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The Races of Men a Philosophical Enquiry Into the Influence of Race

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The Races of Men a Philosophical Enquiry Into the Influence of Race This is a reproduction of a library book that was digitized by Google as part of an ongoing effort to preserve the information in books and make it universally accessible. https://books.google.com Q. THE RACES OF MEN. 5::unb ébit'mn, (with Supplzmmtarg lbuptus. [This edition dg'firs from the first only in the supple mentary chapters, which may be had separately.] THE RACES OF MEN: A PHILOSOPHICAL ENQUIRY Q L" ,X If) INTO THE -. ~ "D £51.“; 1“ ' 1"“ mflnfluem at 11am aim: the gestiuies nf 312111211113. \f'LZr '/ »\H & 5-1 I BY 35-» ROBERT KNOX, M.D., macrunnn 0x ANATOMY, connnsroxnmu MEMBER or ran IMPERIAL ACADEMY or MEDICINE or FRANCE, uoxonun' summm or rm; BIIINOLOGICAL socns'rr or LONDON, AND REIGN ASSOCIATE or 'rnx ANTHROPOLOGICAL socm'n' or mars, arc. mc. SECOND EDITION, WITH SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTERS. “TH! morn s'rumr or munian IS 1nx."—ron LONDON: HENRY RENSHA\V, 356, STRAND. M DCCC LXII. LONDON: SAVILL AND EDWARDS, PRINTERS, CHANDOS STREET, COVENT GARDEN. PREFACE. THE work I here present to the world has cost me much thought and anxiety, the views it contains being wholly at variance with long-received doctrines, stereo typed prejudices, national delusions, and a physiology and a cosmogony based on a fantastic myth as old at least as the Hebrew record. That human character, individual and national, is trace able solely to the nature of that race to which the individual or nation belongs, is a statement which I know must meet with the sternest opposition. It runs counter to nearly all the chronicles of events called histories : it overturns the theories of statesmen, of theologians, of philanthropists of all shades—from the dreamy Essayist, whose remedy for every ill that fleshis heir to, is summed up in “ the coming man," to the “ whitened sepulchres of England," the hard handed, spatula-fingered Saxon utilitarian, whose best plea. for religion and sound morals, and philanthropy, is “ the profitableness thereof "—imposters all 1 to such the truths in this little work must ever be most unpalatable. Nevertheless, that race in human affairs is everything, is simply a fact, the most remarkable, the most comprehensive, which philosophy has ever announced. Race is every thing: literature, science, art—in a word, civilization, de pends on it. Each race treated of in this little work will complain of my not having done them justice; of all others they will admit that I have spoken the truth. The placing the Slavonian and Gothic races foremost amongst men, first and greatest in philosophy, will much, I believe, astonish the men of other races ; the Saxon and Celt ; the Italian and Sarmatian: the inordinate self-esteem of the Saxon vi PREFACE. will be especially shocked thereby, nor will he listen with composure to a theory which tells him, proves to him, that his race cannot domineer over the earth—cannot even exist permanently on any continent to which he is not indigenous —cannot ever become native, true-born Americans—can not hold in permanency any portion of any continent but the one on which he first originated. Physiologists will dispute with me the great laws I have endeavoured to substitute for the efl'ete common-place of the schools; geologists will think me hasty in declaring the aura of Cuvier at an end; theologians but here I stop ; a reply shall not be wanting. As to the hack compilers, their course is simple : they will first deny the doctrine to be true; when this becomes clearly untenable, they will deny that it is new ; and they will finish by engrossing the whole in their next compilations, omitting carefully the name of the author. Lest my readers feel surprise at the repetition of so many of the woodcuts, I have to observe that this was rendered necessary by the nature of the work. These woodcuts are from drawings made expressly for this work by my friend, Dr. Westmacott, an accomplished artist, in whose praise I need say nothing. They are much more expressive of the true character of race than will at first appear to the careless observer. R. K. London, 1st July, 1850. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. THIS new edition differs from the first only in having attached to it a Supplement, in which many important philosophical questions are treated of, all having reference, more or less directly, to the great question of race. London, Jan. 1862. CONTENTS. PAS! INTRODUCTION Lacr. I. History of the Saxon or Scandinavian Race -—Introduction of the Saxon element of mind into human history—Its influence on the civilization of mankind—Do races amalgamate F—Does a hybrid race exist? 