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THE FOURTH BRIDGEWATER TREATISE 
 
 POWER, WISDOM, AND GOODNESS OF GOD AS MANIFESTED 
 IN THE CREATION. 
 
 THE HAND; 
 
 ITS MECHANISM AND VITAL ENDOWMENTS, AS EVINCING 
 DESIGN. 
 
THE HAND; 
 
 ITS MECHANISM AND VITAL ENDOWMENTS, 
 AS EVINCING DESIGN. 
 
 By SIR CHARLES BELL, 
 
 K.G.H., F.R.S. Ik & B. 
 
 FIFTH EDITION REVISED, WITH WOODCUTS. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 JOHN MUERAY, ALBEMAELE STEEET. 
 1852. 
 
Lately Published, 
 
 THE ANATOMY AND PHILOSOPHY OF EXPEESSION, 
 AS CONNECTED WITH THE FINE AETS. 
 
 By SIR CHARLES BELL. 
 Fourth Edition. With Illustrations, Royal 8vo, 21s. 
 
 SIE CHAELES BELL'S EESEAECHES IN THE 
 NEEYOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 By ALEXANDER SHAW, 
 Surgeon to the Middlesex Hospital. 
 
 With Plates, 8vo, Is. 
 
NOTICE. 
 
 The series of Treatises, of which the present is one, is published 
 under the following circumstances : 
 
 The Eight Honourable and Keverend Francis Henry, 
 Earl of Bridgewater, died in the month of February, 1829 ; 
 and by his last Will and Testament, bearing date the 25th of 
 February, 1825, he directed certain Trustees therein named 
 to invest in the public funds the sum of Eight thousand pounds 
 sterling ; this sum, with the accruing dividends thereon, to be 
 held at the disposal of the President, for the time being, of the 
 Royal Society of London, to be paid to the person or persons 
 nominated by him. The Testator further directed, that the 
 person or persons selected by the said President should be 
 appointed to write, print, and publish one thousand copies of a 
 work On the Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God, as manifested 
 in the Creation ; illustrating such work by all reasonable arguments, 
 as, for instance, the variety and formation of God's creatures in the 
 animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms ; the effect of digestion, 
 and thereby of conversion ; the construction of the hand of man, 
 and an infinite variety of other arguments ; as also by discoveries, 
 ancient and modern, in arts, sciences, and the whole extent of 
 literature. He desired, moreover, that the profits arising from 
 the sale of the works so published should be paid to the authors 
 of the works. 
 
 The late President of the Royal Society, Davies Gilbert, Esq., 
 requested the assistance of his Grace the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury and of the Bishop of London, in determining upon 
 the best mode of carrying into effect the intentions of the Testator. 
 
vi 
 
 NOTICE. 
 
 Acting with their advice, and with the concurrence of a 
 nobleman immediately connected with the deceased, Mr. Davies 
 Gilbert appointed the following eight gentlemen to write 
 separate Treatises on the different branches of the subject as 
 here stated : 
 
 EEV. THOMAS CHALMEES, D.D. 
 
 ON THE ADAPTATION OF EXTERNAL NATURE TO THE MORAL AND 
 INTELLECTUAL CONSTITUTION OF MAN. 
 
 JOHN KIDD, M.D., F. E. S. 
 
 ON THE ADAPTATION OF EXTERNAL NATURE TO THE PHYSICAL 
 CONDITION OF MAN. 
 
 EEY. WILLIAM WHEWELL, D.D. 
 
 ON ASTRONOMY AND GENERAL PHYSICS CONSIDERED WITH 
 REFERENCE TO NATURAL THEOLOGY. 
 
 SIE CHAELES BELL, K.G.H., F.E.S. L.&E. 
 
 ON THE HAND : ITS MECHANISM AND VITAL ENDOWMENTS, AS 
 EVINCING DESIGN. 
 
 PETEE MAEK EOGET, M. D. 
 
 ON ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 
 
 EEY. WILLIAM BUCKLAND, D. D., F. E. S. 
 
 ON GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. 
 
 EEV. WILLIAM KIEBY, M. A., F. E. S. 
 
 ON THE HISTORY, HABITS, AND INSTINCTS OF ANIMALS. 
 
 WILLIAM PEOUT, M. D., F. E. S. 
 
 ON CHEMISTRY, METEOROLOGY, AND THE FUNCTION OF DIGESTION, 
 CONSIDERED WITH REFERENCE TO NATURAL THEOLOGY. 
 
PREFACE TO THE FORMER EDITIONS. 
 
 When one has to maintain an argument, he will be 
 listened to more willingly if he is known to be 
 unbiassed, and to express his natural sentiments. 
 The reflections contained in these pages have not 
 been suggested by the occasion of the Bridgewater 
 Treatises, but arose, long ago, in a course of study 
 directed to other objects. An anatomical teacher, 
 himself aware of the higher bearings of his science, 
 can hardly neglect the opportunity which the demon- 
 strations before him afford, of making an impression 
 upon the minds of those young men who, for the 
 most part, receive the elements of their professional 
 education from him; and he is naturally led to 
 indulge in such trains of reflection as will be found 
 in this essay. 
 
 So far back as the year 1813, the late excellent 
 vicar of Kensington, Mr. Rennell, attended the author's 
 lectures, and found him engaged in maintaining the 
 principles of the English school of Physiology, and in 
 exposing the futility of the opinions of those French 
 philosophers and physiologists, who represented life as 
 
PREFACE TO THE FORMER EDITIONS. 
 
 the mere physical result of certain combinations and 
 actions of parts by them termed Organisation. 
 
 That gentleman thought the subject admitted of an 
 argument which it became him to use, in his office of 
 " Christian Advocate.'' * This will show the reader 
 that the sentiments and the views, which a sense of 
 duty to the young men about him induced the author 
 to deliver, and which Mr. Eennell heard only by 
 accident, arose naturally out of those studies. 
 
 It was at the desire of the Lord Chancellor 
 Brougham that the author wrote the essay on " Animal 
 Mechanics ; " and it was probably from a belief that 
 the author felt the importance of the subjects touched 
 upon in that essay, that his Lordship was led to do him 
 the further honour of asking him to join with him in 
 illustrating the " Natural Theology " of Dr. Paley. 
 
 That request was especially important, as showing 
 that the conclusions to which the author had arrived, 
 were not the peculiar or accidental suggestions of 
 professional feeling, nor of solitary study, which 
 is so apt to lead to enthusiasm ; but that the powerful 
 and masculine mind of Lord Brougham was directed 
 to the same objects ; that he, who in early life was 
 distinguished for his successful prosecution of science, 
 and who has never forgotten her interests amidst the 
 most arduous and active duties of his high station, 
 encouraged and partook of these sentiments. 
 
 Thus, from at first maintaining that design and 
 benevolence were everywhere visible in the natural 
 world, circumstances have gradually drawn the author 
 
 * An office in the University of Cambridge. 
 
PREFACE TO THE FORMER EDITIONS. 
 
 ix 
 
 to support these opinions more ostentatiously and 
 elaborately than was his original wish. 
 
 The subject which he has to illustrate in this 
 volume, belongs to no definite department ; and is 
 intermediate between those sciences which have been 
 assigned to others. The conception which he has 
 formed of its execution is, that setting out as from a 
 single point, he should enlarge his survey, and show 
 the extent of the circle, and the variety of subjects, 
 upon which it bears ; thence deducing the conclusion, 
 that as there is a relation of one part to the whole, 
 there must be a system, and universal design. 
 
 The author cannot conceal from himself the 
 disadvantages to which he is exposed in coming before 
 the public, not only with a work in some measure 
 extra-professional, but with associates distinguished by 
 classical elegance of style, as well as by science. He 
 must entreat the reader to remember that he was, early 
 and long, devoted to the study of anatomy ; and with a 
 feeling (right or wrong) that it surpassed all others in 
 interest and usefulness. This made him negligent of 
 acquirements which would have better fitted him for 
 the honourable association in which he has been 
 placed: and no one can feel more deeply that the 
 suggestions which occur in the intervals of an active 
 professional life must always be unfavourably contrasted 
 with what comes of the learned leisure of a College. 
 
 The author has to acknowledge his obligations to 
 His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop 
 of London, and the late President of the Royal 
 Society, for having assigned to him a task of so much 
 
X 
 
 PREFACE TO THE FORMER EDITIONS. 
 
 interest. When he undertook it, he thought only of 
 the pleasure of pursuing these investigations, and 
 perhaps too little of what the public were entitled to 
 expect from an Essay composed in circumstances so 
 peculiar, and forming a part in this " great argument." 
 
 Brook Street, 1832. 
 
 Note. — The first edition of this Treatise was 
 published in 1832; and the last, which was the fourth, 
 in 1887. In 1836 the author was associated with 
 Lord Brougham, as stated in the Preface, in illustrating 
 with notes the "Natural Theology" of Dr. Paley. It 
 has been considered that many of these notes bore 
 directly on the subjects discussed in this Treatise on 
 the Hand ; and permission having been kindly granted, 
 they have been introduced, along with extracts from 
 " Animal Mechanics," to the extent of about eighty 
 pages, into the present edition. These additions are 
 marked by being contained within brackets. 
 
 ALEXANDER SHAW. 
 
 February, 1852. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PA OK 
 
 INTRODUCTORY— OBJECT OF THE VOLUME 1 
 
 Consequence of viewing the Animal Body as Mechanism . . 3 
 
 Relations of the Human Body to the surrounding Elements . 7 
 
 Complexity of Structure consequent upon these relations . 8 
 The Systematic Arrangement in an Animal Body implies a 
 
 more universal design ....... 9 
 
 Insensibility to the Provisions for Life and Security a species 
 
 of ingratitude ..14 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 DEFINITION OF THE HAND 13 
 
 Conformity of the whole Skeleton to the Extremity . . . 20 
 The Series of Bones of the Upper Extremity, represented by 
 
 analogous Bones in all classes of Vertebral Animals . . 22 
 Fossil Bones exhibit the Extent of the System . . .24 
 Mistaken Compassion for Animals of uncouth Form . . . 29 
 
 The Sloth 30 
 
 The Loris 32 
 
 Animals suited to the Time of their Existence . . .34 
 
 The Crocodile 35 
 
 Succession and Grouping of Animals . . . . .38 
 
xii 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF THE HAND 45 
 
 Bones of the Shoulder . . . . . . . 47 
 
 Of the Clavicle 50 
 
 Their Forms adapted to their Use 53 
 
 Of the Horse's Shoulder 57 
 
 Of the Elephant and Camel 61 
 
 The Chelonian Order 65 
 
 The Arm Bone 70 
 
 Projections on the surface of a Bone denote its movements . 71 
 
 The Mole 73 
 
 The Bat . . 74 
 
 The Ant-eater 76 
 
 The Pterodactyle 82 
 
 Structure of Birds 82 
 
 Bones of the Fore Arm 84 
 
 Conclusions drawn from a Fragment of Radius . . .88 
 
 The Wrist and Hand 90 
 
 The Splint Bone in the Horse 92 
 
 Hock-joint of the Ostrich 93 
 
 Horse's Foot contrasted with that of a Cow . . . .98 
 
 The Foot of the Chamois and Rein Deer 99 
 
 Contrast in the Foot of the Elephant and Camel . . .100 
 Cuvier's deductions from the Bones of the Megalonyx . .102 
 
 Megatherium 107 
 
 Bones of the Paddle or Fin in the Cetacea 110 
 
 Ichthyosaurus and Plesiosaurus 112 
 
 The Hand of the Chimpanzee 114 
 
 Peculiarities and Provisions of the Human Hand . . .115 
 Geology indebted to Comparative Anatomy . . : . 115 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 OF THE MUSCLES OF THE ARM AND HAND . . . .124 
 
 Of Muscular Action 125 
 
 Interchange of Velocity with Force 129 
 
 Motions of the Fingers 132 
 
CONTENTS. xiii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Mechanical properties of the Muscles 133 
 
 Illustration from Ostrich's foot . . . . . . . 134 
 
 From Lion's Fore-paw 136 
 
 Circulation of Blood in the Muscles 138 
 
 Of the Eight and Left Hands 141 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE SUBSTITUTION OF OTHER ORGANS FOR THE HAND . . 145 
 Prehensile Organs in Fishes . . . . . . . 148 
 
 Woodpecker's Tongue . 154 
 
 Bills of Birds 158 
 
 Author's Classification of the Nerves (a Note by the Editor) . 161 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE ARGUMENT PURSUED 166 
 
 Theory of Elementary Parts 168 
 
 Lamarck's Theory of Progressive Development . . .176 
 Theory of the Influence of surrounding Elements . . . 177 
 Changes in the Material of the Body during Life . . .182 
 The Features of Age not owing to Decay 185 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 OF SENSIBILITY AND TOUCH 190 
 
 The Sensibility of the Surface compared with that of the 
 
 deeper parts 192 
 
 Pain the Safeguard of the Body 196 
 
 Sensibility to Heat 199 
 
 Insensibility of the Brain 201 
 
 The protecting Sensibility of the Eye compared with the Sen- 
 sibility of the Heart 202 
 
 Sensibility a Beneficent Endowment ..... 207 
 
 Pain Necessary to Existence 208 
 
 Pleasurable Sensations could not have been the Motives of 
 
 Action 209 
 
xiv 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 OF THE SENSES GENERALLY, INTRODUCTORY TO THE SENSE 
 
 OF TOUCH 213 
 
 Nature of the Impression 214 
 
 Of the Organ of Touch 220 
 
 Illustrated by the Hoof of the Horse 225 
 
 By the Structure of a Tooth 228 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 OF THE MUSCULAR SENSE 232 
 
 Of the Sensibility to Muscular Effort in the Infant, and 
 
 gradual Improvement of the Sense of Touch . . . 232 
 Power of measuring Muscular Force by our Sense of the 
 
 Exercise 23,5 
 
 Of the Sense in Insects and Fishes 241 
 
 Loss of the Muscular Sense 244 
 
 Pleasures arising from its Relation to Time in Music . . . 247 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE HAND NOT THE SOURCE OF INGENUITY, NOR CONSE- 
 
 QUENTLY OF MAN'S SUPERIORITY 252 
 
 The Capacities of the Mind correspond to the Instrument . 253 
 In the Lower Animals, the Organ adapted to the Instinct . 254 
 
 Illustration by Galen 254 
 
 For Speech, the Mental Capacity as necessary as Organisation 258 
 
 Influence of Printing on Works of Art 260 
 
 Expression in the Hand 262 
 
 Changes in the Globe and Successive Epochs . . . .265 
 Concluding Remarks 269 
 
CONTENTS. xv 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGR 
 
 THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF THE ANIMAL BODY CON- 
 SIDERED 277 
 
 Of the Solid Structures of Animals 288 
 
 Substitute for the True Skeleton 289 
 
 Shell of Oyster 293 
 
 External contrasted with Internal Skeleton .... 297 
 Composition of Bone and proportioning of its constituents to 
 
 the Mechanical Forces 300 
 
 The apparent irregularities of the Bones shown to be appro- 
 priate adaptations . . . . . . . . 312 
 
 Of the Deer's Horn 303 
 
 Of the Joints 316 
 
 Of the Muscular and Elastic Forces 319 
 
 ON THE POSITION OF THE HEAD OF ANIMALS, AND ITS RELA- 
 TION TO THE SPINE, TO ILLUSTRATE THE PROPOSITION 
 THAT ALL PARTS OF THE SKELETON ARE CO-RELATED, 
 AND THAT THEIR VARIATIONS OF FORM DEPEND ON 
 THEIR FUNCTIONS 325 
 
 Theory of parts declining in their perfection as they are remote 
 
 from the centre . 326 
 
 Of the Boar 329 
 
 Elephant 333 
 
 Elk 335 
 
 Giraffe 336 
 
 Camel and Hippopotamus 339 
 
 Horse's Head 341 
 
 Spermaceti Whale 343 
 
 Hysena's Jaws . . . 345 
 
 Variations of the Spine according to its Uses . . . .345 
 
 Its Elasticity adapted to protect the Brain and Spinal Marrow 350 
 
 Why Curved 353 
 
 Exercise essential to perfection 354 
 
 Elasticity of the Chest 356 
 
 The Windpipe viewed on the principle of the Hydraulic Press 359 
 
 Why Birds are Oviparous 362 
 
 Of the Kangaroo 363 
 
 Of the Gizzard 364 
 
 Concluding Remarks 368 
 
xvi 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 IMAGINARY ANIMALS .369 
 
 APPROPRIATE SENSIBILITIES INDUCE COMBINED MUSCULAR 
 ACTIONS FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE VITAL ORGANS 
 IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THEIR FUNCTIONS . . 374 
 
 Sensibility of the Orifice of the Windpipe 375 
 
 Of Coughing, contrasted with Sneezing 377 
 
 The Mouth 378 
 
 Deglutition by Crocodile 380 
 
 Of Hunger and Thirst 381 
 
 Sensibility and Actions of the Stomach 384 
 
 Varieties of Sensibilities and Actions in the Complex Stomach 
 
 of Ruminants 386 
 
 Of Voluntary and Instinctive Movements .... 389 
 
 COMPARISON OF THE EYE WITH THE HAND . . • -394 
 
 Of the Sensible Spot of the Eye . . . .400 
 The Motions of the Eye prevent Exhaustion of the Sensible 
 
 Spot ,402 
 
 Muscular Sense gives Knowledge of Visible Direction . .406 
 Of the Permanence of Impressions on the Retina . . .413 
 Complementary Colours most distinct after Exhaustion of the 
 
 Retina 413 
 
 Motion of Eye blends Colours 415 
 
 Relation of Sensible Spot in Retina to Chiaroscuro . .419 
 Expression in the Eye . 421 
 
 CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS:— In explanation of terms inci- 
 dentally used in the volume 424 
 
THE HAND; 
 
 ITS MECHANISM AND VITAL ENDOWMENTS, 
 AS EVINCING DESIGN. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 If we select any object from the whole extent of 
 animated nature, and contemplate it fully and in all 
 its bearings, we shall certainly come to this conclusion : 
 that there is Design in the mechanical construction, 
 Benevolence in the endowments of the living properties, 
 and that Good on the whole is the result. We shall 
 perceive that the Sensibilities of the body have a relation 
 to the qualities of things external, and that delicacy of 
 texture is, therefore, a necessary part of its constitu- 
 tion : that wonderful, and exquisitely constructed as the 
 mechanical appliances are for the protection of these 
 delicate structures, they are altogether insufficient ; 
 that a protection of a very different kind, which shall 
 animate the body to the utmost exertion, is requisite 
 for safety : and that Pain, whilst it is a necessary con- 
 trast to its opposite pleasure, is the great safeguard of 
 
 B 
 
2 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. chap. i. 
 
 the frame. Finally, as to Man, we shall be led to infer 
 that the pains and pleasures of mere bodily sense 
 (with yet more benevolent design) carry him onward, 
 through the development and improvement of the 
 Mind, to higher aspirations. 
 
 To comprehend the perfection of the structure of 
 any single organ of an animal body, and to see how 
 the same system of parts is adapted to an infinite 
 variety of conditions, we must view the same organ 
 comparatively : this carries us into a new science, no 
 less than that which regards the changes in the surface 
 of the Globe. And although, in this comparison, we 
 shall find that stupendous revolutions have occurred 
 indicative of power, it is in contemplating the adapta- 
 tion of the newly introduced forms of living and 
 organised matter to these successive changes in the 
 surface of the earth, that we shall have the best proofs 
 of the continuance of that Power which first created. 
 
 Such is the course of reasoning which I propose to 
 follow in giving an account of the Hand and Arm. I 
 shall contrast them, in the first place, with the corre- 
 sponding parts of living creatures through all the 
 divisions of the chain of vertebrated animals ; and 
 then I shall take the hand, not merely as combining 
 the perfections of mechanical structure, but as pos- 
 sessing the property of Touch, by which it ministers to 
 and improves every other sense, constituting it the organ 
 in the body the most remarkable for correspondence 
 with Man's capacities. 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 3 
 
 Some may conceive that, as I have for my title the 
 Human Hand and its relation to the other solid 
 structures of the animal frame, it will lead me to 
 consider the body as a Machine only. I neither see 
 the necessity for this, nor do I acknowledge the danger 
 of considering it in that light. I embark fearlessly 
 in the investigation, convinced that, yielding to the 
 current of thought, and giving the fullest scope to 
 inquiry, there can be no hidden danger if the mind be 
 free from vicious bias. I cannot see how scepticism 
 should arise out of the contemplation of the structure 
 and mechanism of the Animal Body. 
 
 Let us for a moment reflect what is the natural result 
 of examining the human body as a piece of machinery ; 
 and see whether that makes the creation of man more 
 or less important in relation to the Whole Scheme of 
 nature. 
 
 Suppose there is placed before us a machine for 
 raising great weights ; be it the simplest of all, the 
 wheel and axle. We are given to understand that this 
 piece of mechanism has the property of multiplying the 
 power of the hand. But a youth of subtile mind may 
 say, I do not believe it possible so to multiply the 
 power of the hand ; and if the mechanician be a 
 philosopher, he will rather applaud the spirit of doubt. 
 If he condescend to explain, he will say, that the piles 
 driven into the ground, or the screws uniting the 
 machinery to the beams, are the fixed points which 
 resist in the working of the machine ; that their 
 
 B 2 
 
4 
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 resistance is a necessary condition, since it is thrown, 
 together with the power of the hand, on the weight to 
 be raised ; and he will add that the multiplication of 
 wheels does not alter the principle of action, which 
 every one may see in the simple lever, to result from 
 the resistance of the fulcrum or point, on which 
 it rests. 
 
 Now grant that man's body is a machine, where are 
 the points of resistance ? are they not in the 6 ground 
 we stand upon ? This leads us to inquire by what 
 property we stand. Is it not by the weight of the 
 body, or, in other words, by the Attraction of the 
 earth ? The terms attraction, or gravitation lead at 
 once to the philosophy of the question. We stand 
 because the body has weight, and a resistance in 
 proportion to the matter of the animal frame and the 
 magnitude of the globe itself. We need not stop at 
 present to observe the adjustment of the strength of 
 the frame, the solidity of the bones, the elasticity of 
 the joints, and the power of the muscles, to the weight 
 of the whole. Our attention is directed to the rela- 
 tions which the frame has to the Earth we are placed 
 upon. 
 
 Some Philosophers who have considered the matter 
 curiously, have said, that if man were translated 
 bodily to another Planet, and that planet were smaller 
 than the earth, he would be too light, and he would 
 walk like one wading in deep water : that on the contrary, 
 if the planet were larger, the attraction of his body 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 5 
 
 would make him feel as if his limbs were loaded with 
 lead ; nay, that the attraction might be so great as to 
 destroy the fabric of the body, crushing bones 
 and all* 
 
 However idle these fancies may be, there is no 
 doubt that the animal frame is formed with a due 
 relation to the earth we inhabit ; and that the strength 
 of the materials of the animal body have as certainly a 
 correspondence with the weight, as the wheels and 
 levers of a machine, or the scaffolding which sus- 
 tains them, have relation to the force and velocity 
 of the machinery, or the load they are employed 
 to raise. 
 
 The mechanism and organisation of animals have 
 been often brought forward for a different purpose 
 from that for which I use them. We find it said, that 
 it is incomprehensible how an all-powerful Being 
 should manifest his will by these means ; that mecha- 
 nical contrivance implies difficulties overcome : and 
 how strange it is, they add, that the perceptions of the 
 mind, which might have been produced by some direct 
 means, or have arisen spontaneously, should be 
 received through an instrument so fine and complex 
 as the eye ; — and which requires the creation of the 
 element of light, to enter the organ and to cause 
 vision. 
 
 For my own part, I think it most natural to con- 
 
 * The matter of Jupiter is as 330,600 to 1000 of our Earth. The 
 diameter of Pallas is 80 miles; that of the Earth is 7,911 miles. 
 
6 
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 CHAP. I 
 
 template the subject quite differently. We perhaps 
 presume too much when we say that Light has been 
 created for the purpose of Vision. We are hardly 
 entitled to pass over its properties as a chemical agent, 
 its influence on the gases, and, in all probability, on 
 the atmosphere, its importance to vegetation, to the 
 formation of the aromatic and volatile principles and 
 to fructification, its influence on the animal surface by 
 invigorating the circulation, and imparting health. In 
 relation to our present subject, it seems more rational 
 to consider light second only to attraction for its 
 importance in nature, and as a link connecting systems 
 of infinite remoteness. 
 
