Man] AND SYMBOLS. 211 



their hands the traces of their trembling steps. Thus, as Hum- 

 boldt declares, does man, everywhere alike, on the lowest scale 

 of brutish debasement and in the false glitter of his higher cul- 

 ture, perpetually create for himself a life of care. And thus, too, 

 the traveller, wandering over the wide world by sea and land, 

 and the historian who searches the records of bygone ages, are 

 everywhere met by the unvarying and melancholy spectacle of 

 man opposed to man. VI. 



The Resemblance between a Man and a Prog 1 . 



The frog must be classed among the comic types of the 

 animal creation. That it should be so arises chiefly from his 

 resemblance to man. Who is there that has not seen men 

 with frog-like countenances? These are for the most part 

 beardless, short-necked heads, obtusely-shaped faces, with bald 

 pates, a straight or partly flattened nose, prominent eyes, a wide 

 mouth, receding chin, and puffed-up cheeks. If to such 

 physiognomy be joined a fair, round-bellied, abbot-like stature, 

 no single feature will be wanting to make the resemblance 

 complete. That the frog's head is always flat does not lessen 

 the resemblance : it is the eyes as well as the cheeks which 

 are mainly instrumental in producing the likeness. With un- 

 mistakable importance do they present themselves : large, 

 round, sprightly, capable of a fixed, bold look, and in certain 

 species surrounded by lids. Their colour varies from a deep 

 black to a flaming yellow. In the frog's head mere indications 

 of a nose and ear are to be seen, while the wide mouth is all the 

 more conspicuous. The head, which is not raised upon a freely- 

 moving neck, is joined immediately to the trunk with slender, 

 delicate articulations. The hind leg is lengthened to an extra- 

 ordinary degree; indeed, besides the immense toes, no other 

 animal can show so human-looking a leg as the frog. The 

 formation of the bones and muscles is also the same as in man, 

 the latter forming a perfect calf, while the nakedness of the 

 animal's body causes the resemblance to show more strikingly. 

 The frog is indeed an anthropomorphism. Who is there when 

 bathing, as his comrade skilfully swims past him, has not been 

 reminded of the green-coated paddler, as he jumps from the 



