8o Orang-^Outang five Homo Sykejlrk : QVj 



the Ground, but went upon it's Knuckles, or rather upon thefirft Joints 

 of the Fingers of the Fore-hands , the fecond and third Joints being 

 bended or touching the Ground ; which feem'd to me fo unufual a way 

 of walking, as I have not obferved the like before in any Atiimal. And 

 I did expeditthe lefs here : becaufe the Fore-limbs being fo very long,it 

 might be thought, that it had the lefs need of thus raifing the Body. 

 And the whole weight of the Body thus lying upon thefe Joints of the 

 Fingers, one would think, that they (hould be foon tired in fupporting 

 it, and that Nuttire did not defign it for a Conftancy, but only upon oc- 

 cafion, or a prefent (hift : For if it was to be it's ufual way of walking, 

 no doubt, for it's greater eafe, it would place the Palms flat to the 

 Ground,as all other Animals do t\\tfok of the Foot^ and hereby it would 

 be rendered better able to bear this weight. 



Befides, when it walks thus upon it's Fingers^ the flexure at the Elbow 

 will be inwards, towards the fides of the Body, which is different from 

 all other ^ladmpeds, and in it's Progreffion will be of no ufe at all, 

 ■nay, will be an hinderance to it 5 and it will require a great tention of 

 the Mufcles to keep thefe Forclimbs ftrait 5 and if they are not kept fo, 

 they mufl: halt, and can't move fwiftly ; which makes me diffident, that 

 this can't be it's Natural Pofture in goings for Nature always contrives 

 the eafieft and beft ways of Motion. Now in ^ladrupeds the fledion 

 of the fore and hinder Limbs, is both the fame way : But in a Man and 

 an Ape (as I have before remarked from Ariftotle) 'tis contrary ; or as 

 Vliny expreffes it , Homini genua d>" Cubit a contraria, item Urfis d/^ Simia- 

 rum gencri, ebid minime pernicibus. But how Pliny comes to bring in 

 the Bear here, I do not underftand : for if with the Parijians (95) v/e 

 fhould here underftand by Genua, ths Heel-bone, and by Cubita a Bone 

 of the Carp/^ (which are often longer in Brutes than in ManJ then this 

 will be a Property not peculiar to Bears, but might be obferved in other 

 ^ladrupeds too. I fhould rather own it as a Miftake in Pliny. Nor 

 can I afient to the Parijians, That all Animals have thefe Parts turned af- 

 ter the fame manner, rehatever Ariftotle may report thereof I muft con- 

 fefs I am of ^?-7^<?//e'smind, and any Body may experience it in himfelf, 

 and obferve t\\t flexure of t\\t Cubit to be different from that of the Knee:, 

 and where 'tis fo, there the Motion upon all four, will be very awkward 

 and unnatural, and as Pliny obferves, it can't be fwift. 



I fliall here further obferve, that in ^tadrupeds the make of the Tho^ 

 rax, the fetting on of the Scapula, and the Articulation of the Humerj/s, 

 or Shoulder-bone, are much different from what they are in Bipeds : for 

 Stuadrupeds are narrow Chefted, and their Tfjorax not fo round as in a 

 A/<?«, becaufe in them the ^.Ci-?/)///^ are to be placed more forward upon 

 the Ribs, and not fo back wards. as in Merr. And the Articulation of the 



iPi) y'ii^s their Asatomic Defcription of a Bear in their Mcmoiri, f.m. 44. . 



Shoulder 



