THE LITERARY 



OF THE LINN.EAN ASSOCIATION OF PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE. 



Vol. I. JULY, 1845. No. 9. 



NUG.E ETHNOLOGICAE, NO. I. 



BY PROF. H. S. PATTERSON, M. D. OF PHILADELPHIA, PA. 



It is my desire to throw out a few occasional thoughts on the intense- 

 ly interesting subject of the Natural History of man, hoping that they 

 may prove acceptable to the readers of this Journal, and perhaps excite 

 some active mind to a fuller investigation of the topics referred to. Eth- 

 nography and the associated subjects of inquiry are among the broadest 

 and most attractive fields now open to the student. Before Bhimenbach 

 there was no -science of mankind, considered in its diversities of form, 

 feature, and color, and little has been done since his time, until of late, 

 vhen a host of able minds have devoted themselves to the subject with 

 an energy and zeal which promise speedy and ample results. Among 

 these, I would instance Morton and Prichard. Of our eminent fellow- 

 citizen, I need say little. He has built himself already a monument jser- 

 ennius cbtc^ and is pursuing his career with an industry and ability that 

 cannot fail of important consequences. Dr. Prichard, be his faults what 

 they may, has displayed an amount of erudition seldom equalled. If 

 .not always unprejudiced and clear in his views, he yet deserves all 

 praise for the labor he has bestowed in accumulating the materials from 

 which alone correct generalizations can be attained, as well as from the 

 hearty candor with which he abandons a hypothesis, however favorite, 

 when it is shown to be erroneous. The works of these writers, and 

 many others, have given to ethnological studies a prominence they nev- 

 er before enjoyed. Facilities for the study have also increased in pro- 

 portion to the accuracy of our knowledge concerning the inhabitants of 

 remote portions of the globe. The investigation of the monumental re- 

 mains of ancient peoples has thrown much light on the past history of 

 the race, and comparative philology has come in to complete the round 

 of studies which are requisite to a perfect Ethnology. There ran rare- 

 ly be found a mind competent to master so immense a sphere of inqui- 

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