CHAPTER XV. 



Man and Ape. — Their Physical Relations. — Their Mental Re- 

 lations. — Evolution was the Means. — Who was the Pro- 

 genitor of the Ape ? — The Scale of Life. 



If we could free our hands from the manacles 

 of tradition and stand aloof from our prejudices 

 and look the stern facts in the face, we should be 

 compelled to admit that between man and ape 

 there is such a unity of design, structure, and 

 function that we dare not, in the light of reason, 

 deny to the ape that rank in nature to which he 

 is assigned by virtue of these facts. Physiolog- 

 ically there is no hiatus between man and ape 

 which may not be spanned by such evidence as 

 would be admitted under the strictest rules of 

 interpretation. We may briefly compare these 

 two creatures in a broad and general way, so 

 that the unscientific and casual reader may com- 

 prehend. 



The skeleton of man is only the polished struct- 

 ure of which that of the ape is the rough model. 

 The identity of the two, part by part, is as much 



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