NUG.E ETHXOLOGICAE. 229 



The human spine increases in size at its lower part in proportion to the 

 weight it has to bear, the lowest vertebrae being very broad and strong j 

 whereas the monkey has them of nearly equal size throughout. These 

 facts prove the propriety of assuming the erect stature as a peculiar char- 

 acteristic of the human race. It has been so regarded in all ages. Many 

 supppse that it constitutes the image of God in which man was made- 

 It is spoken of in similar terms by the ancient mythological poets. Ev- 

 ery classical scholar will at once recall the '•'•Pronaque cum speclent an- 

 imalia cetera lerram,'"' &c. of Ovid. Whether he was created erect, as 

 the poet asserts, that he might behold the sky and raise his sublime 

 countenance to the stars, is more than we can tell. The doctrine of final 

 causes is a very difficult one, and requires to be handled with all deli- 

 cacy. The alleged cause in this case is certainly more probable than 

 that of the philosopher who sugceslcd that the Creator salted the Ocean 

 to keep it from spoiling. At all events, the fact is indisputable, and that 

 is enough for us. 



T/te human teeth are peculiar by their approximation in a regular 

 roio of equal length. The perpendicular position of the lower incisors 

 causes the prominence of the lower jaw in the human countenance, and 

 gives it its distinguishing mark, the chin. It is to this feature mainly 

 that man owes it that he has a face and not a muzzle. In animals there 

 is also found a bone between the two upper jaw-bones, containing the 

 superior incisors. It was the fact tliat Galen described this os incisivum 

 as a part of the human frame, that first led to the suspicion, since con- 

 firmed, that he derived his knowledge of anatomy altogeiher from the 

 dissection of animals. In man it is wanting entirely. It has not yet been 

 ascertained whether it exists in all the monkeys, but it certainly does in 

 the orang-outang, the most anthropomosphous of them all, except the 

 chimpanzee. 



Man is the only animal in which the lateral is greater than the an- 

 iero-posterior diameter of the chest. This conformation is admirably 

 adapted to the free use of the arms, but would be exceedingly inconve- 

 nient and unfavorable to strength in the prone position. 



Man is alone in his protracted and helpless infancy. He requires a 

 much longer dependance upon the mother than the young of any other 

 animal. There is none which gets its teeth at so late a period, or is so 

 long in acquiring the power of locomotion. lie is compensated for this 

 by his greater longevity, no mammal of his size living nearly so long. 



Man is unarmed. He has neither the sharp teeth and powerful jaws^ 

 nor the strong tearing claws of the quadrupeds. He has neither the 

 horns of the ox, the coat of mail of the annadilla, nor the bristles of the 



