A Brief History of Culture

Front matter

Google to make the world's books discoverable online.

It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject

to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books

Contents

PAOB

Section 1. Grandeur of the Subject ; Sec. 2. Its Newness ; Sec. 8. Its Inexhaustibility ; Sec. 4. Draper; Sec. 5. Plan of the Book; Sec. 6. Explanations.

CHAPTER I. Sayaqism 14

Section 7. Man progressive ; Sec. 8. Civilization natural ; Sec. 9. Mosaic Account; Sec. 10. Man^s Antiquity; Sec. 11. His Tropical Origin ; Sec. 12. Primeval Savagism ; Sec. 13. The Lowest Tribes; Sec. 14. Bushmen; Sec. 16. Californians; Sec. 16. Subjection to Nature; Sec. 17. No Accumulation; Sec. 18. No. Division of Labor; Sec. 19. Polity; Sec. 20. War; Sec. 21. Religion; Sec. 22. Women; Sec. 23. Arts; Sec 24. Ornament; Sec. 25. Stimulants; Sec. 26. Esquimaux ; Sec. 27. Hawaiians ; Sec. 28. Feejeeans ; Sec. 29. Society-Islanders ; Sec. 30. Maoris; Sec. 31. Eaffres; Sec. 32. North-American Indians ; Sec. 33. Primitive Language ; Sec. 34. Agglutinative Speech ; Sec. 36. Aryan Tongues ; Sec. 36. Semitic Speech.

CHAPTER n.

Babbarism . . .' 40

Section 37. Definition ; Sec. 38. Bronze Age ; Sec. 89. Barbaric Arts; Sec. 40. Homes; Sec. 41. Polity; Sec. 42. Caste; Sec. 43. Religion ; Sec. 44. Worship ; Sec. 46. Morality ; Sec. 46. Public Monuments ; Sec. 47. Knotted Cords ; Sec. 48. Hieroglyphics; Sec. 49. Quichuans; Sec. 60. Aztecs; Sec. 61. Egypt; Sec. 52. Egyptian Priests; Sec. 63. Devout Belief; Sec. 64. Egyptian Morality ; Sec. 65. Egyptian Castes ; Sec.

2 CONTENTS.

PAGB

56. Egyptian Arts ; Sec. 67. Egyptian Chronology ; Sec. 58. Egyptian History ; Sec. 59. Babylonia ; Sec. 60. Assyria ; Sec. 61. Aryans ; Sec. 62. Brahmans ; Sec. 63. Brahmanlsm ; Sec. 64. Buddhism ; Sec. 65. Buddhist Asceticism ; Sec. 66. Persia ; Sec. 67. Zoroaster ; Sec. 68. Persian Conquests ; Sec. 69. Main Features of Barbarism ; Sec. 70. Semi-Civilization ; Sec. 71. Phoenicians; Sec. 72. Carthage; Sec. 73. Judea; Sec. 74. Judaism ; Sec. 75. China ; Sec. 76. Chinese Arts ; Sec. 77. Laws ; Sec. 78. Religion ; Sec. 79. Learning ; Sec. 80. Japan.

CHAPTER m.

Section 81. Definition ; Sec. 82. Hellas ; Sec. 83. Greek Polity ; Sec. 84. Mythology; Sec. 85. Oracles; Sec. 86. Military Training ; Sec. 87. Panhellenic Feeling ; Sec. 88. Athens ; Sec. 89. Attic Intelligence ; Sec. 90. Persian Invasion ; Sec. 91. Second Invasion; Sec. 92. Age of Pericles; Sec. 93. Athenian Decline; Sec. 94. Lacedaemon; Sec. 95. Spartan Polity ; Sec. 96. Military Spirit ; Sec. 97. Generalship ; Sec. 98. No Extensive Dominion; Sec. 99. Thebes; Sec. 100. Macedon; Sec. 101. Philosophy; Sec. 102. Science; Sec. 103. Rome; Sec. 104. Senate; Sec. 105. Conquest; Sec. 106. War; Sec. 107. Punic Wars; Sec. 108. Internal Troubles; Sec. 109. Religion; Sec. 110. Political Corruption ; Sec. 111. Civil Wars; Sec. 112. The Empire; Sec. 113. The Decline; Sec. 114. Permanent Influence ; Sec. 116. Literature and Art ; Sec. 116. Amusements; Sec. 117. Roman Law ; Sec. 118. No Inventions ; Sec. 119. Byzantine Empire.

