38 



The Journal of Heredity 



thiless, to it baloiif^s the chief credit 

 of the classic civiHzation of Europe, 

 in the sciences, art, poetry, literature, 

 and ])hilosophy, as well as the major 

 ])art of the civilization of Greece and a 

 \'ery large share in the Em])ire of 

 Rome." 



"With the fall of Constantinople 

 [1453 A. D.]. the Empire of Rome 

 jjasses finally from the scene of history, 

 and the development of civilization is 

 transferred from Mediterranean lands 

 and the Mediterranean race to the 

 North Sea and the Nordic race" — the 

 "Great Race" after which Mr. Grant's 

 book is named. 



It has been shown that the Mediter- 

 ranean race came from Asia, via North 

 Africa; that the Alpine race also came 

 from Asia, through Asia Minor and the 

 valley of the Danube. Of the three 

 races which make up practically all of 

 modern Europe, only the Nordic can 

 claim to be indigenous: although its 

 ancestors doubtless came from Asia 

 originally, it has developed its j)hysical 

 characters and its civilization in north 

 l'>urope. "It is everv^vhere character- 

 ized by certain unique specializations, 

 namely, blondness, wavy hair, blue 

 eyes, fair skin, high, narrow and 

 straight nose, which are associated 

 with great stature, and a long skull, 

 as well as with abundant head and body 

 hair." 



HOME OF THE ORIGINAL EUROPEANS 



"For the development of so marked a 

 type there is required a continental 

 area isolated and i^rotected for long 

 ages from the intrusion of other races. 

 The climatic conditions must have Ijcen 

 such as to impose a rigid elimination of 

 defectives through the agency of hard 

 winters and the necessity of industry 

 and foresight in providing the year's 

 food, clothing and shelter during the 

 short summer. Such demands on en- 

 ergy, if long continued, would i)roduce 

 a strong, virile, and self-contained 

 race which would inevitably overwhelm 

 in battle nations whose weaker elements 

 had not been jjurged by the conditions 

 of an equally severe environment. 



"An area conforming to these require- 



ments is offered by the forests and 

 plains of eastern Germany, Poland and 

 Russia. Here the race graduallv 

 evolved, and S|)read early into the 

 Scandinavian peninsula, where it is 

 now found in its greatest purity. 

 History first shows them, very dimly, 

 introducing the Sanskrit language to 

 India, pouring through the ]msses of the 

 Caucasus from the grasslands of 

 southern Russia to invade Persia, and 

 entering Greece and Italy from the 

 north. About 1000 B. C. they crossed 

 the Rhine into Gaul. They reached 

 Britain about 800 B. C." 



"The men of Nordic blood today 

 form all the population of Scandinavian 

 countries, as also a majority of the 

 Ijopulation of the British Isles, and are 

 almost pure in type in Scotland and 

 eastern and northern England. The 

 Nordic realm includes all the northern 

 third of France, with extensions into 

 the fertile southwest ; all the rich low- 

 lands of Flanders; all Holland; the 

 northern half of Germany, with exten- 

 sions up the Rhine and down the 

 Danube; and the north of Poland, and 

 of Russia. Recent calculations show- 

 that there are about 90,000,000 of 

 purely Nordic physical type in Europe, 

 out of a total poj^ulation of about 

 420,000,000. 



NORDIC THE RULING ELEMENT 



"Throughout southern Europe Nordic 

 nobility of Teutonic type everywhere 

 forms the old aristocratic and military 

 classes, or what now remains of them. 

 ... In the Europe of today the 

 amount of Nordic blood in each nation 

 is a very fair measure of its strength in 

 war and standing in civilization." 



With a few trivial exceptions, then, 

 all Europe is divided between these 

 three distinct races — the Nordic, Alpine, 

 and Mediterranean. Of course, it is 

 not to be supposed that they do not 

 overlap, or that a great amount of 

 intermixture has not taken place. The 

 settlement of North America was due 

 to Nordics and, according to Mr. 

 Grant, the early conqitistadorcs of the 

 New World represented the old Nordic 

 element of Sixain. 



