The Human Race

THE WHITE RACE.

This race was called by Cuvier the Caucasian, since that writer assigned to the mountains of the Caucasus the first origin of man. It is now frequently known as the Aryan race, from the name formerly bestowed upon the inhabitants of Persia. The Caucasian or Aryan race is admittedly the original stock of our species, and it would seem that from the region of the Caucasus, or the Persian shores of the Caspian Sea, this race has spread into different parts of the earth, peopling progressively the entire globe.

The beautiful oval form of the head is a mark which distinguishes the Caucasian or Aryan race of men from all others. The nose is large and straight: the aperture of the mouth moderate in size, enclosed by delicate lips; the teeth are arranged vertically: the eyes are large, wide open, and surmounted by curved brows. The forehead is advanced, and the face well proportioned: the hair is glossy, long, and abundant. This race it is from which have proceeded the most civilized nations, those who have most usually become rulers of others.

We shall divide the White Race into three branches, corresponding to peoples who at the first successively developed themselves in the north-west, the south-east, and north-east of the Caucasus. These branches are the European, Aramean, and Persian. This classification is based upon geographical and linguistic considerations. M. d’Omalius d’Halloy admits a fourth branch, the Scythian, which we reject, since the people which it comprises belong more properly to the Yellow Race or to the Aramean branch of the White Race.