ed into it the breath of life, and reduced the shapeless materials to beauty and order, that the intellectual phenomena may be observed with the best chance of obtaining useful and interesting results. Thither, too, may the scholar go, and observe the first attempts of the mind, to embody its conceptions in speech or in permanent signs; and tracing its progress from the first rude effusions, he may follow it through various degrees of perfection, to the ultimate efforts of mighty and creative genius. In the wild and infantile condition of the race, the theologian may behold the absorbing belief in supernatural and presiding existences, originating in those feelings of terror and awe, produced by the wonderful phenomena of the natural world, and trace it through its innumerable ramifications, till it comes to manifest its influence over every effort of the mind, and is felt through the whole range of human exertion.

It may indeed seem strange, that a science of such various and extensive bearings, should have received so little attention from general students; but the ignorance so often displayed on this subject, where better things were to be expected, is proof enough of the fact. How often is it that in discussions where a knowledge of the natural history of our species is involved, we find gross and ridiculous notions; in works, too, which have otherwise a very respectable character. How many, even at this day, among men of learning and general information, sincerely believe in the accounts of Robertson and Buffon, that the American aborigines are destitute of a beard, that the animals of the New World have degenerated from their primitive standard, or that the colour of the negro is produced by the action of a tropical sun. We would not have every one familiar with the form and dimensions of every cranium in Blumenbach's Decades, or acquainted with the physical peculiarities of every tribe on earth; but there is here, as in all other departments of science, much knowledge, which ought to be common, and generally diffused. Enough should be known, to enable us to form correct views on the subject generally, and guard ourselves against gross errors and flimsy hypotheses. The most monstrous and ridiculous stories have ever been indebted for their currency to the imperfect knowledge existing among common minds, accompanied, as ignorance always is, by a proportionate share of credulity.

The progress of the natural history of man, it must be acknowledged, has not been commensurate with its importance; and at this moment, it must be considered as far behind its kindred branches. One cause of this, no doubt, is the diversity and multiplicity of the inquiries which it involves, and the consequent incompetence, in a greater or less degree, of almost every individual observer. To give a perfect account of a newly discovered tribe, the observer must act in many capacities, and pos

sess a variety of acquirements, rarely attained by a single individual. He must be an anatomist, in order that he may compare their external forms and proportions with those of other people already observed, and note their physical peculiarities,-a zoologist, to examine the inferior animals around them, and the relations that exist between them,-a physician, to study their diseases,—a botanist, to examine the plants used for their cure,—a physicien, (Gallicé) to ascertain the influence of the air, soil, water, temperature, &c. on their constitution,-a moralist, to investigate their moral peculiarities, and religious notions, and the influence of external circumstances in the formation of these,a philologist, to form vocabularies of their language and trace its affinities, and last, not least, a draughtsman, to sketch their habitations, implements of war and of domestic use, and scenes characteristic of their customs and mode of living. This great diversity of requisite qualifications will explain, in some degree, why, though discoveries have been pushed to the remotest corners of the earth, and new tribes brought to light from time to time, and repeatedly visited, so little has been gained to the natural history of our species. Voyages of this kind have generally been projected more for the purpose of discovering new lands, and increasing commercial resources, than of making accessions to science; and in accordance with such views, we find that the only men of science who have accompanied the marine expeditions ordered by the British government, have been an astronomer, and perhaps a solitary naturalist, who attempted to act in so many capacities, that he accomplished but little in any.

The French nation have been usually actuated by more enlarged views, and have richly furnished their expeditions with distinguished scientific men. We believe we may assert without exaggeration, that in the single voyage of one geographer and naturalist, more extensive and perfect collections were formed, and more valuable scientific information obtained, than had been accumulated by all the English voyages of discovery together. Other nations, however, are beginning to see the importance of similar measures, and have latterly taken care to supply a proportion of suitable men. Much praise is due to our own government, for furnishing with naturalists, the land expeditions which it has ordered for examining the vast unexplored regions of the North American continent. When we compare our present knowledge of the animal, vegetable, and mineral productions of our soil, with that which we possessed thirty years ago, and contemplate the sources of wealth that have thus been opened to us, we want no better evidence of the valuable services of such men, and of the necessity of multiplying these expeditions. The gentlemen who have explored the African and Asiatic continents, cannot be considered, after the most liberal allowances, to have

made the best use of their opportunities for adding to the natural history of their species. With a few honourable exceptions, their chief object seems to have been the correction and enlargement of our geographical knowledge, or, sometimes, to gratify an ill-directed spirit of adventure, while higher and more important objects have been neglected. The scientific reader, who consults their pages in the hope of finding useful and interesting information, too often meets with descriptions of hairbreadth escapes and perilous and amusing adventures. It is to such travellers, incapable of making observations themselves, and with too little knowledge to profit by those which fall in their way, that we are indebted for those erroneous and whimsical accounts which disgrace the books of travels of the last century, and which more modern and better qualified observers have not yet succeeded in entirely discrediting. This class of worthies deals largely in the strange and the marvellous, in stories of Patagonian giants and anthropophagi, and "men whose heads do grow beneath their shoulders." They are now hardly deserving of censure; their generation has gone by, and their fables would no longer be received with open ears and ready assent. But there is another class, entitled to the severest reprobation, not so numerous perhaps, but less harmless than the last, who, though not particularly interested in science themselves, are yet desirous that their labours should not be altogether useless to those who are. The observations of these men, are characteristically loose and indefi nite; the subjects on which they touch, are discussed with little. of that spirit of philosophical investigation, without which such discussions are worthless; and the hesitation and doubt with which we are obliged to receive their conclusions, render them almost nugatory. We rejoice, however, to see in modern travels a great improvement in this respect, and though we do not expect to find in every tourist a Peron or a Humboldt, we are more confident of meeting with a man of good judgment, who, if he makes no pretensions to natural science, at least has a due regard for truth and accuracy.

