MAN. 
to man ; but the nymplioe and clitoris, of 
which the same assertion has been made, 
are found also in other animals. 
The want of the os intermaxillare lias ge- 
nerally been considered as characteristic of 
the human species. (See Comparative 
Anatomy ; osteology.) 
The teeth of man are distinguished by the 
circumstance of their being arranged in an 
uniform, unbroken series. Tiie lower inci- 
sors are placed perpendicularly ; and the 
cuspidati neither project beyond the others, 
nor are separated from them by any inter- 
val. The molares are clearly distinguished 
by their obtuse prominence from those of 
all the simim. The lower jaw is remark- 
able for three reasons; its shortness,' the 
projection of the cliin, and the form and di- 
rection of the condyles, as well as the mode 
of their articulation with the basis cranii ; 
which manifestly point Out man as formed 
by nature to be an omnivorous animal. 
In the brain we meet with a very strik- 
ing difference between man and other ani- 
mals. The human subject has the largest 
brain, not in proportion to the rest of the 
body, but to the size of the nerves, which 
proceed from it. Hence, if we divide the 
nervous system into two parts, one consist- 
ing of the nerves, and that part of the brain 
from which they arise, which is to be consi- 
dered as appropriated to the functions of a 
mere animal life ; the other, comprehend- 
ing the remainder of the brain, and con- 
necting the functions of the nerves with the 
faculties of the mind, man will possess the 
greatest proportion of the latter more im- 
portant part. (See Comparative Ana- 
tomy.) 
Soemraerring has also shewn, that the 
calcareous matter of the pineal gland does 
not exist in any animal but man. 
The smoothness of the human integu- 
ments, and the want of the hairy covering 
which other mammalia possess, must be con- 
sidered as a peculiarity of man. The una- 
nimous reports of all travellers prove be- 
yond a doubt that every species of simia is 
hairy, and vastly more so than any man : 
although we read of instances of particu- 
larly hairy people, as in some of the South 
Sea islands; but the descriptions hitherto 
given are not completely satisfactory. 
While man is remarkable on the whole for 
the smoothness of his skin, some parts of 
his body are even more hairy than those of 
brutes ; as the pubes and axilla. 
The orang-outang, which resembles man 
more than any other simia, has a rib more 
on each side than the human subject ; its 
sacrum consists of three pieces of bone, in- 
stead of five ; and it has a peculiar mem-' 
branous pouch, conected with the larynx. 
Under the head of the animal economy, 
we may observe, as characteristic of man, 
the long period of infancy, and consequently 
late airival at the age df puberty ; the men- 
strual discharge in the female ; and the ce- 
lebration of the rites of Venus at all times 
of the year. No other of the class mam- 
malia has the cranium consolidated, nor the 
teeth appearing at so late an age ; none is 
so late in gaining the power of supporting 
the body on its limbs, in acquiring the full 
growth ; nor in arriving at the exercise of 
the sexual functions. To none is there al- 
lotted such a length of life, compared with 
the bulk of the body; and tins extension of 
existence, at its latter part, must be regard- 
ed as an ample compensation for the greater 
length of infancy. But it is in the mind, 
that nobler part of man, that we find him 
most remarkably differing from the brute 
creation. And here all philosophers refer, 
with one accord, to the enjoyment of rea- 
son, as the chief and most important prero- 
gative of the human subject. If we enquire, 
however, more particularly into the mean- 
ing of this word, we shall be surprized to 
find what various senses different indivi' 
duals affix to the same expressioh. Ac- 
cording to some, reason is a peculiar faculty 
of the mind, belonging exclusively to man : 
others consider it as a more enlarged and 
exquisite developcment of a power, which 
exists in a less degree in other animals. 
Some describe, it as the combination of all 
the higher faculties of the mind; while 
others assert, that it is only a peculiar di- 
rection of the powers of the human mind, 
&c. 
The subject may perhaps be more shortly 
and safely dispatched by considering it a 
posteriori-, and placing the prerogative of 
man in the circumstance of his having 
brought all other animals under subjection 
to himself. That ho has effected this is ob- 
vious ; and it is equally clear, that his do- 
minion has not been ■ acquired by superior 
bodily strength: it can therefore only be 
referred to the powers of his mind; and to 
these, whatever be their nature, we give 
the name of reason. Man is designed ta 
use all kinds of food; and to inhabit every 
climate of the globe. The unlimited power 
which he possesses in these respects, gives 
•rise to various wants, from the infinite va- 
riety of climate, soil, and other circum- 
