,transcriber's ,note  ,a number of      
typographical errors have been          
maintained in this version of this book4
 ,they have been marked with a ,,tn-1   
which refers to a description in the    
complete list found at the end of the   
text4                                   
,,an                ,,ethnologist',s    
,,view ,,of ,,history4                  
,,an ,,address                          
,,before ,,the   ,,annual ,,meeting ,,of
 ,,the ,,new ,,jersey ,,historical      
,,society1                              
,,at           ,,trenton1 ,,new         
,,jersey1 ,,january #bh1 #ahif4         
,,by       ,,daniel ,g4 ,,brinton1 ,a4  
,m41 ,m4 ,d41 ,,ll4 ,d41 ,d4 ,sc4       
,,professor ,,of ,,american             
,,arch,,ology ,,in ,,the ,,university   
,,of        ,,pennsylvania ,,and ,,of   
,,general ,,ethnology ,,at ,,the        
,,academy ,,of ,,natural ,,sciences ,,of
 ,,philadelphia4                        
,,philadelphia1 ,,pa4                   
#ahif4     ,an ,ethnologist's ,view of  

,history4   ,,mr4 ,,president3          
99       99       99       99       99  
,the intelligent thought of the world is
 ever advancing to a fuller appreciation
 of the worth of the past to the present
 and the future4 ,never before have     
associations1 societies and journals    
devoted to historical studies been so   
numerous4 ,all times and tribes are     
searched for memorials2 the remote      
corners of modern1 medieval and ancient 
periods are brought under scrutiny2 and 
going beyond these again1 the           
semi-historic eras of tradition and the 
nebulous gleams from pre-historic       
milleniums,,tn-#a are diligently        
scanned1 that their uncertain story may 
be prefaced to that registered in the   
syllables of recorded time4  ,in this   
manner a vast mass of material is       
accumulating with which the historian   
has to deal4 ,what now is the real      
nature of the task he sets before       
himself8 ,what is the mission with which
 he is entrusted8  ,to understand this  

task1 to appreciate that mission1 he    
must ask himself the broad questions3   
,what is the aim of history8 ,what are  
the purposes for which it should be     
studied and written8  ,he will find no  
lack of answers to these inquiries1 all 
offered with equal confidence1 but      
singularly discrepant among themselves4 
,his embarrassment will be that of      
selection between widely divergent      
views1 each ably supported by           
distinguished advocates4  ,as ,i am     
going to add still another1 not exactly 
like any already on the list1 it may    
well be asked of me to show why one or  
other of those already current is not as
 good or better than my own4 ,this      
requires me to pass in brief review the 
theories of historic methods1 or1 as it 
is properly termed1 of the ,philosophy  
of ,history1 which are most popular     
to-day4  ,they may be classified under  
three leading opinions1 as follows3  #a4
 ,history should be an accurate record  
of events1 and nothing more2 an exact   

and disinterested statement of what has 
taken place1 concealing nothing and     
coloring nothing1 reciting incidents in 
their natural connections1 without bias1
 prejudice1 or didactic application of  
any kind4  ,this is certainly a high    
ideal and an excellent model4 ,for many1
 yes1 for the majority of historical    
works1 none better can be suggested4 ,i 
place it first and name it as worthiest 
of all current theories of historical   
composition4 ,but1 ,i would submit to   
you1 is a literary production answering 
to this precept1 really ,history8 ,is it
 anything more than a well-prepared     
annal or chronicle8 ,is it1 in fact     
anything else than a compilation        
containing the materials of which real  
history should be composed8  ,i consider
 that the mission of the historian1     
taken in its completest sense1 is       
something much more1 much higher1 than  
the collection and narration of events1 
no matter how well this is done4 ,the   
historian should be like the man of     

science1 and group his facts under      
inductive systems so as to reach the    
general laws which connect and explain  
them4 ,he should1 still further1 be like
 the artist1 and endeavor so to exhibit 
these connections under literary forms  
that they present to the reader the     
impression of a symmetrical and organic 
unity1 in which each part or event bears
 definite relations to all others4      
,collection and collation are not       
enough4 ,the historian must work up his 
field notes1 as the geologists say1 so  
as to extract from his data all the     
useful results which they are capable of
 yielding4  ,i am quite certain that in 
these objections ,i can count on the    
suffrages of most4 ,for the majority of 
authors write history in a style widely 
different from that which ,i have been  
describing4 ,they are distinctly        
teachers1 though not at all in accord as
 to what they teach4 ,they are generally
 advocates1 and with more or less       
openness maintain what ,i call the      

second theory of the aim of history1 to 
wit3  #b4 ,history should be a          
collection of evidence in favor of      
certain opinions4  ,in this category are
 to be included all religious and       
political histories4 ,their pages are   
intended to show the dealings of ,god   
with man2 or the evidences of           
,christianity1 or of one of its sects1  
,catholicism or ,protestantism2 or the  
sure growth of republican or of         
monarchial institutions2 or the proof of
 a divine government of the world2 or   
the counter-proof that there is no such 
government2 and the like4  ,you will    
find that most general histories may be 
placed in this class4 ,probably a man   
cannot himself have very strong         
convictions about politics or religion1 
and not let them be seen in his         
narrative of events where such questions
 are prominently present4 ,a few        
familiar instances will illustrate this4
 ,no one can take either ,lingard's or  
,macauley's ,history of ,england as     

