ii MAN AND APES: HAND AND BRAIN. 117 



he has been affirmed to differ fundamentally from 

 all the apes in the characters of his brain, which 

 alone, it has been strangely asserted and reas- 

 serted, exhibits the structures known to anatomists 

 as the posterior lobe, the posterior cornu of the 

 lateral ventricle, and the hippocampus minor. 



That the former proposition should have 

 gained general acceptance is not surprising — in- 

 deed, at first sight, appearances are much in its 

 favour: but, as for the second, one can only admire 

 the surpassing courage of its enunciator, seeing 

 that it is an innovation which is not only opposed 

 to generally and justly accepted doctrines, but 

 which is directly negatived by the testimony of all 

 original inquirers, who have specially investigated 

 the matter: and that it neither has been, nor can 

 be, supported by a single anatomical preparation. 

 It would, in fact, be unworthy of serious refutation, 

 except for the general and natural belief that de- 

 liberate and reiterated assertions must have some 

 foundation. 



Before we can discuss the first point with ad- 

 vantage we must consider with some attention, 

 and compare together, the structure of the human 

 hand and that of the human foot, so that we may 

 have distinct and clear ideas of what constitutes a 

 hand and what a foot. 



The external form of the human hand is famil- 

 iar enough to every one. It consists of a stout 



