SECT. II.] PRIMITIVE STATE OF MAN. 285 



the psychical phenomena of mankind. To attain this object, 

 we must first of all direct our attention to the primitive or 

 natural state of man from two points of view : first, whether 

 we find man, at least approximately, in a natural condition, 

 and in what condition we find him. 



As all civilization is something secondary, and is only de- 

 veloped in course of time, it is clear that the natural (uncivilized) 

 man must, wherever we find him and whatever may be 

 his qualifications, appear so dissimilar to us as regards his 

 psychical life, as to lead us to assume between him and our- 

 selves specific differences which do not exist. Again, we find 

 so great a difference in mental development between the civi- 

 lized Europeans and the so-called savages of other parts, that 

 we are inclined to attribute it to a radical natural difference. 

 The question is, whether we are justified in coming to that 

 conclusion, or whether the greatest actual differences in the 

 development of psychical life are only the result of a, fluctuating 

 difference in culture. 



The period when man first appeared on this globe, and was 

 in his actual primitive or natural state, cannot be determined. 

 For many reasons it is highly probable that a very long period 

 of time must have elapsed before the commencement of the 

 historical epoch. Some chronological calculations have been 

 deduced from geological data. The period which has elapsed 

 between the present time and that of the coal formation, has, 

 from the progressive cooling of the mean temperature of the 

 earth, been calculated from 5-9,000,000 of years. From 

 the recession of the falls of Niagara (annually from one to 

 two feet), Lyell concludes that the formation of the val- 

 ley of that river, which is more recent than the diluvial 

 formation, reaches at least 35,000 years back. Though it 

 cannot be proved that the age of man extends beyond the 

 diluvial formation, there is still less reason to consider him 

 younger, as at the diluvial period all essential conditions for 

 the existence of man were present, and since that period no 

 considerable changes have occurred on the surface of the globe. 

 It seems, therefore, that we may imagine the age of mankind 

 to reach somewhere between the rather remote limits of 35,000 

 and 9,000,000 of years. 



