534 MAN'S PLACE IN NATURE 



hand. In no other animal can the thumb be moved 

 across the palm of the hand as can be done freely and 

 a<jcurately by man. This flexibility lies at the basis of 

 manual dexterity, and when it is recalled how much of 

 his progress man owes to skillful use of his hands, the 

 importance of this physical character is clear. Not 

 only in the use of mechanical devices, but in the use of 

 instruments for writing and drawing is this of prime 

 significance. There is no intention here of asserting that 

 these physical peculiarities are of themselves a sufl&cient 

 basis for human progress, which rests primarily on char- 

 acters to be described presently, but as contributory 

 elements they are not to be neglected. 



Intellectual Characteristics. — Probably nearly 

 everyone, if asked to what man owes his superiority to 

 animals, would reply, in possessing a better mind. 

 And there is of course no doubt that the average human 

 mind is very far superior to the average animal mind, 

 and the best human mind immeasureably superior to 

 the best animal mind. Yet sight must not be lost of the 

 fact that there is among men — as probably among 

 animals — an exceedingly wide range in mental ability, 

 so that one is fairly safe in making the assertion that the 

 most intelligent individuals among animals are superior 

 to the least intelligent human beings. Notwithstanding 

 that possibility, there are certain kinds of mental power 

 which are possessed probably by every normal human 

 being, the unintelligent as well as the intelligent, that 

 are not shared by any of the lower animals. Whether 

 these special kinds of power necessarily indicate mental 

 superiority is a debatable question. Consider, for ex- 

 ample, three very simple instances: appreciation of the 

 possibilities of fire, of clothing, and of cultivation of 

 the soil. 



Fire. — Explorations have covered practically the 

 entire habitable globe, and no race of men has yet been 

 found which does not know and make use of fire. The 