CHAPTER IV.

Section 120. Title; Sec. 121. Christianity; Sec. 122. Doctrines; Sec. 123. Heresies; Sec. 124. Councils; Sec. 125. Greek Schism; Sec. 126. Rise of the Papacy; Sec. 127. Political Power; Sec. 128. Papal Elections ; Sec. 129. Crusades; Sec. 130. Monastic Orders; Sec. 131. Quarrels with Princes; Sec. 132. Ecclesiastical Rebellion ; Sec. 133. Teutonic Migrations; Sec. 134. Other Invaders; Sec. 135. Western Europe Teutonic; Sec. 136. New Tongues; Sec. 137. Feudalism; Sec. 138. Nobility; Sec. 139. Feudal Evils; Sec. 140. Free Cities;

CONTENTS. 3

FAGB

Sec. 141. Germany and France; Sec. 142. England; Sec. 143. The Arabs ; Sec. 144. Mohammed ; Sec. 145. Islam ; Sec. 146. Tolerance; Sec. 147. Priesthood; Sec. 148. Progress of Islam; Sec. 149. Genghis Khan and Tlmour; Sec. 150. Venice; Sec. 161. Venetian Policy; Sec. 162. Government; Sec. 153. Aristocracy ; Sec. 164. Other Italian Cities.

CHAPTER V.

The Phess Agb 165

Section 165. Its approach; Sec. 156. Mariner's Compass; Sec. 157. Gunpowder; Sec. 158. Windows and Chimneys; Sec. 159. Portuguese Navigation; Sec. 160. Printing; Sec. 161. National Conditions; Sec. 162. Important Events; Sec. 163. Useful Arts; Sec. 164. Art of War ; Sec. 165. Royal Power; Sec. 166. Military Power ; Sec. 167. Literature and Art ; Sec. 168, The Reformation; Sec. 169. Indulgences; Sec. 170. Political Influences ; Sec. 171. Religious Questions ; Sec. 172. Protestantism legalized ; Sec. 173. Witchcraft ; Sec. 174. Skepticism; Sec. 175. Calas; Sec. 176. Rose Wars; Sec. 177. English Reformation ; Sec. 178. Rebellion of 1642 ; Sec. 179. English Shipping; Sec. 180. Revolution of 1688; Sec. 181. Responsible Government; Sec. 182. English Colonies; Sec. 183. France; Sec. 184. Religious Wars; Sec. 185. Leadership and Decline ; Sec. 186. Spain; Sec. 187. Conquest of Mexico; Sec. 188. Conquest of Peru; Sec. 189. Iberian Union ; Sec. 190. Decline of Spain ; Sec. 191. Portugal ; Sec. 192. Portuguese Commerce; Sec. 193. Dutch Rivalry; Sec. 194. Dutch Republic; Sec. 195. Dutch Wealth; Sec. 196. Dutch Government ; Sec. 197. Liberal Policy ; Sec. 198.»Dutch Decline ; Sec. 199. Germany ; Sec. 200. Sweden ; Sec. 201. Poland ; Sec. 202. Russia ; Sec. 203. Turkey.

CHAPTER VI.

Secjtion 204. General Features ; Sec. 205. The Steam-Engine ; Sec. 206. Mechanical Power ; Sec. 207. The Advent of the People ; Sec. 208. Great Events ; Sec. 209. Home-Life ; Sec. 210. National Changes; Sec. 211. Cloth-Machinery; Sec. 212. Iron Production; Sec. 213. Steam-Locomotion; Sec. 214. Various Inventions ; Sec. 216. Scientific Progress ; Sec. 216.

CONTENTS.

FAaa Chemistry; Sec. 21Y. Astronomy; Sec. 218. Geology; Sec.

