46 MAMMALIA. 



the means of supporting it are weaker, for he has neither a cervical ligament, 

 nor are his vertebrx so arranged as to prevent their flexure forwards; the 

 result of this would be, that he could only keep his head in the same line 

 with the spine, and then his eyes and mouth being directed towards the 

 earth, he could not see before him; — in the erect position, on the contrary, 

 tlie arrangement of these organs is every way perfect. 



The arteries which are sent to his brain, not being subdivided as in many 

 quadrupeds, and the blood requisite for so voluminous an organ being car- 

 ried into it with too much violence, frequent apoplexies would be the con- 

 sequence of a horizontal position. 



Man, then, is formed for an erect position only. He thus preserves the 

 entire use of his hands for the arts, while his organs of sense are most 

 favourably situated for observation. 



These hands, which derive such advantages from their liberty, receive 

 as many more from their structure. Tlie thumb, longer in proportion than 

 that of the Monkey, increases its facility of seizing small objects. All the 

 fingers, the annularis excepted, have separate movements, a faculty possess- 

 ed by no other animal, not even by the Monkey. The nail, covering one 

 side only of the extremity of the finger, acts as a support to the touch, 

 without depriving it of an atom of its delicacy. The arms to which these 

 hands are attached, are strongly and firmly connected by the large scapula, 

 the strong clavicle, &c. 



Man, so highly favoured as to dexterity, is not at all so with respect to 

 force. His swiftness in running is greatly inferior to that of other animals 

 of his size. Having neither projecting jaws, nor salient canine teeth, nor 

 claws, he is destitute of offensive weapons; and the sides and upper parts 

 of his body being naked, unprovided even with hair, he is absolutely with- 

 out defensive ones. Of all animals, he is also the longest in attaining the 

 power necessaiy to provide for himself. 



This very weakness, however, is but one advantage more — it compels 

 him to have recourse to that intelligence within, for which he is so emi- 

 nently conspicuous. 



No quadruped approaches him in the magnitude and convolutions of the 

 hemispheres of the brain, that is, in the part of this organ which is the 

 principal instrument of the intellectual operations. The posterior portion 

 of the same organ extends backwards; so as to form a second covering to 

 the cerebellum; the ver)' form of his cranium announces this magnitude of 

 the brain, while the smallness of his face shows how slightly that portion of 

 the nervous system which influences the extei-nal senses predominates in 

 him. 



These external sensations, moderate as they all are in Man, are neverthe- 

 less extremely dehcate and well balanced. 



His two eyes are directed forwards; he does not see on two sides at once, 

 like many quadrupeds, which produces more unity in tlie result of his sight, 

 and concentrates his attention more closely on sensations of this kind. The 

 ball and iris of his eye vary but little; this restrains the activity of his sight 

 to a limited distance, and a determined degree of hght. His external ear, 