anything more than a plea for either    
writer's personal views4 ,gibbon's      
anti-,christian feeling is as           
perceptibly disabling to him in many    
passages as in the church historians is 
their search for acts of ,providence1   
and the hand of ,god in human affairs4  
,all such histories suffer from fatal   
flaws4 ,they are deductive instead of   
inductive2 they are a defensio          
sententiarum instead of an investigatio 
veri2 they assume the final truth as    
known1 and go not forth to seek it4     
,they are therefore teleologic1 that is1
 they study the record of man as the    
demonstration of a problem the solution 
of which is already known4 ,in this they
 are essentially divinatory1 claiming   
foreknowledge of the future2 and1 as    
every ethnologist knows1 divination     
belongs to a stadium of incomplete      
intellectual culture1 one considerably  
short of the highest4 ,as has been well 
said by ,wilhelm von ,humboldt1 any     
teleologic theory disturbs and falsifies

 the facts of history2#f-a and it has   
been acutely pointed out by the         
philosopher ,hegel1 that it contradicts 
the notion of progress and is no advance
 over the ancient tenet of a recurrent  
cycle4#f-b  ,i need not dilate upon     
these errors4 ,they must be patent to   
you4 ,no matter how noble the           
conviction1 how pure the purpose1 there 
is something nobler and purer than it1  
and that is1 unswerving devotion to     
rendering in history the truth1 the     
whole truth and nothing but the truth4  
,i now turn to another opinion1 that    
which teaches that--  #c4 ,history      
should be a portraiture1 more or less   
extended1 of the evolution of the human 
species4  ,this is claimed to be the    
scientific view of history4 ,it was     
tersely expressed by ,alexander von     
,humboldt in the phrase3 ,the history of
 the world is the mere expression of a  
predetermined1 that is1 fixed1          
evolution4#f-c  ,it is that advocated by
 ,auguste ,comte1 ,draper and ,spencer1 

and a few years ago ,prof4 ,gerland1 of 
,strasburg1 formulated its basic maxim  
in these words3 ,man has developed from 
the brute through the action of purely  
mechanical1 therefore fixed1 laws4#g-a  
,the scientist of to-day who hesitates  
to subscribe to these maxims is liable  
to be regarded as of doubtful learning  
or of debilitated intellect4 ,i         
acknowledge that ,i am one such1 and    
believe that ,i can show sound reasons  
for denying the assumption on which this
 view is based4  ,it appears to me just 
as teleologic and divinatory as those ,i
 have previously named4 ,it assumes     
,evolution as a law of the universe1    
whereas in natural science it is only a 
limited generalization1 inapplicable to 
most series of natural events1 and      
therefore of uncertain continuance in   
any series4 ,the optimism which it      
inculcates is insecure and belongs to   
deductive1 not inductive1 reasoning4    
,the mechanical theory on which it is   
based lacks proof1 and is1 ,i maintain1 

insufficient to explain motive1 and1    
therefore1 historic occurrences4 ,the   
assumption that history is the record of
 a necessary and uninterrupted          
evolution1 progressing under ironclad   
mechanical laws1 is a preconceived      
theory as detrimental to clear vision as
 are the preoccupations of the          
theologian or the political partisan4   
,any definition of evolution which      
carries with it the justification of    
optimism is as erroneous in history1 as 
it would be in biology to assert that   
all variations are beneficial4 ,there is
 no more certainty that the human       
species will improve under the operation
 of physical laws than that any         
individual will2 there is far more      
evidence that it will not1 as every     
species of the older geologic ages has  
succumbed to those laws1 usually without
 leaving a representative4  ,i am aware 
that ,i am here in opposition to the    
popular as well as the scientific view4 
,no commonplace is better received than 

that1 ,eternal progress is the law of   
nature2 though by what process eternal  
laws are discovered is imperfectly      
explained4  ,applied to history1 a      
favorite dream of some of the most      
recent teachers is that the life of the 
species runs the same course as that of 
one of its members4 ,lord ,acton1 of    
,oxford1 in a late lecture states that3 
,the development of society is like that
 of individual2#h-a and ,prof4 ,fellows1
 of the ,university of ,chicago1        
advances the same opinion in the words1 
,humanity as a whole developes,,tn-#b   
like a child4#h-b  ,the error of this   
view was clearly pointed out some years 
ago by ,dr4 ,tobler4#h-c ,there has been
 no growth of humanity at large at all  
comparable to that of the individual4   
,there are tribes to-day in the full    
stone age1 and others in all stages of  
culture above it4 ,the horizons of      
progress have been as local as those of 
geography4 ,no solidarity of advancement
 exists in the species as a whole4      

,epochs and stadia of culture vary with 
race and climate4 ,the much talked of   
law of continuity does not hold good    
either in national or intellectual      
growth4  ,such are the criticisms which 
may be urged against the historical     
methods now in vogue4 ,what1 you will   
ask1 is offered in their stead8 ,that   
which ,i offer is the view of the       
ethnologist4 ,it is not so ambitious as 
some ,i have named4 ,it does not deal in
 eternal laws1 nor divine the distant   
future4 ,the ethnologist does not       
profess to have been admitted into the  
counsels of the ,almighty1 nor to have  
caught in his grasp the secret purposes 
of the ,universe4 ,he seeks the         
sufficient reason for known facts1 and  
is content with applying the knowledge  
he gains to present action4  ,before    
stating the view of the ethnologist1 ,i 
must briefly describe what the science  
of ,ethnology is4 ,you will see at once 
how closely it is allied to history1 and
 that the explanation of the one almost 