219. Biology; Sec. 220. Medicine; Sec. 221. Music; Sec. 222. Pictorial and Plastic Arts ; Sec. 223. Architecture ; Sec. 224. Literature ; Sec. 225. Religion ; Sec. 226. American Independence ; Sec. 22Y. Liberalism ; Sec. 228. Popular Government ; Sec. 229. Slavery; Sec. 230. Political Economy ; Sec. 231. Criminal Law ; Sec. 232. Art of War ; Sec. 233. Spirit of War; Sec. 234. American Republic; Sec. 235. American Union ; Sec. 236. Liberal Policy ; Sec. 23Y. National Growth ; Sec. 238. Shipping; Sec, 239. Gold and Silver; Sec. 240. Great Britain ; Sec. 241. Political Progress ; Sec. 242. English Literature ; Sec. 243. British Empire ; Sec. 244. France , in 1780; Sec. 245. Revolution of 1789 ; Sec. 246. Later Revolutions ; Sec. 247. French Influence ; Sec. 248. Germany ; Sec. 249. German Literature ; Sec. 250. Poland ; Sec. 251. Russia ; Sec. 252. Spain ; Sec. 253. Spanish Colonies ; Sec. 254. Latin America ; Sec. 255. Italy ; Sec. 256. Holland ; Sec. 257. Scandinavia ; Sec. 258. Portugal ; Sec. 269. Turkey ; Sec. 260. China ; Sec. 261. Japan.

CHAPTER Vn.

Section 262. No Golden Age ; Sec. 263. Civilization natural ; Sec. 264. Barbaric Tyranny; Sec. 265. Asceticism; Sec. 266. China in Culture ; Sec. 267. Pelasgian Insecurity ; Sec. 268. Civilization and Freedom; Sec. 269. Antiquity and Steam; Sec. 270. Opposition to Science and Liberty ; Sec. 271. Main Forces of Culture ; Sec. 272. Luxury not enervating ; Sec. 273. Benefits of Education ; Sec' 274. Unexpected Benefits from Science; Sec 275. Progress in Morality; Sec 276. Crimes of Government ; Sec. 277. Unity of Culture ; Sec 278. Geographical Course of Culture; Sec. 279. Euraryan Predominance; Sec. 280. National Contributions; Sec. 281. Strong Government; Sec. 282. Convulsions in Monarchies; Sec 283. The Precious Metals ; Sec 284. Increase of Population; Sec. 285. Philosophy; Sec. 286. Valuable Genius; Sec. 287. Leading Languages ; Sec. 288. The Five Ages.

APPENDIX 825

Section 289. Culture-historical Books.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CULTURE.

INTEODUCTIOK

Section 1. Grandewr of the Subject, — This book, though small, is ambitious. It is the result of long studies, undertaken with the idea that the development of our race is the grandest and most instructive of all historical subjects, and deserves the best treatment which any author can give to it. I have tried to present a comprehensive statement of the growth of humanity, an epitome of the experience of our race, explaining all the main steps by which mankind has advanced from primeval savagism to the enlightenment of our own day, with express or implied judgments on the mechanism, science, and political, social, military, ecclesiastical, moral, and philosophical systems of the different ages, races, and nations. I have done my best to compress within a few hours' reading the chief lessons of historical philosophy, to show that man is a progressive animal ; that his advancement has been constant ; that, though his speed has sometimes been checked for a brief period relatively, his career has never turned backward ; that the useful arts have made the chief epochs in history, and are the main bases of civilization ; and that progress increases in geometrical ratio with the course of time, and tends, since the beginning of the Iron Age, to greater liberty and the emancipation of human nature from the restrictions imposed upon it by barbarism.

