360 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. II., No. 32. 



the stellar -n-orld, as Humboldt gazed upon all cre- 

 ated things as elements of the universal cosmos, as 

 Darwin first conceived the consanguinity of all liv- 

 ing beings and their mutual help or harm, so the an- 

 thropologist seeks to unite all that can be known 

 respecting man into a comprehensive science, and to 

 study the innumerable correlations which bind the 

 most incongruous actions and thoughts together in 

 harmony. 



May we gain help, in solving questions of human 

 origin, by carefully observing the evolution of the 

 embryo ? 



Does a knowledge of the life history of the indi- 

 vidual furnish a clew to the life history of the species ? 



What does a comparison of the anatomy of man 

 with that of the quadrumana say respecting the gene- 

 alogy of the species ? 



What are the proper methods and instruments of 

 anthropometry, — observing the growth of children, 

 the dimensions, angles, and curves of the cranium, 

 the diversity and size of the brain according to age 

 and sex and race, the weight of the body, the color of 

 the skin, hair, and eyes, the muscular movements, the 

 development of faculties, longevity, fecundity, plas- 

 ticity under change of environment, and vigor? and 

 what are the legitimate inferences to be drawn from 

 such investigations ? 



Finally, by what devices can the multitudinous 

 correlations of structure and function in the human 

 body find expression in graphic methods? 



Another set of observers must now be brought into 

 this great laboratory. We have to deal with a group 

 of animals in which intelligence has manifested itself 

 to such a degree as to dominate all other functions. 

 Teleological ijiquiries can be no longer excluded. 

 Hitherto the application of scientiiic methods to the 

 mind has required that we should be satisfied with 

 sensuous results of thought, and forbidden us to in- 

 quire into the nature of the mind itself. Now, we are 

 met at the outset with this puzzling question: Shall 

 consciousness or introspection be admitted as an in- 

 strument of observation? 



How are we to record its dicta? and how (to bor- 

 row a term from the astronomers) shall we eliminate 

 the personal equation? 



Or, if we are not in a position to admit introspec- 

 tion among our tools of observation, can we not in- 

 vent some delicate apparatus by means of which the 

 strength of feeling and the inmost thoughts may be 

 known and measured ? 



Does the brain generate thought as the liver gen- 

 erates bile? 



What can science tell us concerning the existence 

 of a human soul, non-material, and not susceptible 

 of measurement by the standards of well-known 

 forces ? r 



How does it come about that children inherit the 

 traits, tendencies, and faculties of their progenitors ? 



By what routes does the mind pass on its way from 

 infancy to maturity? 



Wliat use should be made of the multitudes of in- 

 quiries prosecuted with reference to the minds of 

 animals, in the study of human reason ? 



The student of anthropology frequently finds him- 

 self in sympathy with Wordsworth, singing, — 



" Our biith is but .1 sleep and .i forgettini;; 

 Tlie soul tliiit rises witb ub, our life's star, 

 IlaUi Imd elsewhere its seUing, 

 And comelh from afar." 



If, as Mr. Spencer says, that which we inherit rep- 

 resents the accumulated experiences of a thou.«aiul 

 generations, is it also possible to retain the conscious- 

 ness of those experiences? Will the sensitiveness of 

 consciousness keep pace with the growth of knowl- 

 edge, and obviate the necessity of laborious records? 

 In which case we should have mental and spiritual 

 atavism explained, and that universal sympathy felt 

 by cultivated people for those standing on the lower 

 steps of civilization. 



Now, whatever thoughts any other creature than 

 ourselves may have, and leaving out the possibility of 

 mechanical mind-reading in the future, up to this 

 time the only knowledge men h.ave gained about one 

 another's thoughts has been acquired from expression. 

 The expression of thought is language. Dr. Hoffman 

 finds language in rock paintings and carvings; Col. 

 Mallery, in gestures; Mr. Thomas, in the Maya hiero- 

 glyijhics; and the glossologists, in human utterance. 

 Happily for us, they are a clever set, and well up in 

 their craft. Let us hear some of the questions they 

 are discussing: — 



What are all the devices employed by living crea- 

 tures to express their thoughts, emotions, and voli- 

 tions ? 



Which took precedence in the origin of language, 

 signs, or vocal utterances? 



What is the explanation of the origin of language? 



What light does language throw upon the origin of 

 species ? 



Is the evolution of language a safe guide to the 

 knowledge of the unfolding of the human mind? 



By wliat lines have the forms of speech progressed ? 



How far is similarity of language an evidence of 

 consanguinity among peoples? 



Is there a genetic relationship between monosylla- 

 bism, polysynthetism, and inflection? 



What credit must be given Jo the ear, and the in- 

 vention of writing, in the conservation, and lines of 

 progress, of langu.ige? 



How sliould languages be classified ? 



Here we may leave the students of language, and 

 take a new guide. Looking over the earth, we behold 

 men divided into races or consanguineous groups, 

 filled with race prejudices, and restricted by race capa- 

 bilities. 



What are those external and anatomical cliaractei'- 

 istics which have become transmissible by inherit- 

 ance? When and how were they fixed? Are we to 

 imagine, with Dr. Kollmann, that certain race forms 

 were fixed far back in the past, just as the chemical 

 elements were made irresolvable by a former state of 

 matter ? 



Of these heritable marks, which is the best critei'ion 

 of race, — the skull, the color of the skin, the texture 

 of the hair, language, art, social organization, or 

 mythology ? or is it certain fixed correlations of these 



