much to say for themselves. They argue that proofs of change in man have
never been brought forward except to the most trifling amount, while
evidence of his permanence meets us everywhere. The Portuguese and
Spaniards, settled for two or three centuries in South America, retain
their chief physical, mental, and moral characteristics; the Dutch boers
at the Cape, and the descendants of the early Dutch settlers in the
Moluccas, have not lost the features or the colour of the Germanic
races; the Jews, scattered over the world in the most diverse climates,
retain the same characteristic lineaments everywhere; the Egyptian
sculptures and paintings show us that, for at least 4000 or 5000 years,
the strongly contrasted features of the Negro and the Semitic races have
remained altogether unchanged; while more recent discoveries prove, that
the mound-builders of the Mississippi valley, and the dwellers on
Brazilian mountains, had, even in the very infancy of the human race,
some traces of the same peculiar and characteristic type of cranial
formation that now distinguishes them.
If we endeavour to decide impartially on the merits of this difficult
controversy, judging solely by the evidence that each party has brought
forward, it certainly seems that the best of the argument is on the
side of those who maintain the primitive diversity of man. Their
opponents have not been able to refute the permanence of existing races
as far back as we can trace them, and have failed to show, in a single
case, that at any former epoch the well marked varieties of mankind
approximated more closely than they do at the present day. At the same
time this is but negative evidence. A condition of immobility for four
or five thousand years, does not preclude an advance at an earlier
epoch, and--if we can show that there are causes in nature which would
check any further physical change when certain conditions were
fulfilled--does not even render such an advance improbable, if there are
any general arguments to be adduced in its favour. Such a cause, I
believe, does exist; and I shall now endeavour to point out its nature
and its mode of operation.
_Outline of the Theory of Natural Selection._
In order to make my argument intelligible, it is necessary for me to
explain very briefly the theory of "Natural Selection" promulgated by
Mr. Darwin, and the power which it possesses of modifying the forms of
animals and plants. The grand feature in the multiplication of organic
life is, that close general resemblance is combined with more or less
individual variation. The child resembles its parents or ancestors more
or less closely in all its peculiarities, deformities, or beauties; it
resembles them in general more than it does any other individuals; yet
children of the same parents are not all alike, and it often happens
that they differ very considerably from their parents and from each
other. This is equally true, of man, of all animals, and of all plants.
Moreover, it is found that individuals do not differ from their parents
in certain particulars only, while in all others they are exact
duplicates of them. They differ from them and from each other, in every
particular: in form, in size, in colour; in the structure of internal as
well as of external organs; in those subtle peculiarities which produce
differences of constitution, as well as in those still more subtle ones
which lead to modifications of mind and character. In other words, in
every possible way, in every organ and in every function, individuals of
the same stock vary.
Now, health, strength, and long life, are the results of a harmony
between the individual and the universe that surrounds it. Let us
suppose that at any given moment this harmony is perfect. A certain
animal is exactly fitted to secure its prey, to escape from its enemies,
to resist the inclemencies of the seasons, and to rear a numerous and
healthy offspring. But a change now takes place. A series of cold
winters, for instance, come on, making food scarce, and bringing an
immigration of some other animals to compete with the former inhabitants
of the district. The new immigrant is swift of foot, and surpasses its
rivals in the pursuit of game; the winter nights are colder, and require
a thicker fur as a protection, and more nourishing food to keep up the
heat of the system. Our supposed perfect animal is no longer in harmony
with its universe; it is in danger of dying of cold or of starvation.
But the animal varies in its offspring. Some of these are swifter than
others--they still manage to catch food enough; some are hardier and
more thickly furred--they manage in the cold nights to keep warm enough;
the slow, the weak, and the thinly clad soon die off. Again and again,
in each succeeding generation, the same thing takes place. By this
natural process, which is so inevitable that it cannot be conceived not
to act, those best adapted to live, live; those least adapted, die. It
is sometimes said that we have no direct evidence of the action of this
selecting power in nature. But it seems to me we have better evidence
than even direct observation would be, because it is more universal,
viz., the evidence of necessity. It must be so; for, as all wild animals
increase in a geometrical ratio, while their actual numbers remain on
the average stationary, it follows, that as many die annually as are
born. If, therefore, we deny natural selection, it can only be by
asserting that, in such a case as I have supposed, the strong, the
healthy, the swift, the well clad, the well organised animals in every
respect, have no advantage over,--do not on the average live longer
than, the weak, the unhealthy, the slow, the ill-clad, and the
imperfectly organised individuals; and this no sane man has yet been
found hardy enough to assert. But this is not all; for the offspring on
the average resemble their parents, and the selected portion of each
succeeding generation will therefore be stronger, swifter, and more
thickly furred than the last; and if this process goes on for thousands
of generations, our animal will have again become thoroughly in harmony
with the new conditions in which it is placed. But it will now be a
different creature. It will be not only swifter and stronger, and more
furry, it will also probably have changed in colour, in form, perhaps
have acquired a longer tail, or differently shaped ears; for it is an
ascertained fact, that when one part of an animal is modified, some
other parts almost always change, as it were in sympathy with it. Mr.
