o offer it. Others
have been thought of in Africa and Australia; but seldom in the spirit
of seeking truth, rather in that of supporting some favorite doctrine.
Such speculations ought at least to be based on better foundations than
mere assertions, evident philological proofs are required before they
can be listened to, and no total and complete diversity of mankind in
every aspect has been found any where to support the theory of a
plurality of human species and Cradles. Europe and Africa have been
repeatedly invaded by migrations from Asia. In America such migrations
can be traced north and east by the Atlantic ocean, or north west from
Berhring's[TN-10] strait, while we have not the faintest indication of
invasions of Asia from America. The only traditional account of the
invasion of Europe, and North Africa by the _Atlantes_ (probably
Americans, for the great _Atlantis_ was this continent) is involved in
doubt, and besides these very Atlantes were deemed Neptunian colonies;
although it must be confessed that in almost every instance the
colonists to America appear to have found previous inhabitants, who must
have been still earlier and remote colonies, if they were not
indigenous. But the sea-shores of North America from Labrador to
Carolina were desert at a very late period comparatively, when the
Western tribes came there.

The actual purpose does not extend to all the details of these deep
inquiries, but is chiefly confined to ascertain and prove the similarity
of the oldest primitive monuments of both hemispheres, and whereby a
connection of coeval and similar civilization is evinced in the earliest
times before the records of history. This evidence, which may be called
_monumental_, dives into the gloom of past ages, and hence descends to
ours, reaching our understanding by gradual links: while the
_philological_ evidence of spoken modern languages, fragments or
children of older primitive languages, ascends by their means to equal
antiquity; both combining, therefore, to complete the history of
mankind, where annals and traditions cease to lead us or are quite
obscure: these combined bring more certainty to the scrutinising mind
than the mere physical features of men, and their complexions, so
fluctuating and mingled. But neither of them solve the question of the
actual original Cradle or Cradles of mankind. If indeed monuments and
languages of various parts of the earth were quite different, and the
feature