 To have a conception of this, we must tutor our 
 minds and acquire some measure of the velocity of 
 light, and of the space which it fills. It is not sufficient 
 to say that it moves 200,000 miles in a second ; for 
 we can comprehend no such degree of velocity. If we 
 are further informed that the earth is distant from the 
 sun 95,000,000 of miles, and that light traverses the 
 space in 8 minutes and l-8th, it is but another way of 
 affirming the inconceivable rapidity of its transmission. 
 Astronomers, whose powers of mind afford us the very 
 highest estimate of human faculties, whose accuracy of 
 calculation is hourly visible, have affirmed that light 
 emanates from celestial bodies at such vast distance 
 that thousands of years shall elapse during its progress 
 to our earth — yet that, impelled by a force equal to its 
 transmission through that space, it enters the eye and 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 7 
 
 strikes upon the delicate nerve, with no other effect 
 than to produce vision."* 
 
 Instead of supposing light created for the eye, and 
 to give us the sense of vision, would it not be a more 
 just manner of considering the subject, to dwell with 
 admiration on the fact, that this small organ, the eye, 
 should be formed with relation to a system of such 
 vast extent and grandeur : — and more especially, that 
 the ideas arising in the mind through the influence of 
 that light and this organ, should be constituted a part 
 of one vast whole ! 
 
 By such considerations we are led to contemplate 
 the human body in its different relations. The magni- 
 tude of the earth determines the strength of our bones, 
 and the power of our muscles ; so must the depth of 
 the atmosphere determine the condition of our fluids, 
 and the resistance of our blood vessels ; the common 
 act of breathing, the transpiration from the surfaces, 
 must bear relation to the weight, moisture, and tempe- 
 rature of the medium which surrounds us. A moment's 
 reflection on these facts proves that our body is formed 
 with a just correspondence to all these external 
 influences : and not the frame of the body only, but 
 also the vital endowments and the properties of the 
 organs of sense. It were a perverseness to say that 
 the outward senses, the organisation, and the vital 
 properties, could arise from the influence of the 
 
 * The argument is not weakened on assuming the hypothesis, that light 
 results from the movement of an elastic ether. 
 
8 
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 surrounding elements, or out of matter spontaneously ; 
 they are created in accordance with the condition of 
 the globe, and are systematic parts of a great whole. 
 
 These views lead to another consideration, that it is 
 to external nature, and not of necessity to the mind, 
 that the complexity of our structure belongs. Whilst 
 man is an agent in a material world, and sensible to 
 the influence of things external, complexity of structure 
 is a necessary part of his constitution. But we do not 
 perceive a relation between this complexity and the 
 mind. From aught that we learn by this mode of 
 study, the mind may be as distinct from the bodily 
 organs as the exterior influences are which give them 
 exercise. 
 
 Something, then, we observe to be common to our 
 planet and to others, to our system and to other systems ; 
 matter, attraction, light ; which nearly implies that the 
 mechanical and chemical laws must be the same through- 
 out. It is perhaps too much with an anonymous author 
 to affirm, that an inhabitant of our world would find 
 himself at home in any other ; that he would be like 
 a traveller, for a moment only perplexed by diversitj' 
 of climate and strangeness of manners, but ready 
 to confess, at last, that nature was every where 
 and essentially the same. However this may be, all 
 I contend for is the necessity of certain relations 
 being established between the planet and the frames 
 of all which inhabit it; between the great mass and 
 the physical properties of every part; that in the 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 9 
 
 mechanical construction of animals, as in tlieir endow- 
 ments of life, they are created in relation to the whole, 
 planned together and fashioned by one Mind. 
 
 A comparison made between the system of an animal 
 body, and the condition of the earth's surface, is highly 
 illustrative of design in both. In the animal, we see 
 matter withdrawn from the influences which arrange 
 things dead and inorganic ; but this matter, thus appro- 
 priated to the animal, and newly endowed through the 
 influence of life, continues to possess such qualities of 
 inanimate matter as are necessary to constitute the 
 living being a part of the system — an inhabitant of the 
 earth. To what then does this argument lead ? Is 
 it not, that as the beautiful structure of the animal, and 
 the perfection in the arrangement of its parts demon- 
 strate design — so design extends to the condition 
 of the earth also; and over both there is a ruling 
 Intelligence ? 
 
 Men who have studied deeply, and who have become 
 authorities in natural science, acquire a happy spirit of 
 contentment and true philosophy; of which we have 
 examples in Grew,* in Ray, and in Linnaeus. The last, 
 resting from his great labours in universal nature, and 
 struck with the perfection and order evinced in the 
 whole, breaks out, very naturally and eloquently, in 
 admiration of the just relation of all things, as proving 
 them to be the work of one Almighty Being. Then 
 
 * A naturalist, who wrote on the anatomy of Plants ; also, w Cosmologia Sacra, 
 a Discourse on the Universe, as the creature and kingdom of God." 
 
10 
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 considering the great globe as a Museum, furnished 
 forthwith the works of the Supreme Being, man, he adds, 
 is placed in the midst of it, as alone capable of compre- 
 hending and valuing it. And if this be true, as certainly 
 it is, what then becomes his duty ? Moralists and 
 divines, with nature herself, testify that the purpose of 
 so much beauty and perfection being made manifest to 
 man, is that he may study and celebrate the works of 
 God : and that if he fail in this, he will be wanting in 
 those contemplations and exercises by which the mind 
 is to be raised to the knowledge of God. Those who 
 say that the Scriptures ought to be the sole guides, 
 forget that these are addressed to intelligent beings; 
 and what can be more fitting to bestow that intelligence 
 and capacity which is to receive eternal truths, than 
 those studies which the great naturalist is enforcing, 
 when he says, " If we have no faith in the things which 
 are seen, how should we believe those which are not seen ? 
 The brute creatures, although furnished with external 
 senses, resemble those animals which, wandering in the 
 woods, are fattened with acorns, but never look upwards 
 to the tree which affords them food ; much less have 
 they any idea of the Beneficent Author of the tree and 
 its fruit." By such reflections was Linnaeus led to con- 
 clude, that " whoever shall regard with contempt the 
 economy of the Creator here, is as truly impious as the 
 man who takes no thought of the future." 
 
 * These sentiments are best expressed in his Preface to the Catalogue of 
 the Museum of Adolphus Frederick of Sweden. 
 
chap. r. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 11 
 
 The passiveness which is natural in infancy, and the 
 want of reflection as to the sources of enjoyment which 
 is excusable in youth, become insensibility and ingrati- 
 tude in riper years. In the early stages of life, before 
 our minds have the full power of comprehension, the 
 objects around us serve but to excite and exercise the 
 outward senses. But in the maturity of reason, phi- 
 losophy should present these things to us anew, with 
 this difference, that the mind may contemplate them : 
 that mind which is now strengthened by experience 
 to comprehend them, and to entertain a grateful sense 
 of them. 
 
 It is this sense of gratitude which distinguishes man. 
 In brutes, the attachment to offspring for a limited 
 period is as strong as in him, but it ceases with the 
 necessity for it. In man, on the contrary, the affections 
 continue, become the sources of all the endearing rela- 
 tions of life, and the very bonds by which society is 
 connected. 
 
 If the child, upon the parent's knee, is unconsciously 
 incurring a debt, and strong affections grow up so 
 naturally that nothing is more universally condemned 
 than filial ingratitude, we have but to change the object 
 of affection, to find the natural source of religion itself. 
 We must show that the care of the most tender parent 
 is in nothing to be compared with those provisions for 
 our enjoyment and safety, which it is not only beyond 
 the ingenuity of man to supply to himself, but which 
 he can hardly comprehend, while he profits by them. 
 
12 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. chap. i. 
 
 If man, of all living creatures, be alone capable 
 of gratitude, and through this sense be capable 
 also of religion, the transition is natural; since the 
 gratitude due to parents is abundantly more owing 
 to Him " who saw him in his blood, and said, Live." 
 
 For the continuance of life, a thousand provisions 
 are made. If the vital actions of a man's frame were 
 directed by his will, they are necessarily so minute and 
 complicated, that they would immediately fall into 
 confusion. He cannot draw a breath, without the 
 exercise of sensibilities as well ordered as those of the 
 eye or ear. A tracery of nervous cords unites many 
 organs in sympathy ; and if any one* filament of these 
 were broken, pain and spasm and suffocation would 
 ensue. The action of his heart, and the circulation of 
 his blood, and all the vital functions, are governed 
 through means and by laws which are not dependent 
 on his will ; and to which the powers of his mind 
 are altogether inadequate. For had they been under 
 the influence of his will, a doubt, a moment's pause 
 of irresolution, a forgetfulness of a single action 
 at its appointed time, would have terminated his 
 existence. 
 
 Now, when man sees that his vital operations could 
 not be directed by reason — that they are constant, and 
 far too important to be exposed to all the changes 
 incident to his mind, and that they are given up to the 
 direction of other sources of motion than the will, he 
 acquires a full sense of his dependence. If he be fretful 
 
CHAP. r. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 13 
 
 and wayward, and subject to inordinate passion, we 
 perceive the benevolent design in withdrawing the 
 vital motions from the influence of such capricious 
 sources of action, so that they may neither be dis- 
 turbed like his moral actions, nor lost in a moment of 
 despair. 
 
 Eay, in speaking of the first drawing of breath, 
 delivers himself very naturally : " Here, methinks, 
 appears a necessity of bringing in the agency of some 
 superintendent intelligent Being, for what else should 
 put the diaphragm and the muscles serving respiration 
 in motion all of a sudden so soon as ever the foetus is 
 brought forth? Why could they not have rested as 
 well as they did in the womb ? What aileth them that 
 they must needs bestir themselves to get in air to 
 maintain the creature's life ? Why could they not 
 patiently suffer it to die ? You will say the spirits 
 do at this time flow to the organs of respiration, the 
 diaphragm, and other muscles which concur to that 
 action and move them. But what raises the spirits 
 which were quiescent, &c, I am not subtile enough to 
 discover." 
 
 We cannot call this agency a new intelligence different 
 from the mind, because, independently of consciousness, 
 we can hardly so define it. But a sensibility is bestowed, 
 which being roused (and it is excited by the state of 
 the circulation,) governs these muscles of respiration, 
 and ministers to life and safety, independently of 
 the will. 
 
14 
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 When man thus perceives, that in respect to all these 
 vital operations he is more helpless than the infant, and 
 that his boasted reason can neither give them order 
 nor protection, is not his insensibility to the Giver of 
 these secret endowments worse than ingratitude ? In 
 a rational creature, ignorance of his condition becomes 
 a species of ingratitude ; it dulls his sense of benefits, 
 and hardens him into a temper of mind with which it 
 is impossible to reason, and from which no improvement 
 can be expected. 
 
 Debased in some measure by a habit of inattention, 
 and lost to all sense of the benevolence of the Creator, 
 he is roused to reflection only by overwhelming calami- 
 ties, which appear to him magnified and disproportioned ; 
 and hence arises a conception of the Author of his 
 being more in terror than in love. 
 
 There is inconsistency and something of the child's 
 propensities still in mankind. A piece of mechanism, 
 as a watch, a barometer, or a dial, will fix attention — a 
 man will make journeys to see an engine stamp a coin, 
 or turn a block ; yet the organs through which he has 
 a thousand sources of enjoyment, and which are in 
 themselves the most exquisite in design, and the most 
 curious both in contrivance and mechanism, do not enter 
 his thoughts ; and if he admire a living action, that 
 admiration will probably be more excited by what is 
 uncommon and monstrous, than by what is natural and 
 perfectly adjusted to its office — by the elephant's trunk, 
 than by the human hand. This does not arise from 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 15 
 
 unwillingness to contemplate the superiority or dignity 
 of our own nature, or from incapacity of admiring the 
 adaptation of parts. It is the effect of habit. The 
 human hand is so beautifully formed, it has so fine a 
 sensibility, that sensibility governs its motions so 
 correctly, every effort of the will is answered so instantly, 
 as if the hand itself were the seat of that will ; its 
 actions are so powerful, so free, and yet so delicate, as 
 if it possessed a quality of instinct in itself, that there 
 is no thought of its complexity as an instrument, or of 
 the relations which make it subservient to the mind ; 
 we use it as we draw our breath, unconsciously, and 
 have lost all recollection of the feeble and ill-directed 
 efforts of its first exercise, by which it has been per- 
 fected. Is it not the very perfection of the instrument 
 which makes us insensible to its use ? A vulgar 
 admiration is excited by seeing the spider-monkey pick 
 up a straw, or a piece of wood, with its tail ; or the 
 elephant searching the keeper's pocket with his trunk. 
 Now, if we examined the peculiarity of the elephant's 
 structure fully, that is to say, from its huge mass deduced 
 the necessity for its form, and from the form the 
 necessity for its trunk, it would lead us, through a tram 
 of very curious observations, to a more correct notion 
 of that appendage, and therefore to a truer admiration 
 of it ; but I contrast this part with the human hand, 
 merely to show how insensible we are to the perfections 
 of our own frame, and to the advantages attained through 
 such a form. We use the limbs without being conscious, 
 
16 
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 or, at least, without any conception of the thousand 
 parts which must conform to a single act. To excite 
 attention, the motions of the human frame must either 
 be performed in a strange and unexpected mode, that 
 will raise the wonder of the ignorant and vulgar ; or we 
 must rouse ourselves, by an effort of the cultivated 
 mind, to observe things and actions, of which the sense 
 has been lost by long familiarity. 
 
 In the following pages, I shall treat the subject 
 comparatively ; and exhibit a view of the bones of the 
 arm, descending from the human Hand to the Fin of 
 the fish. I shall in the next place review the actions 
 of the Muscles of the arm and hand. Then proceeding 
 to the vital properties, I shall advance to the subject of 
 Sensibility, leading to that of Touch ; afterwards, I shall 
 show the necessity of combining the Muscular Action 
 with the exercise of the senses, and especially with that 
 of touch, to constitute the hand, what it has been called, 
 the geometrical sense. I shall describe the organ of 
 touch, the cuticle and skin, and arrange the nerves of 
 the hand according to their functions. I shall then 
 inquire into the correspondence between the capacities 
 or endowments of the mind, and the external organs, 
 and more especially the properties of the hand. And 
 I shall conclude by showing that animals have been 
 created with a reference to the globe they inhabit ; that 
 all their endowments and various organisation bear a 
 relation to their state of existence, and to the elements 
 around them ; that there is a plan universal, extending 
 
chap. i. INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 17 
 
 through all animated nature, and which has prevailed 
 in the earliest condition of the world ; and finally, that 
 on the most minute, or the most comprehensive, study 
 of those subjects, we everywhere behold Prospective 
 Design. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 DEFINITION OF THE HAND. 
 
 THE ARMS AND HAND, VARIOUSLY MODIFIED, ADAPTED TO AN EXTENSIVE 
 SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 
 
 We ought to define the Hand as belonging exclusively 
 to Man — corresponding in its sensibility and motion 
 to the endowments of his Mind, and especially to that 
 ingenuity which, through means of it, converts the 
 being who is the weakest in natural defence, to be the 
 ruler over animate and inanimate nature. 
 
 If we describe the hand, including the arm, as an 
 extremity in which the thumb and fingers are opposed 
 to each other, so as to form an instrument of prehension, 
 we embrace in the definition the extremities of the 
 quadrumana or monkeys. Now, as these animals 
 possess four such hands, it implies that we include the 
 posterior as well as the anterior extremities. But the 
 anterior extremity of the monkey is as much a foot as 
 the posterior extremity is a hand : both are calculated 
 for their mode of progression, climbing, and leaping 
 
chap. ii. THE HAND, ITS MECHANISM, ETC. 19 
 
 from the branches of trees ; just as the tail in some 
 species is converted to the same purpose, and is as 
 
 useful an instrument of suspension as any of the four 
 extremities.* 
 
 * This is a sketch of the Coaita, or Spider Monkey, so called from the 
 extraordinary length of its extremities, and from its motions. The tail answers 
 all the purposes of a hand, and the animal throws itself about from branch to 
 branch, sometimes swinging by the foot, sometimes by the fore extremity, but 
 oftcner, and with a greater reach, by the tail. The prehensile part of the tail 
 is covered with skin only, forming an organ of touch as discriminating as the 
 proper extremities. The Caraya, or Black Howling Monkey of Cumana, 
 when shot, is found suspended by its tail round a branch. Naturalists have 
 been so struck with the property of the tail of the Ateles, that they have 
 compared it to the proboscis of the Elephant. They have assured us that 
 they fish with their tail. 
 
 The most interesting use of the tail is seen in the Opossum. The young 
 of that animal mount upon her back, and entwine their tails around their 
 mother's tail, by which they sit secure, while she escapes from her enemies. 
 
 C2 
 
20 THE WHOLE SKELETON chap. ii. 
 
 The armed extremities of a variety of animals give 
 them great advantages. But if man possessed similar 
 provisions, he would forfeit his sovereignty over all. 
 As Galen, long since, observed, " did man possess the 
 natural armour of the brutes, he would no longer work 
 as an artificer, nor protect himself with a breast-plate, 
 nor fashion a sword or spear, nor invent a bridle to 
 mount the horse and hunt the lion. Neither could he 
 follow the arts of peace, construct the pipe and lyre, 
 erect houses, place altars, inscribe laws, and through 
 letters and the ingenuity of the hand, hold communion 
 with the wisdom of antiquity, at one time to converse 
 with Plato, at another with Aristotle, or Hippocrates." 
 
 But the hand is not a distinct instrument ; nor is it 
 properly a superadded part. The whole frame must 
 conform to the hand, and act with reference to it. Our 
 purpose will not be answered by examining it alone ; 
 we must extend our views to all those parts of the body 
 which are in strict connexion with the hand. For 
 example, from the shoulder to the finger ends, such a 
 relation is established amongst the whole chain of bones, 
 that it is essential to embrace the whole extremity in 
 the inquiry. And in order to comprehend fully the fine 
 arrangement of the parts necessary to the motions of 
 the fingers, we must compare the structure of the human 
 body with that of other animals. 
 
 Were we to limit our examination to the bones of 
 the arm and hand in man alone, no doubt we should 
 soon discover the provisions in them for easy, varied, 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 CONFORMS TO THE EXTEEMITY. 
 
 21 
 
 and powerful action ; and conclude that nothing could 
 be more perfectly suited to their purposes. But we 
 must extend our views to comprehend a great deal 
 more, — a larger design. 
 
 By a Skeleton, is understood the system of bones, 
 constructed within, which gives firmness and charac- 
 teristic form to the animal, and receives the action of 
 the exterior muscles. This osseous system belongs, 
 however, to one part only of the animal kingdom ; that 
 higher division, — the Animalia Vertebrata,* which in- 
 cludes the chain of beings from man down to fishes. 
 
 To life, the most essential function is Respiration ; 
 and on the mode in which that is performed, or in which 
 the de carbonisation of the blood is effected by its ex- 
 posure to the atmosphere, depends a remarkable change, 
 in the animal kingdom, of the whole frame -work of the 
 body. As man, the mammalia, birds, reptiles, and fishes 
 have the mechanism of respiration much in common, 
 so, through them all, a resemblance can be traced in the 
 structure of their bones, in the action of their muscles, 
 and in the arrangement of their nerves. They all 
 possess the Vertebral Column or Spine ; and the exis- 
 tence of that column not only implies an internal 
 skeleton, but that particular frame-work of ribs which 
 is suited to move the lungs in breathing. 
 
 But the ribs do not move of themselves ; they must 
 have appropriate muscles. These muscles must have 
 
 * See the Classification at the end of the volume,— also the first of the 
 Additional Illustrations. Vertebra is the name given to the hones of the 
 spine, or backbone. 
 
22 THE BONES OF THE EXTREMITY chap. ii. 
 
 their appropriate nerves : and for supplying these nerves, 
 there must be a Spinal Marrow. The spinal canal, 
 formed within the vertebral column, is to the spinal 
 marrow as necessary as the skull to the Brain. So 
 that we come round to understand the necessity of a 
 vertebra to the formation of a spinal marrow ; and the 
 reader may comprehend how much enters into the 
 conception of the anatomist or naturalist, when the 
 term, a vertebrated animal, is used, viz : — an internal 
 skeleton, a particular arrangement of respiratory organs, 
 and a conformity in the Nervous System. 
 
 In making a review of the bones of the upper ex- 
 tremity, I shall limit myself to this superior division of 
 Vertebrated animals. 
 
 If in commencing this subject, and indulging in the 
 admiration which naturally arises out of it, I were to 
 point, in the upper extremity, to the strength and freedom 
 of motion at the ball and socket joint of the shoulder, — 
 to the firmness of the articulation at the elbow, with its 
 admirable combination of mobility suited to the co- 
 operation of the hands, — to the latitude of motion at 
 the wrist, with its strength, — and to the fineness of the 
 movements of the hand itself, divided among the joints 
 of twenty-nine distinct bones — some, objecting with a 
 show of reason, might say — The bones and forms of 
 joints you are thus admiring, so far from being pecu- 
 liarly suited to the hand of man, may be found in any 
 other vertebrated animal ! But that remark would not 
 abate our admiration ; it would only remind us that we 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 NOT ADAPTED TO MAN ALONE. 
 
 23 
 
 erred in looking at a part only, instead of embracing a 
 comprehensive system ; where by slight, hardly per- 
 ceptible changes and gradations in the forms, the 
 analogous bones were adjusted to every condition of 
 animal existence. 
 
 Nothing can be adapted more correctly and appro- 
 priately for their object, than the bones by which the 
 motions of the upper extremity are performed. We 
 enjoy the power of bending and coiling the arm, exten- 
 sively and freely — and of reaching the fingers to every 
 part. Yet these bones, so truly admirable in man, are 
 recognised in the fin of the whale, in the paddle of the 
 turtle, and in the wing of the bird; we see the corre- 
 sponding bones, perfectly suited to their purpose, in the 
 paw of the lion, or the bear ; and equally fitted for 
 motion in the hoof of the horse, or in the foot of the 
 camel; or adjusted for climbing or digging, in the long 
 clawed feet of the sloth or bear. 
 
 It is obvious, then, that we should be unduly limiting 
 our subject, if we did not consider the human hand in 
 its relation to the corresponding organs of other animals : 
 as exhibiting the bones and muscles, which in different 
 animals are suited to particular purposes, so combined 
 in the Hand as to perform, consistently with powerful 
 exertion, actions the most minute and complicated. 
 The wonder still is, that whether we examine the system 
 in man, or in any of the inferior species of animals, 
 nothing can be more curiously adjusted or appropriated ; 
 and whatever instance occupied our thoughts for the 
 
24 
 
 FOSSILISED BONES SHOW 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 time, we should be inclined to say, that to that parti- 
 cular object it had been framed. 
 
 The view which the subject opens, is unbounded. It 
 is upon a knowledge of the system of which we are 
 speaking, that the curious synthesis, by which we 
 ascertain the nature, condition, and habits of an 
 extinct animal, from the examination of its fossil 
 remains, is grounded. To make the proper use of 
 that department, we must understand what a fossil 
 bone is. 
 
 A bone consists of many parts ; but for our present 
 purpose it is necessary to observe only that the hard 
 substance, which we familiarly recognise as bone, is 
 formed of an earthy material, the phosphate of lime, 
 everywhere penetrated by membranes and vessels, as 
 delicate as those in any other structures of the body. 
 Fossil bones are those found imbedded in the earth, 
 and they may be in different conditions. They may 
 either retain their natural structure ; or may have 
 become petrified ; that is to say, the animal matter may 
 have been decomposed and dissipated, with the phos- 
 phoric acid of the phosphate of lime ; and then, silicious 
 earth, or lime in composition with iron, or iron pyrites, 
 may by solution and infiltration fill the interstices of 
 the original matter of the bone. Thus bone will be 
 converted into stone, and be as permanent as the rock 
 which contains it : it will retain the form though not 
 the internal structure of its original. 
 
