BIMANA. 45 



derives from these peculiarities over other species ; we will 

 describe the principal varieties of his race and their distin- 

 guishing characters, and finally point out the natural order in 

 which his individual and social faculties are developed. 



Peculiar Conformation of Man. 



The foot of Man is very different from that of the Monkey; it is 

 largej the leg bears vertically upon it; the heel is expanded beneath; 

 the toes are short, and but slightly flexible; the great toe, longer 

 and larger than the rest, is placed on the same line with, and can- 

 not be opposed to them. This foot, then, is peculiarly virell adapted 

 to support the body; but cannot be used for seizing or climbing, and 

 as the hands are not calculated for walking, Man is the only true 

 bimanous and biped animal. 



The whole body of Man is arranged with a view to a vertical po- 

 sition. His feet, as just mentioned, furnish him with a base more 

 extensive than that of any other of the Mammalia. The muscles 

 which extend the foot and thigh are more vigorous, whence pro- 

 ceeds the projection of the calf and buttock; the flexors of the leg 

 are inserted higher up, which allows full extension of the knee, and 

 renders the calf more apparent. The pelvis is wider, hence a greater 

 separation of the thighs and feet, and that pyramidal form of the 

 body so favourable to equilibrium. The necks of the thigh bones 

 form an angle with the body of the bone, which increases, still 

 more, the separation of the feet, and augments the basis of the 

 body. Finally, the head in this vertical position is in equilibrium 

 on the body, because its articulation is exactly under the middle of 

 its mass. 



Were he to desire it, Man could not, with convenience, walk on 

 all fours; his short and nearly inflexible foot, and his long thigh, 

 would bring the knee to the ground; his widely separated shoulders 

 and his arms, too far extended from the median line, would ill sup- 

 port the upper portion of his body. The great indented muscle, 

 which, in quadrupeds, suspends, as in a girth, the body between the 

 scapulae, is smaller in Man than in any one among them. The head 

 is also heavier, both from the magnitude of the brain and the small- 

 ness of the sinuses or cavities of the bones; and yet the means of 

 supporting it are weaker, for he has neither cervical ligament, nor 

 are his vertebrae so arranged as to prevent their flexure forwards; 

 the result of this would be, that he could only keep his head in the 

 same line with the spine, and then his eyes and mouth being directed 

 towards the earth, he could not see before him; in the erect posi- 



