OF PUBERTY. 411 



which it becomes more full, articulate, and ftrong. 

 This change is very conTpicuous in boys ; but it 

 is lefs dilliinguifhable in girls, becaufe their voices 

 are naturally more fliarp. 



Thefe marks of puberty are common to both 

 fexes : But each fcx has marks peculiar to itfelf; 

 as the eruption of the menfcs, and the expanfion 

 of the breads in women ; the beard and faculty 

 of procreating in men. Thefe marks, indeed, 

 aie not always uniform. The beard, for ex- 

 ample, does not always appear precifely at the 

 age of puberty : There are even whole nations 

 who have hardly any beard. On the contrary, 

 there is no country where the age of puberty in 

 women is not diftinguifhed by the enlargement 

 of the breafts. 



Among every race of mankind, the females 

 arrive at puberty fooner than the males. But 

 the age of puberty is very different in different 

 countries. It feems to depend upon the tempe- 

 rature of the climate and the quality of the food. 

 The children of citizens and of opulent parents, 

 who are generally fed with rich and nourilliing 

 viduals, arrive fooner at this ftate. But chil- 

 dren brought up in the country, or whofe pa- 

 rents are poor, require two or three years long- 

 er ; becaufe their food is not only bad, but given 

 too fparingly. In the fouthern parts of Europe, 

 and in cities, girls arrive at pubeity about the 

 age of 12, and boys about 14. But, in northern 

 climates, and in the country, girls hardly come 



to 



