MAN. 



neither bipeds nor quadrupeds ; but they 

 are quadr umanous, or four-handed. Their 

 posterior limbs are furnished with a 

 thumb, instead of a great toe ; which 

 latter part belongs only to man, and arises 

 from the manner in which his body is 

 supported in the erect position. Hence 

 the dispute concerning the mode of pro- 

 gression of the orang-outang and other 

 simix ; viz. whether they go on all foufs, 

 or are supported by the posterior limbs 

 only, will be easily settled. Neither of 

 these representations is correct. Since 

 the hands of these animals are not formed 

 for walking, but for seizing and holding 

 objects, it 'is clear that nature has design- 

 ed them to live chiefly in trees. They 

 climb these, and seek their food in them ; 

 and one pair of hands is employed in fix- 

 ing and supporting the body ,while the other 

 gathers their food, or serves for other of- 

 fices. Hence some, who have less per- 

 fect hands, are furnished with a prehen- 

 sile tail, by which they can be more se- 

 curely supported in trees. 



It is hardly necessary to add, that when 

 we see monkeys walking erect, it is to be 

 ascribed to instruction and discipline. 

 The delineations of the orang-outang, tak- 

 en accurately from the life, shew how in- 

 convenient and unnatural the erect pos- 

 ture is to these animals : they are drawn 

 with the front hands leaning on a stick, 

 while the posterior ones are gathered up 

 in the appearance of a fist. No instance 

 has ever been produced of a monkey, nor 

 of any other animal, except man, which 

 could preserve his body in a state of 

 equilibrium, when standing on one foot 

 only. All these considerations render it 

 very clear, that the erect stature not only 

 arises out of the structure and conforma- 

 tion of the human body, but also that it is 

 peculiar to man : and that the differences 

 in the form and arrangement of parts, de- 

 rived from this source only, are abundant- 

 ly sufficient to distinguish man by a wide 

 interval from other animals. 



The hymen, a part for which no ration- 

 al use has been hitherto assigned, is pe- 

 culiar to man; but the nymphze and cli- 

 toris, of which the same assertion has 

 been made, are found also in other ani- 

 mals. 



The want of the os intermaxillare has 

 generally been considered as characteris- 

 tic of the human species. (See COMPA- 

 RATIVE ANATOMY ; osteology.) 



The teeth of man are distinguished by 

 the circumstance of their being arranged 

 in an uniform, unbroken series. The 



lower incisors are placed perpendicular- 

 iy ; and the cuspidati neither project be- 

 yond the others, nor are separated from 

 them by any interval. The molares are 

 clearly distinguished by their obtuse pro- 

 minence from those of all the simise. The 

 lower jaw is remarkable for three rea- 

 sons ; its shortness, the projection of the 

 chin, and the form and direction of the 

 condyles, as well as the mode of their ar- 

 ticulation with the basis cranii ; which 

 manifestly point out man as formed by na- 

 ture to be an omnivorous animal. 



In the brain we meet with a very strik- 

 ing difference between man and other 

 animals. The human subject has the 

 largest brain, not in proportion to the rest 

 of the body, but to the size of the nerves, 

 which proceed from it. Hence, if we di- 

 vide the nervous system into two parts, 

 one consisting of the nerves, and that part 

 of the brain from which they arise, which 

 is to be considered as appropriated to the 

 functions of a mere animal life ; the other, 

 comprehending the remainder of the brain, 

 and connecting the functions of the nerves 

 with the faculties of the mind, man will 

 possess the greatest proportion of the lat- 

 ter more important part. (See COMPA- 

 RATIVE ANATOMY.) 



Soemmerring has also shewn, that the 

 calcareous matter of the pineal gland 

 does not exist in any animal but man. 



The smoothness of the human integu- 

 ments, and the want of the hairy cover- 

 ing which other mammalia possess, must 

 be considered as a peculiarity of man. 

 The unanimous reports of all travellers 

 prove beyond a doubt that every species 

 of simia is hairy, and vastly more so than 

 any man : although we read of instances 

 of particularly hairy people, as in some of 

 the South Sea islands ; but the descrip- 

 tions hitherto given are not completely 

 satisfactory. While man is remarkable on 

 the whole for the smoothness of his skin, 

 some parts of his body are even more 

 hairy than those of brutes ; as the pubes 

 and axilla. 



The orang-outang, which resembles 

 man more than any other simia, has a rib 

 more on each side than the human sub- 

 ject; its sacrum consists of three pieces of 

 bone, instead of five ; and it has a pecu- 

 liar membranous pouch, connected with 

 the larynx. 



Under the head of the animal economy, 

 we may observe, as characteristic of man, 

 the long period of infancy, and conse- 

 quently late arrival at the age of puber- 

 ty ; the menstrual discharge in the female ; 



