1 8 QUADRUMANA. 



abhorrent in the larger, wilder kinds. They are at once too like and too 

 unlike ourselves. Like man, they can stand upright ; like man, they 

 have hands, a hairless face, and eyes looking directly forward. Yet even 

 these hands, so like ours to the ordinary eye, are not the admirable 

 instrument possessed by man ; the thumb is shorter and more widely 

 separated from the fingers, and the fingers cannot act separatel)' like a 

 man's. The haggard, hairy body, the long arms, the thin, calfless legs, 

 the small, receding skull, and the thin, in-drawn lips, are all character- 

 istics of the ape, the very opposite of those found in man. 



Morally as well as physically, the apes constitute the " seamy side " 

 of man. They are malicious, cunning, sensual, greedy, thievish, easily 

 provoked to rage, and have human vices and defects. But they are not 

 without what we name virtues. They are sagacious, cheerful, social, 

 devotedly fond of their offspring, and display striking compassion towards 

 the sick and weak. Intellectually they are neither so much higher than 

 other animals, nor so much lower than man, as is commonly maintained. 

 The possession of a hand gives them great advantages over the rest of 

 the animal kingdom, they have a strong tendency for imitating, and are 

 easily taught actions which no other animals can perform. And if we 

 compare the mental qualities of the ape with those of the dog, to the 

 disadvantage of the former, we must remember that man has been for 

 thousands of years training and educating the dog, while the ape has had 

 no opportunity of enjoying the elevating society of mankind. Taking 

 this circumstance into account, we must recognize the ape as the most 

 saafacious of beasts. Yet he is deceived and out-tricked with ease : his 

 passions conquer his prudence. The Malays make a small hole in a 

 gourd, and then place in the interior sugar or some fruits that apes 

 love. The ape inserts its hand through the narrow opening, grasps a 

 handful, and finds that it cannot be withdrawn again ; it allows itself to 

 be captured rather than lose its grasp on the dainties it has seized. 



The apes are the most agile and active of the Mammalia. When on 

 a raid for food they are not at rest for a moment. They devour every 

 species of food — fruits, roots, bulbs, corn, nuts and leaves — and insects, 

 eggs, and young birds form the delicacies of their repasts. In search of 

 provender their bands spread through the forests; even the elephant 

 dares not invade the spots where the ape is foraging. But while jealous 

 of guarding what they consider their own right, the rogues care not for 

 the rights of others. " We sow, the apes reap," is a proverb in the 