Darwin calls this "correlation of growth," and gives as instances, that
hairless dogs have imperfect teeth; white cats, when blue-eyed, are
deaf; small feet accompany short beaks in pigeons; and other equally
interesting cases.
Grant, therefore, the premises: 1st. That peculiarities of every kind
are more or less hereditary. 2nd. That the offspring of every animal
vary more or less in all parts of their organization. 3rd. That
the universe in which these animals live, is not absolutely
invariable;--none of which propositions can be denied; and then
consider, that the animals in any country (those at least which are not
dying out) must at each successive period be brought into harmony with
the surrounding conditions; and we have all the elements for a change of
form and structure in the animals, keeping exact pace with changes of
whatever nature in the surrounding universe. Such changes must be slow,
for the changes in the universe are very slow; but just as these slow
changes become important, when we look at results after long periods of
action, as we do when we perceive the alterations of the earth's surface
during geological epochs; so the parallel changes in animal form become
more and more striking, in proportion as the time they have been going
on is great; as we see when we compare our living animals with those
which we disentomb from each successively older geological formation.
This is, briefly, the theory of "natural selection," which explains the
changes in the organic world as being parallel with, and in part
dependent on, those in the inorganic. What we now have to inquire
is,--Can this theory be applied in any way to the question of the origin
of the races of man? or is there anything in human nature that takes him
out of the category of those organic existences, over whose successive
mutations it has had such powerful sway?
_Different effects of Natural Selection on Animals and on Man._
In order to answer these questions, we must consider why it is that
"natural selection" acts so powerfully upon animals; and we shall, I
believe, find, that its effect depends mainly upon their self-dependence
and individual isolation. A slight injury, a temporary illness, will
often end in death, because it leaves the individual powerless against
its enemies. If an herbivorous animal is a little sick and has not fed
well for a day or two, and the herd is then pursued by a beast of prey,
our poor invalid inevitably falls a victim. So, in a carnivorous animal,
the least deficiency of vigour prevents its capturing food, and it soon
dies of starvation. There is, as a general rule, no mutual assistance
between adults, which enables them to tide over a period of sickness.
Neither is there any division of labour; each must fulfil _all_ the
conditions of its existence, and, therefore, "natural selection" keeps
all up to a pretty uniform standard.
But in man, as we now behold him, this is different. He is social and
sympathetic. In the rudest tribes the sick are assisted, at least with
food; less robust health and vigour than the average does not entail
death. Neither does the want of perfect limbs, or other organs, produce
the same effects as among animals. Some division of labour takes place;
the swiftest hunt, the less active fish, or gather fruits; food is, to
some extent, exchanged or divided. The action of natural selection is
therefore checked; the weaker, the dwarfish, those of less active limbs,
or less piercing eyesight, do not suffer the extreme penalty which falls
upon animals so defective.
In proportion as these physical characteristics become of less
importance, mental and moral qualities will have increasing influence on
the well-being of the race. Capacity for acting in concert for
protection, and for the acquisition of food and shelter; sympathy, which
leads all in turn to assist each other; the sense of right, which checks
depredations upon our fellows; the smaller development of the combative
and destructive propensities; self-restraint in present appetites; and
that intelligent foresight which prepares for the future, are all
qualities, that from their earliest appearance must have been for the
benefit of each community, and would, therefore, have become the
subjects of "natural selection." For it is evident that such qualities
would be for the well-being of man; would guard him against external
enemies, against internal dissensions, and against the effects of
inclement seasons and impending famine, more surely than could any
merely physical modification. Tribes in which such mental and moral
qualities were predominant, would therefore have an advantage in the
struggle for existence over other tribes in which they were less
developed, would live and maintain their numbers, while the others would
decrease and finally succumb.
