276 OF THE HUMAN FACULTIES, 



restore the equilibrium of his body, by returning 

 to the erect position, through which alone, his 

 natural movements can be performed. 



We see this proneness to assume the vertical 

 position, even in the infant age of man ; when 

 we may observe those children, in whom an in- 

 crease of muscular power and of bony firmness 

 have prepared them for the attempt, constantly 

 exerting themselves to acquire the erect attitude; 

 and if left to themselves, as they ought to be, they 

 progressively, though effectually, accomplish their 

 object, without the risk of producing those distor- 

 tions and consequent bad health, too often the 

 consequence of a premature attempt to effect the 

 same attainment by artificial means. 



The awkward sitting posture, assumed by the 

 ape families, and natural to the kangaroo tribes, 

 which have been adduced as instances in which 

 the brute animal can acquire the vertical position, 

 admits of no comparison with the bold, firm, and 

 erect attitude of man ; nor do it confer upon them 

 the same power of action, which belongs to the 

 human species. In the ape families, it is prin- 

 cipally the result of education and example; and 

 being unnatural, cannot be long continued with- 

 out a frequent reference to the horizontal position. 

 In the kangaroo, it admits of no other motion but 

 that of bounding or leaping forward; and the pos- 

 ture being a sitting one, the foot, so important to 

 the human attitude, has no share in its production. 