 Now that form, in consequence of the perfect system 
 
V 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 THE EXTENT OF THE SYSTEM. 
 
 25 
 
 which we have hinted at, becomes the proof of revolu- 
 tions in the face of the earth the most extraordinary. 
 By reasoning on such fossil bones, the mind of the 
 inquirer is conducted back, not merely to the con- 
 templation of the structure of the animal of which 
 they are the remains, but by inference from the 
 animal organisation, to that of the changes in the 
 globe itself. 
 
 In the highest mountains of the old and new world, 
 remains of marine animals are found ; and on turning 
 up the surface of our fields, or in the beds of rivers, 
 huge bones are discovered ; not in the loose soil only, 
 but under the solid limestone rock : now the bones 
 thus exposed become naturally a subject of intense 
 interest, and bear unexpectedly on the inquiry in 
 which we are engaged. Among other important con- 
 clusions, they enforce this — that not only does a 
 scheme or system of animal structure pervade all 
 classes of animals which now inhabit the earth, but 
 that the principle of the same great plan of creation 
 w r as in operation, and governed the formation of those 
 animals which existed previous to the revolutions that 
 the earth has undergone : that the excellence of form 
 now visible in the human skeleton, was in the scheme 
 of animal existence, long previous to the formation of 
 man, before the surface of the earth was prepared for 
 him, or suited to his constitution, structure, or 
 capacities. 
 
 A skeleton is dug up, which has lain under many 
 
26 FOSSILISED BONES SHOW CHAP II. 
 
 fathoms of rock, being the bones of an animal which 
 lived antecedent to that formation of rock, and at a 
 time when the earth's surface must have been very 
 different from what it now is. These remains prove 
 that the animal must have been formed of the same 
 constituent elements as those of the present day ; that 
 it had analogous organs — received new matter by 
 digestion, and was nourished by means of a circulating 
 fluid — possessed feeling through a nervous system, and 
 was moved by the action of muscles. With regard also 
 to other animals of the same period, we may infer that, 
 as in those now alive, the organs of digestion, circu- 
 lation, and respiration, would be modified by circum- 
 stances, in accordance with their habits and modes of 
 living ; and that such changes, being but variations in 
 the system by which new matter is assimilated to the 
 animal body, would always, however remarkable they 
 were, bear a relation to the original type, as parts of one 
 great design. 
 
 In examining these bones of the ancient world, so 
 regularly are they constituted on the same principle 
 evinced in animals which now inhabit the earth, that 
 by observing their shape, and the processes * by which 
 their muscles were attached, the anatomist can reduce 
 the animals to which they belonged, to their orders, 
 genera, and species, with as much precision as if the 
 
 * Processes are the projecting points of bone by which the tendons of the 
 muscles are attached. To the anatomist, therefore, processes are indications of 
 the condition of the muscles. 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 THE EXTENT OF THE SYSTEM. 
 
 27 
 
 recent bodies had been submitted to his eye. Not 
 only can we distinguish whether their feet were 
 adapted to the solid ground, or to the oozy bed of 
 rivers, — to speed, or to grasping and tearing ; but 
 judging, by these indications, of the habits of the 
 animals, we acquire a knowledge of the condition of 
 the earth during their period of existence : ascertain 
 that at one time it was suited to the scaly tribe of the 
 lacertae, with languid motion ; at another, to animals 
 of higher organisation, with more varied and lively 
 habits ; and finally we learn, that at any period 
 previous to man's creation, the surface of the earth 
 would have been unsuitable to him. 
 
 We ought not to touch on this subject without one 
 observation more. When the peasant, on turning up 
 the great bones of some unknown animal, suspends his 
 work and thinks he has discovered the limbs of a 
 giant, he is more to be excused than the learned and 
 ingenious, who seek from these natural appearances to 
 illustrate the Scriptures. True religion is adapted to 
 the sound capacities of all men — to that condition of 
 mind which the individual experience of the good and 
 evil of the world, sooner or later, brings with it : it is 
 suited to man in every stage of the progress of society 
 — to his weakness and to his strength; from which it 
 becomes the real dispenser of equal rights. Had 
 our religion been framed with a relation to science, it 
 could not have been adapted to every man ; least of all 
 had it been related to that branch of natural know- 
 
23 
 
 ANIMALS THE MOST UNCOUTH 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 ledge which is called Geology — a science so obviously 
 in its infancy, that but for its alliance with anatomy, it 
 would have continued to present a scene only of con- 
 fusion for ignorant wonderment. 
 
 It may then be asked, why do we cultivate those 
 scientific subjects to which we apply the term Natural 
 Religion ? Because they agreeably enlarge our com- 
 prehension, and while they repress a too selfish 
 enthusiasm, exalt the imagination. We all of our- 
 selves proceed a certain length in the examination of 
 natural phenomena ; and the convictions arising from 
 the survey are wrought into the opinions of every one. 
 Yet when benevolent design is disclosed by new facts, 
 or by things that are familiar being presented in a new 
 light, we experience a fresh and cheerful influence. 
 We are sensible of a renewed impulse ; a gratification 
 which interferes with no duty. 
 
 This opportunity may be taken to correct a notion 
 which we have seen expressed, that certain imper- 
 fections are discoverable in the structure of some 
 animals. Such an idea must have sprung from com- 
 paring these animals with ourselves, our structure, and 
 sensibilities — instead of looking on them with reference 
 to their peculiar conditions. 
 
 For example, the eloquent Buffon, when comparing 
 the present races of animals with the fossil remains of 
 individuals of the same family now extinct, expresses 
 some singular opinions ; which, although with reserve, 
 have been adopted even by Cuvier. Buffon speaks 
 
SUITED TO THEIR CONDITION. 
 
 29 
 
 confidently of the unsuitableness of particular organs 
 of animals, and of the derangement of their instincts. 
 But it is from comparing them and their mode of life 
 with human society, a state where individuals are 
 subject to misery and want. He surely sympathises 
 too closely with the bird of prey, when he characterises 
 its watchfulness as a true picture of wretchedness, 
 anxiety, and indigence. If a bird refuse to be domes- 
 ticated and crammed with meat, it is hardly fair to 
 accuse it of gloom and apathy, the simple fact being 
 that such treatment is contrary to its natural habits 
 and instincts. The animals which principally excite 
 his commiseration, are of the tardigrade family : in the 
 sloths, the Ai/* for example, the defect of organisation 
 he supposes to be the greatest ; whilst the Unau,t he 
 thinks only a little less miserably provided for 
 existence. 
 
 In like manner, modern travellers express pity for 
 these slow-paced animals. Whilst other quadrupeds, 
 they say, range in boundless wilds, the sloth hangs sus- 
 pended by his strong arms, — a poor ill-formed creature, 
 deficient as well as deformed, his hind legs too short, 
 and his hair like withered grass ; his looks, motions, 
 and cries, conspire to excite pity ; and, as if this were 
 not enough, they say that his moaning causes the tiger 
 to relent and turn away. But that is not a true picture : 
 
 * Bradypus tridactylus : — bradypus (sloiv-footed), tridactylus (three-toed), 
 of the order Edentata (wanting incisor teeth), 
 f Bradypus didactylus (two-toed). 
 
30 
 
 MISTAKEN COMPASSION FOR 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 the sloth cannot walk like many other quadrupeds, but 
 he stretches out his arms, and if he can hook on his 
 
 SKELETON OF THE SLOTH. 
 
 claws to the inequalities of the ground, he drags himself 
 along. This condition it is which gives occasion to 
 such an expression as " the bungled and faulty compo- 
 sition of the sloth." But if with his claws he can reach 
 the branch or the rough bark of a tree, then will his 
 progress be rapid ; he will climb hand over head along 
 the branches till they touch, thus getting from bough 
 to bough, and tree to tree ; in the storm he is most 
 alive ; it is when the wind blows, and the trees stoop, 
 and the branches wave and meet, that he is upon 
 the march.* 
 
 Accordingly, the compassion expressed by these 
 philosophers for animals which they consider imper- 
 fectly organised, is uncalled for.t As well might they 
 pity the larva of the summer fly, which creeps at the 
 bottom of a pool, because it cannot yet rise upon the 
 
 * Waterton. + The subject is puisued at the end of the following chapter. 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 ANIMALS OF PECULIAR FORM. 
 
 31 
 
 wing. As the insect, until its metamorphosis is perfect 
 and its wings developed, has no impulse to fly, so there 
 is no reason to suppose that a disposition or instinct is 
 given to animals without a corresponding provision for 
 motion. On the ground, the sloth may move tardily ; 
 his long arms and preposterous claws may then be an 
 incumbrance ; but in his natural place, among the 
 branches of trees, they are of advantage in obtaining 
 his food, and in giving him shelter and safety from 
 his enemies. 
 
 It is not by our own sensations that we must estimate 
 the movements of animals. In catching a fly the motion 
 of the bill of the swallow or of the fly-catcher is so 
 rapid that we do not see it, but only hear the snap. 
 On the contrary, how very different are the means 
 employed by the chameleon for obtaining his food ; he 
 lies more still than the dead leaf, his skin like the bark 
 of the tree, and taking the hue of the surrounding 
 objects : whilst other animals evince excitement con- 
 forming to their rapid motions, his shrivelled face 
 hardly indicates life ; his eyelids are scarcely parted ; 
 he protrudes Ins tongue towards the insect, with a 
 motion so imperceptible, that it is touched and caught 
 more certainly than by the most lively action. Thus, 
 various creatures, living upon insects, reach their prey 
 by different means and instincts ; some by rapidity of 
 motion, which gives no time for escape, others by a 
 languid and slow movement that excites no alarm. 
 
 The loris, a tardigrade animal, might be pitied too 
 
32 
 
 MISTAKEN COMPASSION FOR 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 for the slowness of its movements, if these were not 
 necessary to its very existence. It steals on its prey 
 
 by night, and extends its arm towards the bird on the 
 branch, or the great moth, with a motion so impercep- 
 tibly slow, as to make sure of its object."* Just so the 
 Indian, perfectly naked, his hair cut short, and his skin 
 oiled, creeps under the canvas of the tent, and moving 
 like a ghost, stretches out his hand with a motion so 
 gentle as to displace nothing, not even disturbing those 
 who are awake and watching. Against such thieves, 
 we are told, it is hardly possible to guard. And thus, 
 
 * It may be well to notice some other characters that belong to animals, 
 inhabitants of the tropical regions, which prowl by night. The various 
 creatures that enliven the woods in the day-time, in these warm climates, have 
 fine skins, and smooth hair ; but those that seek their prey at night have a 
 thick coat like animals of the arctic regions. What is this but to be clothed 
 as the sentinel whose watch is in the night ? They have eyes, too, which, from 
 their peculiar structure, are called nocturnal, being formed to admit a large 
 pencil of rays of light, and having the globe full and prominent, and the iris 
 contractile, to open the pupil to the greatest extent. We have seen how their 
 motions and instincts correspond with their nocturnal habits. 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 ANIMALS OF PECULIAR FORM. 
 
 33 
 
 the necessities or vicious desires of man subjugate him, 
 and make him acquire by practice the wiliness implanted 
 in brutes as instinct. Or we may say that endowed 
 with reason, man is brought to imitate the irrational 
 creatures, and so to vindicate the necessity for their 
 particular instincts ; of which every class affords ex- 
 amples. 
 
 In insects, the illustrations of such actions are as 
 striking, as in the loris, or the chamelion. Evelyn 
 describes a spider (Aranea scented) as exhibiting remark- 
 able cunning in catching a fly. " Did the fly, (lie says), 
 happen not to be within a leap, the spider would move 
 towards it, so softly, that its motion seemed not more 
 perceptible than that of the shadow of the gnomon of a 
 dial,"* and then it would suddenly pounce upon its prey. 
 
 I would only remark further, that we are not to 
 account this slowness a defect, but rather an appro- 
 priation of muscular power : since in some animals, the 
 same muscles which at one time produce a motion so 
 slow as to be hardly perceptible, can at another act with 
 the velocity of a spring. 
 
 Now Buffon, speaking of the extinct species of the 
 tardigrade family, has represented them as monsters, 
 
 * The passage continues — w if the intended prey moved, the spider would 
 keep pace with it exactly as if they were actuated by one spirit, moving back- 
 wards, forwards, or on each side without turning. When the fly took wing 
 and pitched itself behind the huntress, she turned round with the swiftness of 
 thought, and always kept her head towards it, though to all appearance as 
 immoveable as one of the nails driven into the wood on which washer station; 
 till at last, being arrived within due distance, swift as lightning she made the 
 fatal leap, and secured her prey." — Evelyn, as quoted by Kirby and Spcnce. 
 
34 FOSSIL ANIMALS SUITED TO CH ap. ii. 
 
 by defect of organisation : as attempts of nature, wherein 
 she has failed to perfect her plan : implying that she 
 has produced animals which must have lived miserably, 
 and which she has effaced from the list of living beings 
 as failures. The Baron Cuvier does not express himself 
 more favourably, when he says of the existing species, 
 that they present so little resemblance to the organi- 
 sation of animals generally, and their structure is so 
 much in contrast with other creatures, that he could 
 believe they were the remnants of an order unsuited to 
 the present system of nature ; and we must seek for 
 their congeners in the interior of the earth, in the ruins 
 of the ancient world. 
 
 But the animals of the Antediluvian world were not 
 monsters ; there was no lusus or extravagance. Hideous 
 as they appear, and like the phantoms of a dream, they 
 were adapted to the condition of the earth when they 
 existed. I could have wished that our naturalists had 
 applied to the inhabitants of that early condition of the 
 globe, names less scholastic ; we have the plesiosaurus, 
 and plesiosaurus doliehodeiros, and ichthyosaurus, mega- 
 losaurus, and hylaeosaurus, and iguanodon, pterodactyles, 
 with long and short beaks, tortoises, and crocodiles; 
 these are found among reeds and grasses of gigantic 
 proportions, algae and fuci ; and a great variety of mol- 
 lusca, of inordinate bulk compared with those of the 
 present day, as ammonites and nautili, are discovered 
 in the same spots. Every thing declares that these 
 animals inhabited shallow seas, and estuaries, or great 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 THE TIME OF THEIU EXISTENCE. 
 
 35 
 
 inland lakes : that the surface of the earth, at these 
 parts, did not rise up in peaks and mountains, or per- 
 
 pendicular rocks bound in the seas ; but that it was 
 flat, slimy, and covered with a loaded and foggy at- 
 mosphere. Looking to the class of animals, as we have 
 enumerated them, such a condition of the earth would 
 correspond with them : they were scaly ; they swam in 
 water, or crept upon the margins ; they were not ex- 
 posed to animals possessing greater rapidity of motion, 
 nor were there birds of prey to stoop upon them ; there 
 was, in short, a balance of the power of destruction and 
 of self-preservation, the same as we see now obtaining 
 in higher animals since created, with infinitely varied 
 instincts and means for defence or attack. There is, 
 indeed, every reason to believe that at that period, the 
 classes mammalia and birds* were not created. And it 
 seems obvious that if man had been placed upon the 
 
 * In the secondary strata, of the period sometimes called by geologists 
 " the age of Reptiles," fossil foot-prints, supposed to be the impressions on mud 
 of the feet of Birds of gigantic stature, have been recently found. — (S.) 
 
 D 2 
 
36 MAN SUITED TO THE PEESENT chap. n. 
 
 earth, when it was in that condition, he must have had 
 around him a state of things neither suited to his con- 
 stitution nor calculated to call forth his capacities. 
 
 It is hardly possible to watch the night and view the 
 break of day in a fine country, without being sensible 
 that our pleasantest perceptions refer to the scenery of 
 nature; and that we have feelings in sympathy with 
 every successive change, from the first streak of light 
 until the whole landscape is displayed in valleys, woods, 
 and sparkling waters. The changes on the scene are 
 not more rapid than the transitions of the feelings which 
 attend them. Now, all these sources of enjoyment, the 
 clear atmosphere and the refreshing breezes, are as 
 certainly the result of the several changes which the 
 Earth's surface has undergone in the different epochs 
 of its formation, as the displaced strata within its crust 
 are demonstrative of those changes. We have every 
 reason to conclude that these revolutions, whether they 
 have been slowly and progressively accomplished, or by 
 sudden, vast and successive convulsions, were necessary 
 to prepare the earth for that condition which should 
 correspond with the faculties to be given to Man, and 
 be suited to the full exercise of his reason, as well as 
 to his enjoyment. 
 
 If a man contemplate the common objects around 
 him — if he observe the connexion between the qualities 
 of things external and the exercise of his senses, be- 
 tween the senses so excited, and the condition of his 
 mind, he will perceive that he is in the centre of a 
 
chap. ii. CONDITION OF THE EAETH. 37 
 
 magnificent system, prepared for his reception by a 
 succession of revolutions which have affected the whole 
 globe; and that the strictest relation is established 
 between his intellectual capacities and the material 
 world. 
 
 In the succeeding chapter, we shall take a compara- 
 tive view of the anatomy of the arm ; and as we trace 
 the same parts through different genera and species of 
 animals, some extraordinary changes in their forms will 
 be presented. But before proceeding to make that 
 survey, we are naturally called upon to notice certain 
 opinions which prevail on the subject. 
 
 However interesting the recent inquiries of geologists 
 may be, they encourage a certain licence of fancy. 
 During the remote periods, dark in every sense, when 
 mounds of stratified rock were forming under intermi- 
 nable seas, what were the animated beings suited to 
 live in the then condition of the elements, must be 
 matter of conjecture. Materialists have long entertained 
 the question, did the first egg proceed from a bird, or 
 the bird from the egg ? — But the hundred and ninety- 
 nine theories on the sources of life and organisation, 
 and on the origin of animals, whether by ancient or 
 modern philosophers, are all fanciful, wild, and unphi- 
 losophical, having no ground to rest upon ! — Nothing 
 is satisfactory until it is declared and believed, that it 
 has been the will of an Omnipotent Being to create — to 
 form the earth and to give life ; and that it was He who 
 appointed the changes to be wrought on the material, 
 
38 
 
 OF THE SUCCESSION AND 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 and gave the animating principle to produce organisation 
 in correspondence with these changes. 
 
 We have already hinted that, in the stratified rocks 
 composing the crust of the earth, geologists have dis- 
 covered proofs of a regular succession of formations ; 
 and that animals of very different structure have been 
 imbedded, and are preserved in these successive layers. 
 In the earlier formed strata, animals are found which 
 are low, as we choose to express it, in the chain of 
 existence ; in higher strata, oviparous reptiles of great 
 bulk, and more complex structure, are discovered ; above 
 the strata containing these oviparous reptiles, there are 
 found mammalia; and in the more superficial and 
 recent strata, are the bones of the mastodon, megathe- 
 rium, rhinoceros, and elephant, &c. We must add, that 
 geologists agree that Man has been created last of all. 
 
 Upon these facts, a theory is raised, that there has 
 been a succession of animals gradually increasing in 
 the perfection of their structure ; that the first impulse 
 of nature was not sufficient to the production of the 
 highest and most perfect, and that it was only in her 
 mature efforts that mammalia were produced. 
 
 But we are led to this reflection : that the very for- 
 mation of a living animal, the bestowing Life on a 
 corporeal frame, however simple the structure, is of 
 itself an act of Creative Power so inconceivably great, 
 that we cannot regard any change in the organisation, 
 such as providing bones and muscles, or producing new 
 organs of sense, as evincing a higher effort of that Power, 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 GROUPING OF ANIMALS. 
 
 39 
 
 In exploring, therefore, the varieties of animated nature, 
 at those distinct epochs, we have a better guide, when 
 we acknowledge the manifest Design with which all has 
 been accomplished ; and the adaptation of the animals, 
 their size, their economy, their organs, and instruments, 
 to their condition. 
 
 Whether w r e make the most superficial or most pro- 
 found examination of animals in their natural state, we 
 shall find that the varieties are so balanced as to insure 
 the existence of all. This, we think, goes far to explain 
 why the remains of certain animals are found in strata 
 which indicate a peculiar condition of the earth's surface ; 
 and why particular animals only are found grouped 
 together. For, as we may express it, if there had been 
 an error in the grouping, there must have been a 
 destruction of the whole ; because the balance necessary 
 to their existence must have been destroyed. 
 
 We know very well that so minute a thing as a fly 
 will produce millions of the same kind, which, if not 
 checked, will ere long darken the air and render whole 
 regions desolate ; so that if the breeze does not carry 
 them in due time into the desert or into the ocean, the 
 ravages committed by them will be most fearful. As 
 in the present day every creature has its natural enemy, 
 or is checked in production, sometimes by a limited 
 supply of food, sometimes by disease, or by the influence 
 of seasons, and as in the whole a balance is preserved, 
 so we may reasonably apply the same principle to explain 
 the condition of things existing in the earlier stages of 
 
40 OF THE SUCCESSION AND CHAP. II. 
 
 the world's progress. Certainly, by what we have as 
 yet discovered in the grouping of animals, in the dif- 
 ferent stratifications or deposits of the earth, this view 
 is borne out. 
 
 If the naturalist or geologist, exploring the rocks of 
 secondary formation, should find inclosed within them 
 animals of the class mollusca, it would agree with his pre- 
 conceived notions, that animals of their simple structure 
 alone existed during the subsidence of the material of 
 which the rock consists. But if the spine of a fish, or 
 a jawbone, or a tooth, were discovered, he would be 
 much disturbed ; because here was the indication of an 
 animal having been at that time formed on a different 
 type, — on that plan which belongs to animals of a 
 superior class. Had he, on the contrary, supposed 
 that animals were created with a relation to those 
 circumstances to which we have just alluded, the dis- 
 covery of such remains would only imply that certain 
 animals, which had hitherto increased undisturbed, had 
 arrived at a period when their numbers were to be 
 limited ; or that the condition of the elements, and the 
 abundance of food were now suited to the existence of 
 a species of the vertebrata. 
 
 The principle, then, in the application of which we 
 shall be borne out, is, that there is an adaptation, an 
 established and universal relation between the instincts, 
 organisation, and instruments of animals, on the one 
 hand, and the elements in which they are to live, the 
 position which they are to hold, and their means of 
 
chap. ii. GROUPING OF ANIMALS. 41 
 
 obtaining food, on the other ; — anxl this holds good with 
 respect to the animals which have existed, as well as 
 those which now exist.* 
 
 In discussing the subject of the progressive improve- 
 ment of organised beings, it is affirmed that man, the 
 last created of all, is not superior in organisation to the 
 others ; and that if deprived of intellectual power, he 
 is inferior to the brutes. I am not arguing to support 
 the theory of the gradual development and improve- 
 ment of animals ; but, however indifferent to the 
 tendency of the argument, I must not admit the state- 
 ment. Man is superior in organisation to the brutes 
 — superior in strength — in that constitutional property 
 which enables him to fulfil his destinies, by extending 
 his race in every climate, and living on every variety of 
 nutriment. On the other hand, gather together the 
 most powerful brutes, from the arctic circle or torrid 
 zone, to some central point — so ill suited is their con- 
 stitution to the change, that diseases will be generated, 
 and they will be destroyed. With respect to the 
 superiority of man being in his mind, and not merely 
 in the provisions of his body, it is no doubt true ; — 
 but as we proceed, we shall find how the Hand 
 supplies all instruments, and by its correspondence 
 with the intellect, gives him universal dominion. It 
 presents the last and best proof in the order of 
 creation, of that principle of adaptation which evinces 
 design. * 
 
 * These questions have given rise to controversy among eminent geologists. 
 See Sir Charles Ly ell's anniversary address, 1851. 
 
44 OF THE SUCCESSION AND CHAP. II. 
 
 Another opinion requires to be noticed. It is alleged 
 that the variety of animals existing in the world is not 
 a proof of design, or of there being a relation between 
 the formation of their organs and the necessity for 
 their exercise ; but it is supposed that the circum- 
 stances in which the animals have been placed are the 
 cause of the variety. It is pretended, that, in the long 
 progress of time, the influence of these circumstances 
 has produced a complication of structure out of an 
 animal which was at first simple. We shall reserve 
 the discussion of this theory until we have the data 
 before us ; which alone, without much argument, will 
 suffice, we think, to overthrow it. 
 
