No one has ever proved that a human being, through his descent from a certain group of people, must of necessity have certain mental characteristics.

If we were to select the most intelligent, imaginative, energetic, and emotionally stable third of mankind, all races would be present.

No one has ever proved that a human being, through his descent from a certain group of people, must of necessity have certain mental characteristics.

Furthermore, the study of the present surroundings is insufficient: the history of the people, the influence of the regions through which it has passed on its migrations, and the people with whom it came into contact, must be considered

My parents had broken through the shackles of dogma

Remember that in every single case in history the process of adaptation has been one of exceeding slowness. Do not look for the impossible, but do not let your path deviate from the quiet and steadfast insistence on full opportunities for your powers.

It is clear, from these considerations, that the three methods of classifying mankind-that according to physical characters, according to language, and according to culture-all reflect the historical development of races from different standpoints; and that the results of the three classifications are not comparable, because the historical facts do not affect the three classes of phenomena equally. A consideration of all these classes of facts is needed when we endeavour to reconstruct the early history of the races of mankind.