Transcription

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as is Mineralogy and other branches of Natural History. One reason of this neglect is that no money can be made of it and it does not lead to any advance in a man's social position. Another reason is that some people think it will disturb their religious opinions, as they believe (as I do also) that God created at first [indecipherable] and that all are descended from Adam, so that all investigation is decried to be superfluous: again, should investigation prove that all are not descended from Adam they fear the Bible and Christianity will be upset. Such persons cannot, or do not, see that it is one thing to have a religious belief in the singleness of origin of mankind, but it is a different thing to have the opinion as a Scientific deduction based upon observation and reasoning. These I think are the circumstances that prevent Ethnology being taken up as it otherwise would be, from the dignity of the subject, by the public at large. Lately however the infidels have laid hold of Ethnology as a means of attacking our Christianity and have given distorted views of its doctrines, so that now the religious part of the educated public must, in self defence, take up the study and answer these very shallow (for all infidels are shallow) people.

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