113 
MAN AND APES. 
By ST. GEORGE MIVART, F.R.S. 
[PLATE XCV,] 
The too frequent injustice of popular awards is a trite subject 
of^ remark. Christopher Columbus, with a hardihood now 
somewhat difficult to realize, sailed across an utterly unknown 
ocean to the discovery of a New World which nevertheless 
has not received its appellation from him, but from his imitator, 
Amerigo Vespucci. 
As with the new geographical region so with the new force 
“ galvanism.” It received its name from Galvani, who called 
attention to it in 1789 ; but Swammerdamm had none the 
less discovered it more than a hundred and thirty years earlier. 
Again, the doctrine of evolution as applied to organic life — 
the doctrine, that is, which teaches that the various new species 
of animals and plants have manifested themsetves through a 
purely natural process of hereditary succession — is widely 
spoken of by the term “ Darwinism.” Yet this doctrine is far 
older than Mr. Darwin, and is held by many who deem that 
which is truly “ Darwinism ” (namely, a belief in the origin of 
species by natural selection) to be a crude and utterly untenable 
hypothesis. 
We find yet another and parallel example of popular mis- 
apprehension in the opinion widely prevalent respecting one 
species of those animals — the apes — which most nearly resemble 
us in bodily structure. 
The species referred to is the much-talked-of Gorilla, and 
the popular misapprehension concerning it is twofold ; first as 
to its discovery, and secondly as to its nature. 
The Gorilla is very generally supposed to have been first dis- 
covered and made known to science by M. de Chaillu, whereas, 
in truth, it was both discovered and described years before M. 
de Chaillu’s name was heard of in connexion with it. 
It was discovered by Dr. Thomas Savage, who, with the 
assistance of an American missionary, the Rev. Mr. Wilson, 
procured enough anatomical materials to enable Professor 
VOL. XII.— Ii[0. XLVII. I 