Professed naturalists themselves are, by no means, without their share of blame, as having contributed to bring about that neglect which the natural history of man has experienced. We ask any candid naturalist, whether we pass the limits of the strictest truth, when we assert, that there is not a class or order of beings in the whole animal or vegetable kingdom, which has not been the subject of closer observations, more enthusiastic study, deeper and more extensive research, than his own species. Infinitely more labour and expense have been bestowed, in illustrating even the insects of different countries, by elaborate treatises and costly engravings, than has ever been employed in representing the varieties of the human figure. We have splendid

engravings of the birds of Africa, and the insects of China; but, who does not complain of our imperfect acquaintance with the human inhabitants of those countries? "No one has thought it worth while to bestow on a faithful delineation of the several varieties of man, one tenth of the labour and expense, that have been lavished again and again, on birds of Paradise, pigeons, parrots, humming birds, beetles, spiders, and many other such objects." A traveller will lead his readers from one end of an unexplored country to the other, crowding their minds with descriptions of all manner of fish, flesh, and fowl, dilating with raptures on the colours of a bird's plumage, and breaking into heroics on the discovery of a new plant; while he leaves them as ignorant of the specimens of their own species, which he may have met with, as if the wild regions had never been visited by civilized man.

The common cause, no doubt, of the little attention that has been given to this subject by general students, is the want of suitable works. The most valuable, such as those of Blumenbach, Meiners, Lacepede, &c. are written in the Latin, or a foreign tongue, which, together with their expense and scarcity, renders them inaccessible to those who might otherwise be induced to consult them. A great deal of valuable and interesting information also, is scattered in various books of travels and voyages, which needs to be collected and properly arranged, before it can become generally known, and be useful. A work is evidently wanted, that shall contain the most important facts collected from all these sources, reduced to some convenient system, and expressed in plain vernacular language. To supply this deficiency in part, was the object of Mr. Lawrence, in the work now before us. His success in the undertaking, confirms the high reputation which he deservedly holds, as one of the most distinguished comparative anatomists of his country, an able surgeon, an elegant writer, and a popular lecturer. To say that he has accomplished his task with credit to himself, is sufficient praise with medical men, while the learning, research, sound and unprejudiced judgment, liberal and manly spirit of inquiry, which characterize the work, ensure its favourable reception with general readers.

About one hundred pages of the first part of the work, are occupied with general observations on physiology, zoology, and comparative anatomy, the connexion of these sciences with me dicine, and the spirit in which scientific inquiries should be conducted. They are conveyed in elegant and forcible language, and will gratify that interest, which an illustration of the great principles and relations of the natural sciences must have to enlarged and inquiring minds. Mr. Lawrence has here taken occasion to bring forward and defend those peculiar notions which have ren

dered his work obnoxious to many devout minds, and condemned its author to merciless castigation from the reviewers, and from some of his fellow lecturers. The worthy Christian Advocate, at Cambridge, whose duty it is to attend to such matters, has written a book against him, and Mr. Abernethy publicly accused him of propagating opinions detrimental to society. Now, common prudence should have dictated to Mr. Lawrence, as it has to many others, when touching on such delicate points, to compound with his conscience, and without raising a voice or making a struggle, drop into the general current; or, perhaps, he would not have been alone if he had condemned what were his honest and sincere opinions. He has chosen neither the one nor the other of these courses; but rather, to publish plainly and fearlessly his views, and leave the decision of the question whether they be correct or erroneous, along with all other questions of common interest, to the public voice. The very illiberal and testy spirit in which he was attacked, gave them at once a circulation as inappropriate as they were unexpected. If they have exerted any injurious tendency, and there can be but little doubt that they have, it was by thus operating on a class of minds for which they were never intended, and who were consequently incapable of appreciating their nature and beauty. Such effects cannot be apprehended here, where perfect freedom of inquiry soon suffers all opinions to find their proper level in the public estimation, without any of those violent reactions of sentiment, so common under a shackled condition of the press. Mr. Lawrence's work will, for the most part, fall into the hands of mature and thinking men, whose principles are already formed, and too firmly established, to be shaken by a few pages of physiological argument; and, if it do meet the attention of young and inexperienced minds, the opinions that they ultimately form, will stand a better chance of being correct and well-grounded.

Principles that are meant to be lasting, to give a direction to the mind and character in after life, are not to be taken up blindly on the credit of others, but are the fruits of long and severe investigations, amid the conflicting influences of early prejudices, and riper and wiser convictions. However correct they may be, if they are obtained without first discerning and struggling with the errors that surround them, they are like virtue that has never been assailed, faultless indeed, but frail; they are liable to be blown away by every wind of doctrine. He who seeks for truth, without the courage to encounter error, never deserves to find it. If the existence of the mind, as a principle distinct from the body, be a physiological question, and their acknowledged influence upon each other, and mutual dependence for the well-being of both, seem to render it such, then its discussion was not nly VOL. III.-NO. 6.

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