Whewell calls the problems involved in the study of man the
palætiological sciences, in which we reason from effect to cause,
seeking from phenomena actually existing, to ascertain their origin and
causes. Early investigators, like Buffon and Blumenbach, first devoted
themselves to a survey of the elements which distinguish him. They laid
a basis in carefully classified facts, and their method of study has
been fruitful in the science of geology. The subject is truly said to be
one of the broadest which can engage the human mind, and man, by his
intellectual and moral being, stands above every other form of animal
nature, dwelling in a world apart from them all.
With some naturalists the moral and intellectual are sunk into the
physical, and those elements which so widely separate man from beast are
considered as simply developments of the animal instincts. Many
psychologists and linguists, while confining themselves to their own
specialties as bearing on man’s nature and origin, have undervalued the
labors of their compeers, and neglected the results of each other’s
inquiries in drawing their conclusions.
Light is shed on the early history of man, from his relation to the
glacial period by Lyell, who contends that there were two ice-ages, with
a milder interval between them, covering a period of not less than many
thousands of years; while Professor Braun gives to the first ice-age a
period of about ten thousand years.
“We measure life by years, but not so God.
A thousand ages are as one short day
With Him. He counts by deeds not fleeting hours,
And he who speaks a gentle word, or gives
A cup of water to a fainting one,
Will count more birthdays in Heaven’s register
Than if he lived a million centuries
Unto himself alone.
Here all our countless actions touch the springs
That send a thrill throughout infinity;
On earth our erring fingers strike the keys
That shall resound in endless cadences
Of harmony or discord evermore.”
But it is a difficult task to review the work of those writers who, by
virtue of their greater familiarity with this subject, are more
competent to express opinions; and the only justification for the
proposed paper lies in the fact that the writer desires to bring
together, in as few periods as possible, materials which others have
furnished, together with such reports of investigations as have been
made by eminent men of science, bearing upon this topic. It may also be
suggested that many facts will be added heretofore unpublished, the same
having been obtained by means of direct correspondence with various
geologists and historians whose names command no little weight in
character, original investigation and scientific attainments in Europe
and America. It is hoped therefore that these personal labors will not
be a recasting of simply old material, but a contribution of new facts
and inferences not before given to the public. As the patronage afforded
to such a paper would probably be too scanty to make it attractive to
publishers, it may be added that it is contemplated to put these results
beyond the reach of ordinary dangers, by embodying them in a publication
privately printed.
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