PRIMEVAL MAN. 



.has undertaken to refute. His conclusion is, 

 that the " primitive condition of mankind was 

 one of utter barbarism ; '* that from this con- 

 dition certain races have independently raised 

 themselves ; and, of course, that, instead of 

 existing savages being the degenerate descen- 

 dants of ancestors who were more advanced, 

 all races now civilized are the children of 

 men who were once in the same low con- 

 dition. A further conclusion, though not 

 formally asserted, is plainly indicated, viz. this, 

 — that the ''utter barbarism" of the first man 

 was itself an advance on the condition of 

 some progenitor. I infer that this idea is 

 intended to be conveyed when the " first 

 men" are explained to mean the "first beings 

 worthy to be so called." 



