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bb, pelvis, which also includes the sacrum and the bones in front.

is also narrower but lengthened, while the whole pelvis and the spinal column are nearly in a line. (See a and b, b, in figs. 3 and 4.) These peculiarities alone, together with the great mass of the muscles of the loins and hips, suffice to distinguish man from every other animal; and they not only secure to him the upright posture, but also the complete freedom of the arms, for the purposes of skill and art.

A splendid monograph has recently appeared on this subject, entitled "Recherches d'Anatomie comparée sur le Chimpanze." It was published at Amsterdam, in 1841, in folio, with plates. The author, Dr. W. Vrolik, found the materials for his study in the rich museums of Holland. But we deem it wholly unnecessary to follow Dr. V. on the present occasion, in his minute anatomical investigation of the differences and analogies between the human form and those of the man-like species, the chimpanzé, orang, and siamang.

Continuing this inquiry relative to the lower extremities, we find that the lateral breadth of the human pelvis throws outward the heads of the thigh bones, which is further increased by the neck of the latter; but a compensating adjustment is provided in the position of the thigh bones directed obliquely toward each other. Hence, in the upright posture, with the feet together, the knees are brought again in the line of the body, whose weight is received upon the heads of the tibia (leg bones,) which stand perpendicularly under the centre of gravity. Between the knee-joint of man and that even of the chimpanzé, an ape which stands high in the order of quadrumana, there is a very marked contrast; so that it is sufficiently obvious that the latter never was intended for the erect posture, or if so, only for a moment. In man the whole weight of the body is transmitted through the tibia to the arch of the foot, on which it rests securely; and lastly, to secure in the foot the requisite firmness in standing, its articulation with the leg is at right-angles, so that both the toes and the heel bear upon the ground; and this contact of the heel with the ground and also the arched form of the foot, are characteristic of man alone. Even those apes which most nearly approach man in general aspect, are destitute of the heel; and as the foot, when standing erect, rests rather upon the outer side than upon its sole, they cannot resist attempts to overthrow them, more especially as the narrowness of the pelvis is unfavorable to an equilibrium.

A comparison of figs. 3 and 4, also shows the greater

proportional length of the lower extremities in man, which would consequently present the most inconvenient obstacle to his progression in the horizontal posture; for he must necessarily either travel upon his knees, or upon the extremities of his toes. And a further comparison of these same figures, reveals other osteological differences; such as the striking predominance, in apes, of the fore-arm over the upper-arm, and the great length of the upper, contrasted with the shortness of the lower limbs, all adapting them peculiarly to their climbing habits. While in the erect human skeleton, the fingers reach the inferior third of the femur, (thigh-bone,) they extend, according to Dr. Vrolik, in the chimpanzé to the upper third of the tibia; and in the orang and siamang, they actually touch the feet. Moreover, while the lower extremities in man, as he advances from birth, grow proportionally more in length than the upper, the case in these apes is reversed. The chimpanzé and the siamang have each thirteen pairs of ribs, and consequently, thirteen dorsal vertebræ; but the orang has but twelve of each, in which respect he is nearer to man than his brother apes. It may be here added, that Dr. Vrolik, from the comparative osteological character of man, and the three most man-like apes, arrives at the conclusion, according to the ordinary rules of classification, that the difference is sufficiently great to warrant the placing of man, not only in a separate genus, but in a separate order; and while Cuvier assigned to the orang the place next to man, Vrolik deci.les in favor of the chimpanzé.

It is hence an indisputable conclusion, that to man the erect attitude and biped progression are natural; and it follows equally that the histories of supposed wild men, alleged to have been found in woods, crawling on all fours, as well as dumb and hairy, are stories resting upon the very slightest foundation.

