264 PROFESSOR RUDOLPH VIRCHOW 
that between the brachycephalic man of the old empire and the 
dolichocephalic and mesocephalic man of the new empire. At all 
events, the definite proof is given, that, from the beginning of the 
new empire (1,700 B.c.), no change of type worth mentioning has 
taken place. Thus the permanence of types is assured for at least 
35 centuries. 
“There is nothing improbable in assuming a certain influence of 
climate and occupation. In this there is no difference between the 
severest orthodoxy and Darwinists of purest water. Their thesis 
is the same. The one goes back to the first man, the others go 
beyond the first man to the nearest pair of beasts. That is the 
only difference. Both assume the transformation of the original 
man into various races. But the one cannot scientifically prove 
its thesis for man, nor can the others prove their thesis for the 
ape. If you ask me, Were the first men white or black? I . 
must say, I do not know. We have no proof for such a decision : 
there is no place in the world where this has been made clear. 
That, for instance, in France in the time of the Troglodytes, pure 
negroes with curly hair existed, and that from these came 
white, straight-haired men, is not provable. Besides, I cannot 
discover how and where that could have taken place. The most 
ancient objects display great diversity. It sounds very plausible 
to say that the North makes men blond. But in America, where 
similar relations obtain, it has not made men blond. Not only the 
old Germans, but also the Finns, of Mongolian origin are fair ; how 
they have become blond while the other Mongols remain black or 
very dark, is a question we cannot answer. It should not be 
forgotten that the linguistic elements stand in no correlation wit h 
the external physical appearances. On the contrary, they are to 
each other like the frontal process,* which may come out strongly 
as the only characteristic, without its followiug that all other 
characteristics correspond to this peculiar one. So one cannot say 
that behind a clear skin the same arrangement of the internal 
organs is always found. There may be great differences. 
“On this point I have, from the first appearance of Darwinism, 
endeavoured to modify the teaching of heredity. 1 recognize 
* Stirnorsatz. Frontal prominence. 
