A WONDERFUL ANIMAL. 95 



than that of the cat. The brain of some of the extinct reptiles 

 wouki scarcely fill a wine-glass. But the intelligence of an animal 

 generally bears some relation to the complexity, if not to the size, 

 of its brain. There has been an effort lately made to associate 

 both crime and genius with insanity, but with regard to genius 

 I think it would be very remarkable if perversion of tissue 

 were correlated with the highest development of the function 

 thereof. 



Turning from the consideration of the brain to that of the limbs, 

 it is scarcely necessary to say that the primary object of locomotion 

 is to enable the organism to seek food over a larger area than was 

 possible with a fixed position. It has been reserved for man alone 

 to differentiate his limbs and use his legs and feet, and not his arms 

 and hands, for locomotion, and in this respect he is higher in the 

 scale of creation, in his purely animal nature, than any of the 

 other animals. It is thought that the erect position preceded 

 the development of mind. The hand, also, plays an important 

 part in the superiority of man over the other animals. 



Man the animal, irrespective of his mind, progresses ; the lower 

 animals do not progress ; but he, even in his animal characteristics 

 alone, is always going forward. We see this fact brought out in 

 nothing more clearly than in the way in which records are broken 

 in athletics and sports every year. Bicycling statistics prove this 

 as much as anything. But the limits of human performance are 

 very narrow without the aid of machinery, and are probably nearly 

 reached now. That we shall never fly is certain ; for it has been 

 mathematically calculated that our muscles can never be employed 

 to lift our weight from the gi'ound. 



I regret that I have not time enough to speak of the develop- 

 ment of races, but there is one point in connection with descent 

 which is sufficiently remarkable to notice. We find a great many 

 instances of survival and reversion, especially in watching the 

 habits of our children ; all their games are mimic war, and they 

 like "bluggy" stories. There is also amongst us one direct graft 

 from barbarism, and that is the practice of smoking. 



There are several other points involving curiosities of human 

 life-phenomena to which I had intended to allude, but I find that 

 I have miscalculated my time at the outset in dwelling on the 

 nerves of special sense. jS^ow, is it allowable to speculate for a 

 few minutes, by way of conclusion, as to the future of this 

 wonderful animal ? 



That our race is no longer in the heyday of its youth, that 

 ' it is in fact long past its prime, admits of no dispute whatever. 



