CHARACTERISTICS OF MAN. 67 



of atmospheric pressure. In the former of these particulars, he is strikingly 

 contrasted with the anthropoid Apes, such as the Chimpanzee, which is 

 restricted to a few of the hottest parts of Africa, and the Orang Outan, which 

 is only found in Borneo and Sumatra : these cannot be kept alive in temperate 

 climates, without the assistance of artificial heat ; and even when this is 

 afforded, they speedily become diseased and die. His diet is naturally of a 

 mixed kind ; but he can support himself in health and strength, on either 

 animal or vegetable food exclusively. It is by the demands which his peculiar 

 condition makes upon the exercise of his ingenuity, that his mental powers 

 are first called into active operation ; but, when once aroused, their develop- 

 ment has no assignable limit. The slow growth of Man? and the length of 

 time during which he remains in a state of dependence upon his parents, have 

 been already mentioned as peculiarities, by which he is distinguished from all 

 other animals. He is unable to seek his own food, during at least the three 

 first years of his life ; and he does not attain to his full stature until he is 

 more than twenty years of age. In proportion to his size, too, the whole sum 

 of his life is greater than that of other Mammalia. The greatest age of the 

 Horse, for example, which is an animal of much superior bulk, is between 

 thirty and forty years. That of the Orang, which, when full grown, surpasses 

 Man in stature, is about the same, so far as can be ascertained. The age to 

 which the life of Man is frequently prolonged, is well known to be above a 

 hundred years ; and instances of such longevity are to be found in all nations. 

 70. Still, however widely Man may be distinguished from other animals, 

 by these and other peculiarities of his structure and economy, he is yet more 

 distinguished by those mental endowments, and the habitudes of life and 

 action thence resulting, which must be regarded as the essential characteristics 

 of humanity. In the highest among brutes, the mere instinctive propensities 

 (as already defined 28, 34,) are the frequent springs of action ; and although 

 the intelligent will is called into exercise, to a 'certain extent, the character 

 never rises beyond that of a child. In fact, the correspondence between the 

 psychical endowments of the Chimpanzee, and those of the Human infant of 

 between two and three years old, is very close. In Man, however, the instinctive 

 propensities only manifest themselves strongly whilst the intellect is undeve- 

 loped ; and nearly all the actions of adult life are performed under the direction 

 of the intelligent will. From the intelligence of Man results this improva- 

 bility ; and his improved condition impresses itself upon his organization. 

 This capability of improvement in the bodily as well as the mental constitution 

 of Man, is the cause of the comforts now enjoyed by civilized races, and of the 

 means which they possess of still further elevation. In the process by which 

 these are attained, we observe a remarkable difference between the character 

 of Man and that of other animals. The arts of which these last are capable 

 are limited, and peculiar to each species ; and there seems to be no general 

 power of adapting these to any great variety of purposes, or of profiting by the 

 experience of others. Where a particular adaptation of means to ends, of 

 actions to circumstances, is made by an individual (as is frequently the case, 

 when some amount of intelligence or rationality exists), the rest do not seem 

 to profit by it ; so that there is no proof that any species or race among the 

 lower animals ever makes an advance towards an improvement or alteration 

 in its condition. That modifications in structure and instincts may be induced 

 by circumstances, in some of the most improvable species, such as the Dog, 

 has been shown by abundant evidence ; and these modifications, if connected 

 with the original habits and instincts of the species, may be hereditarily trans- 

 mitted. There is ample proof that the same is the case, in regard both to the 

 corporeal structure and psychical endowments of Man. Under the influence 

 of education, physical and mental, continued through successive generations, 



