XIV PREFACE. 



thropologie der Naturvolker for translation rests with the 

 Council and Publishing Committee of the Society. I 

 may briefly explain the reasons which tended to its selec- 

 tion. The question arose, " what continental work best 

 represents the present state of Anthropological Science T 

 The unanimous reply of the Council was, that no 

 modern work has so well epitomised the present state 

 of our knowledge on the subject as the first volume of 

 Professor Waltz's Anthropology of Primitive Peoples. 

 The President of the Society thus spoke in his Intro- 

 ductory Address : * 



" In selecting works to be translated, we shall be guided by a de- 

 sire to introduce books into this country, which, while being useful 

 to the student and teacher, will at the same time help to give the 

 reading public a better appreciation of the object and extent of an- 

 thropological science. The Council will not simply favour the trans- 

 lation of works, in the opinions of which they agree, but will aim at 

 introducing those works which best represent the prevailing opinions 

 respecting Anthropology on the Continent. The importation of 

 foreign ideas and modes of treating our science cannot fail to pro- 

 duce beneficial results." 



It is not necessary to insist here on the unsatisfactory 

 nature of every systematic work on Anthropology that 

 has yet been published, for the infancy of the Science of 

 Man is a sufficient explanation. It is, however, advisable 

 to have the latest authorities collected in a handy volume, 

 which may serve as a basis for future research. The per- 

 sonal opinions of an author are only of secondary value 

 in all systematic works, for the facts are not yet collected 

 so as to enable anyone to pronounce decisively on some 

 of the vexed questions of Anthropological Science. To 

 the student of the Science of Mankind this work will be 

 invaluable. Nothing can better illustrate the present con- 



* Seo "Anthropological Review," i, p. 15. 



