3IO The Morality of Nature 



fleetness and grace in erect movement, and his sheer inability 

 for quadrupedal motion, indicate long-established bipedal 

 habit. His general aesthetic subtlety of form indicate an evo- 

 lution of muscular machinery to the stage of a finished prod- 

 uct. And those things are supported by his very deficiencies, 

 in their indication of the relative antiquity of the human 

 form, in its present typical character. On the other hand the 

 monkeys, by their lack of aesthetic quality in form, and by 

 the variations in this form, and its responsiveness to en- 

 vironment, shows relationship between their numerous 

 varieties, and, in that relationship, a gulf of separation from 

 humanity. The Simians generally are new and responsive 

 rapidly evolving creatures, of very imperfect development. 

 Far from being possible ancestors of humanity they repre- 

 sent a growth which probably began its present cycle long 

 after humanity was established. It is probable that in the 

 age of the early mammals a creature already acquiring the 

 habit of a frequently erect posture (as the bears of today 

 have done) left two lines of descendants one which rapidly 

 perfected the upright attitude and evolved the human species, 

 and the other which became confirmed tree climbers, and 

 developed the Simian varieties. 



We see in man and in monkey many points of resem- 

 blance, which are morphologically similar, because of their 

 remote origin in somewhat similar ancestry. 



So too we may see in the horse and in certain other 

 quadrupeds great similarity of general form and habit, 

 which might suggest near relationship, and yet differences 

 in the foot and head lead us far, far back in the geological 

 record, where they were still unlike. 



