Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1857-1858, 1858-01-04
ROCK NOTICE.

ISDIGESoUs RACES OF EARTH; or, New Chapters Of
chronological Inquiry; including Monographs special de-
partmeDts of Philology lconography, raioscOpy, Pe
onology, Pathology, solOgy, Comparative eogra-
ply and Natural History, contributed by NJ Alfred Maury
Francis Pulszsy, aud J. Aitkea Meigs, NJ D.-Wth com
muncatiOns from Prof Jos. Ledy, and Prof l. AgassE
and fresh investigation dOcume nts, and maeria by J.
c. Mott, and Geo. R. Gddon, authors of Types Of Man
kind" Philadelphia J. B. LippincOtt, Co.
The very title of this work is formidable;
Gpd not less so Qo the general reader is the
book shelf 1t is q book for the scholar, who
will without fail be interested in it, but o the
neophyte It must be a study instead of re-
creation, and the ''commOnality" of readers
in this hurrying age will pass it by entirely. II
requires too much time, too much thought and
care for the man of business, the superficial
scholar, or the desultory reader, when he is
obliged at every other line to fly frantically to
''Webster's Unabridgedn to ferret out the
proper bearing and Specification of some six
syllabled " 'oogy, -deemiug himself all the
while the injured victim of a sort of Etymolo-
gical Palaeontology! Although one is not
obliged to refer 10 Webster quite so frequently
in this Us in the COSMOS" of Humboldt, still
one cannot but think it in many portions I'M
necessarily technical, and neither can We help
wishing that we had a little less of the show
of erudilion, and good deal more of that
true scholarship which ia ever ready aud able
to simplify its teachings.
To the philosopher, the man of science, or
the student who has leisure to thread its laby
rinths Of text and reference, this work will
doubtless be welcome acquisition. It's COM
piler and principal author, the late GEO. Z.
GLIDDoN, was anan of untiring energy, OF YER
satiie talents, aud oflarge experience. La sOcle-
ty cosmopolitan, he is also said to have been
in language polyglot, and in information an
Encyclopedia. His Egyptian studies naturally
led him to become deeply interested in an
thropological research, and his Types of
Mankindn issued in 1854, contains the matur-
ed ideas, and scientific conclusions of some of
the most erudite of American sci GLARS, upon
the ''vexed questions" of human origin, d.
versity aud permanence of race. That such
mind as that Of Mr. Gddon was fully add
equate to The task of making an Interesting
book upon these mooted subjects, none can
deny, and our only regret is, that he should
do SO, while We recognise in it an evident at
tempt TO iuvalidate the authority of the
Christian Scriptures. He evidently believes,
in company with Agassiz and many other
philosophers, tina; these questions are TO
be investigated, without any reference to
the Hebraic account of the Creation, and
seems at all times TO place the Bible on
the same footing with the Veda, the
''holy books of Confucius." In the first chap
ter proper, which is "On the distribution aud
classification of tongues-their relation to the
geographical distribution of races; and on the
inductions which may be drawn from these
relations;-by NJ. Alfred Maury,"-we find at
page 81, the following, The confouneing of
the speech OF the whole earth could bat have
been the work of time, aud of time very nro-
longed; because we now know what length
ened persistency, what vitality, is the proper
ty of songuesl one peroelves in this ANTIQUE
legend" q. Q. the Biblical account of the con-.
fusion of tongues, "a remembrance of
the confusion which prevailed among tbs d.
vers peoples, aud amid the different races, who
visited Babylon tor political OF commercial
interests. All these populations nast havs