 I may notice shortly another idea entertained by 
 some naturalists, who are pleased to reduce these 
 differences in the structure of animals, to general 
 laws. It is affirmed that in the centre of the animal 
 body, no disposition to change is manifested ; whilst 
 in the extremities, on the contrary, surprising variations 
 of form are exhibited. If this be a law, there is no 
 more to be said about it ; the inquiry is terminated. 
 But I contend that the term is quite inapplicable, and 
 worse than useless, as tending to check inquiry. Why 
 is the variation in the form most common in the 
 extremities, whilst towards the centre of the skeleton 
 there is comparative permanence ? I conceive the 
 rationale to be this ; that the central parts, by which 
 in fact we mean the skull, spine, and ribs, are in their 
 offices permanent ; whilst the extremities are adapted 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 GROUPING OF ANIMALS. 
 
 43 
 
 to every exterior circumstance. In all animals, the 
 office of the cranial part of the skull is to protect the 
 brain, that of the spine to contain the spinal marrow, 
 and that of the ribs to perform respiration ; why should 
 we expect these parts to vary in shape, while their 
 offices remain the same ? But the shoulder, on the 
 contrary, must vary in form, as it does in motion, in 
 different animals ; so must the shape of the bones and 
 of the joints more distant from the centre be adapted 
 to their various actions ; and the carpus, tarsus, and 
 phalanges,* must change more than all the rest, to 
 accommodate the extremities to their diversified 
 offices. Is it not more pleasing to see the reason of 
 this most surprising adjustment, than merely to say it 
 is a law ? t 
 
 There is yet another opinion, which after perusing 
 the following chapter, will suggest itself to those who 
 have read the more modern works on Natural History. 
 It is supposed that the same elementary parts belong 
 to all animals ; and that it is to the transposition of 
 these elementary parts that the varieties in their struc- 
 ture are attributable. I find it utterly impossible to 
 follow up that theory to the extent which its abettors 
 would persuade us to be practicable. I object to it 
 as a means of engaging us in very trifling pursuits — 
 and of diverting the mind from the truth ; from that 
 
 * Carpus, the wrist ; tarsus, the ankle or instep ; phalanges, the rows of 
 hones forming the fingers or toes. 
 
 f See the Additional Illustrations in the Appendix, p. 325. 
 
44 SUCCESSION AND GROUPING OF ANIMALS. 
 
 conclusion, indeed, to which I may avow it to be my 
 intention to carry the reader. But this discussion also 
 must follow the examples ; and we shall resume it in a 
 latter part of the volume. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF THE HAND. 
 
 In this inquiry, we have before us what in the strictest 
 sense of the word is a System. Of the extensive 
 division of the animal kingdom which we are about to 
 review, viz., the vertebrated animals, all the individuals 
 possess a cranium for the protection of the brain, — a 
 heart, implying a peculiar circulation, — and five distin- 
 guishable organs of sense ; but the grand peculiarity, 
 whence the term vertebrated is derived, is to be found 
 in the Spine — that chain of bones which connects the 
 head and body, and, like a keel, serves as the founda- 
 tion of the ribs, or as the basis of the fabric through 
 which respiration is performed. 
 
 We are to confine ourselves, as we have said, to a 
 portion only of this combined structure ; to examine 
 separately the Anterior Extremity, and to observe the 
 
46 COMPAEATIVE ANATOMY OF THE HAND. chap.iii. 
 
 adaptation of its parts, through the whole range of the 
 vertebrated animals. We shall view it as it exists in 
 Man, and in the higher division of animals which give 
 suck, the mammalia ; and in those which propagate by 
 eggs, the oviparous animals, birds, reptiles, and fishes. 
 In so doing, we shall find the bones composing it iden- 
 tified by certain common features, and yet in all the 
 series, from the arm to the fin, adjusted to various 
 purposes. We shall recognise the same bones formed, 
 in the mole, into a powerful apparatus for digging, by 
 which the animal soon covers itself, and burrows its 
 way under ground ; in the wing of the eagle we shall 
 count every bone, and find that although adapted to a 
 new element, they are as powerful to rise in the air, as 
 the fin of the salmon is to strike through the water ; 
 the solid hoof of the horse, the cleft foot of the rumi- 
 nant, the paw with retractile claws of the feline tribe, 
 and that with long folding nails of the sloth, are 
 among the many changes in the adjustment of the 
 same chain of bones, which ministers in man to the 
 compound motions of the Hand. 
 
 Were it my purpose to teach the elements of this 
 subject, I should commence by examining, in the 
 lowest vertebrated animals, the earliest traces of the 
 bones of the anterior extremity, with the gradually 
 increasing resemblance to the human arm, as we 
 ascended in the scale ; and I should then point out the 
 greater variety of uses served by them in the higher 
 animals. But since my present object is illustration 
 
CHAP. in. 
 
 ANATOMY OF THE SHOULDER. 
 
 47 
 
 only, I shall begin with the human arm; and dividing 
 it into the Shoulder, Arm, and Hand, treat each sub- 
 division with a reference to its structure in inferior 
 animals. 
 
 OF THE SHOULDER * 
 
 * This figure represents the spine, ribs, breast-bone, and cartilages, with 
 the bones of the arm; on the upper and back part of the chest, loosely rests 
 
48 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 In viewing the human figure, or human skeleton, in 
 connexion with our present subject, we cannot fail to 
 remark the strength and solidity which belong to the 
 lower extremities, in contrast with those of the supe- 
 rior. Not only are the lower limbs proportionably 
 longer and larger in man than in any other animal, but 
 the haunch bones (pelvis) are wider. The distances of 
 the large processes on the upper ends of the thigh 
 bones (the trochanters,) from the sockets of the hips, 
 are also greater than in any of the vertebrata. Alto- 
 gether, the strength of the bones of the lower extremi- 
 ties, the size and prominence of their processes, the 
 great mass of the muscles of the loins and hips, 
 distinguish man from every other animal ; they secure 
 to him the upright posture, and give him the perfect 
 freedom of the arms, for purposes of ingenuity and art. 
 
 At the head of this chapter is a sketch of the Chim- 
 panzee,* an ape which stands high in the order of 
 
 the scapula, or shoulder-blade; between the breast-bone and tip of the shoulder 
 is placed the clavicle, or collar-bone ; the arm-bone, or humerus, at its upper 
 end, is articulated with the shoulder-blade, to form the shoulder-joint ; at its 
 lower end, with the two bones of the fore-arm (radius and ulna) to form the 
 elbow-joint ; with the radius, the group of wrist-bones (carpal), and through 
 them the diverging rows of bones of the hand and fingers (metacarpal and 
 phalangeal bones) are articulated ; so that the hand moves with and on the 
 radius ; while the ulna serves for the bending and extending motions of the 
 elbow, and as a point of support at the wrist for the rolling, coiling motions of 
 the radius. 
 
 * Simia troglodytes, from the coast of Guinea, more human in its form, 
 and more easily domesticated than the ouran-outang. "We would do well to 
 consider the abode of these creatures in a state of nature — that they reside in 
 vast forests, extending in impenetrable shade below, whilst above and exposed 
 to the light, there is a scene of verdure and beauty. Such is the home of 
 the monkeys and lemurs, that possess extremities like hands. In many of 
 them the hinder extremity has a more perfect resemblance to a hand than the 
 
chap. in. OF THE SHOULDER. 48 
 
 quadrumana. Yet we cannot mistake his capacities ; 
 that the lower extremities and pelvis, or hips, were 
 never intended to give him the erect posture, or only 
 for a moment ; but for swinging, or for a vigorous 
 pull, who can deny the power in these long and 
 sinewy arms. 
 
 The full prominent shoulders, and consequent square- 
 ness of the trunk, are equally distinctive of man with the 
 strength of his loins ; they indicate free motion of the 
 arm and hand. 
 
 The bones of the shoulder, which form the centre of 
 motion of the upper extremity, and afford origins of attach- 
 ment to the muscles of the arm, are simple in structure as 
 they appear in man, or in any single animal ; but if 
 viewed in reference to their analogies in the different 
 classes of the Vertebrata, they present remarkable 
 varieties in shape, and assume an extraordinary degree 
 of intricacy. In all their modifications of form, however, 
 and notwithstanding the strange variations in the 
 neighbouring parts, they retain their proper offices. In 
 man, these bones lie supported on the ribs, and are 
 directly connected with the great apparatus of respiration ; 
 but in certain animals, as in the frog, we shall see the 
 ribs, as it were, withdrawn, and the bones of the 
 shoulder curiously and mechanically adapted to perform 
 
 anterior ; in the Coaita (p. 19), we see the great toe assuming the characters 
 of a thumb, whilst in the fore-paw the thumb is not distinguishable, but is 
 hid in the skin. In short, these paws are not approximations to the hand, 
 corresponding with a higher ingenuity, but are adaptations of the feet to the 
 branches on which the animals climb and walk. 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 their office, of giving a firm foundation to tlie extremity, 
 without the support of the thorax. "We shall not, 
 however, anticipate the difficulties of the subject ; but 
 look first upon what is more familiar and easy, the 
 shoulder in man, as compared with some of its varieties 
 in the mammalia. 
 
 OF THE CLAVICLE * 
 
 SCAPULAR AECH OF STAjSV 
 
 The clavicle, or collar bone, (b) runs across from the 
 breast bone (a) to the tip of the shoulder (e). The 
 square form of the chest, and the free exercise of the 
 hand, are very much owing to this bone. It keeps the 
 shoulders apart from the chest, and throws the action of 
 the muscles proceeding from the ribs, upon the arm 
 bone; which would otherwise be drawn inwards, and 
 contract the upper part of the trunk. 
 
 * a, Triangular portion of the Sternum, or breast-bone, u, b, Clavicle or 
 collar-bone* c, c, Scapula, or shoulder blade, n, Coracoid process of the 
 Scapula, e, Acromion process of the Scapula, forming the tip of the shoulder. 
 
CHAP. III. OF THE SHOULDER. 51 
 
 If we examine the motions of the anterior extremity 
 in different animals, it will guide us to see why in some 
 this bone is perfect, and in others, entirely wanting. 
 Animals which fly, or dig, or climb, as bats, moles, 
 porcupines, squirrels, ant-eaters, armadilloes, and sloths, 
 possess the collar bone ; for having a lateral or outward 
 motion of the extremity, that bone is required to keep 
 the shoulders apart. There is also a degree of freedom 
 of motion in the anterior extremity of the lion, cat, dog, 
 martin, and bear ; they strike with the paw, and rotate 
 the wrist more or less extensively : and they have 
 therefore a clavicle, though an imperfect one. In some 
 of these, as the lion, the bone occupying the place of 
 the collar bone is very imperfect indeed; although 
 attached to the shoulder, it does not extend to the breast 
 bone (a), but lies concealed in the flesh, and is like a 
 mere rudiment of the bone. Yet, however imperfect, it 
 marks a correspondence in the bones of the shoulder to 
 those of the arm and paw, and the extent of motion 
 enjoyed. 
 
 When the bear stands up, we perceive by his ungainly 
 attitude and the movements of his paws, that there must 
 be a wide difference in the bones of his upper extremity, 
 from those of the hoofed or cleft-footed animal. He 
 can take the keeper's hat from his head, and hold it ; 
 or can hug an animal to death. The ant-bear especially, 
 as he is deficient in teeth, possesses extraordinary powers 
 of hugging with his great paws ; and, although harmless 
 in disposition, he can on occasion squeeze his enemy, 
 the jaguar, to death. e 2 
 
52 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 These actions, and the power of climbing, result from 
 the structure of the shoulder, from there being a collar 
 bone, however imperfect. 
 
 Although in man the clavicle is perfect, thereby corre- 
 sponding with the extent and freedom of motion of his 
 hand, yet in some animals which dig or fly, as the mole 
 and bat, the bone is comparatively stronger and longer. 
 
 Preposterous as appears the form of the kangaroo, 
 yet, even in this animal, a relation is preserved between 
 the extremities. He sits, upon his strong hind legs 
 and tail, tripod like, with perfect security ; and has his 
 fore paws free. He has a clavicle, and it is from 
 possessing that bone and the corresponding motions, 
 that he can employ his paws as a means of defence ; for 
 with the anterior extremities he will seize the most 
 powerful dog, and then drawing up his hinder feet, dig 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 OF THE CLAVICLE. 
 
 53 
 
 his sharp pointed hoofs into his enemy, striking out, 
 and tearing him to pieces. Though possessed therefore 
 of no great speed, and unprovided with horns, teeth, or 
 claws, but, as we should suppose, totally defenceless, 
 nature has not been negligent of his protection.* 
 
 It cannot be better shown, how the function or use of 
 a part determines its structure, than by looking to the 
 clavicle and scapula of the bird. 
 
 The chief peculiarity of birds is, that in flying, they 
 do not strike out their wings with an alternate motion, 
 but their extremities, as we may continue to call them, 
 move together. Now, three bones converge to consti- 
 tute the shoulder joint of the bird : the scapula, clavicle, 
 and coracoid bone.f But neither the scapula nor clavicle 
 has the resemblance which their names would imply. 
 The scapula is the long thin bone, like the blade of a 
 knife : and the clavicles are united at the centre, near 
 the breast bone, to form the furculum, or fork bone, 
 which, in carving, we detach, after removing the wings 
 of a fowl. This leaves that stronger portion of bone 
 
 * In the form of the kangaroo, and especially in its skeleton, there is some- 
 thing incongruous, and in contrast with the usual shape of quadrupeds. The 
 head, trunk, and fore-paws, appear to be a portion of a smaller animal unnatu- 
 rally joined to the legs of another of greater dimensions and strength. It is not 
 easy to say what are, or what were, the exterior relations corresponding with 
 the very peculiar form of this animal ; but the interior anatomy is accommodated, 
 in a most remarkable manner, to the enormous hinder extremities. The 
 subject is taken up in the ct Additional Illustrations" at the latter part of the 
 volume, on the " General form of the skeleton." 
 
 f In man, the coracoid bone, is a process of the scapula; appearing to grow 
 from it, it has been so described ; but late comparative researches into the 
 question of ct the type * of the vertebral skeleton, make it appear that, although 
 joined in man to the shoulder blade, the coracoid is a distinct, elementary bone 
 of the "Scapular arch," or basis of the upper extremity. — S. 
 
54 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY chap. m. 
 
 which is articulated with the breast bone, as a new part : 
 and although it corresponds with the place of the clavicle, 
 
 SKELETONS OF EAGLE AND LIZARD. 
 
 yet from its bearing an analogy to a process of the 
 irregularly formed scapula in mammalia, it is called 
 coracoid bone. However this may be, what we have to 
 admire, is the mode in which the bones are fashioned 
 to strengthen the articulation of the shoulder, and to 
 give extent of surface for the attachment of the 
 muscles which move the wings, as long levers, in 
 flight. 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 OF THE SCAPULA. 
 
 55 
 
 OF THE SCAPULA. 
 
 By attending to the scapula, or shoulder-blade, we 
 shall better understand the influence of the bones of 
 the shoulder on the motions and speed of animals. 
 The scapula is that flat triangular bone (see page 47), 
 which lies on the ribs, and is cushioned with muscles. 
 On its anterior angle there is a depressed surface, the 
 glenoid cavity or socket for the arm-bone. The 
 scapula shifts and revolves on the ribs with each 
 movement of the arm. To produce these movements 
 the muscles converge towards it from all sides, from 
 the head, spine, ribs, and breast-bone, and by acting 
 in succession, they roll the scapula and toss the arm, 
 in every direction. When the muscles combine in 
 action, they fix the bone ; and either raise the ribs in 
 drawing breath, or give firmness to the whole frame of 
 the trunk. 
 
 Before remarking further on the influence of the 
 scapulae on the motions of the arms, I shall give an 
 instance to prove their importance to the function just 
 referred to, that of assisting in drawing in the breath. 
 Hearing that there was a poor lad of fourteen years of 
 age, born without arms, and whose unhappy condition 
 had excited the benevolence of some ladies, I sent for 
 him. I found that indeed he had no arms, but he had 
 clavicles and scapulae. When I made this boy draw 
 his breath, the shoulders were elevated ; that is to 
 say, the scapulae being drawn up, became the fixed 
 
56 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 points from which the broad muscles diverging from it 
 towards the ribs, acted in raising and expanding the 
 chest in respiration. "We would do well to remember 
 this double office of the scapula and its muscles ; that, 
 whilst it is the foundation of the bones of the upper 
 extremity, and never wanting in an animal that has 
 the most remote resemblance to an arm, yet it is the 
 centre also and point d'appui of the muscles of respira- 
 tion, and acts in that capacity, even when there are no 
 extremities at all.* 
 
 "We have seen that it is only in certain classes of 
 animals, that the scapula is articulated to the trunk by 
 bone through the medium of a clavicle. A slight 
 depression, therefore, on that process of the scapula 
 (acromion process, E. fig. p. 50) to which the clavicle is 
 attached, when discovered in a fossil bone, will declare 
 to the geologist the class to which the animal belonged. 
 For example, there are brought over to this country 
 the bones of the Megatherium, an animal which must 
 have been larger than the elephant ; of the anterior 
 extremity, the scapula only has been found ; but on the 
 end of the process, called acromion, of this bone, the 
 mark of the attachment of a clavicle is discovered. 
 Now that alone points out the whole constitution of 
 the extremity; that it enjoyed perfect freedom of 
 motion. Other circumstances will declare whether 
 
 * Some curious facts, illustrative of this office of the muscles of the arm situ- 
 ated on the chest, are stated in the author's paper on the Voice ; in the Philo- 
 sophical Transactions. 1832. 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 OF THE SCAPULA. 
 
 57 
 
 that extensive motion was bestowed to enable the 
 animal to dig with its huge claws, like some of the 
 edentata, or to strike out in defence, like the feline 
 tribe. 
 
 Some interest is attached to the position of the 
 scapula, in the horse. In him, as well as in other 
 quadrupeds, with the exceptions already pointed out, 
 the clavicle is absent; the connexion between the 
 anterior extremity and the trunk exists solely through 
 muscles : and the muscle called serratus magnus, 
 which is large in man, is particularly powerful in the 
 horse ; for the weight of the trunk hangs almost 
 exclusively upon this muscle."* But the speed of the 
 horse, as in most quadrupeds, results from the strength 
 of his loins and hinder extremities ; it is the action of 
 the muscles situated there, which propels him forwards, 
 in the gallop or at the leap. We accordingly perceive 
 that if the anterior extremities had been joined to the 
 trunk firmly, as by a clavicle, that bone could not have 
 withstood the shock from the descent of the whole 
 weight of the animal when thrown forwards. Even 
 though the fore legs had been formed as powerful as 
 the posterior extremities, they would have suffered 
 fracture or dislocation. We cannot but admire, there- 
 fore, this provision, in all quadrupeds whose speed is 
 great and spring extensive, for diminishing the shock 
 of descending, and giving an elasticity to the anterior 
 extremities. 
 
 * The serratus magnus, attached extensively to the ribs near the breast-bone, 
 ascends convergingly to the upper border of the scapula, near the withers. 
 
58 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 In observing the relative position of the bones of the 
 anterior extremity in the horse, we shall perceive that 
 
 the scapula is oblique to the chest; the humerus 
 oblique to the scapula ; and the bones of the fore-arm 
 at an angle with the humerus. Were these bones 
 arranged in a straight line, end to end, the shock of 
 alighting would be conveyed as through a solid column; 
 and the bones of the foot, or the joints, would suffer 
 from the concussion. When the rider is thrown 
 forwards on his hands, and more certainly when he is 
 pitched on his shoulder, the collar bone is broken; 
 because in man, this bone forms the link of connexion 
 between the shoulder and the trunk, and it accordingly 
 
CHAP. HI. 
 
 OF THE CLAVICLE. 
 
 59 
 
 receives the whole shock. Now the same would happen 
 in the horse, the stag, and all quadrupeds of great 
 strength and swiftness, were not the scapulge sustained 
 by muscles, in place of bone ; and did not the bones 
 recoil and fold up. 
 
 The horse-jockey runs his hand down the horse's 
 neck, in a knowing way, and says, " this horse has got 
 a heavy shoulder ; he is a slow horse !" He may be 
 right, and yet not understand the matter. It is not 
 possible that the shoulder can be too much loaded with 
 muscle, for muscle is the source of motion, and bestows 
 power. What the jockey feels, and forms his judgment 
 on, is the abrupt transition from the neck to the 
 shoulder ; while, in a horse for the turf, there ought to 
 be a smooth undulating surface. This abruptness, or 
 prominence of the shoulder, is a consequence of the 
 upright position of the scapula ; the sloping and light 
 shoulder results from its obliquity. An upright 
 shoulder is therefore the mark of a stumbling horse : 
 the scapula does not revolve easily, to throw forward 
 the foot. 
 
 Much of the strength, if not the freedom and rapidity 
 of motion of a limb, will depend on the angle at which 
 the bones lie to each other ; for that mainly affects the 
 insertion, and, consequently, the power of the muscles. 
 We know, and may every moment feel, that when the 
 arm is extended, we possess little power in bending it ; 
 but in proportion as we bend it, the power is increased. 
 This is owing to the change in the direction of the 
 
60 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 muscular force acting upon the bone ; or, in other 
 words, to the tendon of the muscle becoming more 
 
 perpendicular to the lever. A scapula which inclines 
 obliquely backwards, increases the angle at which the 
 humerus, or arm bone lies with reference to it : and, 
 consequently, the muscles which pass from it to the 
 arm bone, will act with greater effect, from being 
 inserted into that bone more nearly at a right angle. 
 
 * a. Scapula, e. Humerus, or arm-bone. b. Tuberosity of the Humerus, 
 c. Olecranon, or projection of the Ulna. d. Radius. 
 
chap. in. OF THE CLAVICLE. 61 
 
 We have only to turn to the skeleton of the elephant, 
 the ox, the elk, or the stag, to see the confirmation of 
 this principle. When the scapula lies obliquely on the 
 chest, the serratus muscle, which passes from the ribs 
 to its uppermost part, has more power in rolling it. 
 This direction of the scapula causes it to lie at right 
 angles with the humerus ; and accordingly the muscles 
 which are attached to the latter (at b), act with more 
 effect. And on the same principle, by the oblique 
 position of the humerus, and, consequently, its obliquity 
 in reference to the radius and ulna, the two bones of 
 the fore-arm, the power of the muscle inserted (at c) 
 into the olecranon, is increased. On the whole, both 
 power and elasticity are gained by this position of the 
 superior bones of the fore-leg. It gives to the animal 
 that springs, a larger stretch in throwing himself 
 forwards, and a greater security, by a soft descent of his 
 weight. A man, standing upright, cannot leap or start 
 off at once ; he must first sink down, and bring the 
 bones of his extremities to an angle. But the antelope, 
 or other timid animals of the class, can leap at once, or 
 start off in their course without preparation — another 
 advantage of the oblique position of their bones when 
 at rest. 
 
 These sketches with the pen are from the skeletons 
 of the elephant and the camel : and it is obvious that 
 the leg of the former is built for the purpose of sus- 
 taining the huge bulk of the animal, w T hilst in the camel 
 there is a perfect contrast. Were we to compare the 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 ANATOMY OF THE CLAVICLE. 
 
 Go 
 
 bones of the larger animal with any style of architec- 
 ture, it would be with the Egyptian; or rather, from 
 their huge and shapeless form, and being piled over 
 each other, as if destined more to sustain weight than 
 to permit motion, they might be likened to the 
 unwrought masonry in the Cyclopian walls of some 
 ancient city. 
 
 We further perceive, from the comparison of these 
 sketches, that if the humerus be placed obliquely, it 
 must necessarily be short ; otherwise the leg would be 
 thrown too far back, making the head and neck project 
 inordinately. It is one of the << points ,, of a horse to 
 have the humerus short. And not only all animals of 
 speed, but birds of long flight, as the swallow, have the 
 humerus short. This is owing, I think, to another 
 circumstance, that the shorter the humerus, the quicker 
 will be the extension of the wing : for as the further 
 extremity of the bone, when short, will move in a lesser 
 circle, the gyration will be more rapid. 
 