Having sought to avoid display of erudition, complexity of detail, and pretension of style, and to present my information in a manner adapted to simple understandings, I hope that my work will be found serviceable in schools, and also valuable to general readers, while not without interest to philosophic students. The magnitude of the subject demands a book ten or twenty times as large as this, and my studies were undertaken and carried through in the intention of completing such a work ; but, when I made an examination of the material, I was impressed with the idea that the first and most urgent want is a manual prepared for the multitude, to give them a summary of the ideas that fill the mind of the student who has gone over the whole range of human progress, to popularize the history of culture, and to stimulate a taste for a higher class of historical works, not filled up with the pedigrees, whims, personal peculiarities, and adventures, of kings, commanders, and courtiers, and the petty events of cabinet intrigues, military campaigns, public festivals, and popular commotions. Besides, I believe that a good history of culture, adapted to the comprehension of the million (I trust I have not failed in my efforts to make mine such a book), may be of vast service in the cause of progress toward political, social, educational, and industrial equality — a cause which has taken wonderful hold on the intelligence and conscience of our time.

Sec. 2. Its Newness, — The subject is new, as well as important. It has never been handled before in English. Buckle's " History of Civilization in England " is an introductory philosophical disquisition, and was never completed. Guizot's " History of Civilization in France " is only a history of a few political changes which occurred in feudal times. These are the only books, accessible to the general reader, purporting to be histories of civilization, and neither deserves its title. One is not historical in character ; the other is restricted to a small part of its subject. The only comprehensive histories of culture are those of Wachsmuth (1850) and Kolb (1870), in German. Neither has been translated into English, and, while the latter has many merits, yet it has also many deficiencies, and any competent translator, undertaking to supply them, would find himself compelled to prepare a new work. Gustav Klemm has published a German work, of about thirty-five hundred pages, called " A History of Universal Culture ; " but it is a series of essays describing the customs, laws, and religions, of different tribes and nations, with no mention of historical connection between them. The most notable French book in this branch, after Guizot's, is Yoltaire's "Essai sur les Moeurs," which was the first attempt at a history of culture, and is written with much ability and learning, but is out of date.

Persons familiar with the literature of the last twenty-five years will not need to be reminded that many of our most celebrated authors have complained that our history has been studied from a low standpoint, and should be rewritten. Buckle tells us that "the important facts have been neglected, and the unimportant ones preserved." Comte says that our historical literature is " an incoherent compilation ; " and, in the opinion of John Stuart Mill, it is " antiquarian," not " philosophic." I might quote expressions to the same pui-port from others, but these are enough to prove, if any proof were necessary, that histories of culture are wanting. Whether I have succeeded, even tolerably, in supplying the want, is another question, which will, no doubt, be decided fairly by the public reception of my book.

I have a right to complain of difficulty in finding much of the information here given. Many of the fiicts which to me appeared worthy of mention, in a brief record of the progress of culture, are unnoticed in the standard histories, and had to be searched for among all kinds of rubbish in out-of-the-way places. No biographical dictionary gives the name of the inventor of the hot blast, and historians pass the introduction of the iron mould-board without notice ; and yet those two inventions have more influence on humanity than the exploits of a dozen famous generals, whose petty adventures are told in hundreds of volumes.

Sec. 3. Its InexTiaustibility, — If, however, the history of civilization had been written by many authors, it would not be exliausted ; and there would still be an opportunity to say much worthy of perusal and study. There is room for great and numerous differences of opinion in relation to the relative importance of different branches of human thought and industry. The Catholic, the Protestant, and the freethinker, the aristocrat and the democrat, the soldier and the man of peace, the political economist, the metaphysician, and' the poet, the scientist and the artist, the mechanic, the merchant, and the farmer, may each seek to prove that the ideas and labors of his class have been the chief, or among the chief, blessings of humanity in the past, and will be in the future. The issues which continue to live will be disputed with new arguments and comprehensive evidence in the histories of culture, and readers who wish to decide the contests must make themselves familiar with both sides. Each will claim that his book is the true and impartial one, and I make that claim for mine.

