CHAPTER XVII 



MAN IN NATURE 



4 1 3- Man as an Animal. One genus of the animal 

 kingdom separates itself from the rest in a manner so com- 

 plete as to require special consideration. It is the genus 

 to which we ourselves belong, and it contains the one 

 species Mankind. Varieties of this species differ so much 

 amongst themselves physically that there is nearly as great 

 a gap between the most highly developed and the most de- 

 graded as between the latter and some of the most developed 

 apes. Organic evolution seems liable to no exception at 

 this point. Mankind is subject to the same natural con- 

 ditions as other animals, being dependent on plant life 

 for food, and always under the control of heredity and 

 environment. In some respects the human species is in- 

 ferior to the less developed animals, particularly in the 

 possession of a thin skin without fur or feathers, and in the 

 absence of claws, tusks, or any natural weapons of offence. 



419. Man as Man. The differences between Man and 

 the lower animals are so numerous, definite, and distinctive 

 that until within the present century they obscured, even 

 in scientific minds, the full significance of the similarities. 

 '(There are no limits to the geographical distribution of the 

 species."^ Men live in all the continents, and from the 

 equator to 84 of latitude, but there is no reason to believe 

 it impossible to support life at the poles when they can be 

 reached. Although the contrast between Man and other 

 animals becomes more distinct amongst the higher mem- 



