134 LECTURE III. 



elbow and shoulder. As the hand moves 

 through a yet more considerable portion 

 of a circle in the utmost flexion and exten- 

 sion of the wrist, as it admits in all these 

 motions of being carried to one side or the 

 other, it is obvious that we can take hold of 

 bodies in any point of the very considerable 

 area, the circumference of which, the hand 

 is competent to describe, when the other 

 joints of the arm are moved to their great- 

 est extent. The excellence of the mechan- 

 ism of the pectoral extremities of man is 

 proved by its results. The structures are 

 so strong, and the powers so great, that we 

 can seize, and hold, and pull, and push, 

 and strike, with great power, and in such 

 surprizingly varied directions ; and yet the 

 joints and powers are so nicely formed 

 and adjusted, that we can also take hold of 

 the smallest objects, and guide them with 

 the greatest gentleness, nicety, and diversity 

 of motion, by which means we are enabled 

 to model and design the minutest objects. 



The weight of the head, arms, and upper 

 part of the body rests, as has been shewn, 



