240 THE DESCENT OF MAN 



of man could hardly have been inferior in any extreme degree 

 to those possessed at present by the lowest savages ; otherwise 

 primeval man could not have been so eminently successful 

 in the struggle for life, as proved by his early and wide 

 diffusion. 



Prom the fundamental differences between certain_J^n- 

 ^^guaggg;, some philologists have inferred that when man first 

 became widely diffused, he was not a speaking animal; 

 but it may be suspected that languages, far less perfect than 

 any now spoken, aided by gestures, might have been used, 

 and yet have left no traces on subsequent and more highly 

 developed tongues. Without the use of some language, 

 however imperfect, it appears doubtful whether man's in- 

 tellect could have risen to the standard implied by his 

 dominant position at an early period. 



Whether primeval man, when he possessed but few artSj 

 and those of the rudest kind, and when his power of lan- 

 guage was extremely imperfect, would have deserved to 

 be called man, must depend on the definition which we 

 employ. In a series of forms graduating insensibly from 

 some ape-like creature to man as he now exists, it would 

 be impossible to fix on any definite point when the term 

 "man" ought to be used. But this is a matter of very little 

 importance. So, again, it is almost a matter of indifference 

 whether the so-called races of man are thus designated, or 

 are ranked as species or sub-species; but the latter term 

 appears the more appropriate. Finally, we may conclude 

 that when the principle of evolution is generally accepted, 

 as it surely will be before long, the dispute between the 

 monogenists and polygenists will die a silent and unob- 

 served death. 



One other question ought not to be passed over without 

 notice, namely, whether, as is sometimes assumed, each sub- 

 species or race of man has sprung from a single pair of pro- 

 genitors. With our domestic animals a new race can readily 

 be formed by carefully matching the varying offspring from 



