Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1847-09-11
THE FRENCH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.

suspends its ordinary duties order to award pzes to those
who have them, and also to discharge pious duty bv
listening to annual lecture from one of the permanent
Secretaries OF the Academy upon the life and the abors
some one OF Its lusrous and deceased members This year
the annual lecture was delivered by NJ FLounESs He i'm
proved he occasion TO recount to France the glory of Germa
ny he set forth the immortal labo of foreign sayan the
celebrated BLuMESBAcH This selection is not surprising
for BLuaESBAcH member of the Academy of Sciences
Being himself member of two Academies and possessing
the knowledge and talent of historian NJ Fourens saws
the Journal DIES Debats exceedingly interested his audience
and won their attention by the simple elegant recital of
life full of abors and umphs-not that Bumenbach ey
perenced any of those or ycsudes which uncertain
to thrilling narrative The long career of the author of
Anthropology passed in calm serenity and like the his
tory OF happy people, the recital of such life is destitute of
all those peculiar circumstances which excite in our minds
profound emotions.
JOHN FREDEnIcK BLuMESBAcH was born at Gotha in
lfo2 Ills taste Tor natural sciences manifested the
earliest period OF his HE We are asonshed him,
the age OF ten years, fix his close attention upon human
skeleton which object little calculated to attract the
youthful imagination We easily see that this was the
first and early manifestation Of inclination which should
control all his future life At seventeen years of age the
young Bumenbach left his family and commenced his stu
dies at the University of jena here he acquainted
with Semmerng. They spent three years together in SINH
lar studies and pursuits after which Blumenbach to
Gottngen, where he called discharge the duties of
professor In hissuaton he continued half century 1t
was during this long period that Bumenbach published his
four principal worksthe first upon the Human Species the
second upon Natural History; the third upon Physiology
and the fourth upon Comparative Anatomy All these writ
gs as NJ Fouren said, bear the character and stamp the
Psychologist.
In comparative anatomy Blumenbach ranks the creatures
that exist according the organs this is peculiarly the ply
Biological order In physiology properly called, he first
considers the cause of life this is the most elevated and
portant point of view in that science. The Of his
labors upon cold and warmbooded animals and upon
booded animals, whether ovparous vvparous, forms in
reality work comparative physiology period of the
world when even the Of that science unknown. He
has subjected the great question OF the origin of life to pro-
found Study and always in physiological view. He has
studied the fact and from the fact he has sought reach the
cause
But (says the " Desats let us turn to the great work Of
Blumenbach the creation of science the science of
Anthropoogy and upon this grave subject will permit NJ
Flourens to speak for himself
Anthopology is founded upon great thought of Button
Previous to the time Of Button studied only an
individual Button the first who studied the species
after Button came Camper Button had regarded only color
physognomy and external features These are superficial
characteristics of mankind Camper of anaomis
looked for striking characteristics. With Camper com
menced the study Of craniology He possessed face ge-
MUS, quick to seize happy view of subject and ready
to abandon it. He compared the skull of the European with
that of the negro, and the latter with that of the
tang He conceived the idea of the facial line, and
exaggerated its Importance beyond all bounds.
NJ Bumenbach has shown us how the facial line is an i'm
perfect and defective feature He has shown that
compare the whole skull the whole face He has laid
down rules for this comparison which wise and complete
he was the first to point out the division of mankind into five
races which almost universally admitted correct at the
present day. Those the European white the
Asiaic yellow, the African black the American or red
and the Malay admit it, without regret that this division
Of the races is not perfect The division of the is
this time the real and the obscure Authropulogy
and such 1t will be for long time.
The Malay race is not a simple and unique one. We still
SEEK and seek in vain for the characteristics of the Anne
can There three principal races which all 9TH
ers only varieties subaces Those the three races
Of Europe, ASIA and Africa But the grand idea which rules
and controls every where in the studies of Blumenbach the
unity OF the human Species he expresses it, the human
genus. NJ. Blumenbach is the first who has written
book with the distinct title of The Unity of the Human Genus
The unity OF the human the great result of science with
and the great result OF the entire system OF
raj history.
The ideas Of antiquity the subject of the physical man
we're most confused Pny speaks seriously of people who
nave but one legs OF people whose eyes in their should
OF people who have heads &C. In the sixteenth CEN
ury Rondeet excellent naturalist, seriously describes
lass OF marine who live in the water and who have Sill
boards and scales In the eighteenth century, Maupertu
describes the Pagonans giants of whom ideas should
correspond TO their stature 1t least apology for that
lge that Foltaire ridcues Maupertuis.
In Short the great Lnnaus put in the same family mankind
md the orang-oulang. The nocturnal man. the ogodyte
man, and the savage Of nnaus are considered as nothing
'ut the orang-outang.
To deduce science from this chaos NJ Bumenbach at first
and down three rules The first is separate every where
hat which apperans 10 the brute and that which apperans
0 man.
profound gulf, without connexion passage, separates
he human species from every other There other spe
lies that is akin to the human any genus whatever The
human race stands alone Guided by the facial line, Camper
rev resemblance between the orang outang and negro
lie regarded the form of the skull which makes apparent
but overlooked the capacity of the SKULL which
makes real difference.
In FORM the skull of the negro skull of the Eu
opean The capacity of these two skulls is precisely the
anne. But that which is far essential the BRAIN is the
ne-absoutey the And, besides, what animaes the
rain in this case The human spirit onehe mind one
spite of its the African has had its heroes NJ
3umenbach who has collected every thing which has honor
u the race, estimated belonging 10 il the most humane
md the bravest also historians and poets He had
library composed Of hooks written by negroes Our age will
zee, without doubt the fall Of odious traffic. Phianhro
~ science, true politics. have united together combat it.
humanity will also have its crusade
The second rule Of Bumenbach TO admit of any
act unless founded upon certain proofs and,
equence, all that puere, exaggerated, false
luded from science ,
The third rule Of NJ BIumenbach is the foupdaon Of ,
cence itself We limit ourselves to the comparison Of ex
But the rule Blumenbach requires us to pass
extreme to the other through all the intermediate
'arts, and through all the possible shades The extreme
ases to divide the human into distinct races-he
adua shades Of variation the intermediate links make oil
men of the same blood
So constantly Bumenl ach absorbed in these great pu
u that he seldom left Germany He found an opportunity
However, to visit England and France On this occa-
ion he Observed every thing, bat it with the eye of
naturalist This noble man, who had passed many years
medtang upon the most important questions and hcaut
u problems Of natural history entirely controlled by