Again, when any slow changes of physical geography, or of climate, make
it necessary for an animal to alter its food, its clothing, or its
weapons, it can only do so by the occurrence of a corresponding change
in its own bodily structure and internal organization. If a larger or
more powerful beast is to be captured and devoured, as when a
carnivorous animal which has hitherto preyed on antelopes is obliged
from their decreasing numbers to attack buffaloes, it is only the
strongest who can hold,--those with most powerful claws, and formidable
canine teeth, that can struggle with and overcome such an animal.
Natural selection immediately comes into play, and by its action these
organs gradually become adapted to their new requirements. But man,
under similar circumstances, does not require longer nails or teeth,
greater bodily strength or swiftness. He makes sharper spears, or a
better bow, or he constructs a cunning pitfall, or combines in a hunting
party to circumvent his new prey. The capacities which enable him to do
this are what he requires to be strengthened, and these will, therefore,
be gradually modified by "natural selection," while the form and
structure of his body will remain unchanged. So, when a glacial epoch
comes on, some animals must acquire warmer fur, or a covering of fat, or
else die of cold. Those best clothed by nature are, therefore, preserved
by natural selection. Man, under the same circumstances, will make
himself warmer clothing, and build better houses; and the necessity of
doing this will react upon his mental organization and social
condition--will advance them while his natural body remains naked as
before.
When the accustomed food of some animal becomes scarce or totally fails,
it can only exist by becoming adapted to a new kind of food, a food
perhaps less nourishing and less digestible. "Natural selection" will
now act upon the stomach and intestines, and all their individual
variations will be taken advantage of, to modify the race into harmony
with its new food. In many cases, however, it is probable that this
cannot be done. The internal organs may not vary quick enough, and then
the animal will decrease in numbers, and finally become extinct. But
man guards himself from such accidents by superintending and guiding the
operations of nature. He plants the seed of his most agreeable food, and
thus procures a supply, independent of the accidents of varying seasons
or natural extinction. He domesticates animals, which serve him either
to capture food or for food itself, and thus, changes of any great
extent in his teeth or digestive organs are rendered unnecessary. Man,
too, has everywhere the use of fire, and by its means can render
palatable a variety of animal and vegetable substances, which he could
hardly otherwise make use of; and thus obtains for himself a supply of
food far more varied and abundant than that which any animal can
command.
Thus man, by the mere capacity of clothing himself, and making weapons
and tools, has taken away from nature that power of slowly but
permanently changing the external form and structure, in accordance with
changes in the external world, which she exercises over all other
animals. As the competing races by which they are surrounded, the
climate, the vegetation, or the animals which serve them for food, are
slowly changing, they must undergo a corresponding change in their
structure, habits, and constitution, to keep them in harmony with the
new conditions--to enable them to live and maintain their numbers. But
man does this by means of his intellect alone, the variations of which
enable him, with an unchanged body, still to keep in harmony with the
changing universe.
There is one point, however, in which nature will still act upon him as
it does on animals, and, to some extent, modify his external characters.
Mr. Darwin has shown, that the colour of the skin is correlated with
constitutional peculiarities both in vegetables and animals, so that
liability to certain diseases or freedom from them is often accompanied
by marked external characters. Now, there is every reason to believe
that this has acted, and, to some extent, may still continue to act, on
man. In localities where certain diseases are prevalent, those
individuals of savage races which were subject to them would rapidly die
off; while those who were constitutionally free from the disease would
survive, and form the progenitors of a new race. These favoured
individuals would probably be distinguished by peculiarities of
_colour_, with which again peculiarities in the texture or the abundance
of _hair_ seem to be correlated, and thus may have been brought about
those racial differences of colour, which seem to have no relation to
mere temperature or other obvious peculiarities of climate.
From the time, therefore, when the social and sympathetic feelings came
into active operation, and the intellectual and moral faculties became
fairly developed, man would cease to be influenced by "natural
selection" in his physical form and structure. As an animal he would
remain almost stationary, the changes of the surrounding universe
ceasing to produce in him that powerful modifying effect which they
exercise over other parts of the organic world. But from the moment
that the form of his body became stationary, his mind would become
subject to those very influences from which his body had escaped; every
slight variation in his mental and moral nature which should enable him
better to guard against adverse circumstances, and combine for mutual
comfort and protection, would be preserved and accumulated; the better
and higher specimens of our race would therefore increase and spread,
the lower and more brutal would give way and successively die out, and
that rapid advancement of mental organization would occur, which has
raised the very lowest races of man so far above the brutes (although
differing so little from some of them in physical structure), and, in
conjunction with scarcely perceptible modifications of form, has
developed the wonderful intellect of the European races.
_Influence of external Nature in the development of the Human Mind._
But from the time when this mental and moral advance commenced, and
man's physical character became fixed and almost immutable, a new series
of causes would come into action, and take part in his mental growth.
