BIMANES. 569 



the branches. The sole of the human foot is broadly 

 expanded, to support the leg, placed vertically above 

 it ; the heel is cushioned beneath, so as to bear the 

 whole weight of the body, without inconvenience. 

 The toes are short, possessing little flexibility, and 

 the great toe, the representative of the thumb, is 

 placed upon the same plane as the rest. A foot thus 

 constructed, although well suited for progression, is 

 quite unserviceable as an instrument of prehension, 

 and, seeing that the hands of Man are equally un- 

 adapted for walking, it follows that he is the only 

 animal in creation that can with propriety be called 

 two-handed and two-footed, bi-manous and bi-ped. 

 Man therefore stands upon his feet only, 



" Erect and tall," 



his hands and arms being left free for other purposes. 

 The hands of Man, moreover, which derive so many 

 advantages from their complete freedom, are equally 

 remarkable for the perfection of their structure. 

 The thumb, proportionately longer than in any 

 quadrumanous animal, confers far greater facility in 

 handling small objects. The nails are so arranged 

 as to support the organs of touch without in any way 

 interfering with the delicacy of their perceptions, and 

 thus the human hand becomes at once an instrument 

 of sense, and a machine of matchless capabilities. 



A special attribute conferred upon Man alone of 

 all the mammiferous races, is his power of articu- 

 lating sounds, and thus communicating with his 

 fellows by a mode of all others the most convenient, 

 and if we add to this the facility he has acquired of 

 recording by written characters the results of his 

 experience, we perceive at once the superiority of 

 his condition. 



Thus placed above the brute creation, Man forms 

 the culminating point of the great scheme of nature 

 here below, while his intellectual superiority, and, 

 much more, his immortal destiny, ally him closely 

 with higher and unseen existences. 



