The National tribune., 1890-12-11

that most of the historic records Of humanity
/ are occupied with accounts OF failures made IN
attempts to inoculate men with civilization, to
force upon them social, political, and religious
4 ideas which they were incapable OF receiving
| Race-makiUC Is n later phase of mau- making
/ Tho latter occurred in the same way, and
\ probably abogt thc same epoch, Is that in which
/ other unspeCializad animals such as the anchi-
/ therium, or ancestor Of the horse which was at
! FIRST partly Shetland pony and party pig, were
! converted into more distinctive shapes which
/ finally assumed existing forms.
| There are no dates IN geology. Such an eX-
preston rs million years conveys 10 the mind
/ only an indefinite idea Of great duration, and
! this bifuracton OF mammals took place many
million years ago. But the requirements Of
/ thought compel Us. as Sir william Thomson
] observes, TO fix some limit 10 time aud there
/ fore numerical statements arc made Some
conception Of gcCloE cal periods may b. arrived
4 at, however through q device suggested by
/ CTOll.
Take a strip Of paper So feet four inches long
/ and mark oil upgu ID Onc-tcnth Of an inch The
/ entire piece VIII represent a million years, the
/ 10th Of an inch a century. From the EOccue
/ to the end Of the last glacial epoch, when Qua
ternary man Is definitely known, there appears
| 10 have been time enough for the formation Of
! the human species aud the fZatiOn Of types, 50
far rs the latter can BE- regarded as persistent.
/ No Tertiary or Pleist0ccnc evidence warrants
the conclusion that what arc vaguely called
PRIMITIVE MEN nEsEHELED NioyEEYs
more than do certain peoples Of the present era.
| AZ this time the physical differences between
the highest and lowest human beings are
greater than those which separate the lowest
men from the highest apes.
/ Races as now existing will hereafter occupy
our attention. Thor special traits Of bodily
I conformation, their geographical distribution,
Z aud the manners. customs and culture by which
/ they are distinguished.
Archaeology. in ~ several departments
I should, properly speaking be Introductory 10
/ such studies; but so much OF this science Bs is
I necessary TO illustrate the several subjects dis
Cussrd may DO communicated IN connection
/ with these as they arise. IL is also necessary,
/ ia this direction, TO bear in mind that eyOlu-
tion often implies iuvOlutiOH. Or in other
words, that changes involving adaptations es-
. sential 10 continued existence are not always
for the better. Further, development is never
/ in "a linear series Of phenomena. No iniiyid-
| Uais, 10 aggregates ever for any lcugth OF time
4 exclusively advance ia one direction.
When states of culture are spoken Of as high
OF low, these expressions are used relatively,
| not absolutely. IL is always 10 be takca for
/ granted tina! such expressions aTe comparative,
. aud merely signify approach % or recession
from a standard supplied by the highest exist
/ iuE average in the people spoken Of, with others
/ whose state Of development Is generally rueog-
uizcd. Nothing is less true than the often
/ repeated aph0risn that humanity is
ESSENTIALLY UNSTABLE,
/ aud must either progress or retrogradc unless
/ il be the opinion that men are necessarily alike
! IN their dcyolOpmcntal conditions, because they
/ happen to be contemporaries aud fellOv-citi-
zcrs.
II is true that civilizations and races possess
I certain lhysiugu0mies, so 10 speak. but this is
/ all that is true. Every Effort thus far made 10
/ identify in detail their characteristic features
I either physical or mental, has signally failed
Everywhere in nature completeness OF adjust
mcnt or tie degree Of correspondence between
an organism and its environment, measures
! the degree Of life. Inherent capacity must
I obviously, limit the power OF adaptation, which,
/ in the majority OF instances, scarcely more than
/ suf!icCs 10 ensure survival. Consequently, when
fitness, rs is often tho case both iH individuals
I and aggregates, practically accomplishos hut
/ aelEprc-aTyatiOu, states Of arrested develop
\ mcnt, or permanent incapacity for progress,
I occur alike in men and nations aud races
\ Absolute inability 70 advance is theoretically
! at least impossible, aud the conditions under
which il takes place in all divisions OF tho ami
l mai kingdom are the occurrence OF oscillations
/ IN surrounding circumstances sufficiently great
1 10 ncccssitate raldiu-tmeHt. Then, as in the
]
more III survive and transmit additional Gt-
/ ness, aud a new era commences.
This law holds with respect 10 every society
] and with respect 20 all creatures WHO live or
/ have lived. Variations from an average, bodily
or mental. which tend toward elevation or
REORGANIZATION, Pcoplei the earth with its dis
/ tuctive forms and buried in her stIta those
IESUMERAnLE TRIBES
who were incapable OF change. This is not a
mere assertion, but fact whose proof is over
whclming and from which none who have
acquainted themselves with tho evidence dis
| sent.
Earth aud ocean TEEN with beings or their
| remains upon whom organic Tigidity and un-
/ adaptabilty brought destruction, with others
. sufficiently adjusted 10 have survived un-
changed during immemOral ages, aud, again,
| with countless varieties OF degraded creatures
who owe their existence 10 their degeneration
So, also, il is with man. Different as are
| geographical situations and the states which
human beings have attained, races and peoples
are amenabic TO n like law, and the contrast
among masses is not greater than that between
tie units Of which tLay arc composed. In all
cities of the world men Of the future, true
citizens Of the present period, and those prop
erly belonging 10 q remote past, jOstle each
other ia theirstreCts and call themselves fellow
countrymen. There are but few Of those con-
ventional statements which accompany com.
mon decisions uIOn human nature that sO
much of the science of man as is known does