THE PATH OF EVOLUTION 



Vols., Octavo, 1773; and "Ancient Metaphysics," 

 6 Vols., Quarto, 1779) to the advocacy of the doctrine 

 that man Ls descended from the lower animals, and 

 that the Ourang-outang (under which name he 

 grouped a number of apes and the larger monkeys) 

 was really the lowest form of but nevertheless a 

 true man. This theory of the derivation of man 

 especially excited the derision of all persons. Dr. 

 Samuel Johnson, who was entertained in 1773 by 

 Monboddo at his country seat in Scotland, and who 

 shared with him the love for classical learning and 

 metaphysics, with the like indifference to mathematics 

 and the natural sciences, spoke of him as "A Scotch 

 Judge who has lately written a strange book about 

 the Origin of Language, in which he traces monkeys 

 up to men, and says that in some countries the 

 human species have tails, like other beasts." He 

 attacked Lord Monboddo's strange speculations 

 on the primitive state of human nature, saying to 

 Boswell : "Sir, it is all conjecture about a thing use- 

 less, even were it known to be true. Knowledge of 

 all kind is good ; conjecture as to things is good ; but 

 conjectures as to what it would be useless to know, 

 such as whether men went upon all-fours, is very 

 idle." (Boswell ; Johnson's " Journey to the Heb- 

 rides.' 7 ) This inchoate form of an investigation by 

 Monboddo into the descent of Man was devoid of 



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