. The world's inhabitants; or, Mankind, animals, and plants; being a popular account of the races and nations of mankind, past and present, and the animals and plants inhabiting the great continents and principal islands. aged inmoney-making far outnumber those occupied inthe temples, and the former look down upon thelatter. So far is it from being true, that theOrientals never change; they do change mostvitally, only they pretend not to knowit; and by keeping up some external withforms and customs, they appear at P®^^^^^®^*®-first sight to be as unchanged as the lanceletor the lamp-shell from
. The world's inhabitants; or, Mankind, animals, and plants; being a popular account of the races and nations of mankind, past and present, and the animals and plants inhabiting the great continents and principal islands. aged inmoney-making far outnumber those occupied inthe temples, and the former look down upon thelatter. So far is it from being true, that theOrientals never change; they do change mostvitally, only they pretend not to knowit; and by keeping up some external withforms and customs, they appear at P®^^^^^®^*®-first sight to be as unchanged as the lanceletor the lamp-shell from time immemorial. Thebrief history of India that we have given is arecord of continual and mighty changes; and whoever takes up the ideathat Orientals do not change, will make a disastrous mistake. The Brahmans, as a rule, are tall, well-made men, of a light-yellowcolour. Very many of them are incapable of conversing in Sanscrit, anduse the vernacular of the people among whom they are. Sir W. (IndianEmpire, 2nd edition, p. 96) well describes them as theresult of nearly 3000 years of hereditary education and self-restraint;and they have evolved a type of mankind quite distinct from the sur- FIGURE OF HINDU Tcm2le at 292 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. rounding population. Even the passing traveller in India marks themPhysical ®^^ alike from the bronze-cheeked, large-limbed, leisure-loving characters of Raiput or warrior caste of Aryan descent, and from the dark-Brahmans. , . , ,, .,,.,,. % , skinned, nat-nosed, thick-lipped low castes 01 non-Aryan origin, with their short bodies and bullet heads. The Brahman stands apartfrom both; tall and slim, with finely-modelled lips and nose, fair com-plexion, high forehead, and somewhat cocoa-nut shaped skull—the manof self-centred refinement. He is an example of a class becoming theruling power in a country, not by force of arms, but by the vigour of
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectcivilization, bookyea