Sec. 4. Draper. — Our best culture-historical work in English is J. W. Draper's " Intellectual Development of Europe," though he does not claim an historical character for it. He says it was written as a completion of his work on human physiology, and to prove that the progress of Europe in civilization has not been fortuitous, but has been determined by primordial law. I, however, regard his book not only as historical, but as our most valuable historical work. Scholars could better afford to be ignorant of Grote, Gibbon, or Macaulay, than of Draper. He undertakes to trace the progress of culture from the beginning of civilization in Greece to our day, and, while he omits much which should have been inserted, inserts much which should have been omitted, and misunderstands the values of many of the influences which he discusses, he is nevertheless full of the culture-historical spirit, and he presents many important suggestions not to be found elsewhere, and clothes them in a style of rare force and elegance. Still, as his eras are all ecclesiastical, while mine are industrial, and he devotes most of his space to topics at which I glance very briefly, and his book is not, and mine is, designed for general readers, I think mine may venture into the light.

Sec. 5. Plan of the Book. — I divide culture into five ages, those of Stone, Bronze, Iron, Printing, and Steam.

In the Stone Age, men were savages, and had no accumulation of property, no division of labor, no strong national organization, no written laws, no dense population, and no edge-tools of better material than stone. In the chapter on savagism, the general social, political, and religious features of that condition are described, and then special descriptions are given of certain typical nationalities, such as the Hawaiians, New-Zealanders, North-American Indians, Kaffres, and Esquimaux.

Barbarism, the condition in which bronze weapons for war and tools for agriculture came into common use, occupies the second chapter, in which we see a considerable division of labor and accumulation of property, improved tillage, dense population, strong nationalities, large cities, durable dwellings, permanent and extensive conquests, written laws, and complex political, social, and ecclesiastical systems. The general features of barbarism, and afterward of the leading barbaric nations, including ancient Egypt, Assyria, Persia, and Hindostan, are described.

The Iron Age began about 660 b, c, and brought with it the common use of the alphabet, a refined taste in literature and art, and historical records written like those of our day, and here the connected story of culture-history begins. We know much of savagism and barbarism, but we are unable to trace the progress of man through them with information so authentic and clear as we have of later times. The Iron Age is treated in two chapters : one, on Pelasgian civilization, follows the advance of culture through ancient Greece and Home ; the other, on the Middle Era, tells how Europe was reconstructed by the Teutonic conquest, how Christianity, Mohammedanism, the feudal system, and the Italian republics, rose and established their authority.

The fifth chapter, on the Press Age, describes the period from 1450 to 1770, in which printing was the typical feature. The mariner's compass, gimpowder, chimneys, window-glass, and many other inventions previously made, now came into common use ; and great changes occurred in the arts of war and navigation, intercourse with foreign nations, the extent of civilization, and the transfer of the main centres of wealth and intelligence from the southern to the northern slopes of Europe. We now begin to trace the fortunes of many nations still existing. We see how Venice, Spain, Portugal, Holland, Sweden, and France, at various times, had the leadership in war or commerce, and how each lost her place, in most cases, by defects of government.

The sixth chapter relates the history of the Steam Age, from 1770 to 1873, with its w^onderful changes made by steam-machinery, the metallurgy of iron, cloth-machinery, the electric telegraph, the discovery and vast development of chemistry and geology, the great improvement in means of locomotion and the implements of warfare, the extension of civilization over large areas previously savage or barbarous, the rapid advances toward the combination of a large majority of mankind into one harmonious community, bound together by common interests and sympathies, and the accumulation of property and knowledge with a speed tenfold greater than in the Press, and a hundredfold greater than in the Bronze Age.

The seventh and last chapter is occupied with a review, in which the different ages are compared with one another, and culture, as a whole, is considered from various points of view. The influences that obstruct and that favor progress ; the geographical course of culturc, which since the earliest days of barbarism has moved gradually from the borders of the torrid zone in Hindostan and Egypt northward through Babylon, Nineveh, Athens, Home, Venice, and Paris, to London and Berlin ; the progress of morality over the ruins of caste, polygamy, despotic government, slavery, and other class privileges ; the predominance of Europe over the other continents ; of the Teutonic family over the other Euraryans, and of the English nations over the other Teutons, and the value of the contributions of different nationalities to culture, are among the topics considered.