carries with it the prescription for the
 other4  ,it begins with the            
acknowledged maxim that man is by nature
 a gregarious animal1 a zoon politikon1 
as ,aristotle called him1 living in     
society1 and owing to society all those 
traits which it is the business of      
history1 as distinguished from biology1 
to study4  ,from this standpoint1 all   
that the man is he owes to others2 and  
what the others are1 they owe1 in part1 
to him4 ,together1 they make up the     
social unit1 at first the family or     
clan1 itself becoming part of a larger  
unit1 a tribe1 nation or people4 ,the   
typical folk1 or ethnos1 is a social    
unit1 the members of which are bound    
together by certain traits common to all
 or most1 which impart to them a        
prevailing character1 an organic unity1 
specific peculiarities and general      
tendencies4  ,you may inquire what these
 traits are to which ,i refer as making 
up ethnic character4 ,the answer cannot 
be so precise as you would like4 ,we are

 dealing with a natural phenomenon1 and 
,nature1 as ,goethe once remarked1 never
 makes groups1 but only individuals4    
,the group is a subjective category of  
our own minds4 ,it is1 nevertheless1    
psychologically real1 and capable of    
definition4  ,the ,ethnos must be       
defined1 like a species of natural      
history1 by a rehearsal of a series of  
its characteristics1 not by one alone4  
,the members of this series are         
numerous1 and by no means of equal      
importance2 ,i shall mention the most   
prominent of them1 and in the order in  
which ,i believe they should be ranked  
for influence on national character4    
,first1 ,i should rank ,language4 ,not  
only is it the medium of intelligible   
intercourse1 of                         
thought-tranference1,,tn-#c but thought 
itself is powerfully aided or impeded by
 the modes of its expression in sound4  
,as spoken language1 in poetry and      
oratory1 its might is recognized on all 
hands2 while in written language1 as    

literature1 it works silently but with  
incalculable effect on the character of 
a people4#aj-a  ,next to this ,i should 
place ,government1 understanding this   
word in its widest sense1 as embracing  
the terms on which man agrees to live   
with his fellow man and with woman1     
family1 therefore1 as well as society   
ties4 ,this includes the legal standards
 of duty1 the rules of relationship and 
descent1 the rights of property and the 
customs of commerce1 the institutions of
 castes1 classes and rulers1 and those  
international relations on which depend 
war and peace4 ,i need not enlarge on   
the profound impress which these exert  
on the traits of the people4#aj-b       
,after these ,i should name ,religion1  
though some brilliant scholars1 such as 
,schelling and ,max ,mller1#aj-c have   
claimed for it the first place as a     
formative influence on ethnic character4
 ,no one will deny the prominent rank it
 holds in the earlier stages of human   
culture4 ,it is scarcely too much to say

 that most of the waking hours of the   
males of some tribes are taken up with  
religious ceremonies4 ,religion is1     
however1 essentially divinatory1 that   
is1 its chief end and aim is toward the 
future1 not the present1 and therefore  
the impress it leaves on national       
character is far less permanent1 much   
more ephemeral1 than either government  
or language4 ,this is constantly seen in
 daily life4 ,persons change their      
religion with facility1 but adhere      
resolutely to the laws which protect    
their property4 ,the mighty empire of   
,rome secured ethnic unity to a degree  
never since equalled in parallel        
circumstances1 and its plan was to      
tolerate all religions--as1 indeed1 do  
all enlightened states to-day--but to   
insist on the adoption of the ,roman    
law1 and1 in official intercourse1 the  
,latin language4 ,i have not forgotten  
the converse example of the ,jews1 which
 some attribute to their religion2 but  
the ,romany1 who have no religion worth 

mentioning1 have been just as tenacious 
of their traits under similar adverse   
circumstances4  ,the ,arts1 those of    
,utility1 such as pottery1 building1    
agriculture and the domestication of    
animals1 and those of ,pleasure1 such as
 music1 painting and sculpture1 must    
come in for a full share of the         
ethnologist's attention4 ,they          
represent1 however1 stadia of culture   
rather than national character4 ,they   
influence the latter materially and are 
influenced by it1 and different peoples 
have toward them widely different       
endowments2 but their action is         
generally indirect and unequally        
distributed throughout the social unit4 
,these four fields1 ,language1          
,government1 ,religion and the ,arts1   
are those which the ethnologist explores
 when he would render himself acquainted
 with a nation's character2 and now a   
few words about the methods of study he 
adopts1 and the aims1 near or remote1   
which he keeps in view4  ,he first      

gathers his facts1 from the best sources
 at his command1 with the closest       
sifting he can give them1 so as to      
exclude errors of observation or        
intentional bias4 ,from the facts he    
aims to discover on the above lines what
 are or were the regular characteristics
 of the people or peoples he is         
studying4 ,the ethnic differences so    
revealed are to him what organic        
variations are to the biologist and     
morphologist2 they indicate evolution or
 retrogression1 and show an advance     
toward higher forms and wider powers1 or
 toward increasing feebleness and decay4
  ,to understand them they must be      
studied in connection and causation4    
,hence1 the method of the ethnologist   
becomes that which in the natural       
sciences is called the developmental    
method4 ,it may be defined as the       
historic method where history is        
lacking4 ,the biologist explains the    
present structure of an organ by tracing
 it back to simpler forms in lower      