 If we continue this comparative view of the bones of 
 the shoulder, we shall be led to notice other curious 
 modifications. In man and mammalia, two objects we 
 have seen, are attained in the construction of these 
 bones ; besides forming the basis for the other bones 
 of the upper extremity, the shoulder bones constitute 
 an important part of the organ of respiration, and 
 conform to the structure of the chest. But we shall 
 find that in some animals, the latter function is in a 
 manner withdrawn from them ; the scapulae and clavicles 
 
64: 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 are left without the support of the ribs. In order there- 
 fore to give due firmness to the shoulder, these bones 
 require additional carpentry ; or they must be laid toge- 
 ther on a different principle. In the batrachian order,* 
 
 for example the frog, the mechanism of respiration is 
 altogether distinct from what it is in the mammalia : 
 the thorax, as constituted of ribs, is absent. Accord- 
 ingly, we find the bones of the shoulder constructed on 
 a new model; they form a broad and flat collar, 
 sufficient to give secure attachment to the extremity, 
 and affording ample space for the lodgment of the 
 muscles which move the arm. Perhaps the best example 
 of that structure is visible in the siren and proteus ; 
 where the ribs are reduced to a very few imperfect 
 processes attached to the vertebrae ; and where the 
 
 * See the Appendix, under the 3rd Class of Vertebrata, Reptilia. In this 
 figure of the i6 Scapular arch 1 ' of the frog, the breast-bone has its lower face 
 upwards. The clavicles and coracoid bones meet in the centre : the broad flat 
 scapulae join the two latter to form the sockets of the shoulder joints. 
 
 SCAPULAR ARCH OF FROO. 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 IN THE CHELONIAN ORDER. 
 
 Co 
 
 bones of the shoulder, being deprived, accordingly, of 
 all support from the thorax, depend upon themselves 
 
 for security.* Here the bones corresponding to the 
 sternum, clavicles, coracoids, and Sjcapulse, are found 
 clinging to the spine, and, like the pelvis t forming a 
 circle, to the lateral parts of which the arm bones 
 are articulated. 
 
 In the chelonian order,! the tortoises, we see a similar 
 design accomplished by another adjustment, or mode 
 of union of these bones ; and the change is owing to a 
 very curious circumstance. The spine and ribs are 
 placed like rafters under the strong shell which forms 
 the covering or carapace of these animals ; and being 
 
 * The Scapula, Clavicle, Sternum, and Coracoid bone, may be recognised 
 in this figure of the bones of the anterior extremity of the Siren. 
 
 f The pelvis is the circle of bones on which the spine or backbone rests, 
 and in which are the sockets for the heads of the thigh bones. 
 
 X See again the Appendix, iii. Class of Vertebrata. 
 
 ANTERIOR EXTREMITY OF SIREN. 
 
 F 
 
66 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 united to this shell, they are consequently external 
 to the bones of the shoulder. Hence the scapulae and 
 clavicles being within the thorax, instead of outside 
 and supported by it, it is necessary, in order to convert 
 
 them into fixed points for the motions of the extre- 
 mities, that they fall together, and form a circle. 
 Indeed, considering the new circumstances in which 
 they are required to act as a basis for the extremity, 
 it would be strange if they preserved any resemblance 
 to the forms which we have been contemplating 
 in the higher animals. In the above figure,* the 
 bones of the shoulder of the turtle are repre- 
 sented; and it is readily perceived how much they 
 
 * a. Scapula. b. Acromion process. c. Coracoid bone. d. Glenoid 
 cavity. 
 
 d 
 
 h 
 
 SHOULDEE-BONES OF TURTLE. 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 IN THE CHELONIAN ORDER. 
 
 07 
 
 are changed both in shape and office. The part most 
 like a scapula, lies on the fore instead of the back 
 part ; and the bones which hold the shoulders apart, 
 abut upon the spine, instead of upon the sternum. Hence 
 it appears idle to describe these bones under the old 
 denominations, or by names applicable to their con- 
 dition in the higher animals. 
 
 In fishes, although the apparatus of respiration is 
 entirely different from what it is in mammalia, and 
 there are no proper ribs, the bones which give attach- 
 ment to the pectoral fin are still called the bones of 
 the shoulder. The system of bones named " scapular 
 arch," is, in fact, attached to the skull, instead of to 
 the ribs or spine; so that the- structure corresponding 
 to the shoulder, consists of a circle of bones, which, 
 we may say, seeks security of attachment by approach- 
 ing the more solid part, the head, in defect of a firm 
 foundation in the thorax.* 
 
 Thus it has been shown that the bones which form 
 the shoulder joint, and give a foundation to the an- 
 terior extremity, are submitted to a new modelling 
 
 * Since the publication of the last edition of this wr rk, Mr. Owen, in his 
 "Discourse on the Nature of Limbs," 1849, has applied his extensive 
 knowledge of osteology, and his philosophical views of the relations of the 
 structure of animals to a general type, to establish some interesting points 
 which bear on questions treated of in these pages. Founding on an arrangement 
 of the cranial bones into four vertebral segments, and taking into view the 
 elementary parts which constitute a typical vertebra, he has been led, by an 
 able course of induction, embracing the skeletons of animals from the fish to 
 man, to the conclusion — " that the human hands and arms, in relation to the 
 vertebral archetype, are parts of the Head ; diverging appendages of the costal 
 and hcemal arch of the occipital segment of the skull.'" — (S.) 
 
 P 2 
 
68 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 in correspondence with every variety in the apparatus 
 of respiration ; and still they maintain their pristine 
 office. 
 
 The naturalist will not be surprised on finding in 
 the shoulder apparatus of the ornithorhynchus para- 
 doxus, an extraordinary intricacy ; since the whole 
 frame and organs of this animal imply that it is in-, 
 termediate between mammalia and birds; for which 
 reason it has been placed in the list of edentata. This 
 animal only affords another instance of the changes 
 which the bones of the shoulder undergo with every 
 new office, that they may correspond with the motions 
 of the extremity ; whether it be to support the weight 
 in running, or to give freedom to the arm, or to pro- 
 vide for flying, or to enable the animal either to creep 
 or to swim. 
 
 Unprofitable as the inquiry may seem, there is no 
 other way for the geologist to distinguish the genera 
 of the extinct and strangely formed oviparous reptiles 
 imbedded in the secondary strata, than by studying 
 in the recent species, the minute processes and vary- 
 ing characters of these bones. In the ichthyosaurus, 
 and plesiosaurus, the inhabitants of a former world, 
 there is a considerable deviation from the general type 
 of the bones of the arm and hand, as compared with 
 the same parts in the frog and tortoise ; but, if strength 
 were the object, we should say that the bones of the 
 shoulder were formed in these extinct reptiles, with a 
 greater degree of perfection The explanation is, that the 
 
chap. in. OF THE BONES OF THE SHOULDER. 69 
 
 ribs and sterno-costal arches, constituting the thorax, 
 were more perfect in them than in the chelonian and 
 batrachian orders; whence the bones of the shoulder 
 were situated externally, and resembled those of the 
 crocodile. Yet, notwithstanding this superiority, the 
 ribs were obviously not strong enough to sustain the 
 powerful action of the muscles of the anterior extre- 
 mities, or paddles; accordingly, the bones, which by 
 a kind of license we continue to call clavicle, omoplate 
 or scapula, and coracoid, though strangely deviating 
 from their original forms and connexions, constitute 
 a structure of considerable strength, which perfects 
 the anterior part of the trunk, and gives attachment and 
 lodgment to the powerful muscles of the paddle. 
 
 But it does not appear that naturalists have hit 
 upon the right explanation of the peculiar structure, 
 and curious varieties of these bones, in the class of 
 reptiles. Why is the apparatus of respiration so totally 
 changed in these animals ? They are cold-blooded 
 animals ; they require to respire less frequently than 
 other creatures, and they remain long under the water. 
 I conceive that the peculiarity in their mode of respi- 
 ration corresponds with this property. Hence their 
 vesicular lungs ; their mode of swallowing the air, 
 instead of inhaling it ; and hence, especially, their 
 power of compressing the body and expelling the air. 
 It is this provision for emptying the lungs, I imagine, 
 which enables reptiles to go under the water and crawl 
 upon the bottom. Had they possessed the lungs of 
 
70 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 warm-blooded animals, which are compressible only 
 in a slight degree, their capacity of remaining under 
 water would have been of no use : when they dived, 
 they would have had to struggle against their own 
 buoyancy, like a man, or any of the mammalia when 
 submerged. The girdle of bones of the shoulder is 
 constituted, therefore, with a certain relation to the 
 peculiar action of respiration ; inasmuch as the pliancy 
 of the thorax is provided in order that the vesicular 
 lungs may be easily compressed, and the specific 
 weight diminished. The facility, which the absence 
 of ribs in the batrachian order affords, for compressing 
 the lungs extended through the abdomen, and the 
 extreme weakness and pliancy of the ribs in the saurians, 
 must be, as I apprehend, peculiarities adapted to the 
 same end. 
 
 OF THE HUMERUS, OR ARM BONE. 
 
 The demonstration of this bone need not be so dry 
 a matter of detail as the anatomist makes it. From 
 its form may be deduced that curious relation of parts, 
 which has been so successfully employed by Paley to 
 prove design ; and from which the genius of Baron 
 Cuvier has brought out some of the finest examples 
 of inductive reasoning. 
 
 In looking to the head of this bone in the human 
 skeleton, (see the fig. in page 50,) we observe its great 
 hemispherical surface for articulating with the glenoid 
 
chap. in. OF THE HUMERUS. 71 
 
 cavity or socket of the scapula ; and we see that the 
 two tubercles for the insertion of muscles near the 
 joint, are depressed, and do not interfere with the re- 
 volving of the humerus, by striking against the edges 
 of the socket. Such appearances alone are sufficient 
 to show that all the motions of the arm are free. 
 
 To give assurance of this, 
 and to illustrate how the 
 form of the shoulder points 
 to the structure of the whole 
 arm, suppose that the geo- 
 logist has picked up this 
 bone in interesting circum- 
 stances. To what animal 
 does it belong? The glo- 
 bular form of the articulat- 
 ing surface, and the very 
 
 ° ARM-BONE OP BEAR. 
 
 slight projection of the 
 
 tubercles, evince a latitude of motion. Now, freedom 
 of motion in the shoulder implies a similar freedom in 
 the extremity or paw, and a power of rotation of the 
 wrist. Accordingly, we direct the eye to that part of 
 the bone which gives origin to the muscles for turning 
 the wrist (the Supinator muscles) ; and the prominence 
 and the length of the ridge or crest, situated on the 
 lower and outer side, from which these muscles arise, 
 at once prove their strength, and that the paw had 
 free motion. 
 
 Therefore, on finding the humerus thus characterised, 
 
72 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 we conclude that it belonged to an animal with sharp 
 moveable claws; that, in all probability, it is the 
 remains of a bear. 
 
 But, suppose that the upper head of the bone has 
 a different character: that the tubercles project, so as 
 to limit the motion in every direction but one, and 
 
 that the articulating surface is less regularly convex. 
 On inspecting the lower extremity of such a bone, 
 we shall perceive that the grooves into which the bones 
 of the fore-arm are socketed, are hollowed out so 
 deeply, that the joint could only have the motion of a 
 simple hinge ; and neither the form of the articulating 
 surface, (which is here called trochlea,) nor the crest 
 or spine above noticed on the outside, will present any 
 signs of one bone of the fore-arm having rotated on 
 
 ARM-BONE OF HORSE. 
 
chap. in. OF THE HUMERUS. 73 
 
 the other. We have, therefore, got the bone of an 
 herbivorous quadruped, either with a solid, or with a 
 cloven foot. 
 
 In the bat and mole, perhaps, the best examples are 
 seen of the bones of the extremity being moulded to 
 correspond with the condition of the animal. The 
 
 FROM THE MOLE. 
 
 mole is fitted, by means of its anterior extremities, 
 to plough its way under ground. The bat has the same 
 system of bones ; but they are adapted to form a wing 
 for raising the animal in the atmosphere, and with a 
 provision for its clinging to the wall, although not to 
 bear upon it. In both these animals we recognise 
 every bone of the upper extremity; but how very 
 differently formed and joined ! In the mole, the 
 sternum or breast bone, and the clavicle are remarkably 
 large : the scapula, or shoulder blade, assumes the 
 form of a high lever : the humerus is thick and short, 
 and has such prominent spines for the attachment of 
 
74 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 muscles as to indicate great power. The spines which 
 give origin to the muscles of rotation, project in an extra- 
 ordinary manner ; and the hand is large, flat, and so 
 turned that it may shove the earth aside like a plough- 
 share* 
 
 There can be no greater contrast to these bones of 
 the mole than is presented in the skeleton of the bat. 
 In this animal the bones are light and delicate ; and 
 
 * The snout may vary in its internal structure with new offices. Naturalists 
 say that there is a new " element" in the pig's nose : and it has, in fact, two 
 bones which admit of motion, whilst they give more strength in digging up the 
 ground. As moles plough the earth with their snouts, they likewise have 
 these hones, and their head is shaped like a wedge, to assist in burrowing and 
 throwing aside the earth. The conformation of the head, and the strength of 
 its bones, and the new adjustment of the muscle, (the platysma myoides) 
 which is cutaneous in other animals, to assist in moving the head, are among 
 the curious changes of common parts for enabling them to perform new offices. 
 See again the " Additional Illustrations 1 ' in the Appendix. 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 OF THE BAT. 
 
 75 
 
 whilst they are all marvellously extended, the phalanges 
 or the rows of bones of the fingers, are elongated so as 
 hardly to be recognised, obviously for the purpose of 
 sustaining the membraneous web, and to form a wing. 
 
 Contemplating this extraordinary application of the 
 bones of the upper extremity in the bat, we might be 
 led to say, on comparing it with the wing of a bird, 
 that it was an awkward attempt — " a failure." But 
 before giving expression to such an opinion, we must 
 understand the objects required in this construction. 
 The wing of the bat is not intended merely for flight : 
 it is so formed that while it can sustain the animal in 
 flying, it shall be capable also of receiving a new 
 sensation on its surface, or sensations of such an 
 exquisite degree of fineness as almost to constitute a 
 new sense. On the thin web of the bat's wing nume- 
 rous nerves are distributed ; and the use of these is 
 to enable the animal, during the obscurity of night, 
 when both eyes and ears fail, to avoid objects in its 
 flight. Could the wing of a bird, covered with feathers, 
 do this ? Here then we have another example of the 
 necessity of taking every circumstance into considera- 
 tion before presuming to criticise the ways of nature. 
 It is a lesson of humility.* 
 
 * Besides the adaptation of the bat for flight, by the adjustment of the 
 bones of its arm, this animal has a series of cells situated under its skin. I 
 know not whether I am correct or not in saying that these are analogous to 
 the air-cells of birds, and serve to make the bat specifically lighter. In somo 
 species they extend over the breast, and into the arm-pits, and are filled by an 
 orifice which communicates with the throat. 
 
 I have adverted to the provisions in the bones of the shoulder of the bird 
 to give firmness to the joint, seeing that it is the centre of motion for the 
 
76 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY CHAP. III. 
 
 We have here a sketch of the arm-bone of the 
 Ant-eater,* to show once more the correspondence 
 maintained throughout all the parts of an extremity. 
 We observe these extraordinary spines standing 
 
 off from the humerus. Now 
 these indicate the power 
 of the muscles attached to the 
 bone ; for, as I have said 
 before, whether we examine 
 the human body, or the forms 
 of the bones in the lower 
 animals, the distinctness with 
 which the spines and processes 
 are marked, declares the 
 strength of the muscles. It 
 is particularly pleasing to 
 notice here the correspond- 
 ence between the humerus 
 and all the other bones, — 
 how large, in the first place, 
 the scapula is, and how it has 
 a double spine, . with great 
 processes : how remarkably 
 the ulna projects at the olecra- 
 non or elbow, while the radius 
 is still free for rotating : but 
 
 wing. Now, although the hat has not the same arrangement of bones as the 
 bird, yet the clavicles are remarkably strengthened : and the articulation of 
 the arm-bone upon the shoulder blade is guarded by processes in such a 
 manner that the motion of the joint is extremely limited. 
 * Tamandua, from South America. 
 
chap. in. OF THE ANT-EATER. 77 
 
 above all, we cannot fail to observe in the develop- 
 ment of one grand metacarpal bone and its corres- 
 ponding phalanges, to the last of which a strong claw 
 is attached, a most efficient instrument for scratching 
 and turning aside an ant-hill. The whole, therefore, 
 is an example of the relation of the particular parts of 
 the extremity to one another ; and were it our busi- 
 ness, it would be easy to show that as there is a corres- 
 pondence among the bones of the arm, so is there a 
 more universal relation between those of the whole 
 skeleton. As the structure of the bones of the arm 
 declares the extremity to be adapted for digging into 
 ant-hills, so we shall not be disappointed in our expec- 
 tation of finding that the animal has a projecting 
 muzzle unarmed with teeth, and a long tongue pro- 
 vided with a glutinous secretion, to lick up the emmets 
 disturbed by its scratching. 
 
 In the skeleton of the Cape-mole, we may see, in 
 the projection of the acromion scapulae, and a remark- 
 able process in the middle of the humerus, a provision 
 for the rotation of the arm ; which implies burrowing. 
 But the apparatus is by no means so perfect as in 
 the common mole ; so that we may infer that the Cape- 
 mole digs in a softer soil, whilst the possession of 
 gnawing teeth indicates that it subsists on roots. 
 
 In Birds, there is altogether a new condition of 
 the osseous system, as there is a new element to 
 contend with. The very peculiar form and structure of 
 their skeleton may be thus accounted for. First it is 
 
78 STRUCTURE OF BIRDS. CHAP. III. 
 
 necessary that birds, as they are buoyed in the air, should 
 be specifically light; secondly, the capacity of their 
 chest must be extended, and the motions of their ribs 
 limited, so that the muscles of the wings may have 
 sufficient space and firmness for their attachment. 
 Both these objects are attained by a modification of 
 the apparatus for breathing. The lungs are highly 
 vascular and spongy, but they are not capable of being 
 distended with air; the air is drawn through their 
 substance, passing, by means of numerous orifices, into 
 cells under their skin, and even filling the interior of 
 their bones ; so that whilst the great office of decarbo- 
 nisation of the blood is securely performed, advantage 
 is taken to let the air, warmed and rarefied by the 
 high temperature of their bodies, into all their cavities. 
 
 From what was said, in the introductory chapter, of 
 the weight of the body being a necessary concomitant 
 of muscular strength, we see why the lightness of the 
 bird, as well as the conformation of its skeleton, may 
 be a reason for its walking badly. On the other hand, 
 in observing how that lightness is adapted for flight, it 
 is remarkable what a small addition to the weight will 
 prevent the bird from rising on the wing. If the 
 griffon-vulture be scared after his repast, he must 
 disgorge, before he can fly ; and so with the condor, 
 if found in the same circumstances, he can be taken by 
 the Indians, like a quadruped, by throwing the lasso 
 over his neck.* 
 
 * The subject is continued in the • Additional Illustrations." 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 STKUCTURE OF BIRDS. 
 
 79 
 
 As every one must have observed, the breast-bone of 
 the bird extends the whole length of the body, covering 
 the great cavity, common to the chest and abdomen, 
 into which the air is admitted. Now it follows from 
 this extension of the breast-bone, that a lesser degree 
 of motion suffices for respiration ; accordingly, a greater 
 surface is obtained for the lodgment and attachment 
 of the muscles of the wings, whilst that surface being 
 less disturbed by the action of breathing, is more 
 steady. Another peculiarity of the skeleton of the 
 bird is, that the vertebrae, instead of being moveable on 
 each other, are consolidated : an additional proof, if 
 any were now required, of the whole system of bones 
 conforming to that of the extremities; because, 
 to give effect to the action of the muscles of the 
 wings, it is necessary that all the bones of the trunk 
 to which they are attached, should be united firmly 
 together.* 
 
 From the vertebrae of the bird being thus fixed, and 
 the pelvis reaching high, no motion can take place in 
 the body ; indeed, if there were any mobility in the 
 back, it would be interrupted by the sternum, or 
 breastbone. We cannot but admire, therefore, the 
 structure of the neck and head ; how the length and 
 pliability of the vertebrae of the neck not only give to 
 the bill the extent of motion and office of a hand, 
 but, by enabling the bird to preserve its balance, in 
 standing, running, or flying, become a substitute for 
 
 * The ostrich and cassowary, which are runners, have the spine loose. 
 
80 
 
 STRUCTURE OF BIRDS. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 the loss of flexibility in the body. Is it not curious to 
 observe how the whole skeleton is adapted to this one 
 object, the power of the wings ! 
 
 Whilst the ostrich and other " runners " have not 
 got a keel in their breast-bone, birds of passage are 
 
 recognisable by the depth of the ridge of the sternum. 
 The reason is, that the angular space formed by that 
 process and the body of the bone affords lodgment 
 for the pectoral muscle, the powerful muscle of the 
 wing. In this sketch of the dissection of the swallow, 
 there is a curious resemblance to the human arm ; 
 and we cannot fail to observe that the pectoral muscle 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 STRUCTURE OF BIRDS. 
 
 SI 
 
 constitutes the greater part of the bulk of the body.* 
 And here we perceive the correspondence between the 
 strength of this muscle and the rate of flying, of the 
 swallow, which is a mile in a minute, for ten hours 
 every day, or six hundred miles a day.t If it be 
 true that birds, in migrating, require a wind that blows 
 against them,J it implies an extraordinary power, as 
 well as continuance, of muscular exertion. 
 
 We thus see how nature completes her work, when 
 the animal is destined to rise buoyant and powerful in 
 the air : — the whole texture of the frame is altered, and 
 made light in a manner consistent with strength ; the 
 mechanism of the anterior extremity is changed, and 
 the muscles of the trunk are differently directed. But 
 we are tempted to examine other instances, where the 
 means, we would almost say, are more awkwardly 
 suited for their purpose ; that is, where the system of 
 bones and muscles peculiar to the quadruped being 
 preserved, the animal has still the power of launching 
 into the air. We have already noticed how the struc- 
 
 * Borelli makes the pectoral muscles of a bird exceed in weight all the 
 other muscles taken together ; whilst he calculates that in man the pectoral 
 muscles are but a seventieth part of the mass of muscles. 
 
 f Mr. White says truly that the swift lives on the wing ; it eats, drinks, 
 and collects materials for its nest, while flying, and never rests but during 
 darkness. No bird equals the humming-bird in its powers of flight, and 
 accordingly, it has a broader sternum, and a greater prominence of keel, in 
 proportion to its size, than any other bird. It may be mentioned, that in the 
 sternum of the bat a very distinct ridge is developed, corresponding with the 
 keel of the bird. 
 
 X It is possible that the wind blowing near the ground in one direction, may 
 be attended with a current of a higher stratum of the atmosphere in a con- 
 trary direction, and that the idea of migrating birds flying against the wind may 
 have arisen from that mistake. 
 
 a 
 
82 STRUCTURE ADAPTED CH ap. hi. 
 
 tore of the bat is adapted to flight ; but there are other 
 animals , differing from birds more widely than it, 
 which enjoy the function, though in a lesser degree. 
 For example, the flying squirrel (Pteromys volucella), 
 being chased to the end of a bough, spreads out the 
 mantle which reaches along both its sides from the 
 anterior to the posterior extremity, and drops in the 
 air ; and during its descent, it is met by such a resist- 
 ance of the air from its extended skin and bushy tail, 
 that it can direct its flight obliquely, and even turn, 
 without any adaptation of the anterior extremity. 
 Among reptiles, a provision of the same kind exists 
 in the Draco fimbriates; which, after creeping to a 
 height, can drop safely to the ground, under the pro- 
 tection of a sort of parachute, formed by its extended 
 skin. This is no inapt illustration ; it is not the bones 
 of the fingers that are here used to extend the web ; 
 but the ribs, which are unnecessary, in this animal, for 
 breathing, are prolonged in a remarkable manner, like 
 the whale -bones of an umbrella, and upon them the 
 skin is expanded. 
 
