NATURAL THEOLOGY. 99 



the best understood; but obliged, perhaps, to post- 

 pone both these recommendations to a third: that 

 of the example being capable of explanation with- 

 out plates, or figures, or technical language. 



OP THE BONES. 



I. — I challenge any man to produce in the joints 

 and pivots of the most complicated or the most 

 flexible machine that was ever contrived, a con- 

 struction more artificial, or more evidently artifi- 

 cial, than that which is seen in the vertebrae of the 

 human neck, Hwo things were to be done: the 

 head was to have the power of bending forward 

 and backward, as in the act of nodding, stooping, 

 looking upward or downward; and, at the same 

 time, of turning itself round upon the body to a 

 certain extent — the quadrant, we w^ill say, or 

 rather, perhaps, a hundred and twenty degrees of 

 a circle. For these two purposes, two distinct 

 contrivances are employed : first, the head rests 

 immediately upon the uppermost part of the ver- 

 tebrae, and is united to it by a hinge-]om\. ; upon 

 w^hich joint the head plays freely forward and 

 backward, as far either way as is necessary, or as 

 the ligaments allow ; which was the first thing 

 required. But then the rotatory motion is unpro- 

 vided for : therefore, secondly, to make the head 

 capable of this, a further mechanism is introduced : 