animals until he reaches the germ from  
which it began4 ,the ethnologist pursues
 the same course4 ,he selects1 let us   
say1 a peculiar institution1 such as    
caste1 and when he loses the traces of  
its origin through failure of written   
records1 he seeks for them in the       
survivals of unwritten folk-lore1 or in 
similar forms in primitive conditions of
 culture4  ,here is where ,archology    
renders him most efficient aid4 ,by     
means of it he has been able to follow  
the trail of most of the arts and       
institutions of life back to a period   
when they were so simple and            
uncomplicated that they are quite       
transparent and intelligible4 ,later    
changes are to be analyzed and explained
 by the same procedure4#ab-a  ,this is  
the whole of the ethnologic method4 ,it 
is open and easy when the facts are in  
our possession4 ,there are no secret    
springs1 no occult forces1 in the       
historic development of culture4        
,whatever seems hidden or mysterious1 is

 so only because our knowledge of the   
facts is imperfect4 ,no magic and no    
miracle has aided man in his long       
conflict with the material forces around
 him4 ,no ghost has come from the grave1
 no ,god from on high1 to help him in   
the bitter struggle4 ,what he has won is
 his own by the right of conquest1 and  
he can apply to himself the words of the
 poet3      ,hast du nicht alles selbst 
vollendet1     ,heilig glhend ,herz8    
7,goethe74  ,freed from fear we can now 
breathe easily1 for we know that no     
,deus ex machina meddles with those     
serene and mighty forces whose          
adamantine grasp encloses all the       
phenomena of nature and of life4  ,the  
ethnologist1 however1 has not completed 
his task when he has defined an ethnos1 
and explained its traits by following   
them to their sources4 ,he has merely   
prepared himself for a more delicate and
 difficult part of his undertaking4  ,it
 has been well said by one of the ablest
 ethnologists of this generation1 the   

late ,dr4 ,post1 of ,bremen1 that ,the  
facts of ethnology must ever be regarded
 as the expressions of the general      
consciousness of ,humanity4#ac-a ,the   
time has passed when real thinkers can  
be satisfied with the doctrines of the  
positive philosophers1 who insisted that
 events and institutions must be        
explained solely from the phenomenal or 
objective world1 that is1 by other      
events4  ,sounder views prevail1 both in
 ethnology and its history4 ,the history
 of man1 says a ,german writer1 is      
neither a divine revelation1 nor a      
process of nature2 it is first and above
 all1 the work of man2#ac-b an opinion  
reiterated by ,prof4 ,flint in his work 
on the philosophy of history in these   
words3 ,history is essentially the      
record of the work and manifestation of 
human nature4#ad-a ,in both sciences it 
is the essentially human which alone    
occupies us2 it is the life of man4     
,now men do not live in material things1
 but in mental states2 and solely as    

they affect these are the material      
things valuable or valueless4           
,religions1 arts1 laws1 historic events1
 all have but one standard of           
appraisement1 to wit1 the degree to     
which they produce permanently          
beneficial mental states in the         
individuals influenced by them4 ,all    
must agree to this1 though they may     
differ widely as to what such a mental  
state may be2 whether one of pleasurable
 activity1 or that of the ,buddhist     
hermit who sinks into a trance by       
staring at his navel1 or that of the    
,trappist monk whose occupations are the
 meditation of death and digging his own
 grave4  ,the ethnologist must make up  
his own mind about this1 and with utmost
 care1 for if his standard of merit and 
demerit is erroneous1 his results1      
however much he labors on them1 will    
have no permanent value4 ,there are     
means1 if he chooses to use them1 which 
will aid him here4  ,he must endeavor to
 picture vividly to himself the mental  

condition which gave rise to special    
arts and institutions1 or which these   
evolved in the people4 ,he must         
ascertain whether they increased or     
diminished the joy of living1 or        
stimulated the thirst for knowledge and 
the love of the true and the beautiful4 
,he must cultivate the liveliness of    
imagination which will enable him to    
transport himself into the epoch and    
surroundings he is studying1 and feel on
 himself1 as it were1 their peculiar    
influences4 ,more than all1 chief of    
all1 he must have a broad1 many-sided1  
tender sympathy with all things human1  
enabling him to appreciate the emotions 
and arguments of all parties and all    
peoples4  ,such complete comprehension  
and spiritual accord will not weaken1   
but will strengthen his clear perception
 of those standards by which all actions
 and institutions must ultimately be    
weighed and measured4 ,there are such   
standards1 and the really learned       
ethnologist will be the last to deny or 

overlook them4  ,the saying of ,goethe  
that ,the most unnatural action is yet  
natural1 is a noble suggestion of       
tolerance2 but human judgment can       
scarcely go to the length of ,madame de 
,stael's opinion1 when she claims that  
,to understand all actions is to pardon 
all4 ,we must brush away the sophisms   
which insist that all standards are     
merely relative1 and that time and place
 alone decide on right and wrong4 ,were 
that so1 not only all morality1 but all 
science and all knowledge were          
fluctuating as sand4 ,but it is not so4 
,the principles of ,reason1 ,truth1     
,justice and ,love have been1 are1 and  
ever will be the same4 ,time and place1 
race and culture1 make no difference4   
,whenever a country is engaged in the   
diffusion of these immortal verities1   
whenever institutions are calculated to 
foster and extend them1 that country1   
those institutions1 take noble          
precedence over all others whose efforts
 are directed to lower aims4#ae-a       

