664 A Brace of Paradoxes . [November, 
forebrain ; in our faces the foetal disposition is retained with 
changes which, when greatest, are inconsiderable. In 
quadrupeds the facial regions acquire a prominent develop- 
ment, leading to the specialization of the jaws and surround- 
ing parts, which brings the face to a condition much higher 
than that of the foetus. Hence the projecting snout is a 
higher structure than the retreating human face.” 
If this doCtrine holds good it must avail within the human 
species, and hence prognathous races will be entitled to 
rank higher than normal man. But how is the prognathous 
type acquired ? Banish a tribe to some unhealthy climate 
and feed them on insufficient and unwholesome food, and 
they will become prognathous, and at the same time stunted. 
Perhaps Prof. Minot would pronounce them higher than 
their ancestors. 
The author might have done well to remember that 
snoutiness — if we may use the term — reaches its height in 
certain groups which must certainly rank among the lowest 
mammals, e. g., the InseCtivora, the Edentata, the Platypus, 
Echidna, &c. Yet on his showing this feature ought to be 
a mark of superiority. 
The author’s great error lies in the tacit assumption that 
every departure from the original embryonic type is pro- 
gressive, whilst both in the individual and in the animal 
series it is very frequently a case of degeneration. 
What animal he considers entitled to the highest rank he 
prudently declines to state. He adds further, “ It is also 
doubtful whether mammals would be regarded as the highest 
class of the animal kingdom, were they not our nearest 
relatives.” Here, again, he would have done well to say 
to what class he would assign that honour. 
We refer with regret to the strong language which Prof. 
Minot has thought it becoming to apply to those who differ 
from him. The ordinary view he pronounces “ a silly 
prejudice of arrogant ignorance.” This comes with scant 
grace from a man who cannot reason without contradicting 
himself at every turn, and who in addition has not proved 
his superiority to the bulk of mankind by any discovery of 
capital moment. The future of the New Natural History 
will be gravely compromised by such speculations. 