 This brings us to a very curious subject, — the con- 
 dition of some of those Saurian reptiles, the remains of 
 which are found only in a fossil state, most abundantly 
 in the Has and oolite, termed the ancient strata of the 
 Jura. The Pterodactyle of Cuvier is an animal which 
 seems to confound all our notions of system. A lizard, 
 yet its mouth was like the long bill of a bird, and 
 its flexible neck corresponded ; but it had teeth in its 
 jaws like those of a crocodile. The bones of the 
 
chap. in. FOR FLYING. 83 
 
 anterior extremity were elongated, and fashioned some- 
 what like those in the wing of a bird ; but it could not 
 have had feathers, as it had not a proper bill ; we see 
 no creature with feathers, that has not a bill with which 
 to dress and preen them. Nor did the extremity 
 resemble that of a bat in structure : instead of the 
 rows of bones being equally prolonged in all the 
 fingers, as in the bat, the second finger only was 
 extended to an extraordinary length ; whilst the third, 
 fourth, and fifth, had the size and articulations of 
 those of a quadruped, and were terminated with sharp 
 nails, corresponding to the pointed teeth. The 
 extended bones reached to double the whole length of 
 the animal, and the conjecture is that a membrane, 
 resembling that of the Draco fimbriatus, was expanded 
 upon them. In the imperfect specimens upon which 
 we have to found our reasoning, we cannot discover, 
 either in the height of the hipbones, the strength of the 
 vertebrae of the back, or the expansion of the breast- 
 bone, a provision for the attachment of muscles com- 
 mensurate with the extent of the supposed wing. 
 The arm-bone and the bones which we presume to be 
 the scapula and coracoid, bear some correspondence to 
 the extent of the wing ; but the extraordinary circum- 
 stance of all is the size and strength of the bones of 
 the jaw, and vertebrae of the neck, compared with the 
 smallness of the body, and the extreme delicacy of the 
 ribs; which makes this altogether, a being the most 
 incomprehensible in nature. 
 
 g2 
 
84 
 
 ANATOMY OF 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 OF THE RADIUS AND ULNA. 
 
 The easy motion of the hand, we might imagine to 
 result from the structure of the hand itself; but, on 
 the contrary, the movements which appear to belong to 
 it, are divided among all the bones of the extremity.* 
 
 The head of the arm-bone is rotatory on the shoulder- 
 blade, as when making the guards in fencing ; but the 
 easier and finer rolling of the wrist is accomplished by 
 the motion of one bone of the fore-arm upon the other. 
 The ulna has a hooked process, the olecranon, or pro- 
 jecting bone of the elbow, which catches round the 
 lower end of the arm-bone (this articulating portion 
 being called trochlea), and forms with it a hinge joint, 
 for bending and extending the fore-arm. The radius, 
 again, at the elbow, has a small, neat, round head, 
 which is bound to the ulna by ligaments, as a spindle 
 is held in the bush ; and it has a depression with a 
 polished surface for revolving on the condyle of the 
 
 * In this sketch, the upper hone of the fore-arm is the radius ; and in 
 revolving onjhe lower hone, the ulna, it carries the hand with it. 
 
CHIP. III. 
 
 THE EADIUS AND ULNA. 
 
 85 
 
 humerus ; at the wrist it has also a surface adapted for 
 rotation : accordingly the radius turns on its long axis, 
 rolling upon the ulna both at the elbow and wrist-joint ; 
 and, as it turns, it carries the hand with it, because the 
 hand is strictly attached to its lower head alone. This 
 rolling, is what are termed pronation and supination. 
 
 Such freedom of motion, in an animal with a solid 
 hoof, would be useless, and a source of weakness ; 
 hence, in the horse, the radius and ulna are united, 
 and consolidated in the position of pronation. 
 
 But before taking any particular instance, let us 
 extend our views. There is, indeed, something so 
 highly interesting in the conformation of the whole 
 skeleton of an animal, and the adaptation of each part 
 to all the others, that we must not let our reader 
 remain ignorant of the facts, and the more important 
 conclusions drawn from them. What we have to state 
 has been the result of the studies of many compa- 
 rative anatomists ; but none has seized upon it, with 
 the privilege of genius, in the masterly manner of 
 Cuvier. 
 
 Suppose a man, ignorant of anatomy, to pick up a 
 fragment of bone in an unexplored country ; he learns 
 nothing, except that some animal has lived and died 
 there ; but the anatomist, judging from that portion of 
 bone, can not merely estimate the size of the extremity 
 of the animal as well as if he saw the print of its 
 foot, but he can predicate the form of the joints of 
 the skeleton, the structure of its jaws and teeth, the 
 
86 ANATOMY OF chap. hi. 
 
 nature of its food, and its internal economy. This, to 
 one unacquainted with the subject, must appear won- 
 derful; but it is after the following manner that the 
 anatomist proceeds. Let us suppose that he has taken 
 up that portion of bone, in the limb of a quadruped, 
 which corresponds to the upper part of the human 
 radius ; and that he finds that the form of the end of 
 the bone, where it enters into the joint, does not admit 
 of the free motion, in various directions, possessed by 
 the paw of the carnivorous creature. It is obvious, on 
 that view of the structure alone, that the office of the 
 limb must have been for supporting the animal, and 
 for progression, not for seizing prey. That leads him 
 to the fact, that the bones corresponding to those of 
 the hand and fingers, must have differed from the 
 bones of the paw of the tiger ; for the motions which 
 that conformation permits, would be useless without 
 rotation of the wrist : and he concludes, therefore, 
 that the hand and finger-bones were each formed 
 in one mass, like the cannon, pastern, and coffin bones 
 of the horse's foot.* Now, the motion of the foot of a 
 hoofed animal being limited to flexion and extension, 
 it implies restrained motion at the shoulder -joint, and 
 absence of a collar-bone. And thus, from the broken 
 specimen in his hand, the naturalist acquires a perfect 
 notion of the bones of both extremities. But the 
 
 * These are solid bones, in which it is difficult to recognise any resem- 
 blance to the bones of the hand and fingers ; yet comparative anatomy proves 
 that they are analogous. 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 THE KADIUS AND ULNA. 
 
 87 
 
 motion of the extremities implies a particular construc- 
 tion of the vertebral column winch unites them ; each 
 bone of the spine will be of that form which cor- 
 responds to the bounding of the stag, or galloping of 
 the horse ; but will not have the kind of articulation 
 which admits of the turning or writhing of the body, as 
 in the leopard or tiger. 
 
 Next he comes to the head : — and he argues that the 
 pointed, cutting teeth, with which a carnivorous animal 
 is provided to rend its prey, would be useless, unless 
 there were mobility of the extremities, like that of the 
 hand, for grasping it, and claws for securing it. He 
 considers, therefore, that the front teeth must have 
 been for browsing, and the back teeth for grinding. 
 But the socketing of the teeth requires a peculiar 
 shape of the jaw-bones, and the muscles which move 
 these bones must also be peculiar. In short, from the 
 shape and functions of the mouth, he forms a concep- 
 tion of the figure of the skull. From that point he may 
 set out anew ; for from the form of the teeth, he may 
 deduce the nature of the stomach, the length of the 
 intestines, and all the peculiarities which mark a vege- 
 table feeder, as contrasted with one of the carnivora. 
 
 Thus the whole parts of the animal system are so 
 connected with one another, that from one single bone 
 or fragment of bone, be it of the jaw, or of the spine, 
 or of the extremity, a really accurate conception of the 
 shape, motions, and habits of the animal, may be 
 formed. 
 
88 
 
 ANATOMY OF 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 It will readily be understood that by the same 
 process of reasoning, we may ascertain, from a small 
 portion of a skeleton, the existence of a carnivorous 
 animal, or of a fowl, or of a bat, or of a lizard, or of a 
 fish. And what a conviction is here brought home to us 
 of the extent of that plan, which, pervading the whole 
 range of animated beings whose motions are conducted 
 by the operation of muscles and bones, yet adapts the 
 members of every creature to their proper office ! 
 
 After all, this is but a part of the wonders disclosed 
 through the knowledge of an object so despised as a 
 fragment of bone. It carries us into another science. 
 The knowledge of the skeleton not only teaches us the 
 classification of animals now alive, but affords proofs 
 of the former existence of animated beings which are 
 no longer found on the surface of the earth. We are 
 thus led from such premises to an unexpected conclu- 
 sion. Not merely do we learn that individual animals, 
 or races of animals, now extinct, existed at those distant 
 periods : but even the changes which the globe has 
 undergone, in time before all existing records, and 
 before the creation of human beings to inhabit the 
 earth, are opened to our contemplation. 
 
 To return to our particular subject, — we readily 
 comprehend how, if the geologist should find the head 
 of a radius, resembling this sketch, and see a smooth 
 depression (a), on its extremity, where it bears against 
 the humerus, and a polished circle (b), where it turns 
 on the cavity of the ulna, he would say, — this animal 
 
chap. in. THE RADIUS AND ULNA. 98 
 
 had a paw — it had a motion at the wrist, which 
 implies claws. But claws may belong to two species 
 
 35 
 
 UPPER END OF A RADIUS 
 
 of animals : to the feline, which possess sharp carnivo- 
 rous teeth; or to animals without either canine or 
 cutting teeth, the edentata. If he should also find 
 the lower extremity of the same bone, and observe on 
 its surface spines and grooves, the marks of tendons, 
 which, instead of running straight to be inserted into a 
 single bone, radiated to distinct phalanges, — he would 
 conclude that there must have been moveable claws, 
 that the bone must have belonged to a carnivorous 
 animal ; and he would seek for canine teeth of corres- 
 ponding size. 
 
 THE LAST DIVISION OF THE BONES OF THE ARM. 
 
 In the human hand, the bones of the wrist (carpus) 
 are eight in number ; and they are so closely connected 
 that they form a sort of ball, which moves on the end 
 of the radius. Beyond these, and towards the fingers, 
 forming the palm of the hand, are the five metacarpal 
 bones, which diverge at their further extremities, and 
 
90 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 give support to the bones of the thumb and fingers. 
 In the thumb, the first phalangeal bone is absent. 
 There are thus in the hand twenty-seven bones ; from 
 the mechanism of which result strength, mobility, and 
 elasticity. 
 
 Lovers of system (I do not use the term disparagingly) 
 delight to trace the gradual subtraction of the bones of 
 the hand. Thus, looking to the hand of man, they see 
 the thumb fully formed. In the monkeys (simise) they 
 find it exceedingly small ; in one of them, the spider- 
 monkey (see page 19), it has almost disappeared, and the 
 four fingers are sufficient, with hardly the rudiments of 
 a thumb. In some of the tardigrade animals, as we have 
 seen (in page 30), there are only three metacarpal bones, 
 with three fingers. In the ox, the cannon bone consists 
 of two coalesced metacarpal bones, and the double hoofs 
 are supported by the corresponding phalangeal bones. 
 In the horse, the cannon bone is a single metacarpal 
 bone, and the great pastern, little pastern, and coffin or 
 hoof bone, represent a single finger.* Indeed, we 
 might go further and instance the wing of the bird. 
 To me, this appears to be losing the sense, in the love 
 of system; there is no regular gradation, but, as I 
 have often to repeat, a variety, which most curiously 
 adapts the same system of parts to every necessary 
 purpose. 
 
 In a comparative view of these bones, we are led 
 more particularly to take notice of the foot of the horse. 
 
 * See Owen on the Nature of Limbs, p. 32. — (S.) 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 OF THE WRIST AND HAND. 
 
 91 
 
 It is universally admitted to be of beautiful design, and 
 calculated for strength and elasticity, and especially 
 provided against concussion. 
 
 The bones of the fore-leg of the horse become firmer, 
 as we trace them downwards. The two bones corre- 
 sponding to those of the fore-arm, are braced together 
 and consolidated; and the motion at the elbow -joint is 
 limited to flexion and extension. The carpus, forming 
 what by a sort of license is called the knee, is also newly 
 modelled ; but the metacarpal bones and phalanges of 
 the fingers are totally changed, and can hardly be 
 recognised. When we look in front, instead of the four 
 metacarpal bones, we see one strong bone, the cannon 
 bone ; and posterior to this, we find two lesser bones, 
 called splint bones. 
 
 The heads of these lesser, or splint bones enter into 
 the knee-joint (or properly the wrist-joint); at their 
 lower ends they diminish gradually, and they are held 
 by an elastic ligamentous attachment to the sides of 
 the cannon bone. I have some hesitation in admitting 
 the correctness of the opinion held by veterinary 
 surgeons, on this curious piece of mechanism ; they 
 imagine that these moveable splint bones, by playing 
 up and down as the foot is alternately raised and 
 pressed to the ground, bestow elasticity and prevent 
 concussion. The fact certainly is that by over action, 
 the parts become inflamed, and these bones are even- 
 tually united to the greater metacarpal or cannon 
 bone ; and that this, which is called a splint, is a cause 
 
92 ACTION OF THE SPLINT BONES chap. in. 
 
 of lameness. I suspect, rather, that in the perfect 
 state of the joint, these lesser metacarpal or splint 
 bones act as a spring, to assist in throwing out the 
 foot, when the knee-joint is bent, and the extensor 
 muscles begin to act. If we admit that it is on the 
 
 BONES OF HORSE'S FORE-LEG. 
 
 quickness of extension of the joint that the rate of 
 motion must principally depend, it will not escape 
 observation, that in the bent position of the knee, the 
 extensor tendons, from running near the centre of 
 motion, have very little power ; and that, in fact, they 
 require some additional means to aid the extension of 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 IN THE HORSE'S LEG. 
 
 93 
 
 the leg. Suppose the head of the splint bone (a) enters 
 into the composition of the joint, it does not appear 
 that when the leg is straight and the foot on the ground, 
 the bones of the carpus, sustained as they are by the 
 cannon bone, can descend and press upon it, so as to 
 
 HOCK-JOINT OF THE OSTRICH. 
 
 bring its elasticity into action. But, in the bent posi- 
 tion of the knee, the head of the splint bone will come 
 in contact with the carpal bones, behind the centre 
 of motion of the joint; and it is obvious, therefore, 
 that, when the foot is elevated and the knee bent, the 
 splint bone will be depressed, in opposition to its 
 elastic connecting ligament ; so that, as soon as the 
 
94 
 
 OF THE HORSE'S FOOT. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 action of the flexor muscles ceases, it will recoil, and 
 thereby assist the extensor muscles in throwing out the 
 leg into the straight position. Further, we can readily 
 believe that when the elasticity of these splint bones is 
 lost, by ossification uniting them firmly to the cannon 
 bone, the want of such a piece of mechanism, essential 
 to the quick extension of the foot, will cause lameness, 
 and make the horse apt to come down. 
 
 The mechanism of the bones and tendons of the 
 extremities is infinitely varied ; and we hardly ever 
 discern anything uncommon in the outward configura- 
 tion of an animal, but we find something new and 
 appropriate in the anatomy. The gait, or rather 
 strut, of the ostrich is peculiar ; and it results from a 
 very singular mechanism, a spring joint, at the part 
 corresponding with the hock.* 
 
 Of the Horse's Foot. — On looking to the sketch, 
 (page 92,) and comparing it with that of the bones of the 
 
 * The figures (p 93) illustrate the structure referred to. There is agentlerising 
 of the bone at A., having a smooth lubricated surface, and a groove in front and 
 behind. In the straight position, the lateral ligament b. is lodged in the deep 
 groove at the back of the tubercle ; but as the leg is bent, the ligament glides 
 upon the tubercle, it becomes more and more stretched till it reaches the highest 
 point of the convexity, and then it slips, with a jerk, into the shallower groove 
 in front : as the leg is extended, the ligament is again stretched on passing over 
 the tubercle, and falls back, with another jerk, into the groove behind. This 
 play of the ligament over the tubercle, as over a double inclined plane, is 
 accompanied at each sliding movement, with a sudden start of the joint, both 
 in flexion and extension ; and it is that which gives rise to the peculiar strut 
 of the animal. The object of the structure seems to be to knit or support the 
 joint, when the bird is resting on the limb ; and also, in flexion of the joint, 
 to facilitate that great projection of the superior bone backwards, as seen in 
 Fig. 2, by which additional power is given to the muscle c, that propels the 
 bird in its course. See Chapter IV. 
 
chap. in. OF THE HOESE'S FOOT. 95 
 
 hand, (page 84,) we see that in the horse's fore-leg, 
 five bones of the first digital row are represented 
 by the large pastern bone ; those of the second by the 
 lesser pastern or coronet ; and those of the last by the 
 coffin bone. 
 
 For illustrating the general subject of our treatise, 
 nothing is better suited than the horse's foot : it is a 
 most perfect piece of mechanism. And whilst examin- 
 ing it, we are impressed with the peculiarity of living 
 mechanism, — that it can be preserved perfect, only by 
 the natural exercise of its parts. The horse, origi- 
 nally a native of extensive plains and steppes, has a 
 structure admirably conformed to these his natural pas- 
 ture grounds. But when brought into subjection, to 
 run on hard roads, the foot suffers from concussion. 
 His value, so often impaired by lameness, has made 
 the structure of the horse's foot an object of great 
 interest ; and I have it from the excellent professor of 
 veterinary surgery to say, that he has never demon- 
 strated the anatomy of this part, without perceiving 
 something new to admire. 
 
 The weight and power of the animal require that 
 both strength and elasticity should be combined in his 
 foot. Hence the first thing that attracts attention 
 is the position of the bones. Had they been placed 
 one directly over the other, there could not have been 
 elasticity; accordingly, they are disposed obliquely, 
 and a strong elastic ligament runs behind, terminating 
 by an attachment to the lowest or coffin bone. So 
 
96 OF THE HORSE'S FOOT. CHAP. III. 
 
 essential is the obliquity of the bones to the elasticity 
 of the limb, that without mounting a horse, it is 
 possible, by observing the direction of the pastern and 
 coffin bones, to say whether he goes easily or not.* 
 
 The bones of the foot of the camel rest on a soft 
 elastic cushion. In the horse's foot, there is a structure 
 of a similar kind, but it acts very differently, and never 
 comes to the ground ; nor indeed does the sole of the 
 horse's foot directly bear the weight. The horny 
 frog, the triangular projection in the hollow of the 
 hoof, has placed above it an elastic frog or cushion ; 
 and inasmuch as these parts receive the weight of 
 the animal, and by their descent, when the foot is on 
 the ground, press out the crust or horny hoof, they 
 are essential to the structure of the foot. The ante- 
 rior tip of this crust, or the part of the hoof which 
 last touches the ground as the foot rises, is very 
 dense and firm, to withstand the pressure and im- 
 pulse forward : the lateral parts, however, are elastic, 
 and on their play depends that resiliency of the foot 
 which prevents concussion. The crust is not consoli- 
 dated with the bone called coffin bone ; certain elastic 
 laminae, growing from the bone and dovetailed into the 
 crust, are interposed between them. "When the animal 
 puts his foot to the ground, the weight bears on the 
 
 * The arched form of the hones, at the fetlock, with their convexity back- 
 wards, and the distinctness of the elastic ligament and tendons behind the 
 cannon bone, can be perceived by the eye and the hand, and constitute one 
 of the " points " of a horse. Such is the correspondence between the strength 
 of an animal's bones, tendons, and muscles, that from these sinews, the jockey 
 can infer the perfection or defect of the whole. 
 
chap. in. THE HORSE'S FOOT. 97 
 
 coffin bone, and from its being attached to the circle 
 of the crust by these elastic laminae, the lateral parts 
 yield, and the weight is directed on the margins of the 
 crust; the sole never touching the ground, unless it 
 has become diseased. 
 
 Xenophon, speaking of the Persian horses, says that 
 their grooms were careful to curry them on a pavement 
 of round stones, that by beating their feet against a 
 firm and irregular surface, the texture of the foot 
 might be put into exercise. It corresponds curiously 
 with this, that our high-bred horses are subject to a 
 disease of the foot, from which the powerful draught 
 and Flanders horses are exempt. The heavy horse, 
 with less blood than the race horse, lifts its foot in a 
 circle, and comes forcibly on the ground: whilst the 
 horse for the turf, being light, moves with the foot close 
 to the ground ; no time is lost in lifting it high in the 
 semicircle ; the consequence of which is, that from the 
 foot coming thus gently down, it wants the full play of 
 the apparatus. Hence it may be understood how the 
 lighter horse is subject to contractions of the foot; the 
 bones, ligaments, and crust being out of use, the sole 
 becomes firm as a board, the sides of the crust are 
 permanently contracted, the parts have no longer their 
 elastic play, and the foot striking on hard pavement 
 suffers a shock or concussion ; then comes " a fever of 
 the foot," which is inflammation, and that may go on 
 to the total destruction of the fine apparatus. The proof 
 of all this is, that unless the inflammation has advanced 
 
 H 
 
98 THE HORSE'S FOOT. chap. m. 
 
 too far, by paring and softening the exterior of the hoof, 
 so as to restore its elasticity, the veterinary surgeon 
 may cure this contracted foot. 
 
 That a relation should exist between the internal 
 structure of the foot and its covering, whether it be nail, 
 or cloven hoof, or crust, we can hardly doubt : and an 
 unexpected proof offers itself in the horse. Some rare 
 instances are recorded of the foot of the horse having 
 digital extremities. According to Suetonius, there was 
 such an animal in the stables of Ceesar ; another was in 
 the possession of Leo X. ; and Geoffroy St. Hilaire 
 states that he saw a horse with three toes on each of 
 the fore-feet, and four on the hind.* In all these, the 
 toes had nails, not hoofs. By such examples of devi- 
 ation from the natural structure, it is made to appear 
 still more distinctly, that a relation is established 
 between the internal configuration of the fingers or toes 
 and their coverings — that when there are five complete, 
 as in man, they are provided with perfect nails — when 
 the number is two, as in the cleft foot of the ruminant, 
 there are appropriate horny coverings — and when the 
 bones are reduced to form one, as in the horse, couagga, 
 zebra, and ass, there is a hoof or crust. 
 
 In ruminants, there is the cannon bone ; but they have 
 the foot split into two parts, and that must add to the 
 spring or elasticity. I am inclined to think that still 
 another intention is manifest in this form of the foot ; 
 it first prevents it from sinking into soft ground, and 
 
 * Such a horse was not long since exhibited in Town, and at Newmarket. 
 
chap. in. THE FOOT OF RUMINANTS. 99 
 
 then permits it to be more easily withdrawn. We may 
 observe how much more easily the cow liberates her 
 foot from the yielding margin of a river, than the horse ; 
 the solid, round, and concave foot of the horse is 
 resisted, as it is withdrawn, by a vacuum or suction ; 
 while the split and conically shaped hoof of the cow 
 expands in sinking, and is easily extricated. 
 
 In the foot of the chamois, and other species of the 
 deer tribe, there are two additional toes. These sketches, 
 
 FOOT OF ANTELOPE. FOOT OF REJXDE 
 
 show that the metacarpal bones, (which in the horse are 
 connected as splint bones w T ith the joint called the 
 "knee,") are here brought down near to the foot, and 
 that each has its two pasterns, and coffin or ungual bone. 
 
 H 2 
 
100 
 
 CONTRAST OF THE 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 The toes are braced by ligaments, which give great 
 elasticity, as well as power of expansion, to the foot ; 
 and as a division of the flexor tendon runs to each, the 
 spring must be increased as the animal starts from its 
 crouching posture. 
 
 The two lateral toes of the hog are short, and do not 
 touch the ground, yet they must serve to sustain the 
 animal when the foot sinks. In the rein-deer, (fig. p. 99) 
 these toes are strong and thick, and by projecting back- 
 wards, expand the foot horizontally — thus giving the 
 animal a broader base on which to stand, and, on the 
 principle of the snow-shoe, adapting it to the snows of 
 Lapland. These changes in the size, number, and place 
 of the metacarpal and phalangeal bones, the systematic 
 naturalist will call " gradations ; " I see only new proofs 
 of adaptation, — of the same system of bones being 
 applicable to every circumstance or condition of animals. 
 
 I have explained why the bones of the elephant's leg 
 should stand so perpendicularly over each other ; but 
 there is also a peculiarity of structure in the bones of its 
 foot. In the living animal, we see only a round pliant 
 mass, as a foot ; resembling the base of a pillar, or that 
 of the trunk of a stately tree. But when we examine 
 the bones, we find the carpus, metacarpus, and phalanges 
 applied to a very different use from what we have 
 hitherto noticed ; they are not connected with a moveable 
 radius, and have no individual motion, as in the carni- 
 vorous animal — they serve merely to expand the foot, and 
 give to the broad base of the column a certain elasticity. 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 ELEPHANT AXD CAMEL. 
 