,something else remains4 ,when the      
ethnologist has acquired a competent    
knowledge of his facts1 and deduced from
 them a clear conception of the mental  
states of the peoples he is studying1 he
 has not finished his labors4           
,institutions and arts in some degree   
reflect the mental conditions of a      
people1 in some degree bring them about2
 but the underlying source of both is   
something still more immaterial and     
intangible1 yet more potent1 to wit1    
,ideas and ,ideals4 ,these are the      
primary impulses of conscious human     
endeavor1 and it is vain to attempt to  
understand ethnology or to write history
 without assigning their consideration  
the first place in the narration4  ,i am
 anxious to avoid here any metaphysical 
obscurity4 ,my assertion is1 that the   
chief impulses of nations and peoples   
are abstract ideas and ideals1 unreal   
and unrealizable2 and that it is in     
pursuit of these that the great as well 
as the small movements on the arena of  

national life and on the stage of       
history have taken place4  ,you are     
doubtless aware that this is no new     
discovery of mine4 ,early in this       
century ,wilhelm von ,humboldt wrote3   
,the last and highest duty of the       
historian is to portray the effort of   
the ,idea to attain realization in fact2
 and the most recent lecture on the     
philosophy of history which ,i have     
read1 that by ,lord ,acton1 contains    
this maxim3 ,ideas which in religion and
 politics are truths1 in history are    
living forces4  ,i do claim that it is  
timely for me to repeat these doctrines 
and to urge them with vehemence1 for    
they are generally repudiated by the    
prevailing schools of ethnology and     
history in favor of the opinion that    
objective1 mechanical influences alone  
suffice to explain all the phenomena of 
human life4 ,this ,i pronounce an       
inadequate and an unscientific opinion4 
,there is in living matter everywhere   
something which escapes the most        

exhaustive investigation1 some subtle   
center of impulse1 which lies beyond the
 domain of correlated energy1 and which 
acts directively1 without increasing or 
diminishing the total of that energy4   
,also in the transformations of organic 
forms1 there are preparations and       
propulsions which no known doctrine of  
the mechanical1 natural causes can      
interpret4 ,we must accept the presence 
of the same powers1 and in a greater    
degree1 in the life and the history of  
man4#ag-a  ,it may be objected that     
abstract ideas are far beyond the grasp 
of the uncultivated intellect4 ,the     
reply is1 consciously to regard them as 
abstract1 may be2 but they exist and act
 for all that4 ,all sane people think   
and talk according to certain abstract  
laws of grammar and logic2 and they act 
in similar unconsciousness of the       
abstractions which impel them4          
,moreover1 the ,idea is usually clothed 
in a concrete ,ideal1 a personification1
 which brings it home to the simplest   

mind4 ,this was long ago pointed out by 
the observant ,machiavelli in his       
statement that every reform of a        
government or religion is in the popular
 mind personified as the effort of one  
individual4  ,in every nation or ethnos 
there is a prevailing opinion as to what
 the highest typical human being should 
be4 ,this ,ideal of ,humanity1 as it has
 been called1 is more or less constantly
 and consciously pursued1 and becomes a 
spur to national action and to a        
considerable degree an arbiter of       
national destiny4 ,if the ideal is low  
and bestial1 the course of that nation  
is downward1 self-destroying2 if it is  
lofty and pure1 the energies of the     
people are directed toward the          
maintenance of those principles which   
are elevating and preservative4 ,these  
are not mechanical forces1 in any       
rational sense of the term2 but they are
 forces the potent directive and        
formative influence of which cannot be  
denied and must not be underestimated4  

,just in proportion as such ideas are   
numerous1 clear and true in the national
 mind1 do their power augment and their 
domain extend2 just so much more quickly
 and firmly do they express themselves1 
in acts1 forms and institutions1 and    
thus enable the nation to enrich1       
beautify and strengthen its own         
existence4 ,we have but to glance along 
the nations of the world and to reflect 
on the outlines of their histories1 to  
perceive the correctness of the         
conclusion which ,prof4 ,lazarus1       
perhaps the most eminent analyst of     
ethnic character of this generation1    
reaches in one of his essays3 ,a people 
which is not rich in ideas1 is never    
rich2 one that is not strong in its     
thinking powers1 is never strong4#ah-a  
,i claim1 therefore1 that the facts of  
ethnology and the study of racial       
psychology justify me in formulating    
this maxim for the guidance of the      
historian3 ,the conscious and deliberate
 pursuit of ideal aims is the highest   

causality in human history4  ,the       
historian who would fulfil his mission  
in its amplest sense must trace his     
facts back to the ideas which gave them 
birth2 he must recognize and define     
these as the properties of specific     
peoples2 and he must estimate their     
worth by their tendency to national     
preservation or national destruction4   
,this is the maxim1 the axiom1 if you   
please1 which both the ethnologist and  
the historian must bear ever present in 
mind if they would comprehend the       
meaning of institutions or the          
significance of events4 ,they must be   
referred to1 and explained by1 the ideas
 which gave them birth4 ,as an ,american
 historian has tersely put it1 ,the     
facts relating to successive phases of  
human thought constitute ,history4#ah-b 
,i am aware that a strong school of     
modern philosophers will present the    
objection that thought itself is but a  
necessary result of chemical and        
mechanical laws1 and therefore that it  

cannot be an independent cause4 ,dr4    
,post has pointedly expressed this      
position in the words3 ,we do not think2
 thinking goes on within us1#ai-a just  
as other functions1 such as circulation 
and secretion1 go on4  ,it is not       
possible for me at this time to enter   
into this branch of the discussion4 ,but
 ,i may ask your attention to the fact  
that one of the highest authorities on  
the laws of natural science1 the late   
,george ,j4 ,romanes1 reached by the    
severest induction an exactly opposite  
opinion1 which he announced in these    
words3 ,the human mind is itself a      
causal agent4 ,its motives are in large 
part matters of its own creation4 99 99 
99 ,intelligent volition is a true cause
 of adjustive movement4#ai-b  ,for      
myself1 after what ,i have endeavored to
 make an unbiased study of both         
opinions1 ,i subscribe unhesitatingly to
 the latter1 and look upon ,mind not    
only as a potent but as an independent  
cause of motion in the natural world1 of

