12 PRINCIPAL VARIETIES. 



two nations by degrees, till at last the difference between 

 them will be imperceptible. There are, however, some 

 broad lines of distinction in the same species, which it is 

 the business of the naturalist to remark, and of the phi- 

 losopher to explain. 



Linnaeus characterises mankind, with his usual brevity, 

 in masses ; each of which includes a quarter of the globe. 

 The American is described as of a reddish colour, choleric, 

 and erect ; the European as fair, ruddy, and muscular ; the 

 Asiatic as tawny, grave, and rigid ; the African as black, 

 phlegmatic, and relaxed. This description, however, ap- 

 pears much too general, and is too indefinite for applica- 

 tion to all cases. 



Another ingenious author *, with a more discriminating 

 observation, though perhaps too particular to be accurate, 

 has made use of the following remarks, with regard to the 

 variation in colour : " Encircle," says he, " the earth in 

 every zone ; and, after making a few allowances, you will 

 see every zone marked by its distinct and characteristic 

 colour. The black prevails under the equator; under the 

 tropics, the dark copper ; and, on this side of the tropic 

 of Cancer, to the seventieth degree of north latitude, 

 you successively discern the olive, the brown, the fair, 

 and the sanguine complexion. Of each of these, there 

 are several tints, or shades. Under the arctic circle, you 

 come again to the dark hue. This general uniformity in 

 the effect, indicates an influence in the climate, that, under 

 the same circumstances, will always operate in the same 

 manner. The apparent deviations from the law of climate, 

 that exist in different regions of the globe, will be found 

 to confirm the general truth." 



It cannot be denied that this is in general philosophically 

 just, as far as colour only is concerned ; but complexion, 

 though the most marked, is the least essential trait in the 

 varieties of the human species. The lineaments of the 

 face, the general conformation, the stature, and the phy- 

 sical and moral character, are the most interesting features, 

 * Smith. 



