Page images
PDF
EPUB

PART IV.

THE

PHYSICAL HISTORY OF MANKIND.

THE PHYSICAL HISTORY OF MANKIND.

INTRODUCTORY.

CHAPTER I.

ON THE OBJECTS AND INTEREST OF THE STUDY OF MAN.

[ocr errors]

As a motto to this division of our "Home Tutor we might most appropriately adopt the line of the poet

"The proper study of mankind is man."

We do not, however, wish it to be inferred that our own subject is above all others that which ought peculiarly to interest mankind. In fact, the expression of the poet is rather an assertion of what is, than what ought to be. There are many reasons why man should be, to himself, the most interesting and absorbing of all studies. Surrounded by an external creation constantly suggestive of thoughts of the beautiful, the grand, and the sublime, man yet turns his mind upon himself, and finds that it is in his own wonderful nature that he must look for the true source of the beauty and the wonder of the external world. The heavens and the earth are alike unfolded to the eye of lower beings; but they kindle no emotions in their consciousness, and add no happiness through thought to their being.

The thought and consciousness of man, his soul and understanding, have ever been to him a theme of intensest interest, and must, whilst the human race continues on the earth, occupy a first place in his regards. Setting aside the thought by which man is enabled to reason and study as a part of his nature, his relation to the rest of creation must give him a deep interest in his race. When we regard the external world with attention, we see clearly that the distinction between the material world and that of organic existences is very great. However wonderful may be the movements of the heavenly bodies, and the grand features which mark the physical geography of the surface of the earth, we instinctively feel that there are higher agencies and a more mysterious power at work in the growth and functions of the simplest plant of the field. We speak of rivers, seas, rocks, and mountains as existing, but of plants as living. We feel that there is more proof of Wisdom and Goodness in the creation of a plant than of a stone. We then pass on from plants to animals, and we observe in passing up from class to class, till we arrive at the highest, the gradual complication of their structure, the increase of their functions, the numerous new relations they sustain to the mineral and vegetable world, and we feel that animals are more wonderful structures than plants, and they accordingly take a stronger hold of our sympathies, and demand a larger part in our affections. If then we carry on our view to man, and find him embracing all that is wonderful in the creations below him, and exhibiting new and unlooked-for adaptations to his position in the world, we shall see how it is that man, as an object external to himself, becomes one of the most interesting and absorbing subjects of his own study.

Our object, however, in these papers, is not to speak of man generally, but in a particular point of view. The study of the frame of man constitutes the science of human anatomy; the functions it performs, that of physiology. The laws which regulate the exercise of his mind and feelings constitute the field of inquiry for the metaphysician; and the actions of man, as they originate in moral causes in nations and communities, constitute the science of history. But, independent of all these, we find that the relation of man to the rest of creation-the effects of physical causes upon his habits and manners-the varieties of structure and appearance which he presents on the surface of the earth-and, in fact, all that relates to his external physical character, constitute a subject of deep interest, and one that is at the present moment engrossing a greater amount of attention than it has ever before done in the history of the world. The causes of this attention are numerous and interesting, as showing what are the questions involved in this subject. To a few of these we shall allude.

In the first place, we may make the assertion that there is more than one species of man inhabiting the earth. We shall have presently to examine this question, and we refer to it here as showing the ground which our subject will take us over. The unity or multiplicity of the human species is one of great interest, and also of importance. The supposed multiplicity has been adopted as an argument against the truth of the doctrines of Christianity; and the alleged specific distinctions between the Negro and the Anglo-Saxon have been employed to justify the condition of slavery which the latter race, in America, has succeeded in forcing on the former.

The great increase in our knowledge of the races of men, through travellers and missionaries, has very much contributed to increase the interest in this subject. Travellers have also gone out prepared to make the necessary inquiries, and have had their attention directed to those points which could throw light on some of the interesting problems to be solved in the physical history of man. The spread of the missionary spirit in Great Britain, during the last fifty years, has contributed a vast mass of useful materials from all the countries which have been visited by the preachers of the Gospel. The materials thus collected have been collated, and an increased interest given to the history of tribes and races in various parts of the world. Nor should we omit to mention the increase of our colonial empire. Every day is bringing our soldiers and sailors into more close contact with people whose names, only a few years ago, were unknown among us. In the narratives of voyages, settlements, expeditions, and governorships, we have had lately constantly introduced to us new races, with new habits and languages; and thus has increased the stock of information, as well as our interest about the physical history of man.

The question of race, however, is not confined to distant parts of the world. In various parts of America we see the red, the black, and the white man living in the same communities. Although in Europe we have no large part of the population either red or black, yet we have distinctive races. The Celtic Irish, the Saxon English, and the Hebrew are familiar enough to ourselves; and the distinction of Saxon, Celt, and Jew is seen as prominently on the continent of Europe. Further distinctions exist there, as we shall see, and the study of these distinctions has gained a deep interest in these days, as it is the opinion of many, who have studied these subjects gravely, that the late revolutions on the continent have been more the result

of difference of race than any other cause. On this ground, at least, we may explain some of the more striking events of the last few years, and the increased interest which has been taken in our subject.

Again, the application of the study of languages, as a means of ascertaining the relation of races, and the success which has attended these researches, have contributed much to increase the interest taken in the physical history of man, as well as to direct towards this subject the minds of a number of intelligent men, between whose pursuits and those of the naturalist and the natural philosopher it acts as a bond of union, and a mutual ground of research.

Lastly, we may mention emigration. Large numbers of our countrymen are every year seeking homes in untried lands, and amongst different races of people, and the desire of knowing something more of the latter has prompted the perusal of works on the Natural History of Man. Besides this, another question of interest arises to the European emigrant, and that is-In what climates, and under what circumstances, can his race expect to succeed, and carry on the great objects of existence?

These are some of the circumstances which have lately tended to give an impulse to the study of the physical history of mankind, and it will be seen, from these introductory remarks, that, independent of its special interest as a study, important practical consequences result from a knowledge of the physical conditions which influence the races of men.

CHAPTER II.

THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MAN'S BODY; STRUCTURE OF HUMAN SKELETON, AS COMPARED WITH LOWER ANIMALS.

IN order to understand the nature of the influence which climate, soil, locality, and other circumstances exercise upon the external appearance and structure of man, we shall make a few general observations upon his relation to the external world. When, with the assistance of the chemist, we examine the matter of which the human body is composed, we find it to consist of the same kind of elements as those which are found in the lower animals, in plants, and in minerals. The human body obtains these particles of matter through its food. This food is mainly derived from vegetable substances. On examining plants, to ascertain how they obtain the elements of which their structure consists, we find they derive them directly from the mineral. kingdom. If we analyze a portion of human flesh, we shall discover it to consist principally of four elements-carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen. These also form the chief part of plants. Hence they have been called organic elements. In addition to these, man contains in his body several other substances. His bones contain earthy as well as animal matter. The mineral which forms part of the bones is called phosphate of lime. It is found in the waters of the ocean, and also occasionally in a crystalline form on the surface of the earth. In analyzing the blood and the soft fleshy parts of the human body, the chemist finds many other mineral constituents, and these not accidental, but constant. Amongst

« PreviousContinue »