 action in the individual life1 and1    
therefore1 of events in the history of  
the species4  ,confining ourselves to   
ethnology and history1 the causative    
idea1 as ,i have said1 makes itself felt
 through ethnic ideals4 ,these are      
influential in proportion as they are   
vividly realized by the national genius2
 and elevating in proportion as they    
partake of those final truths already   
referred to1 which are all merely forms 
of expression of right reasoning4 ,these
 ideals are the idola fori1 which have  
sometimes deluded1 sometimes glorified1 
those who believed in them4  ,i shall   
mention a few of them to make my meaning
 more apparent4  ,that with which we are
 most familiar in history is the warrior
 ideal1 the personification of military 
glory and martial success4 ,it is       
present among the rudest tribes1 and    
that it is active to-day1 events in     
recent ,european history prove only too 
clearly2 and among ourselves1 little    
would be needed to awaken it to vivid   

life4  ,we are less acquainted with     
religious ideals1 as they have weakened 
under the conditions of higher culture4 
,they belong in ,european history more  
to the medieval than to the modern      
period4 ,among ,mohammedans and         
,brahmins we can still see them in their
 full vigor4 ,in these lower faiths we  
can still find that intense fanaticism  
which can best be described by the      
expression of ,novalis1 intoxicated with
 ,god1 drunk with the divine2#bj-a and  
this it is which preserves to these     
nations what power they still retain4   
,would that ,i could claim for our own  
people a grander conception of the      
purpose of life than either of these4   
,but alas6 their ideal is too evident to
 be mistaken4 ,i call it the divitial   
ideal1 that of the rich man1 that which 
makes the acquisition of material wealth
 the one standard of success in life1   
the only justifiable aim of effort4 ,to 
most ,american citizens the assertion   
that there is any more important1 more  

sensible purpose than this1 is simply   
incomprehensible or incredible4  ,in    
place of any of these1 the man who loves
 his kind would substitute others2 and  
as these touch closely on the business  
of the ethnologist and the historian    
when either would apply the knowledge he
 has gained to the present condition of 
society1 ,i will briefly refer to some  
advanced by various writers4  ,the first
 and most favorite is that of moral     
perfection4 ,it has been formulated in  
the expression3 ,in the progress of     
ethical conceptions lies the progress of
 history itself4 7,schfer47 ,to such    
writers the ideal of duty performed     
transcends all others1 and is complete  
in itself4 ,the chief end of man1 they  
say1 is to lead the moral life1         
diligently to cultivate the ethical     
perception1 the notion of the ought1 and
 to seek in this the finality of his    
existence4#ba-a  ,keener thinkers have1 
however1 recognized that virtue1        
morality1 the ethical evolution1 cannot 

be an end in itself1 but must be a means
 to some other end4 ,effort directed    
toward other1 altruism in any form1 must
 have its final measurement of value in 
terms of self2 otherwise the immutable  
principles of justice are attacked4 ,i  
cannot enlarge upon this point1 and will
 content myself with a reference to     
,prof4 ,steinthal's admirable essay on  
,the ,idea of ethical ,perfection1      
published some years ago4#ba-b ,he shows
 that in its last analysis the ,good has
 its value solely in the freedom which  
it confers4 ,were all men truly ethical1
 all would be perfectly free4 ,therefore
 ,freedom1 in its highest sense1        
according to him and several other      
accomplished reasoners1 is the aim of   
morality1 and is that which gives it    
worth4  ,this argument seems to me a    
step ahead1 but yet to remain           
incomplete4 ,for after all1 what is     
freedom8 ,it means only opportunity1 not
 action2 and opportunity alone is a     
negative quantity1 a zero4 ,opportunity 

for what1 ,i ask8  ,for an answer1 ,i   
turn with satisfaction to an older      
writer on the philosophy of history1 one
 whose genial sympathy with the human   
heart glows on every page of his        
volumes1 to ,johann ,gottfried von      
,herder4#ba-c ,the one final aim1 he    
tells us1 of all institutions1 laws1    
governments and religions1 of all       
efforts and events1 is that each person1
 undisturbed by others1 may employ his  
own powers to their fullest extent1 and 
thus gain for himself a completer       
existence1 a more beautiful enjoyment of
 his faculties4  ,thus1 to the enriching
 of the individual life1 its worth1 its 
happiness and its fullness1 does all    
endeavor of humanity tend2 in it1 lies  
the end of all exertion1 the reward of  
all toil2 to define it1 should be the   
object of ethnology2 and to teach it1   
the purpose of history4  ,let me        
recapitulate4  ,the ethnologist regards 
each social group as an entity or       
individual1 and endeavors to place      