 101 
 
 In the sketch (page 62) I have placed the bones of 
 the anterior extremity of the camel, in contrast with 
 those of the elephant. The camel's foot having no 
 such disproportionate weight to bear as that of the 
 elephant, lightness of motion is secured by the oblique 
 direction of its bones, as well as by the position of the 
 bones of the shoulder, which we have already noticed. 
 But there is much to admire besides in the foot of the 
 camel ; although the bottom be flat and hard, like the 
 sole of a shoe, yet, between the tendons and the horny 
 sole, a cushion is interposed, so soft and elastic, that 
 the animal treads with the greatest lightness and 
 security. 
 
 The resemblance of the foot of the ostrich to that of 
 the camel has not escaped naturalists."* In the bird, 
 
 / 
 
 B 
 
 SOLE OF THE Q8TJRICH'B FOOT. 
 
 the same softness and pliancy of the sole are provided 
 for by means resembling those in the quadruped ; but 
 by another adaptation of the frog or elastic pad. We 
 
 * A, the frog or elastic pad in the ostrich's foot. B, processes from the horn 
 or cuticle, disposed like the hair of a brush, and forming an adhesive and elastic 
 sole. 
 
102 CLAWS OF THE CANINE AND FELINE TRIBES. 
 
 also have our pads; the best, though not the only, 
 example of which is in the heel : the elastic structure 
 interposed between the bone of the heel and the integu- 
 ment, is neither ligamentous, nor cartilaginous, nor 
 fatty, but a happy union of all; elastic fibres are so 
 interwoven with the softer matter, that the cushion 
 gradually yields to our weight, and rises as we step. 
 
 Attending still to the last bones of the fingers ; let 
 me point out once more how much may be accom- 
 plished, in bodying forth the whole animal, by the study 
 of one of these bones. I allude to the dissertations of 
 the President Jefferson and of Baron Cuvier, on the 
 Megalonix. I must previously make some remarks on 
 the mechanism of the claws, in the lion. 
 
 Animals of the canine tribe, like those of the feline, 
 are carnivorous, and both have the last bones of 
 their toes armed with nails or claws. But their habits 
 and means of obtaining food differ. The canine com- 
 bine a keen sense of smelling with the power of con- 
 tinued speed ; they run down their prey : the feline owe 
 their superiority to the fineness of their sight, accom- 
 panied by patience, watchfulness, and stealthy move- 
 ment; they spring upon their prey, and never long 
 pursue it ; they attain their object in a few bounds, and, 
 failing, sulkily resume their watch. When we look to 
 the claws, we see a correspondence with those habits. 
 The claws of the dog and wolf are coarse and strong, 
 and bear the pressure and friction incident to a long 
 chase ; they are calculated to sustain and protect the 
 
chap. nr. THE LION'S CLAW. 103 
 
 foot. But the tiger leaps on his prey, and fastens his 
 sharp and crooked claws in the flesh. Now we must 
 admire the mechanism by which they are preserved, thus 
 curved and sharp at their points. The last bone, that 
 which supports the claw, is placed laterally to the next 
 
 APPARATUS OF LION'S CLAW 
 
 bone, and is so articulated with it that an elastic liga- 
 ment (a) draws it back and to one side, and thus raises 
 the sharp extremity of the claw upwards, and preserves 
 it in that position. Whilst, therefore, the claw is 
 retracted as into a sheath between the toes, the nearer 
 extremity of the furthest bone presses the ground, in 
 the ordinary running of the animal. But when he 
 makes his spring and strikes, the claws are uncased by 
 the action of the flexor tendons ; and in the Bengal 
 tiger, they are so sharp and strong, and the stroke of 
 
104 PRESIDENT JEFFERSON AND CUVIER. chap.ih. 
 
 his paw is so powerful, that they have been known to 
 fracture a man's skull by a touch, in the act of leaping 
 over him.* 
 
 To proceed to the observation of President Jefferson 
 on the Megalonix. Having found a bone which, by its 
 articulating surface and general form, he recognised to 
 be one of the finger bones of an animal of great size, 
 he thought he had discovered that it must have carried 
 a claw ; and from that circumstance, again, he naturally 
 enough concluded (on the principle — ex ungue leonem) 
 that it belonged to a carnivorous animal. He next set 
 about calculating the length of the supposed carnivo- 
 rous claw, and from that, to estimating the dimensions 
 of the animal : and he satisfied himself that in this 
 bone, a relic of the ancient world, he had obtained 
 proof of the existence, during these olden times, of a 
 lion of the height of the largest ox, and an opponent fit 
 to cope with the mastodon. 
 
 * The pads in the bottom of the lion's foot are soft cushions, which add to 
 its elasticity, and must, in some degree, defend the animal in alighting from his 
 bound. I could not comprehend how the powerful flexor muscles did not 
 unsheath the claws whenever the lion made his spring, and only did so, when 
 he was excited to seize and hold the prey ; to detect the cause, I made the 
 dissection from which the sketch has been taken. The last bone of the toe, 
 from being drawn back by the elastic ligament (a) beyond the centre of motion 
 of the last joint, is placed in so peculiar a relation to the penultimate bone, 
 that when the animal uses his foot in mere progression, the flexor tendon (b), 
 although inserted into it, only acts in forcing the nearer end, and the cushion 
 of the toe, to the ground. But when the lion strikes his prey to seize it, a 
 more general excitement takes place in the muscles called interossei and exten- 
 sors, (d, e) ; the relative position of the two last bones is altered ; the nearer 
 end of the last bone is withdrawn from beyond the centre of motion of the 
 joint, so that the action of the flexor tendon can now draw it forward or in a 
 line with the penultimate bone, — and then the claw can be unsheathed, and 
 prepared to hold or to tear. 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 THE MEGALONIX. 
 
 105 
 
 But when the same bone came under the scrutiny of 
 Baron Cuvier, his perfect knowledge of anatomy enabled 
 him to draw a different conclusion. He first observed 
 
 that in the middle of the articulating surface there was 
 a spine ; in that respect it differed from the analogous 
 bone in the feline tribe. He found no provision for the 
 lateral attachment to the next bone ; which we have 
 just shown is necessary for the retraction of the claw. 
 Then observing the segment of the circle which the 
 bone described, he prolonged the line, and showed that 
 the supposed claw must have been of such great length, 
 that it could never have been retracted for the pro- 
 tection of its acute and curved point : and it would not 
 have permitted the animal to put its foot to the ground. 
 Pursuing the comparison, he rejected the idea of the 
 bone belonging to an animal of the feline tribe at all. 
 His attention was directed to another order of animals, 
 the sloths; which are characterised by having long 
 nails affixed to their toes. But in the sloth (p. 30), 
 the nails are folded up in a different fashion from the 
 claws of the lion ; they just allow the animal to walk, 
 slowly and awkwardly, as if we w T ere to fold our fingers 
 
 TOE-BOXES OF MEG ALONIX. 
 
106 
 
 THE MEGALONIX. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 on the palm of the hand, and bear upon our knuckles. 
 On instituting a more just comparison, therefore, 
 between this bone of the ancient animal and the corre- 
 sponding bones of the sloth, Cuvier has satisfied us 
 that the supposed enormous lion of the American Pre- 
 sident, was an animal whiclf scratched the ground, and 
 fed on roots. 
 
 One experiences something like relief to find that 
 there never existed such a huge carnivorous animal as 
 that denominated megalonix. 
 
 These ungual bones, or bones of the claws, exhibit 
 a remarkable correspondence with the habits and 
 general forms of animals. Besides what we have seen 
 in the lion, or tiger, in the dog or wolf, in the bear, and 
 ant-eater, there is a variety, where we should least 
 expect it, in those animals that live in woods, and clinib 
 the branches of trees. The squirrel, having his claws 
 set both ways, runs with equal facility up and down the 
 bole, and nestles in the angles of the branches of trees. 
 The monkey leaps, and swings himself from branch to 
 branch, and in springing, parts from his hold by the 
 hinder extremities, before he reaches another branch 
 with the anterior extremities ; he leaps the intervening 
 space, and catches with singular precision. But the 
 sloths do not grasp ; their fingers are like hooks, and 
 their strength is in their arms ; they do not hold, but 
 hang suspended to the branch ; they never let go with 
 one set of hooks, until they have caught with the other ; 
 and thus they move along the branch, using both hind 
 
c „ AP . in . THE MEGATHERIUM. 107 
 
 and fore feet over head, whilst their bodies are pendant. 
 Here we see, once more, how the form of the extremities, 
 the concentration of strength, and the habits of these 
 animals, correspond not merely to their haunts in the 
 forest, but to their mode of moving and living among 
 the branches ; all active, but in different manners. 
 
 Of late, there have been deposited in our Museum in 
 the College of Surgeons, the bones of an animal of great 
 size ; the examination of which affords an opportunity 
 of applying the principles and mode of investigation, 
 followed by our great authority in this part of science. 
 These remains consist of part of the head, spine, tail, 
 pelvis ; and the bones of one hinder extremity, and the 
 scapula. Estimating the height of the animal to which 
 they belonged, at seven feet, it scarcely conveys an 
 adequate idea of its dimensions ; for the thigh-bone is 
 three times the diameter of that of the large elephant, 
 in the same collection, and the pelvis or haunch-bone 
 twice the breadth. If we form our opinion of its 
 configuration on those principles to which we have had 
 repeated occasion to refer, and judge of its strength by 
 the size and prominence of the processes of these bones, 
 we must conclude that the animal possessed extra- 
 ordinary muscular power ; and, directed by the same 
 circumstances, we may obtain an idea of the manner in 
 which that muscular power was employed. 
 
 On comparing these bones with drawings of the 
 skeleton of the enormous animal preserved in the Eoyal 
 Museum of Madrid, w r e see, at once, that they are parts 
 
108 
 
 THE MEGATHERIUM. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 of the remains of the great fossil quadruped of Paraguay, 
 the Megatherium of Cuvier. And every observation of 
 the form of the bones of the foot, the scapula, and the 
 teeth, confirms the opinion which he entertained, that 
 it was a vegetable feeder ; and that its great strength 
 was employed in flinging up the soil, and digging for 
 roots. Corresponding to the provisions in the bones of 
 its feet for sustaining enormous nails or claws, its 
 immense muscular power seems to have been concen- 
 trated in its paws. I have heard it surmised that the 
 animal may have sat upon its hinder extremities, and 
 pulled down the branches of trees to itself, to feed upon 
 them. It is only the great weight of its hind quarters 
 that can countenance such an idea. We have not the 
 humerus, to declare, by the prominence and situation 
 of its processes, which class of muscles of the arm were 
 the most powerful ; but as the scapula has the impies- 
 sion of a clavicle upon its acromion process, that enables 
 us to form some conception of the extent of motion 
 enjoyed by the anterior extremity; and from possessing 
 the greater part of the pelvis, and the enormous bones 
 of the posterior extremity, we can estimate the height, 
 breadth, and strength of the whole animal. In short, 
 judging from the bones that have been procured, we per- 
 ceive that the muscular power of the Megatherium did 
 not reside so much in the body, (certainly not in the jaws,) 
 as in the extremities, and especially in the posterior 
 extremities : and that its strength was given neither 
 for rapidity of motion, nor for offence, but for digging. 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 AMPHIBIA. 
 
 109 
 
 How little was it to be expected that an alliance 
 between a part of anatomy so little valued as that of the 
 bones, and mineralogy, should give rise to a new science; 
 — that a department of natural history formerly pursued 
 idly, vaguely, and somewhat fancifully, should hence- 
 forth, when thus associated with anatomy,be studied philo- 
 sophically, and inductively. It is both interesting and 
 instructive to find relations thus established between 
 branches of knowledge, apparently so remotety connected. 
 
 PART OF SKELETON' OF WALRUS. 
 
 In the true Amphibia, as the phoca (seal) and morse 
 or walrus (sea-horse), the feet are contracted, and almost 
 enveloped in skin, the toes being webbed and converted 
 into fins. We have sketched here the bones of the 
 
110 
 
 BOXES IN" THE CETACEA. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 paddle of the walrus ; and they are remarkably com- 
 plete, considering the peculiar appearance of the feet 
 in the living animal. The bones are accommodated to 
 form an instrument for swimming ; for these animals 
 live in the water; they come to land only to suckle 
 their young, or to bask in the sun ; out of the water, 
 they are the most unwieldy and helpless of all animals 
 which breathe. 
 
 In the Cetacea, for example, the whales and dolphins, 
 we see mammalia unprovided with hind feet. The 
 scapula is large, the humerus very short, and the bones 
 of the fore-arm and hand flattened and confined in 
 
 BONES OF PADDLE OF DOLPHIN. 
 
 membranes, which convert the anterior extremity into 
 a fin. These animals, residing in the water, must rise 
 
 * In this skeleton of the Dolphin, from which the above drawing was taken, 
 the scapula has been incorrectly placed ; it ought to have been turned round 
 
CHAP. in. 
 
 BONES OF ICHTHYOSAURUS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 to the surface to breathe. I need not say that in the 
 dolphin, (small bottle-nose whale,) we recognise the 
 bones of the anterior extremity, only a little further 
 removed from the forms which we have been hitherto 
 contemplating. The seal and morse raise them- 
 selves out of the sea, and bask on the rocks : but the 
 different species of dolphin continue always in the 
 water ; the extremity is now a fin or an oar ; and those 
 who have seen the porpoise, or pelloch, (Scotice,) in a 
 stormy sea, must acknowledge how complete is the 
 apparatus through which they enjoy their element. 
 
 The last examples I select shall be from relics of the 
 ancient world.* These figures are taken from specimens, 
 in the Museum of the College of Surgeons, of fossil 
 animals of singular structure, between the crocodile and 
 fish, — the ichthyosaurus and plesiosaurus. The skele- 
 tons are imbedded in a calcareous rock; and are entire, 
 but crushed, and a good deal disfigured. Here are 
 only the extremities, or paddles, consisting of a multi- 
 tude of bones articulated together : but among these we 
 still recognise the humerus, radius, and ulna, and bones 
 of the carpus and fingers. No fault is to be found with 
 
 on its centre, so as to have directed the surface of the glenoid cavity of the 
 shoulder-joint downwards. 
 
 * The figure (p. 112) to the left is the anterior extremity of the Plesiosaurus ; 
 to the right, that of the Ichthyosaurus. In these paddles, we see the intermediate 
 changes from the foot of animals to the fin of the fish — modifications of the 
 fins of the walrus, dolphin, or turtle. We no longer discern the phalanges, or 
 attempt to count the bones; they become irregular polygons or trapezoids — 
 less like phalangeal bones than the radii of the fins of a fish. In fishes, the 
 anterior extremity is recognised in the thoracic fin ; and we may even discover 
 the prototypes of the scapula and the bones of the arm, connected with that fin. 
 
112 THE ICHTHYOSAURUS AND PLESIOSAURUS. chap, m 
 
 the construction of these instruments ; the ichthyo- 
 saurus and plesiosaurus inhabited seas or estuaries, 
 
 PADDLE OP PLESIOSAURUS! OF ICHTHYOSAURUS. 
 
 and the structure of their paddles is suited to their 
 offices; no bone is superfluous, misplaced, or imper- 
 fect. It is in the lias deposit, that their remains are 
 found most abundantly. Since they existed, great 
 changes have been wrought on the land and in the 
 deep, and in the inhabitants of both ; and the races of 
 animals, the structure of whose extremities we have 
 hitherto been engaged in examining, were not then in 
 being. When we discover, therefore, in animals of the 
 
chap. in. PECULIARITIES IN THE HAND. 113 
 
 old world, that their skeletons were formed of the same 
 series of bones, which compose those of animals now 
 alive, Ave must admit the existence, and the progressive 
 development of an uniform system of bones, extending 
 
 ICHTHYOSAURUS. 
 
 through a period of time incalculably remote — even if, 
 instead of days and years referable to history, each day 
 were as a thousand years.* 
 
 I have now given, I hope, a sufficient number of 
 examples of the changes in the bones of the anterior 
 extremity, which suit them to every possible variety of 
 use. After attending a little more to the form of the 
 bones of the human hand, I shall take up another 
 division of my subject. 
 
 In the sketch (p. 114), we have the bones of the paw of 
 the adult Chimpanzee, from Borneo ; and the remarkable 
 peculiarity that distinguishes it from the human hand, 
 is the smallness of the thumb ; it extends no further 
 than to the root of the fingers. Now, it is upon the 
 
 * The wood-cuts on this page give some idea of the forms of the skeletons 
 of the ichthyosaurus and plesiosaurus, as restored by the Rev. Mr. Conybeare. 
 
114 AND IN THE THUMB AND FINGERS. chap. m. 
 
 length, strength, free lateral motion, and perfect 
 mobility of the thumb, that the superiority of the human 
 hand depends. The thumb is called pollex, because of 
 
 BONES OF CHIMPANZEE'S PAW. 
 
 its strength ; and that strength, being equal to that of 
 all the fingers, is necessary to the perfection of the hand. 
 Without the fleshy ball of the thumb, the power of the 
 fingers would avail nothing ; and accordingly the large 
 ball formed by the muscles of the thumb, is the distin- 
 guishing character of the human hand, and especially 
 of that of an expert workman * 
 
 The loss of the thumb amounts almost to the loss of 
 the hand; and were it to happen in both hands, it 
 would reduce a man to a miserable dependence : or as 
 Adoni-bezek said of the threescore and ten kings, the 
 thumbs of whose hands and of whose feet he had cut 
 off, "they gather their meat under my table." t 
 
 * Albinus characterises the thumb as the lesser hand, the assistant of the 
 greater — 66 manus parva, majori adjutrix." u I/animal superieur est dans la 
 main ; l'homme dans la ponce." — ISApertigny. 
 
 66 The * great toe' is more peculiarly characteristic of the genus Homo than 
 even its homotype, the thumb ; for the Monkey has a kind of pollex on the 
 hand, but no brute mammal presents that development of the hallux (great 
 toe), on which the erect posture and gait of man mainly depend.'" — Owen on 
 Limbs, p. 37 (s). 
 
 + " Poltroon — pollice truncato, from the thumb cut off ; it being once a 
 practice of cowards to cut off their thumbs, that they might not be compelled 
 to serve in war." — Johnson's Dictionary, 
 
chap. in. GEOLOGY — COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. 115 
 
 In a French book, intended to teach young people 
 philosophy, the pupil asks why the fingers are not of 
 equal length ? The form of the question reminds us 
 of the difficulty of putting them naturally — the fault of 
 books of dialogue. However, the master makes the 
 scholar grasp a ball of ivory, to show him that the 
 points of the fingers are then equal : it would have 
 been better had he closed the fingers upon the palm, 
 and then asked whether or not they corresponded. 
 This difference in the length of the fingers serves a 
 thousand ends, adapting the form of the hand and 
 fingers for different purposes, as for holding a rod, a 
 switch, a sword, a hammer, a pen or pencil, engraving 
 tool, &c, in all which a secure hold and freedom of 
 motion are admirably combined. But we must defer 
 this subject until we have shown the application of the 
 muscles to the bones ; and the structure of the ends of 
 the fingers appropriated to bestow- feeling. 
 
 What says Ray? — " Some animals have horns, some 
 have hoofs, some teeth, some talons, some claws, some 
 spurs and beaks : man hath none of all these, but is 
 weak and feeble, and sent unarmed into the world — 
 Why, a hand, with reason to use it, supplies the use of 
 all these. " 
 
 Before leaving this part of our subject, let us mark 
 the importance to the science of Geology of these com- 
 parative views of anatomy. It has been ingeniously 
 and quaintly said, that the organised remains imbedded 
 
 i 2 
 
116 GEOLOGY INDEBTED TO chap. m. 
 
 in the rocks, are as medals struck in commemoration of 
 those great revolutions which the earth's surface has 
 undergone. Every one must have seen that the crust 
 of the earth is formed in strata or layers : and a very 
 slight consideration leads also to the belief, that this 
 surface, besides having successive deposits or forma- 
 tions laid upon it, has been subject to great convul- 
 sions. Each of these layers is, to a certain degree, 
 distinct in the chemical or physical character of its 
 inorganic constituents ; but it is chiefly identified by 
 the nature of the animal remains which are buried 
 in it. , 
 
 Of these strata, some are distinguished by contain- 
 ing the bones of large animals. Now, it is by attend- 
 ing to the forms and processes of such bones, that by 
 far the most interesting conclusions, in the whole range 
 of this new science, are drawn. A very short account 
 of the successive deposits, forming the different strata, 
 will serve to illustrate the importance to the geologist 
 of the anatomy of animals which possess the true bony 
 skeleton. The last grand revolutions have resulted in 
 forming a surface to the earth, in which strata of every 
 variety of condition have been exposed. And indeed, 
 we might say that such exposure, by laying open the 
 riches of the earth to our reach, as well as furnishing 
 mixed soils for vegetation, has been the end of these 
 convulsions. At all events, the variety of objects dis- 
 closed on the surface excites the interest of the enquirer. 
 We will, therefore, recapitulate briefly what has been 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. 
 
 117 
 
 discovered by the investigations of scientific and inge- 
 nious men in our time. 
 
 Without hazarding conjectures on the elevation or 
 production of the " primitive rocks," we have at present 
 only to notice the stratifications superimposed. Of 
 these, the most striking, and the most difficult to 
 reconcile to theory, are the strata of coal : but we pass 
 over them as containing no animal remains in which 
 the knowledge of the anatomy of the vertebrata can be 
 of use. Knowing that these beds of coal are vegetable 
 productions, we might expect to find the remains of 
 terrestrial animals within them : but it is conjectured 
 that the land, where the trees of that period grew, did 
 not form a suitable habitation for animals correspond- 
 ing to those of the present epoch. Above the beds of 
 coal, are the strata, regular and well ascertained, which 
 are chiefly interesting as indicating the presence of the 
 coal beneath. The next remarkable stratifications come 
 to be connected with our subject; because they contain 
 the remains of gigantic animals, with a regular skele- 
 ton, on the system of the vertebrata.* 
 
 Some of the great reptiles here alluded to, are esti- 
 mated to have been eighty feet in length, t But 
 
 * Since the above was written, remains of fishes, the lowest order of verte- 
 \ brata, have been found in the Silurian beds, below the coal : and both fishes 
 and reptiles, although but a few of the latter, in the coal itself. It remains 
 true that reptiles, the next above fishes, are most abundant in the secondary 
 strata, referred to in the text (s). 
 
 *}* The Megalosaurus, discovered by Professor Buckland in Oxfordshire, is 
 supposed to have been about seventy feet in length. The Iguanodon, an 
 herbivorous masticating reptile, first discovered by Mr. Mantell in the Wealden 
 beds, in Sussex, is computed to have been seventy or eighty feet in its entire 
 
118 GEOLOGY INDEBTED TO chap. m. 
 
 although their skeletons were formed on the plan, if we 
 may so express it, of quadrupeds, the extremities in 
 many were more like paddles than feet : and we con- 
 clude that they were capable of dragging their huge 
 bulk on the land, onty because their structure proves 
 them to have been oviparous, and to have breathed the 
 atmosphere. Some had a conformation of extremities 
 resembling that of recent oviparous quadrupeds, for 
 enabling them to walk or crawl on slimy ground ; and 
 judging by the habits of these, as of the crocodile, 
 gavial, alligator, and cayman, certain species of which 
 existed among them, it is probable that they lived in 
 still water, with muddy bottom, retreating under the 
 mud, and projecting their snouts between the aquatic 
 plants to breathe. And they must have been prolific 
 to an extraordinary degree, as they had not for enemies 
 the vulture and the ichneumon, which destroy mul- 
 titudes of the eggs of these creatures of the present 
 day. Others had the skin extended on their anterior 
 extremities,* if not to provide a power of flight, at least 
 to allow them to drop in safety from elevations to 
 which they might have crept. 
 
