359 
are yet entirely or partially self-supported, some 
swords of criticism must be devoted to this system, 
The independent means of the Universities are not only 
means for the protection of their independence, but at the 
same time are a bulwark against the attacks of an absolute 
Government, hostile toscience. In those states, however, 
where a protection against violence is provided by distinct 
legislation, and especially in those in which the people has 
a share in the Government, every other bulwark than that 
which the law offers is only antiquated trumpery ; the 
independent foundations of the Universities are no 
better than a means for the maintenance of the spirit 
of caste, and for the fostering of nepotism. In Austria 
the independent foundations of the Universities have 
-fallen a prey to the insatiability of the State trea- 
;sury.. The freedom which has so rapidly developed 
itself in Austria during the last few years, found the 
doors of ,the Universities open, and forthwith estab- 
lished herself there. Well might their noble spirit 
_be envied by those institutions which have used their 
independent means for enclosing the school and the 
church within a common wall! 
It will not require many words to prove that the state 
institution enjoys an advantageous position with respect 
to the private institution. For while, on the one hand, 
_the State can calculate on future revenues in laying out 
-money for the establishment of scientific institutions, the 
private institution must regulate itself in accordance with 
_its actual means, and can only reckon upon much narrower 
materials and temporary factors. This contrast cannot 
be illustrated in a more striking manner than by com- 
paring the palace which the Saxon Government has built 
in Leipzig for instruction in physiology, with the one or 
two rooms which University College, London, is able to 
devote to the same purpose. 
It must, however, not be forgotten that it is only recently 
that such. institutions as that at Leipzig have been estab- 
lished. There are, indeed, at the present moment, only 
three other institutions in Germany which can be com- 
' pared to it, viz., the Physiological Institute at Breslau, 
the splendid Anatomical Institute at Berlin, and the 
Pathological Institute at Vienna, all of which occupy 
separate spacious buildings. In these and other univer- 
sitics, establishments of a similar kind, and on a similar 
scale of completeness, are either projected or are now in 
course of construction. S. STRICKER 
THE EARLY HISTORY OF MANKIND 
Researches into the Early History of Mankind and the 
Development of Civilisation. By Edward B. Tylor. 
Second Edition. (London: Murray, 1870.) 
R. TYLOR has devoted himself to a branch of 
F Anthropology of which there are very few students in 
_ this country, that namely which treats of the mental develop- 
ment of man as elucidated by his arts and customs, and 
especially by his myths, his superstitions, and his lan- 
guage. More than a third of this volume is devoted to 
an elaborate account of the gesture-language used by 
deaf mutes and savages, and to picture-writing, word- 
_ Writing, and the influence of names and images, as illus- 
_ trative of various phases in the development of the 
human mind. After this we have chapters on the growth 
and decline of culture, as illustrated by the use of stone 
NATURE 
[ Sept. 1, 1870 
implements of various degrees of perfection, by,weapons, 
by modes of procuring fire, and by modifications in 
various domestic utensils. Then follow accounts of re- 
markable savage customs, such as the curing of disease 
by the extraction of foreign substances from the body 
of the patient, the prohibition of marriage with certain 
relations or namesakes, tabooing the names, and even 
avoiding the sight, of certain relations, and the extra- 
ordinary custom of the cowvade. Myths, their origin 
and geographical distribution, are then discussed; and 
these varied subjects are all treated from a twofold point 
of view, either as giving us an insight into the laws of 
the development of the human mind and the growth of 
civilisation, or as furnishing, by their similarity over 
extensive areas and in widely separated countries, an argu- 
ment for the common origin of the different races of man. 
The work is throughout carefully written, and is illus- 
trated by abundance of curious and little-known facts 
and a critical examination of their bearings. The author 
is very cautious in drawing any general conclusions, and 
when he does so carefully indicates all sources of error 
and uncertainty. The character of such a book cannot 
be fairly shown by extracts; we shall, therefore, briefly 
summarise one or two of the more interesting subjects 
and arguments. 
Many persons are, no doubt, under the impression that 
the deaf and dumb talk to each other by means of 
the finger alphabet; but the use of this pre-supposes a 
knowledge of the meaning of words and letters, which 
the deaf and dumb child can hardly be taught till in- 
telligible communication has been established with it. 
Alphabetical speech is slow and clumsy, whereas the 
deaf mute speaks to his comrades as rapidly, if not as 
precisely, as we do by means of vocal speech. He uses 
a copious and expressive language of signs, indicating 
words and ideas by means of simple motions and gestures. 
This language has the advantage of being natural and 
universal. English, French, and German children to a 
great extent understand each other, and even a North 
American Indian would be able to talk with them all, it 
being a curious fact that many of the signs used by the 
Indian tribes are identical with those of the deaf and _ 
dumb schools of Europe; and Mr. Tylor states that a 
Sandwich islander and a Chinese both made themselves 
understood in an American deaf and dumb institution. 
The “gesture language” is also connected with spoken 
language in two remarkable ways. Among low savage 
tribes there are cases in which speech has to be supple- 
mented by gesture to make it intelligible, and it is, per- 
haps, reasonable to suppose that at an earlier stage of 
civilisation the proportion of gestures to words would be 
greater than it is now. There is also an agreement in 
some fundamental idioms. In the Aryan languages 
many substantives have verbal roots descriptive of some 
of their essential attributes. “Thus, the horse is 
the zeigher; stone is what stands, is stable ; water is that 
which waves, undulates; the mcuse is the stealer ; and 
age is what goes on; the oar is what makes to go; the 
serpent is the ceefer,; and so on.” Now the deat and 
dumb who have no means of communication but by 
signs, express themselves in the same way. To them 
the bird is what /zes, the fish what swzms, the plant 
what sprouts out of the earth, &c., and the motions of 
