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

|
were parcellso> Dt,1e period of the mar
rative, into greet lumber of dialects; and
the simultaneous employment of all these
idioins, in one and the same city, apprppriate-
~ gave it the name of City Of Confusion.
Babylon. moreover, (like It's modern successor,
Bagdad of the present day. was situate al
most at the point of partition of the two
great branches of the white race, viz the
SHEMITBs, or Syro-Arabians on the one side,
and of the yAPETIDR, or Irano- Arans on the
other. The valley of Shinar was then, there
fore, as the frontier-lne betwixt two races
who POSSESSED some traditions of common
origin; and the Biblical mythos of the 'Tow-
err had for its object explanation Of the
forgotten motives of til r- sep ration"
What do Christians who hold the Bible TO be
a sacred and veritable revelation, ''inspired by
God" himself, think of such passages as ths2
The following chapter entitled 'Iconograph
ic researches on Human Races, and their Art,
by Francis Puszky," is truly admirable and
interesting. Here we have a fund of varied
information in reference TO the Etruscans and
their Art,-fhe art of the Greeks, Rpmaus,
Americans, Hindoos, Chine-e, &c. Page 100,
| in speaking of the origin of Greek art he say
! "Pliny, 'dilettante' who complied his MAJ
! ura History i2dscrlninatey, from all the
sources acce ssible to him, preserved the charm
! ing story Of the Corinthian girl, no drew the
| outline of the shadow of her departing lovers
| face on the wall, and mentions it rs the first
artistica attempt. Her father, he continne~,
filed up the outline with clay, and baking it
| Il, Il
low we would ftin give many brief extracts
from this truly interesting dissertation.
Chapter III. ''The Cranial characteristics
of the Races of MeD,-by j. Aiken Meigs:"
aud chapter ": "Acclnation; or the conpar-
alive Influence Of climate, Endemic and Epi-
denic diseas S, on the races Of mer:-5y J.
@. Nott," are both able and highly instructive
papers, well worthy the reputation OF the
learned authors.
In the V chapter which is announced, as
'The MonOgenists, and the Polygeusts; be-
ing an exposition of the doctrines of schools
protesting to sustain dogtnaric lily the unity or
diversity of the human races; with inquiry
into the antiquity Of mankind upon earth,
viewed chrouololically, hist oricallv, and pal
8ont"logicBlly ,-by Geo. r. GlidGon," our
author ranges himself on the side of the poly
genists. In doing so he declares that he fol-
lows Humboldt, who seems at all times to be
hi-"pillar ofcloud by day, and offire by night"
We remember when Otte's translation of the
Cosmos WAS issued in 1850, to have read it ad-
mirngly, noting tow its venerable authors
opinions were at all times In cOnsonance with
the sacred Scriptures. If so, how then can
Mr. Gliddon and the German philosopher
agre3 Hear the former, page 405, ''By par
aphrasis and periphrasis, through dextrous
substitutIons of milder terms, and happy
adoption ofequvocal interpretations, Mr.. Ore
has effaced the precision of lis authors Ian
guage; obscurng thereby both Of the Hum
boldts scientific deductio so effectually, that
their suupOsitiously joint advocacy of "ill
mankind's descent from Adam ard Eve, meets
every where with the graft and applause
of wondering tbeologersi" Bur time will not
permit as to dwell longer upon this point
though we must confess We cannot appreci-
ate the ''phosophic tone" in which our au-
thor uses such terms 'myths. fiction and
pretended trGditi0n," in reference o he Scrip
lures. We must hasten, however, to the VI
and last chapter of the work, which comprises
two sections: First, on mentarl upon the
principal distinctions observable among the
various groups of humanity, (aoith tinted
photographic Ia6leau, containing 81 hunnaa
portraits;;') and, Secondly, ''On Ii geograph-
ical distribution IF the Sim 8 in relaron 10
that of some inferior type of men; (1oith a
tinted map containing 81 monkeys and hu-
70 \ c., p GltJI,,t, - Roth
of these sections afford interesting studies,
more especially the former; while we cannot
refrain from here publicly expressing our graf
itude to our author in that his polygenistie
opinions, entirely upset the development
theory" heretofore set forth by some modern
philosophers, who would have us believe that
could we trace back our ancestry to its f,un
tain-head, we should find the root of our gene
illogical tree springing from the IrOglOdytes
niger, the Cercopithecus ruber, or the Cyno
cephaEus HdmadryGsi From all such ethno'o-
gists ''anges and ministers of grace defend
usl" A ''meritorions mention" must be made
of the fine Illustrations contained in this work,
and great credit is due to the accomplished
lady of the author, from whose pencil they
emauated. During period OF 'w0 years she
was engaged upon them. beside assisting her
husband in collecting information in the pub
lie libraries of the Old World, and otherwise
forwarding, much as in her power, his ar
duous literary labors. What a never-fairg
fountain of happy retrOspection will this, her
s'labor of love" become To her now that her
gifted companion has passed f om her side
into the full realities of the ''Laud OF the
Hereafter"
For a copy of the above work we are in
deb,ed to our friend, DR.. " a. GLIDDoN, OF
Memphis, brother of the Chief author. Cop
les can be had at the Bookstore of @. ".
SMITH.
Royal Havana LOTTERY.