DESIGN OF THE HEAD. 213 



animal, and corresponds with its instinct to hold 

 and rend its prey. 



But when the lion or the tiger have struck down 

 their prey — and have gorged themselves and 

 sought their dens, and when the lesser carnivorous 

 animals have cleared the bones — there remains 

 a rich repast which they cannot reach ; then comes 

 the hyaena, which cracks the bones, and feeds 

 upon the marrow. 



Of all the skulls that can be collected in a mu- 

 seum, the jaws and teeth of the hyaena exhibit the 

 most extraordinary strength : the bones having a 

 clumsy form and dense texture quite peculiar, and 

 suited for the socketing of the strong conical teeth. 



We see, therefore, that the fabric of the head, 

 taken as a whole, bears a certain resemblance in 

 all classes of animals ; but, though built upon the 

 same general plan, the supports are given to for- 

 tify the points which bear the shock. 



By such more obvious instances of adaptation 

 we are led to inquire whether any similar adjust- 

 ment of the resisting property of the bone is to be 

 found in the human head. We must carry this 

 along with us in our inquiry, that a shock or vi- 

 bration going through the great mass of the hu- 

 man brain proves more immediately destructive 

 of the faculties, than the wound which penetrates 

 the substance without a concussion. When we 

 contemplate the condition of a child, its fearless- 

 ness, its restless activity, the falls and knocks it 

 gets, we must perceive that were not the textures 