39 II. Physiological Laws regulating Human Life —Extinction of a race—Climate of no influence over any raceof men—Antiquity of race inconsistent with the received in terpretation of the Hebrew myth . 76 III. History of the Gipsy, Copt, and Jew 146 IV. Of the Coptic, Jewish,and Phoenician Races -—-Mediterranean races connected with a former geological aera or period V. Same subject continued—Value of monu mental records—Theory of progressive improvement . 188 VI. The dark Races of men—Antagonism of man to Nature's works—Antipathy of VI racetorace . l\') p4 VII. History of the Celtic Race—Geographical position of the race—Their future destiny 318 VIII. Who are the Germans P—The modern Ger man not the classic—Mistake of Niebulir and of Arnold . 339 viii CONTENTS. LECTURE TAG! IX. The Slavonian Race—Discovered the trans cendental philosophy—the greatest of all discoveries . 351 X. Of the Sarmatian Race—The Russ and Pruss ; of the dominant races now on the earth XI. Question of Dominaney—England ; her constitution and colonies—Nationalities —the English people sustained and partly recovered from the greatest calamity that ever befel a raco—viz., the Norman con quest....... 370 XII. Some Remarks on Jewish Chronology . 380 CONCLUDING LECTURE 395 APPENDlx............... 447 SUPPLEMENT. CHAP. I. On Human Hybridité II. On some Ancient Forms of Civilization III. Africa: its Past, Present, and probable Future . IV. On the Present Phasis of Ethnology Rssvms . m-._-§_-_ INTRODUCTION. THE outlines of Lectures now presented to the Public, I have designated “ A Fragment.” I dis claim all pretensions of attempting a complete history of mankind, even from the single point of view from which I contemplate Human history. No materials exist for such a history. Of man's origin we know nothing correctly; we know not when he first appeared in space; his place in time, then, is unknown. Still thought to have been coeval with the existing order of things, this theory will require revision, now that the dawn of the present organic world, even as it now stands, can be shown to have an antiquity agreeing ill with human chronologies. In the meantime how worthless are these chronologies! How replete with error human history has been proved to be. The basis of the view I take of man is his Physical structure; if I may so say, his Zoologi cal history. To know this must be the first step in all inquiries into man’s history: all abstrac tions, neglecting or despising this great element, the physical character and constitution of man, B _..- n 2 m'rnonucrrou. his mental and corporeal attributes must, of neces sity, be at the least Utopian, if not erroneous. Men are of various Races; call them Species, if you will; call them permanent Varieties; it matters not. The fact, the simple fact, remains just as it was: men are of different races. Now, the object of these lectures is to show that in human history race is everything. Of the minute physical structure of most of the races of men we know nothing, anatomical in quiries having as yet been confined to the investi gation of a very few European races; I may almost say, merely to the Saxon and Celtic. When some superficial observer has made a few remarks on the skeleton of a race, he fancies he knows its anatomy ! But from my own, I admit very limited, observations, I feel disposed to afiirm, that the races of men, when carefully examined, will be found to show remarkable organic differences. In a dark or coloured person, whose structure I had an opportunity of observing, the nerves of the limbs were at least a third less than those of the Saxon man of the same height. M. Tiedemann, of Heidelberg, informed me that he had every reason to believe that the native Australian race differed in an extraordinary manner from the European: that this is the case with the Hot tentot and Bosjeman race has been long known. The mind of the race, instinctive and reasoning, INTRODUCTION. 8 natiirally differs in correspondence with the orga nization. W'hat wild, Utopian theories have been advanced—what misstatements, respecting civili~ zation! The most important of man’s intellectual faculties, the surest, the best,—the instinctive, namely,——has even been declared to be wanting to human nature ! What wild and fanciful theo ries of human progress, of human civilization! Look at Europe ; at either bank of the Danube; at Northern Africa; at Egypt; at the shores of the Mediterranean, generally, and say what pro gress civilization has made in these countries since the decline of the Roman Empire. Is Ire land civilized? In Cicero’s time the Island of Rhodes presented a civilization which no part of Britain can pretend to: what is its state at this moment? But, it may be said, Christianity has done much. This I doubt; but admitting it to be the case, its progress is not evident: to me it seems to lose ground.
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