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If the human species were constituted into a distinct order, the name bimana would be found the most appropriate; for it is man alone that is two-handed. "We ought to define," says Sir Charles Bell," the hand as belonging exclusively to man.' In the term quadrumana, are included apes, monkeys, and baboons, which present a regular series; and of these, the highest exhibit a striking resemblance to man in general conforma

* Bridgewater Treatise. The Hand, its Mechanism and Vital Endowments, as evincing Design. By Sir Charles Bell, K. G. H., F. R. S., L. & E.

tion. "That which constitutes the hand, properly so called," says Cuvier, "is the faculty of opposing the thumb to the other fingers, so as to seize the most minute objects,—a faculty which is carried to its highest degree of perfection in man, in whom the whole anterior extremity is free, and can be employed in prehension." Now the quadrumana are distinguished from other viviparous mammalia, with the exception of opossums, by having an opposable thumb on each of the four extremities. But some naturalists, rejecting the term hand, as applied to the extremities of the monkey tribe, propose calling them graspers; and this is not without good reason, inasmuch as the anterior extremity of these animals is as much a foot, as the posterior is a hand. Indeed, it might with equal propriety be said that some of these tribes, in which the tail answers all the purposes of a hand, are five-handed. Naturalists have been so struck with the wonderful properties of the tail of the ateles, a South American monkey, which, however, is characterized by the absence or rudimental condition of the thumb of the anterior extremities, as to compare it with the proboscis of the elephant; and they even assure us that they actually use the tail in fishing! But our opossum applies the tail to a purpose, perhaps, still more useful and interesting; for the young ones, while the mother is escaping from her enemies, sit securely on her back, having their tails entwined around their mother's tail. It is thus that the four extremities of the monkey tribes are admirably adapted for their mode of progression, climbing and leaping from the branches of trees; but they are unable to seize very minute objects, or of performing many of those other actions, regarded as most characteristic of the human hand. This is due to the circumstance that in man, in consequence of the great size and power of the thumb, it can be brought into exact opposition to the extremities of all the fingers; while, on the other band, in the highest quadrumana, this contact is prevented, at least with any degree of force, in consequence of the length and slenderness of the fingers, and the undeveloped state of the thamb.

Thus it is seen, that the possession of the four so-called bands, not to say five, does not elevate the animal thus characterized, above two-handed man; for, as they are chiefly available in proportion as they are the ministers of intellect, a thousand hands, without the directing mind, would be comparatively valueless. "In these provisions," says Sir Charles Bell, "the

instrument corresponds with the superior mental capacities, the hand being capable of executing whatever man's ingenuity suggests. Nevertheless, the possession of the ready instrument is not the cause of the superiority of man, nor is its aptness the measure of his attainments." Hence, as man's elevated position is due to the conjoint operation of his mind and its instruments, the destitution of the former would soon find him, notwithstanding his two hands, either reduced to a very subordinate mode of mere brute existence, or rather altogether extinguished.

Another remarkable characteristic of man, is the absence of any natural weapons of defence or of offence; for, on all other animals in the same condition, God has bestowed the means of flight, of concealment, or of passive defence. Yet man, through the exercise of his reason and of his hands, has devised and constructed arms more terrible and destructive than those wielded by any other creature. In the language of Ray: "Some animals have horns, some have hoofs, some teeth, some talons, some claws, some spurs and beaks. Man hath none of all these, but is weak and feeble, and sent unarmed into the world; yet, a hand, with reason to use it, supplies the use of all these." If man, indeed, possessed any of these provisions, his sovereignty over the rest of the animal kingdom would be at once forfeited. This idea was long ago announced by the celebrated medical philosopher, Galen, who said: "Did man possess the natural armor of the brutes, he would no longer work as an artificer, nor protect himself with a breastplate, nor fashion a sword or spear, nor invent a bridle to mount the horse and hunt the lion. Neither could he follow the arts of peace, construct the pipe. and lyre, erect houses, place altars, inscribe laws, and through letters hold communion with the wisdom of antiquity."

Man, indeed, renders subservient to his purposes every department of nature. For the gratification of his senses, the earth is compelled to yield her choicest treasures; he appropri ates to his own use the service of the fleetest and strongest animals; for his convenience and luxury, the depths of the sea render up their gigantic inhabitants; even the burning deserts are made to surrender their most ferocious animals as trophies of his power; and lastly, the very elements themselves contribute to his comfort; for as the ocean is the great highway of nations, the winds, ay, boisterous steam itself, are here the untiring coursers which impel his ships from shore to shore.

From this topic there is a natural transition to that of the

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