122 LECTURE V. 



important. The characteristic pecuHarity of the genus homo 

 consists, as we shall show in another lecture, not merely in the 

 existence of hands, but rather that he has only two hands, and 

 only two feet which carry the whole body. In consequence of 

 this, the proportion of the extremities to each other is quite 

 different from that of the most anthropoid apes. The arms, 

 not destined for support, but merely for work, become shorter 

 and thinner in proportion to the legs, the bones and the 

 muscles of which become highly developed. In common life, 

 we are accustomed to look only at the shape of hands and feet, 

 a well-formed hand and foot being considered the greatest or- 

 naments of a fine figure. But the length of the arms and 

 legs, the proportion of the upper to the forearm, and of the 

 thigh to the leg, are of importance in distinguishing the human 

 type from the nearest anthropoid ape, as well as in the charac- 

 terisation of races and their special peculiarities. 



We shall have another opportunity of explaining in what 

 manner this resemblance to the ape, as regards hands and feet, 

 is shown, which must be sought not merely in the length of 

 the thin fingers, the flatness of the foot, the mobihty of the 

 long toes, and the position of the great toe, but also in the 

 inclination of the extremities, and in their position on the 

 ground. When the ape walks upright, which happens but 

 rarely, he walks in a manner different from that of man, 

 namely, upon the external edge of the sole, not upon the 

 whole surface, an inclination which is observed in the child, 

 and is more evident the younger the embryo is. There 

 is thus in the child a certain resemblance to the brute ; and 

 every tendency to such a formation, every approach to a 

 similarity between hands and feet, which might be found in 

 human races, deserves particular attention. For we must not 

 forget that, during the first period of the human embryo, as 

 in all embryos, the extremities perfectly resemble each other, 

 being of the shape of spatulated plates, which receive their 

 development at a later period. 



The colour of the skin and the hair has always been con- 

 sidered as an important distinctive mark of the races of man- 

 kind, because it at once strikes the eye. It is undeniable, that 