Although I have used Savagism, Barbarism, Pelasgian Civilization, and the Middle Era, as headings for the first four chapters, yet my main periods are styled the Stone, Bronze, Iron, Press, and Steam Ages, the division being based throughout on industrial art, the main force of culture. It was the use of bronze that first enabled men to organize compact, barbaric communities ; it was not until they obtained iron that they reached Pelasgian civilization ; the press, the magnetic needle, and gunpowder, were the main influences in raising men to a higher condition in the Printing Age ; and steam and its wonderful mechanical and scientific companions deserve the chief credit for the great intellectual as well as industrial and commercial progress of the present time. Attributing to industry and science the first places in culture, I have given much space to information about the inventions and discoveries; while kings, conquerors, and diplomatists, are generally treated as unworthy of admiration, and, in a work so brief as this, even of notice.

The Steam Age, from 1770 to 1873 ; the Press Age, from 1450 to 1770 ; the Iron Age, from 550 b. o. to

1460 A. D. ; the period covering thousands of years preceding the Iron Age, and the general review, each occupies about one-fifth of the book.

Sec. 6. Explanations, — The only age or cultural condition which has ever been coextensive with mankind is that of stone. After the Bronze Age began, many tribes still remained in the Stone Age ; after iron came into common use in Greece, other nations had nothing better than bronze or stone, and even now communities are to be found in each of the lower conditions save that of bronze, which has entirely disappeared. It would perhaps have been better to have said the " stages " of Stone, Bronze, Iron, Press, and Steam ; but " ages " has been authorized by usage, and I accept it.

I have given no references, but in the Appendix I present a list of works which may be of interest to persons desirous of pursuing the studies here suggested.

I have doubtless made some incorrect statements, and committed some errors of judgment ; but I trust that a discriminating public will see that the work has been done carefully and honestly, and will generously overlook my mistakes, if they be relatively small and few.

CHAPTER I.

SAVAGISM.

Section 7. Man progressive, — Man, as distinguished from other zoological species, is a progressive animal. fHe has a capacity for continuous intellectual improvement as a race.^ ( '^^® prolongation of his existence implies his advance in culture. His large brain, the articulating muscles of his throat and mouth, his upright form, his grasping hand, his system of nutrition, fitting him to use both vegetable and animal food, his large lize as compared with most other animals, and the genal superiority of his physical organization, when conered together, indicate that he must accumulate exerience, invent language and tools, and establish useful j,rts, government, society, and civilization. The beginnings in every branch were rude, but the improvement, though very slow at first, has been uninterrupted. We find the remains and indications of our descent from savages in our speech, religion, morality, social customs, and political laws.

Sec. 8. Civilization natural. — Civilization is the natural product of human nature. History, historical criticism, archseology, and physical science, tell us that, within their domains, all changes proceed under invariable laws. We have seen men advancing, from a time long before historical records began, in many diflerent branches, with no impxdse or aid save that given by the human intellect, and so they must have advanced from the earliest times. The greatest modem thinkers agree with Pascal, that " the entire succession of men, through the whole course of ages, must be regarded as one man always living and incessantly learning." The individual begins his existence in the lowest possible / stage of ignorance, helplessness, and speechlessness ; and the race began in the same way — evjery thing was to be learned, every thing to be accomplished.

When the Spaniards landed in Mexico, they were received as gods by the Aztecs, who supposed that men like themselves could never have made ships and cannon. The invaders laughed at the superstition, because they had general ideas of the numerous arts and tiresome labor required in producing such things, and because they understood something of the slowness and diflBculty of the progressive steps by which men had first learned to make them. And yet, if the ignorant followers of Cortes should now return to earth, and, knowing nothing of the events of the last three centuries and a half, should see men traveling fifty miles an hour by steam, talking across continents and oceans through wires, seeing men distinctly at a distance of ten or fifteen miles by telescopes, magnifying fleas to the size of horses by microscopes, taking portraits (more accurate than those painted in months of labor by eminent masters) by merely exposing prepared paper to the light for a few moments, using rifles which can be fired a dozen times in a minute, and aimed with fatal accuracy at a distance of eight hundred yards, they would assuredly believe that unaided human ingenuity could never have acquired such dominion over the forces of Nature, and that help must have been obtained from demoniac or divine power. We should laugh at their superstitions. We know that the alphabet, the printing-press, the steam-engine, the electric telegraph, the photograph, the telescope, the spectroscope, our political freedom, our poetry, our oratory, our painting, our sculpture, our architecture, and many other glorious possessions, are exclusively human in their origin and natural in the mode of their development ; and we must attribute our culture, as a whole, to the same forces and influences. The Arabs think Englishmen are magicians because they have watches, telescopes, revolvers, and other inventions, which we know to be the products of man's ingenuity ; while many learned men have imagined that there must be something miraculous in some of the earliest steps of culture which to savages have no significance. Each sees something supernatural in that which is the farthest from him.

