New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-07-31
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
AMERICANISM.


plna: Porter d. Coates
DIR. Brintens essays collected in this volume
represent the work of many years, nrst taxing
form in addresses to learned societies or as COLI
tributiens to technical periodicals. rfac'icaily
the greater number of them Will ne ne" " uno
general public, and it is TO be feareu 'iliU '"o
subjects treated may not be thought very "'""o
tive Yet it is certain that there are IL" pro-
lens more deserving of investigator vi "Hi~'-
sbould interest Americans more deeply "iAh 'ue
questions connected with the past OF ohAs 0onOa-
nent the origin and character oil the races ooo"PS
ing il before Columbus the extent ana na'ule VI
their civilization, the significance OIL 'he Mo"u-
,sn,s tbev have left. and the bearing of all these
inouiries upon ethpoogy and Archaeology gen.
orally Surely it would be well that more attcn-
,ion should be paid to these studies in our col
Ieees and universities 10 the end that the uniteu
states might rear up a well-equipped school OF
indioenous explorers and that so great q natlon
sbonld be in a position TO determine American
problems itself instead of leaving their solu1ioh
IN the energy and ingenuity of European scho ars
and travellers.
DIR. Brinton has divided ties, essays into four
sections, namely: ethnologic ana arch'eoioeio,
mythology and folklore; graphic systems anu
literature; and linguistic IL is wen hno"n
that in regard to many OF ule oPoh
questions concerned, DR.. Brinton does hoO
accept the commonly received conciuslohs
and that his views are often opposed 10 ulose
of distinguished European ethnologists. philo-
onists and archaeologistS. AS he hlns'i pu''
il. in number of points. as, for example. IN
the antiquity of man upon THIS coh'ineh'' III
the specific distinction of an American race. IN
the generic similarity of its languages IN IT,
eoxnizng its mythology as often abstract anu
&bo NH character
il, graphic methods, in believing that its tribes
possessed considerable poetic feeling. IN main
tanning the absolute autocthOny Of their cult
ure-in these and in many other points referred
70 in the following pages l am at variance
with most modern anthrop0logists. The Set
Element OF these veXed questions can only DC
brought about by further research, supposing
that in regard TO many of them, anything more
than an approximation TO the truth can be leachfd
Yet it may be said that the weight OF evidence
seems inclining toward DR. Brintons side al
ready as regards some points. thus, LOT IN
stance. the Identification Of the mound-DuiIders
with the ancestors of living tribes OF Indians
appears more and more probable. Inc same
line of reasoning may perhaps eventually justify
Dr. Brinton's refusal 10 accept the general theory
as to Toltec empire, and TO confirm HIS De-
lief that the TOltecs were simply an Aztec colony
who never exercised empire. and were IN no
way superior to their contemporaries of the same
race.
That Dr. Brnton is right in his remark There
is prevailing tendency among ethnolosIsts OF 10
day to underrate the psychology of savage life
we believe, and his labors in this direction cannot
but be fruitful. No certainly has done 50 much
toward proving that the ancient Americans pos
sessed like passions and capacities with men OF
the present day; that they were susceptible 10
tender emotions that THEN psychologist life was
far fuller and more important than IS generally
believed, and that their mythology far from
being the crude and coarse superstition of mere
savages embraced many pure distractions and
subtle symb0sns, evidcncing TIE existence OF
esoteric beliefs such as have been wrongly
held TO be beyond the reach Of any bit compare
lively high civilizations. If DR.. Brlnton had
done no more than to contend for ami make
plausible showing on behalf OF this HYPOTHESIS,
his labors would have been important and salu-
tary, for the dominant materiaGsm Of tie day
IA nowhere exhibited more mischievonsy than IN
the anthropoogical views which degrade the men
of antiquity to the level of the brutcS, by IN
terpreting all their religion as fetishlsm and 10y
refusing 10 recognize in them any adumbrations
of spiritual inspiration. This error, says Dr.
Brinton, "arises partly flom our unwllingnesS
70 so beyond merely physical Investigations part
~ from judging of the ancient condition oil
tribe by that Of It's modern and degenerate repre-
sentatives. partly from inability to speak us
tongue and gain the real sense of it's expressions
partly from preconcevcd theories TO what
q savage might he expected 10 know and feel.
1t has been DR.. Brinton's effort TO show that
sentiments of a very high character 20 lie found
among rude Tribes. the inference being that they
possess4d the capacity for ethical and sentimental
culture together with Unexpectedly large share
of natural bencfcence and right feeling This IS a
particularly interesting part Of Dr. Brintons re-
searches and he has marshallcd his proofs with
skill and cogency, establishing for himself strong
position if he has rot settled the question III his
favor beyond further controversy. 1t follows from
what has been already minated that in these
essays the theory of MongOloid origin for the
North American Indian is wholly rejected. The
American, according TO Dr. Brinton, belongs rs
much TO America does the African TO Africa.
He has always been here. He is part and parcel
of the fauna of the country, and there is neither
reason nor evidence for excursions beyond the con
tnent in search of his origin. This. briefly. is the
position assumed, and it is only fair to add, de-
Tended with much boldneSs and ingenuity i'll these
essays much deeper and wider probleD-that
of the origin Of language and the question whether
the cave-man spoke at all-occupcS DR.. Brnton
in one of his lectures lingustics. AS might have
been expected from his general IDEAS, he Ge|incs
70 accept IIaecSers homo alatus" or language
less man, and holds that though the earliest means
OF oral communication must have been crude, there
is reason to believe that expression was quite IN
telgible.
The papers mythology and folklore VIII be
found highly interesting especially that reatlng to
the generality of the belief in soul, ard the con-
nection between some Of the ancient theories
on this head and the apparent daily course of the
sun. Solar myths no doubt dangerous from
the temptations they offer to modern anthropolo-
gists to manufacture easy solutions Of difficult
80.