142 ERECT ATTITUDE PECULIAR TO MAN. 



being drawn up (as it were) towards it. The formation of the 

 knee-joint of Man, again, is such, that the whole weight of the 

 body falls directly upon the head of the tibia, when the joint is 

 in the firmest position in which it can be placed ; and this is not 

 the case even with the Apes, that approach nearest to him in 

 form. The conformation of the foot of Man is, of itself, an in- 

 disputable evidence that the erect position is natural to him. It 

 is proportionally larger, broader, and stronger, than the foot of 

 any other Mammal, save the Kangaroo. The sole of the foot is 

 concave, a sort of arch being formed by the bones and ligaments 

 of which it is composed ; and the weight of the body is thrown 

 upon the summit of this arch, by the mode in which the ankle- 

 joint is constructed. This is far from being the case with the 

 semi-erect Apes ; for they have the os calcis, or bone of the heel, 

 small, straight, and more or less raised from the ground, which 

 they touch, when standing erect, with the outer side of the foot 

 only, so that they cannot stand at all firmly on their posterior 

 limbs only. In animals more remote from Man, the os calcis is 

 brought still more into the line of the tibia, (Fig. 51) ; and the 

 foot being more lengthened and narrowed, the extremities of the 

 toes alone come in contact with the ground. Hence Man is the 

 only species of Mammal, that can stand upon one leg without 

 other support ; the Kangaroo, when using one of its hind legs to 

 kick backwards at its pursuers, keeps itself erect on the other 

 by means of its powerful tail. 



132. The modification of the hind-foot of the Apes, which 

 renders it unable to support the body firmly in the erect posture, 

 is exactly that which gives it somewhat of the character of the 

 hand; and consequently the hand of Man, in which this mo- 

 dification is still more completely effected, is still less adapted 

 for the support of the body. The disproportion in length, be- 

 tween the anterior and posterior extremities, is another indication 

 of the natural erectness of his posture. His legs are longer, 

 relatively to the size of his trunk, than those of any other Mam- 

 mal, except the Kangaroo ; and his arms are shorter in propor- 

 tion, than are those of the Apes that approach him most closely. 

 For whilst his hands only reach the middle of the thighs, they 



