

 so short a space of time is a sure guarantee of what will be effected in the 

 future. 



