On Dwarfs and Giants. 145 



never exceeded eight or nine feet. These extreme examples 

 are very rare, but men of six or seven feet are not. 



Giants, like dwarfs, are almost always limited as to intellect ; 

 some of them are even idiots. They are, moreover, destitute of 

 energy, activity, weak in body and mind, of a lymphatic tem- 

 perament and delicate complexion, and of a bad conformation. 

 Throughout their whole life they even retain a part of the ex- 

 terior characteristics and traits of infancy. It is said, that at 

 Vienna, where giants and dwarfs had been collected for the 

 amusement of the Court, the latter incessantly ridiculed the for- 

 mer, and that, in a quarrel between two of them, the dwarf re- 

 mained master of the field of battle. Giants, moreover, like 

 dwarfs, are impotent, and equally so in both sexes, though less 

 remarkable among females. Giants are still more uncommon 

 among animals than dwarfs. The former, in general, die at 

 an early age, worn out, as it were, by their enormous and ra- 

 pid increase. They are found among nations of the most oppo- 

 site characters, but generally among those of a considerable sta- 

 ture. They seem to be born of very prolific mothers, and are 

 rarely the only tall individuals in a family. The causes of a gi- 

 gantic stature are obvious : an abundant and enervating nourish- 

 ment, a more flexible organization, a weak circulation, seem 

 greatly to favour it. Berkeley, Bishop of Cloyne, made an ex- 

 periment on an orphan, called Margrath, of whom it is only 

 known that, on reaching the height of seven feet eight inches, 

 he died — an old man at twenty years of age. 



In those of a gigantic stature, there is a positive increase in 

 the human stature; but this can only depend upon age and 

 time. M. Geoffroy here insists with propriety on the distinc- 

 tion which ought to be established between growth and deve- 

 lopment. The first arises from the gradual augmentation of 

 each of the parts of a body, independent of any change in their 

 number, structure, and functions. Development, on the con- 

 trary, consists in a modification, — in a change more or less ma- 

 nifest. The appearance of the teeth of the first dentition, that 

 of the permanent teeth, and lastly of puberty, indicates, in man 

 and the upper animals, three principal epochs of development to 

 proceed, from each of which the general increase commonly dimi- 

 nishes in a manner more or less marked. The connection between 



VOL. XV. NO. XXIX. JULY 1833. K 



