102 THE RELATIONS OF MAN 



to those which are rea], and the emptiness of those which 

 are fictitious may be exposed. I refer to the characters of 

 the hand, the foot, and the brain. 



Man has been defined as the only animal possessed of 

 two hands terminating his fore limbs, and of two feet end- 

 ing his hind limbs, while it has been said that all the apes 

 possess four hands ; and 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 re- 

 asserted, exhibits the structures known to anatomists as 

 the posterior lobe, the posterior cornu of the lateral ven- 

 tricle and the hippocampus minor. 



That the former proposition should have gained gen- 

 eral acceptance is not surprising — indeed, at first sight, 

 appearances are much in its favour : but, as for the second, 

 one can only admire the surpassing courage of its enunci- 

 ator, seeing that it is an innovation which is not only op- 

 posed to generally and justly accepted doctrines, but which 

 is directly negatived by the testimony of all original in- 

 quirers, 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 deliberate and reiterated assertions must have 

 some foundation. 



Before we can discuss the first point with advantage 

 we must consider with some attention, and compare to- 

 gether, 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 familiar 

 enough to every one. It consists of a stout wrist followed 

 by a broad palm, formed of flesh, and tendons, and skin, 



