C— GEOLOGY 77 



time being, reference to many human attributes. I must appeal for your 

 patience, assuring you that I am as fully aware as any of you of the incom- 

 pleteness of the analysis I am about to make ; and that later on, in a des- 

 perate attempt to arrive at a happy ending, I propose to give consideration 

 to those qualities in man that truly differentiate him from other animals. 



If it be asked how a student of ' lower ' orders of organisms (and those 

 defunct) can presume to include the human race in his purview, a plea 

 of justification can be made on two grounds. Mr. Tony Weller gave it 

 as his opinion that ' the man as can form a ackerate judgment of a animal 

 can form a ackerate judgment of anything.' This generalisation, like 

 all others, may be debatable ; but the course of human history, in so far 

 as it is known, shows features typical of the course of evolution revealed by 

 Palaeontology. 



The outstanding physical peculiarity of the human species is its upright 

 posture, a feature to which many of its bodily structures are far from com- 

 pletely adapted. In spite of its relatively large size, the human body cannot 

 be claimed as exceptionally capable. A man stripped of the instruments 

 of his devising, left to compete on equal terms with the other occupants 

 of his restricted environment, would stand no better chance than they. 

 It is true that he could perform most of the actions expected of land animals, 

 but none of them superlatively well. Were he compelled to rely on his 

 bodily characters alone, there would be little more reason to single him 

 out for special consideration than there would be the capacity to do so. 



The mental powers of man are those that place him in a category 

 apart from other creatures. By the exercise of his wits he can find 

 compensation for structural shortcomings, and challenge, defeat and 

 control all other living things. With the help of the machines that he 

 invents, he can project himself successfully beyond the normal range of 

 terrestrial animals, transporting his body and his habits over the sea and 

 through the air. He can, within fairly wide limits, overcome the influence 

 of environment. 



With no intent to belittle the mechanical achievements that have 

 brought man to his commanding position, we must admit that few of 

 them can be claimed as original. They are copies, often improved edi- 

 tions, of devices that already existed in the animal creation, coupled with 

 applications of natural forces that are as old as the world. Man's capacity 

 for generalisation has enabled him to foresee the effects of his inventions, 

 and so to reduce the time that would otherwise have been spent on the 

 costly method of trial and error. He can transmit his experiences to 

 his own and following generations, so preventing (for those who listen) 

 a wasteful repetition of mistakes. The speed with which he has beaten 

 all other creatures at their several games is commensurate with the degree 

 of his success. Paradoxically he has become supremely generalised by 

 the exercise of a highly specialised faculty. 



It is difficult to find any type of animal behaviour in which man cannot 

 excel. Whether in the strictly mechanical processes, such as locomotion 

 or building, or in the more subtle qualities of affection and aspiration, 

 he stands revealed as an exaggerated animal. There are no activities, 

 constructive or destructive, and no habits, pleasing or loathsome, in 

 which he cannot outdo the most accomplished animal. 



