THE HUMAN SPECIES. 391 



light sinewy structure, with great capacity of endur- 

 ance, a swarthy complexion, with high lengthened 

 features, black curly locks, and a brilliant dark eye, 

 full of malignant fire. Though not exempt from sub- 

 jugation, they have survived conquests, because no 

 victorious nation has ever thought the desert a posses- 

 sion worth acquiring. 



With the national convulsions the language of 

 Arabia has likewise changed. Ancient Arabic is not 

 only a dead language, but the character and alphabet 

 are equally lost, though it is supposed to have had two 

 dialects, the Hamjar and Koreish, and that certain 

 words and forms of speech in the Axumite tongue 

 of Abyssinia are remains of it. 



THE HEBREWS. 



THOUGH of all the nations of antiquity this people is 

 best known, and clearly depicted in the most authentic 

 records, the conclusions of the comment on the text 

 are by no means free from objection, respecting the as- 

 sumed geographical position of the original stem, nor 

 the inference that this people, so far as regards its 

 subsequent alliances and interunions, had the right to 

 call itself pure or unmixed. All the tribes descended 

 from Abraham and Lot were of high land descent, 

 migrating through Armenia, clearly in part of a fair 

 rufous stem, grey eyed, and auburn hair. Evidence of 

 the fact is repeatedly traced in history and in tradition. 

 The manifestation is still positively marked in many 