clearly before his mind its similarities
 and differences with other groups4     
,taking objective facts as his guides1  
such as laws1 arts1 institutions and    
language1 he seeks from these to        
understand the mental life1 the         
psychical welfare of the people1 and    
beyond this to reach the ideals which   
they cherished and the ideas which were 
the impulses of their activities4       
,events and incidents1 such as are      
recorded in national annals1 have for   
him their main1 if not only value1 as   
indications of the inner or soul life of
 the people4  ,by the comparison of     
several social groups he reaches wider  
generalizations2 and finally to those   
which characterize the common           
consciousness of ,humanity1 the         
psychical universals of the species4 ,by
 such comparison he also ascertains     
under what conditions and in what       
directions men have progressed most     
rapidly toward the cultivation and the  
enjoyment of the noblest elements of    

their nature2 and this strictly         
inductive knowledge is that alone which 
he would apply to furthering the present
 needs and aspirations of social life4  
,this is the method which he would      
suggest for history in the broad meaning
 of the term4 ,it should be neither a   
mere record of events1 nor the          
demonstration of a thesis1 but a study1 
through occurrences and institutions1 of
 the mental states of peoples at        
different epochs1 explanatory of their  
success or failure1 and practically     
applicable to the present needs of human
 society4  ,such explanation should be  
strictly limited in two directions4     
,first1 by the principle that man can be
 explained only by man1 and can be so   
explained completely4 ,that is1 no      
super-human agencies need be invoked to 
interpret any of the incidents of       
history3 and1 on the other hand1 no     
merely material or mechanical           
conditions1 such as climate1 food and   
environment1 are sufficient for a full  

interpretation4 ,beyond these lie the   
inexhaustible sources of impulse in the 
essence of ,mind itself4  ,secondly1 the
 past can teach us nothing of the future
 beyond a vague surmise4 ,all theories  
which proceed on an assumption of       
knowledge concerning finalities1 whether
 in science or dogma1 are cobwebs of the
 brain1 not the fruit of knowledge1 and 
obscure the faculty of intellectual     
perception4 ,it is wasteful of one's    
time to frame them1 and fatal to one's  
work to adopt them4  ,these are also two
 personal traits which1 it seems to me1 
are requisite to the comprehension of   
ethnic psychology1 and therefore are    
desirable to both the ethnologist and   
the historian4 ,the one of these is the 
poetic instinct4  ,i fear this does not 
sound well from the scientific rostrum1 
for the prevailing notion among         
scientists is that the poet is a        
fabulist1 and is therefore as far off as
 possible from the platform they occupy4
 ,no one1 however1 can really understand

 a people who remains outside the pale  
of the world of imagination in which it 
finds its deepest joys2 and nowhere is  
this depicted so clearly as in its songs
 and by its bards4 ,the ethnologist who 
has no taste for poetry may gather much 
that is good1 but will miss the best2   
the historian who neglects the poetic   
literature of a nation turns away his   
eyes from the vista which would give him
 the farthest insight into national     
character4  ,the other trait is more    
difficult to define4 ,to apprehend what 
is noblest in a nation one must oneself 
be noble4 ,knowledge of facts and an    
unbiased judgment need to be accompanied
 by a certain development of personal   
character which enables one to be in    
sympathy with the finest tissue of human
 nature1 from the fibre of which are    
formed heroes and martyrs1 patriots and 
saints1 enthusiasts and devotees4 ,to   
appreciate these something of the same  
stuff must be in the mental constitution
 of the observer4  ,such is the         

ethnologist's view of history4 ,he does 
not pretend to be either a priest or a  
prophet4 ,he claims neither to possess  
the final truth nor to foresee it4 ,he  
is1 therefore equally unwelcome to the  
dogmatist1 the optimistic naturalist and
 the speculative philosopher4 ,he       
refuses any explanations which either   
contradict or transcend human reason2   
but he insists that human reason is one 
of the causal facts which he has to     
consider2 and this brings him into      
conflict with both the mystic and the   
materialist4  ,though he exalts the     
power of ideas1 he is no idealist1 but  
practical to the last degree2 for he    
denies the worth of any art1 science1   
event or institution which does not     
directly or indirectly contribute to the
 elevation of the individual man or     
woman1 the common average person1 the   
human being4  ,to this one end1         
understanding it as we best can1 he     
claims all effort should tend2 and any  
other view than this of the philosophy  

of history1 any other standard of value 
applied to the records of the past1 he  
looks upon as delusive and deceptive1 no
 matter under what heraldry of title or 
seal of sanctity it is offered4         
,,footnotes3  #f-a ,in his epochal essay
 ,die ,aufgabe des ,geschichtschreibers4
 ,gesammelte ,werke1 ,bd4 ,i41 s4 #ac4  
,it was republished with a              
discriminating introduction by          
,professor ,steinthal in ,die           
,sprachphilosophischen ,werke ,wilhelm  
von ,humboldt's 7,berlin1 #ahhc74  #f-b 
,der ,zweck-,begriff bewirkt nur sich   
selbst1 und ist am ,ende was er im      
,anfange1 in der ,unsprnglichkeit1 war4 
,encyclopdie der philosophischen        
,wissenschaften4 ,theil1,,tn-#d ,i41    
#bjd4  #f-c ,die ,weltgeschichte ist der
 blosse ,ausdruck einer vorbestimmten   
,entwicklung4 7,quoted by ,lord ,acton47
  #g-a ,die ,menschheit hat sich aus    
natrlicher1 tierischer ,grundlage auf   
rein natrliche mechanische ,weise       
entwickelt4 ,anthropolgische ,beitrge1  

