NATURAL THEOLOGY. 153 



fingers. The long tendon, as it is called, in tlie 

 foot, which bends the first joint of the toe, passes 

 through the short tendon which bends the second 

 joint, which course allows to the sinew more li- 

 berty, and a more commodious action than it 

 w^ould otherwise have been capable of exerting.* 

 There is nothing, I believe, in a silk or cotton 

 mill, in the belts, or straps, or ropes, by which 

 motion is communicated from one part of the ma- 

 chine to another, that is more artificial, or more 

 evidently so, than this perforation. 



III. The next circumstance w'hich I shall men- 

 tion under this head of muscular arrangement is 

 so decisive a mark of intention, that it always ap- 

 peared to me to supersede, in some measure, the 

 necessity of seeking for any other observation 

 upon the subject ; and that circumstance is, the 

 tendons wdiich pass from the leg to the foot, being 

 bound down by a ligament to the ankle. The 

 foot is placed at a considerable angle with the leg. 

 It is manifest, therefore, that flexible strings, pass- 

 ing along the interior of the angle, if left to them- 

 selves, would, when stretched, start from it. The 

 obvious preventive is to tie them down. And this 

 is done in fact. Across the instep, or rather just 

 above it, the anatomist finds a strong ligament, 

 under which the tendons pass to the foot. The 

 effect of the ligament as a bandage can be made 

 evident to the senses : for if it be cut, the tendons 



*Ches. Anat. p. 119. 



