The Philosophy of History, Vol. 1 of 2Schlegel, Friedrich von
Philosophy
The Philosophy of History, Vol. 1 of 2
Schlegel, Friedrich von
History; History -- Philosophy
With regard to the gigantic stature attributed to the primitive race of
men, by the authentic testimony of universal tradition;--a testimony
which it is easy to distinguish from mere poetical embellishment or
exaggeration--it is singular that those who are otherwise so disposed to
apply the analogies of nature to the human species, should in this
instance at least hold up the now ordinary scale of human bulk as the
only standard of probability and certainty. The remains, more than once
alluded to, of that primitive world which has perished, show that of the
elephant, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus, the largest of all existing
animals, there were originally from twenty to thirty different tribes
and species which are now extinct. Of the mammoth, that gigantic animal
of antiquity, remains of which are found not only in Siberia and
America, but in the different counties of Europe, near Paris, and even
in this immediate neighbourhood, a great number of various species have
been also proved to have existed from the investigation of these
ante-diluvian remains. Even of animals more familiar to us, bones and
other remains have been discovered of a very unusual and truly gigantic
size. Bulls' horns fastened together by a front-bone--antlers of stags,
and elephants' tusks have been found, which prove those animals to have
been of a dimension three, four, and even five times greater than they
usually are at present. If in this elder period of organic nature, and
of an animal kingdom which has become extinct, this gigantic style was
so very prevalent, is it not reasonable to infer a similar analogy in
the human species, so far at least as relates to their physical
conformation, especially when this analogy is unanimously attested by
the primitive Sagas and traditions of all nations?
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