s4 #ba4  #h-a ,a ,lecture on the ,study 
of ,history1 p4 #a 7,london1 #ahie74    
#h-b ,see his article ,the ,relation of 
,anthropology to the ,study of ,history1
 in ,the ,american ,journal of          
,sociology1 ,july1 #ahie4  #h-c ,ludwig 
,tobler1 in his article ,zur            
,philosophie der ,geschichte1 in the    
,zeitschrift fr ,vlkerpsychologie1 ,bd4 
,,xii41 s4 #aie4  #aj-a ,one of the most
 lucid of modern ,german philosophical  
writers says1 ,without language1 there  
could be no unity of mental life1 no    
national life at all4 ,friedrich        
,paulsen1 ,introduction to ,philosophy1 
p4 #aic4 7,english translation1 ,new    
,york1 #ahie47 ,i need scarcely recall  
to the student that this was the        
cardinal principle of the ethnological  
writings of ,wilhelm von ,humboldt1 and 
that his most celebrated essay is       
entitled ,ueber die ,verschiedenheit des
 menschlichen ,sprachbaues und ihren    
,einfluss auf die geistige ,entwickelung
 des ,menschengeschlechts4 ,the thought 

is well and tersely put by ,prof4 ,frank
 ,granger--,language is the instinctive 
expression of national spirit4 7,the    
,worship of the ,romans1 p4 #ai1        
,london1 #ahif47  #aj-b ,law1 in its    
positive forms1 may be viewed as an     
instrument used to produce a certain    
kind of character4 ,frank ,granger1 ubi 
supra1 p4 #ai4  #aj-c ,lectures on the  
,science of ,religion1 p4 #ee4  #ab-a   
,how different from the position of     
,voltaire1 who1 expressing1,,tn-#e the  
general sentiment of his times1         
wrote1--,the history of barbarous       
nations has no more interest than that  
of bears and wolves6  #ac-a ,grundriss  
der ethnologischen ,jurisprudenz1 ,bd4  
,i41 s4 #e4 7,leipzig1 #ahid47  #ac-b   
,das ,geschichte ist weder eine         
,offenbarung ,gottes1 noch ein          
,naturprocess1 sondern eben             
,menschenwerk4 ,tobler in the           
,zeitschrift fr ,vlkerpsychologie1 ,bd4 
,,xii41 s4 #bja4  #ad-a ,history of the 
,philosophy of ,history1 p4 #egi4  #ae-a

 ,there is nothing in this inconsistent 
with the principle laid down by ,lecky3 
,the men of each age must be judged by  
the ideal of their own age and country1 
and not by the ideal of ourselves4--,the
 ,political ,value of ,history1 p4 #ej1 
,new ,york1 #ahib4 ,the distinction is  
that between the relative standard1     
which we apply to motives and persons1  
and the absolute standard1 which we     
apply to actions4 ,the effects of the   
latter1 for good or evil1 are fixed1 and
 independent of the motives which prompt
 them4  #ag-a ,the historian1 says      
,tolstoi1 is obliged to admit an        
inexplicable force1 which acts upon his 
elementary forces4 ,power and ,liberty1 
p4 #bh 7,eng4 ,trans41 ,new ,york1      
#ahhh74  #ah-a ,see his article ,ueber  
die ,ideen in der ,geschichte1 in the   
,zeitschrift fr                         
,vlkerpsychologie4,,tn-#f ,bd4 ,,iii41  
,s4 #dhf4  #ah-b ,brooks ,adams1 ,the   
,law of ,civilization and ,decay1       
,preface 7,london1 #ahie74 ,this author 

has reached an advanced position with   
reference to thought and emotion as the 
impulses of humanity4  #ai-a ,grundriss 
der ethnologischen ,jurisprudenz1 ,band 
,i41 s4 #d4  #ai-b ,mind and ,motion1   
pp4 #bi1 #adj1 etc4 7,london1 #ahie47   
,prof4 ,paulsen goes much further1 as1  
,the inner disposition spontaneously    
determines the development of the       
individual1 and ,the organism is1 as it 
were1 congealed voluntary               
action4--,introduction to ,philosophy1  
pp1,,tn-#g #ahg1 #aij4  #bj-a ,before   
him1 however1 the expression ebrius ,deo
 was applied to the ancient rhapsodists4
  #ba-a ,as expressed by ,prof4         
,droysen1 in his work1 ,principles of   
,history1 7p4 #af1 ,new ,york1 #ahic71  
recently translated by ,president       
,andrews1 of ,brown                     
,university--,historical things are the 
perpetual actualization of the moral    
forces4 ,elsewhere he says--,history is 
humanity becoming conscious concerning  
itself1,,tn-#h ,there is no objection to

 such expressions2 they are good as far 
as they go2 but they do not go to the   
end4  #ba-b ,in the ,zeitschrift fr     
,vlkerpsychologie1 ,band ,,xi41 ,heft   
,,ii4  #ba-c ,ideen zur ,geschichte der 
,menschheit1 ,b4 ,,xv41 ,cap4 ,i4       
,transcriber's ,note   ,the following   
misspellings and typographical errors   
were maintained4         ,page          
,error   ,,tn-#a   #c        milleniums 
should read millenniums   ,,tn-#b   #h  
developes should read develops   ,,tn-#c
  #aj        thought-tranference1 should
 read thought-transference   ,,tn-#d    
fn4 #f-b   ,theil1 should read ,theil   
,,tn-#e  fn4 #ab-a  expressing1 should  
read expressing   ,,tn-#f  fn4 #ah-a    
,vlkerpsychologie4 should read          
,vlkerpsychologie1   ,,tn-#g  fn4 #ai-b 
pp1 should read pp4   ,,tn-#h  fn4 #ba-a
  itself1 should read itself4