The diverse aspects of nature would now make themselves felt, and
profoundly influence the character of the primitive man.
When the power that had hitherto modified the body had its action
transferred to the mind, then races would advance and become improved,
merely by the harsh discipline of a sterile soil and inclement seasons.
Under their influence, a hardier, a more provident, and a more social
race would be developed, than in those regions where the earth produces
a perennial supply of vegetable food, and where neither foresight nor
ingenuity are required to prepare for the rigours of winter. And is it
not the fact that in all ages, and in every quarter of the globe, the
inhabitants of temperate have been superior to those of hotter
countries? All the great invasions and displacements of races have been
from North to South, rather than the reverse; and we have no record of
there ever having existed, any more than there exists to-day, a solitary
instance of an indigenous inter-tropical civilization. The Mexican
civilization and government came from the North, and, as well as the
Peruvian, was established, not in the rich tropical plains, but on the
lofty and sterile plateaux of the Andes. The religion and civilization
of Ceylon were introduced from North India; the successive conquerors of
the Indian peninsula came from the North-west; the northern Mongols
conquered the more Southern Chinese; and it was the bold and adventurous
tribes of the North that overran and infused new life into Southern
Europe.
_Extinction of Lower Races._
It is the same great law of "the preservation of favoured races in the
struggle for life," which leads to the inevitable extinction of all
those low and mentally undeveloped populations with which Europeans come
in contact. The red Indian in North America, and in Brazil; the
Tasmanian, Australian, and New Zealander in the southern hemisphere, die
out, not from any one special cause, but from the inevitable effects of
an unequal mental and physical struggle. The intellectual and moral, as
well as the physical, qualities of the European are superior; the same
powers and capacities which have made him rise in a few centuries from
the condition of the wandering savage with a scanty and stationary
population, to his present state of culture and advancement, with a
greater average longevity, a greater average strength, and a capacity of
more rapid increase,--enable him when in contact with the savage man, to
conquer in the struggle for existence, and to increase at his expense,
just as the better adapted, increase at the expense of the less adapted
varieties in the animal and vegetable kingdoms,--just as the weeds of
Europe overrun North America and Australia, extinguishing native
productions by the inherent vigour of their organization, and by their
greater capacity for existence and multiplication.
_The Origin of the Races of Man._
If these views are correct; if in proportion as man's social, moral, and
intellectual faculties became developed, his physical structure would
cease to be affected by the operation of "natural selection," we have a
most important clue to the origin of races. For it will follow, that
those great modifications of structure and of external form, which
resulted in the development of man out of some lower type of animal,
must have occurred before his intellect had raised him above the
condition of the brutes, at a period when he was gregarious, but
scarcely social, with a mind perceptive but not reflective, ere any
sense of _right_ or feelings of _sympathy_ had been developed in him. He
would be still subject, like the rest of the organic world, to the
action of "natural selection," which would retain his physical form and
constitution in harmony with the surrounding universe. He was probably
at a very early period a dominant race, spreading widely over the warmer
regions of the earth as it then existed, and in agreement with what we
see in the case of other dominant species, gradually becoming modified
in accordance with local conditions. As he ranged farther from his
original home, and became exposed to greater extremes of climate, to
greater changes of food, and had to contend with new enemies, organic
and inorganic, slight useful variations in his constitution would be
selected and rendered permanent, and would, on the principle of
"correlation of growth," be accompanied by corresponding external
physical changes. Thus might have arisen those striking characteristics
and special modifications which still distinguish the chief races of
mankind. The red, black, yellow, or blushing white skin; the straight,
the curly, the woolly hair; the scanty or abundant beard; the straight
or oblique eyes; the various forms of the pelvis, the cranium, and other
parts of the skeleton.
But while these changes had been going on, his mental development had,
from some unknown cause, greatly advanced, and had now reached that
condition in which it began powerfully to influence his whole existence,
and would therefore become subject to the irresistible action of
"natural selection." This action would quickly give the ascendency to
mind: speech would probably now be first developed, leading to a still
further advance of the mental faculties; and from that moment man, as
regards the form and structure of most parts of his body, would remain
almost stationary. The art of making weapons, division of labour,
anticipation of the future, restraint of the appetites, moral, social,
and sympathetic feelings, would now have a preponderating influence on
his well being, and would therefore be that part of his nature on which
"natural selection" would most powerfully act; and we should thus have
explained that wonderful persistence of mere physical characteristics,
which is the stumbling-block of those who advocate the unity of mankind.