Sec. 9. Mosaic Account.— The statement that civilization is the necessary product of human nature may be regarded as inconsistent with the Mosaic account of creation, which was, until of late years, generally accepted as historically true ; but it is now regarded by all the ablest scientists and by many, if not most, leading Biblical critics* as a record of ancient traditions, which do not agree with each other or with trustworthy information derived from other sources, and are therefore not to be accepted. We must turn to geology, archaeology, zoology, and the study of the savages

' For the opinions of Biblical critics who think the beginning of Genesis a compilation of conflicting traditions, see ^^ The Introduction to the Study of the Holy Scriptures," by T. H. Home, twelfth edition, voL ii., p. 287 ; also, " The Holy Bible according to the Authorized Version, with an Explanatory and Critical Commentary, and a Revision of the Translation," by bishops and other clergy of the Anglican Church, vol. i., pp. 22-28 ; and, also, " Unnoticed Things of Scripture," by Rev. W. I. Kip (Episcopalian Bishop of California), p. 13.

of our own timej to obtain correct ideas of the condition of men when they first appeared on the earth.

Sec. 10. Man^8 Antiquity. — ^High geological authority tells us that man has lived on the earth at least one hundred thousand years. Since he made his first appearance, the situations of the land and sea, the flora, fauna, and climate of the world, have undergone many great changes. The ancient strata of gravel furnish proof that, when the mammoth, the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, the cave-bear, the hyena, and the tiger lived in Europe, he was there with them. A rude picture of a hairy mammoth on a piece of fossil ivory, found at Madelaine, France, in 1864, was evidently drawn by a man contemporary with the animal. A thigh of a young rhinoceros, taken from a cave near Aurillac, in France, must have been cracked when fresh by a man to get the marrow. Men inhabited the valley of the Rhone in the latter part of the glacial epoch ; they made their homes in Denmark in districts covered with fir-trees, which disappeared and were succeeded by oaks, which in turn disappeared and are now replaced by beech-trees. In California, men existed in the Post-pliocene Age, before the volcanoes of the Sierra Nevada had exhausted their activity. At New Orleans a human skeleton was found, covered by the remains of four successive cypress-forests, each of which had died out, the earliest more than fifty thousand years ago. Borings in the lower part of the valley of the Nile have shown that more than sixty feet in vertical depth of the bottom-land have been deposited by the river, and pieces of pottery brought up from that depth must have been made more than twelve thousand years ago. Some of the pile-dwellings in the lakes of Switzerland must have been built at least eight thousand years ago.

Sec. 11. Jlis Tropical Origin, — ^Man had his origin presumptively in the tropics. Ethnologists and com- I)arative anatomists tell us that the black men are the lowest in zoological order, the red men next, and the white men highest. All geologists accept the general principles that there has been a gradual progress in the forms of life — the lower preceding the higher in the order of time ; that the invertebrate preceded the vertebrate ; that the fish preceded the mammal ; that the lower mammals preceded the apes, and that the apes preceded the man. We infer that the negroes and negritoes preceded the red and white men. The negroes are indigenous in Western Africa, in and near the torrid zone ; and the negritoes in Borneo and the adjacent islands. We do not know whether all the black men came from the same original stock, nor whether the first red men were the children of black, or the first white men the ofispring of red parents. Upon these points scientists are divided. The yellow men probably had their origin in sub-tropical, and the white men in a temperate clime.