ERASMUS DARWIN. 141 



tures in the anatomy of man point to a former 

 quadrupedal position, and indicate that he is not 

 yet fully adapted to the erect position ; that, fur- 

 ther, Man may have arisen from a single family of 

 monkeys (we here suppose the family is used in the 

 ordinary sense), in which, accidentally, the opposing 

 muscle brought the thumb against the tips of the 

 fingers, and that this muscle gradually increased in 

 size by use in successive generations. 1 Thus, Dar- 

 win calls our attention to Buffon's anticipation of 

 the Natural Selection idea as applied to man, in 

 the survival of an accidental variation in a muscle 

 of the greatest importance in the history of man. 

 Dr. Darwin devotes a whole canto to the human 

 hand. 



" The hand, first gift of Heaven ! to man belongs ; 

 Untipt with claws, the circling fingers close, 

 With rival points the bending thumbs oppose, 

 Trace the nice lines of Form with sense refined, 

 And clear ideas charm the thinking mind." 



He passes on to outline the development of the hu- 

 man faculties. Later he describes the fierce struggle 

 for existence, in verses which remind us of Tenny- 

 son's lines upon Nature, red in tooth and claw. 

 Not only do animals destroy each other and plants, 



1 This recalls the modern parody : 



" There was an ape in days that were earlier; 

 Centuries passed and his hair became curlier; 

 Centuries more and his thumb gave a twist, 

 And he was a man and a Positivist." 