 The stratified rocks which contain remains of these 
 reptiles, are composed of lime, clay, or sandstone, and are 
 
 length, its tail being fifty feet, its height nine feet, its hind foot six feet and a 
 half,, and its body about the same thickness as the elephant's. The Hylseosaurus, 
 the last discovered of these huge animals in the same beds, and supposed by 
 Mr. Mantell to have been a reptile intermediate between the crocodiles and the 
 lizards, is estimated to have been about thirty feet in length. See page 113, 
 and also the Appendix. 
 
 * The Pterodactyles, see page 82. 
 
chap. in. COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. 119 
 
 known under the denominations of lias, oolite, Wealden 
 or Sussex beds, Stones-field slate, &c. They are 
 visible in the south of England, and extend to many 
 parts of Europe. There is every appearance of these 
 deposits having been submerged and deeply buried in 
 the ocean : from which thick beds of chalk have been 
 deposited over them. Above the chalk, again, is to be 
 found a series of stratified rocks, implying a new con- 
 dition. 
 
 The lowest layer of this " tertiary formation " situ- 
 ated above the chalk, is sometimes called the deposit 
 of the Palseotherian period. In this division, animals 
 of a distinct creation, the species of which cannot be 
 identified with those imbedded in the strata under the 
 chalk, are found. Then, for the first time, was there a 
 condition of the earth suited for terrestrial animals, 
 which retire under the shade of woods and give suck, 
 the mammalia. Yet it is remarkable, that the animals 
 of the class mammalia in this lowest stratification of 
 the tertiary formation, only approached in resemblanc e 
 to those which are now alive : we find the remains of 
 such only as are now extinct. 
 
 When the layers forming the tertiary beds are 
 examined in succession upwards, they are still dis- 
 tinguishable by their organic products : and as we 
 approach the most recent beds, there are fewer remains 
 of extinct quadrupeds, and more numerous specimens 
 of such as now inhabit the earth. We find, in the 
 different strata, the bones of the mammoth, the 
 
120 
 
 GEOLOGY INDEBTED TO 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 megatherium, the elephant, the tapir, the rhinoceros, 
 the hippopotamus, the stag, the ox, the horse, and with 
 them the skeletons of their natural enemies of the 
 feline tribe, and the bear and the hyaena, the bones of 
 some of which prove them to have been of greater 
 strength and size than those now alive.* 
 
 Over the earth's surface, there are evidences that 
 deluges have swept, with inconceivable power, brushing 
 off the superficial strata, rolling immense rocks, and 
 depositing the debris, so as to fill chasms, form new 
 accumulations, and with successive elevations and sub- 
 sidences, to change the whole character of the earth's 
 surface. It was then that the globe assumed its present 
 confines of land and sea, and that the valleys and the 
 courses of rivers were determined. Out of these con- 
 vulsions and revolutions has come that condition of the 
 world which we now enjoy; and, as I shall have occa- 
 sion to repeat, no previous state of the earth would 
 have been suitable to our constitution.! 
 
 * See Sir C. Lyell's works, for his Classification of the Tertiary Forma- 
 tions. 
 
 *{* When doctrines or principles are laid down dogmatically, there is an end 
 of reasoning ; " they are as fetters on the feet, and like manacles on the right 
 hand." In this way, the most famous schools have sunk; for if it become a 
 crime to doubt or investigate, the mind decays. When God informed us of 
 our duties to Himself and to each other, the exercise of our affections was 
 enjoined and left free. To have taught mankind the nature of physical things, 
 would have made it the duty of the pious to seek no further knowledge, and 
 researches into them would have implied presumption. But by the constitution 
 of the mind, we learn that had we been left in a state of passive obedience, 
 without object or impulse, the loss of the affections as well as of reason would 
 have followed ; our sense of goodness and benevolence would have become 
 obtuse, and the charities of life and the love and duty we owe to God must 
 have decayed in us. 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. 
 
 121 
 
 My admiration of the labours of our geologists par- 
 takes of a feeling of gratitude. But yet there is some- 
 thing in the subject which leads the devoted student 
 to be over ambitious, and to frame theories almost too 
 comprehensive. It is not enough to say that, after all, 
 the changes on the earth's surface are not greater, in 
 comparison with the size of the earth, than the cracks 
 in the varnish are to the globe that stands on the 
 table. It has been part of our object to show, that the 
 features of our earth, and the phenomena around us, 
 are suited, and intended, to excite the faculties and 
 imagination. Accordingly, when the geologist, extend- 
 ing his survey from the mountains, over extensive 
 plains, and into ravines and valleys, persuades himself 
 that he can explain when and how they have been 
 formed, he is tempted to indulge in an enthusiasm, 
 which can only be permitted to the poet. 
 
 Wonderful improvements have, indeed, been made 
 in this science by our countrymen, who have associated 
 
 Why then do geologists quote scripture, and form their opinions of the 
 structure of the earth on the Mosaic account of the creation ? It does not 
 require deep theological knowledge to comprehend what was intended by that 
 sublime announcement. It was addressed to a people ever prone to fall into 
 the idolatries of surrounding nations. In teaching the Creation of the world, 
 it affirmed the existence of One God pre-existing and eternal. It denied the 
 existence of gods and demons sprung from the earth : it denied that the deluge 
 was one of a necessary succession of events: or that the earth was subject to 
 be successively destroyed or restored : or that those who flourished to the 
 advantage of mankind in one period, should be restored to a similar existence 
 in another. It taught the just relations of the heavenly bodies to the earth, 
 and that they were not the abodes of deified mortals — for these were opinions 
 maintained by the surrounding nations. Surely, then, men are inconsistent, 
 when they expect to find in the scriptures, which teach the unalterable religious 
 and moral duties, the principles of an uncertain science. 
 
122 
 
 GEOLOGY INDEBTED TO 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 themselves for that purpose. Buckland, Conybeare, 
 and Mantell, are especially distinguished for the 
 discovery of those large Saurian reptiles ; whilst other 
 geologists have exerted their genius and industry with 
 equal effect in different departments. But it is in 
 contemplating the labours of Cuvier, that we have the 
 earliest and best proofs of the importance of compa- 
 rative anatomy, in giving extraordinary interest to 
 geology. In him was combined an attention to minute 
 objects, with a power of generalising, highly charac- 
 teristic of genius. Years had been passed in accumu- 
 lating fossil specimens from the tertiary beds round 
 Paris ; and out of these heaps of animal remains, 
 which lay confused as if the fragments of bone had 
 been washed to his feet by a torrent, he was enabled, 
 by following the principle, which the early part of this 
 chapter has shown to prevail — the co -relation of the 
 parts of the skeleton — to put together the separate 
 members, to build up the bodies of extinct animals 
 anew, and to present them to us with a precision, 
 which we could only have expected from the dissection 
 of the recent animals. 
 
 The phenomena visible in the heavens, on the earth, 
 and within it, are of a nature, taken by themselves, to 
 overwhelm the enquirer's mind. To learn his own 
 value, man must consider himself, his physical endow- 
 ments and capacities, and compare them with the 
 elements around. Without a true conception of his 
 position and relations, the whole range of natural 
 
chap. in. COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. 123 
 
 science is barren of consolation — the periods of the 
 revolution are too vast— the objects too distant to 
 seem to have as their prospective design, the condition 
 of the human race. 
 
 " God made the country ;" and it is perhaps in sur- 
 veying plains, and meads and mountains, remote from 
 man, that the mind is most elevated to pure and high 
 contemplations. But cities, temples, and the memo- 
 rials of past ages, bridges, aqueducts, statues, pictures, 
 and all the elegancies and comforts of the town, are 
 equally the work of God, through the propensities of 
 His creatures, and we must presume, for the fulfilment 
 of His design. The condition of the earth has, by 
 successive revolutions, been made to conform to these 
 works of man, and afford the means for them. The 
 metallic veins of the primitive rocks have been 
 exposed ; the carboniferous strata, the lime and free- 
 stone, have been disjointed and elevated ; the riches 
 of the interior of the earth as well as of its prolific 
 surface, the circulation of water and the formation of 
 springs — all give proof that it was designed that the 
 earth should be subdued to man's use ; that he should 
 not live a selfish, solitary, nomad life, but in society ; 
 where his higher faculties should be called into activity 
 and his social virtues exercised. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 OF THE MUSCLES OF THE ARM AND HAND— THEIR VITAL ACTION 
 —THEIR MECHANICAL ADAPTATION TO THE MOTIONS OF THE 
 HAND AND FINGERS— FORM OF THE HUMAN HAND. 
 
 The Muscle of the body is that fleshy part, with which 
 every one is familiar. It consists of fibres which lie 
 parallel to each other. This fibrous structure has a 
 living endowment, a power of contraction and relax- 
 ation, termed irritability. A single muscle is formed 
 of some millions of these fibres combined together, 
 having the same point of attachment or origin, and 
 concentrating in a rope or tendon, which is fixed to 
 a moveable part, called its insertion. Upwards of fifty 
 muscles of the arm and hand may be demonstrated, 
 which must all consent to the simplest action. Yet 
 that gives but an imperfect view of the extent of the 
 relation of parts, necessaiy to every act of volition. 
 We are the most sensible of this combination in the 
 muscles, when inflammation has seized any great joint 
 of the body ; for then, even in bed, every motion of 
 an extremity, gives pain, owing to a corresponding 
 simultaneous movement in the trunk. When we 
 
chap. iv. OF THE MUSCLES OF THE ARM AND HAND. 125 
 
 stand, we cannot raise or extend the arm, without a 
 new poising of the body, through the action of a 
 hundred muscles. 
 
 ON THE ACTION OF THE MUSCLES OF THE ARM. 
 
 We shall consider this subject under two heads ; 
 first, we shall give examples of the living property of 
 muscles ; then, of the mechanical contrivances, in their 
 form and application. 
 
 First, — in all that regards the living endowment of 
 the muscles, we see the most bountiful supply of power 
 commensurate to the object, but never anything in the 
 least degree superabundant. If the limb is to be 
 moved by bringing a muscle, or a set of muscles into 
 action, the power is not bestowed in that excess which 
 would enable them to overcome their opponents ; but 
 the property of action is for the time withdrawn from 
 the opponents ; they become relaxed, and the muscles, 
 which are in a state of contraction, perform their office 
 with comparative case. A stationary condition of the 
 limb results from a balanced but regulated action of all 
 the muscles ; which condition may be called their tone. 
 If, in an experiment, a weight be attached to the ten- 
 don of an extensor muscle, it will draw out that muscle 
 to a certain degree, until its tone or permanent state 
 resists the weight : but if the flexor muscle be now ex- 
 cited, this being the natural antagonist of the extensor, 
 the weight will fall, by the relaxation of the extensor. 
 
126 
 
 OF THE MUSCLES OF 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 So that the motion of a limb implies a change in both 
 classes of muscles, the one set contracting, the other 
 relaxing ; and the will influences both classes. Were 
 it not so regulated, instead of the natural, easy, and 
 elegant motions of the frame, the attempt at action 
 would exhibit the body convulsed, or, as the physicians 
 term it, in clonic spasms. The similitude of the two 
 sawyers, adopted by Paley, gives but an imperfect idea 
 of the adjustment of the two classes of muscles. When 
 two men are sawing a log of wood, they pull alter- 
 nately; when the one is pulling, the other resigns all 
 exertion. But this is not the condition of the muscles 
 — the relaxing muscle does not give up all effort, so as 
 to be like a loose rope, but it is controlled in its yield- 
 ing, with as fine a sense of adjustment, as is the action 
 of the contracting muscle. Nothing appears more 
 simple than raising the arm, or pointing with the 
 finger ; yet in that single motion, not only are innume- 
 rable muscles put into activity, and as many thrown 
 out of action, but both the relaxing and the contracting 
 muscles are controlled or adjusted with the utmost 
 precision, though in opposite states, and under one act 
 of volition. 
 
 By such considerations, we are prepared to admire 
 the faculty which shall combine a hundred muscles so 
 as to produce a change of posture or action of the 
 body. We now perceive that the power taken from 
 one class of muscles, may be considered as bestowed 
 on the other ; so that the property of life, which we call 
 
chap. iv. THE ARM AND HAND. 127 
 
 the irritability, or action of a muscle, is upon the whole, 
 less exhausted than would be the case on any other 
 supposition. 
 
 As to the second head ; — our demonstration is of an 
 easier kind. We have said that nature bestows abun- 
 dantly, but not superfluously; a truth evinced in the 
 arrangement of the muscles. In all the muscles of the 
 limbs, the fibres run in an oblique direction, — thus a 
 being the tendinous origin of a muscle, and b the tendi- 
 nous insertion, the fleshy fibres c run obliquely between 
 
 these two tendons. The fibre acting thus obliquely 
 loses power, but gains the property of pulling what is 
 attached to its further extremity through a greater 
 space, while it contracts ; and consequently the velo- 
 city is increased. This mechanical arrangement is 
 intelligible on the law, that velocity of motion through 
 space, is equal to power and weight. Here, there is a 
 resignation of power in the muscle to gain velocity of 
 motion. The same effect is produced by the manner 
 in which the tendons run over the joints. If they went 
 in a straight line to the toes or tips of the fingers, the 
 muscles would act more powerfully ; but the tendons 
 being braced down in sheaths, they move the toes and 
 fingers with a velocity increased in proportion to their 
 loss of power. 
 
128 
 
 OF THE MUSCLES OF 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Let us see how far this corresponds with other 
 mechanical contrivances. A certain power of wind, 
 water, or steam being obtained, the machinery is put 
 in motion; but it is desired to give a blow, with a 
 velocity far greater than the motion of the water or the 
 turning of the wheels. For that purpose a fly-wheel is 
 put on, the spokes of which may be considered as 
 long levers. The wheel moves very slowly at first ; 
 but being once in motion, each impulse accelerates it 
 with more and more facility; at length, it acquires a 
 rapidity, and a centrifugal force, which nothing but the 
 explosion of gunpowder can equal in its effects. The 
 engineer, not having calculated the power of accele- 
 rated motion in a heavy wheel, has seen his machinery 
 split and burst up, and the walls of the house blown 
 out, as by the bursting of a bomb-shell. Or, a body at 
 rest receives an impulse from another, which puts it 
 into motion — it receives a second blow; now this 
 second blow has much greater effect than the first — for 
 the power of the first was exhausted in changing the 
 body from a state of rest to that of motion — but being 
 in motion when it receives the second blow, the whole 
 power is bestowed on the acceleration of its motion; 
 and so on, by the third and fourth blows, until the 
 body moves with a velocity, equal to that of the body 
 from which the impulse is originally given. The slight 
 blow given to a boy's hoop is sufficient to keep it run- 
 ning ; and just so the fly-wheel of a machine is kept in 
 rapid action by a succession of impulses, each of which 
 
CHAP. IV. 
 
 THE ARM AND HAND. 
 
 129 
 
 would hardly put it in motion. If we attempt to stop 
 the wheel, it will inflict a blow in which a hundred 
 lesser impulses are combined and multiplied. 
 
 In the machinery of the animal body, there is, in a 
 lesser degree, the same interchange of weight with 
 velocity, and force. When a man strikes with a hammer, 
 
 the muscle (c) near the shoulder,"* acts upon the hu- 
 merus, b., in raising the extended lever of the arm, and 
 hammer, with every possible disadvantage, seeing that 
 it is inserted near the centre of motion in the shoulder 
 joint ; and the same remark applies to the muscle, d. 
 But the loss of power is restored in another form. 
 What the muscle d. loses by the mode of its in- 
 sertion, is made up in the velocity communicated to 
 the hammer; for in descending through a large space, 
 it accumulates velocity, and velocity and weight are 
 
 * a. the scapula, or shoulder-blade ; b. the humerus, or arm-bone ; c. the 
 deltoid muscle of the shoulder, arising from the shoulder-blade and clavicle, 
 and inserted into the arm-bone ; D. a muscle which draws the arm down, as in 
 striking with a sword or hammer. 
 
 K 
 
130 
 
 OF THE MUSCLES OF 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 equal to force. The advantage of the rapid descent of 
 a heavy body is, that a smart blow is given, and an effect 
 produced which the combined power of all the muscles, 
 without this mechanical distribution of force, could not 
 accomplish. It is, in truth, similar to the operation of 
 the fly-wheel, by which the gradual motion of an engine 
 is accumulated in a point of time, and a blow struck 
 capable of stamping a piece of gold or silver. In 
 what respect does the mechanism of the arm differ 
 from the engine with which the printer throws off 
 his sheet ? Here is a lever with a heavy ball at the 
 end ; in proportion to its weight it is difficult to be put 
 in motion; the printer, therefore, takes hold of the 
 lever near the ball, at a. ; were he to continue pulling 
 
 at that part of the lever, he would give to the ball no 
 more velocity than that of his hand ; but having put the 
 ball into motion, he slips his hand down the lever to b. 
 Had he applied his hand near b. at first, he could not 
 have moved the weight; but the ball being now in 
 motion, if he direct the whole strength of his arm to the 
 lever near the centre of motion, the velocity of the 
 
CHAP. IV. 
 
 THE ARM AND HAND. 
 
 131 
 
 weight at the further end will be greatly accelerated. 
 Thus the weight and velocity being combined, the 
 impulse given to the screw is much more powerful than 
 if he had continued to pull upon the further end of the 
 lever at a. 
 
 If we now turn back to the diagram (page 129), we 
 shall understand how much is gained by the muscle, c, 
 being inserted near the centre of motion, although, 
 in one sense, at a mechanical disadvantage. First, 
 that mode of insertion is in correspondence with the 
 principle already adverted to, that the living endow- 
 ment of muscle is never spared, but is bestowed 
 liberally in proportion to the necessities of the part. 
 But it will also be perceived, that the arm being put 
 in motion by the force operating near the centre of 
 motion, the velocity will be rapidly increased by each 
 successive impulse from the muscle ; and, of course, 
 the motion at the further extremity will be more rapid 
 than at the insertion of the muscle. Again, in the 
 action of pulling down the arm, as in giving a back 
 stroke with the sword, we perceive that when the 
 hammer descends, the rapidity is increased by the mere 
 effect of gravity ; but when the action of the muscle is 
 conjoined, the two forces, progressively increasing, 
 greatly augment the velocity of the descent. 
 
 The same interchange of power for velocity, which 
 takes place in the arm, adapts a man's hand and fingers 
 to a thousand arts, requiring quick or lively motions. 
 The fin gers of a lady playing on the pianoforte, or of 
 
 K 2 
 
132 OF THE MUSCLES OF chap, i v. 
 
 the compositor with his types, are instances of the 
 advantage gained by this sacrifice of force for velocity 
 of movement. The spring of the foot and toe is bestowecl 
 in the same manner, and gives elasticity and rapidity 
 in running, dancing, and leaping. 
 
 The motions of the fingers do not result merely 
 from the action of the large muscles which lie on the 
 fore-arm : these are for the more powerful efforts ; in 
 the palm of the hand, and between the metacarpal 
 bones, are numerous small muscles, (lumbricales and 
 i7iterossei) which perform the finer movements, — 
 expanding the fingers, and moving them in every 
 direction with quickness and delicacy. These small 
 muscles, attached to the extremities of the bones of 
 the fingers where they form the first joint, being 
 inserted near the centre of motion, move the ends of 
 the fingers with great velocity. They are the organs 
 which give the hand the power of spinning, weaving, 
 engraving, &c. ; and as they produce the quick motions 
 of the musician's fingers, they are called by anatomists 
 jidicinales. 
 
 But there is another use which the small muscles in 
 the hand serve. In grasping with the hand, the 
 strength with which it closes, when all the muscles are 
 combined in action, must be very great ; the amount of 
 power is exhibited when we see a sailor hanging by a 
 rope, and raising his whole body with one arm. What 
 must be the pressure upon the hand ? If the palms, 
 and inside of the fingers, and their tips, were not 
 
chap. iv. THE ARM AND HAND. 133 
 
 guarded by cushions beneath the skin, it would be too 
 much for the texture even of bones and tendons, 
 and certainly, for the blood vessels and nerves, to 
 sustain. The elastic pad in the foot of the horse, 
 camel, or ostrich, is not a whit more appropriate, than 
 the fine elastic texture beneath the skin of the hand. To 
 add to the efficacy of this yielding but strong padding, 
 a muscle is provided, which, arising in the centre, runs 
 across half the palm to the cushion, on the inner edge, 
 opposed to the ball of the thumb : it acts powerfully as 
 we grasp ; and it is this muscle which, by raising the 
 edge of the palm, hollows it, and adapts it to lave water, 
 forming the cup of Diogenes. 
 
 Whilst the cushions on the ends of the fingers pro- 
 tect them in the powerful actions of the hand, we shall 
 presently see that they are useful also in subservience 
 to the organ of touch ; that they provide a power of 
 receiving impressions, without which the utmost deli- 
 cacy of the nerves would be unavailing. 
 
 The projection of the heel in the human foot, and the 
 prominence of the knee pan, are provisions for increas- 
 ing, by mechanical adjustment, the power of the 
 muscles. By such means the point of insertion of the 
 muscle is removed to a distance from the centre of 
 motion in the joint, and the lever power thus obtained 
 is added to the force of the muscle. The principle is 
 maintained, and the demonstration more easy, in the 
 joints of some animals, as in the hock of the horse ; and 
 we have a beautiful instance of it in the foot of the 
 
134 
 
 MECHANICAL PROPERTIES 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 ostrich. Where the flexor tendons pass behind the 
 several joints of the foot, the heads of the bones are 
 enlarged ; which throws the tendons off from the centre 
 of motion. But there is an additional provision still. 
 A loose pendulous body, A, hangs between the tendons 
 
 and bone, at each of these joints ; and it plays upon the 
 bones in such a manner, that at the utmost degree of 
 extension of the foot, when the bird requires to use all 
 its power of muscular exertion to bend it again, this 
 body is introduced to throw the tendons further back- 
 
ciiAr. iv. 
 
 OF THE MUSCLES. 
 
 135 
 
 wards, and to add remarkably to the lever power. This 
 body, a, is shaped like a wedge, with grooved surfaces 
 to correspond with the bone before, and the tendon 
 behind : and it is suspended by an appropriate muscle, 
 which raises it like a bolt, after it has served the office 
 of throwing off the tendons from the centre of motion. 
 In addition, the sketch shows, that where these tendons 
 pass behind the joints, they are thickened and hardened 
 into cartilages, so that the bolt operates more effectually 
 in directing them backwards, and producing the pro- 
 jection, equivalent to that of the heel or the hock. # 
 These are the means by which " she lifteth up herself 
 on high, and scorneth the horse and his rider." 
 
 After the many illustrations which we have adduced 
 from mechanics, the muscular power itself must be a 
 subject of surprise and admiration. Gravity, the 
 expansion and condensation of steam, the evolution of 
 gases, the spring or elasticity of material, or all these 
 combined, could not have answered the varied offices 
 performed by this one property of life, — muscular con- 
 tractility. The irritable and contractile fibre, of which 
 muscle is composed, when chemically considered, does 
 not differ from the fibrine of the blood ; but from being 
 endowed with this property of contraction, and adapted 
 with " mechanical ingenuity," it fulfils a thousand dis- 
 tinct purposes, in volition, breathing, speaking, diges- 
 tion, circulation; and it is modified in all these 
 
 * I am indebted to Mr. Shaw, for these interesting demonstrations of the 
 ostrich's foot. 
 
136 MECHANICAL PROPERTIES chap.iv. 
 
 functions according to the wants and condition of every 
 class of animals. 
 
 From what the reader already understands of the 
 
CHAP. IV. 
 
 OF THE MUSCLES" 
 
 137 
 
 conformity subsisting among all parts of an animal body, 
 he will readily comprehend that a perfect relation must 
 be established between the bones and the muscles : 
 that as the bones of different animals exhibit a variety 
 in their size, relative position, and articulations, so 
 must there be an adaptation of the muscles. Accord- 
 ingly, we sometimes find the muscles separated into 
 smaller, and sometimes consolidated into more power- 
 ful masses. To the anatomical student, the mode of 
 demonstrating the muscles of the human hand and 
 arm, becomes the test of his master's perfection as a 
 teacher. When they are taken successively, just as 
 they present themselves in the arm, nothing can be 
 more uninteresting, tedious, and difficult to attend to, 
 than such a demonstration ; but when they are taught 
 with lucid arrangement, according to the motions per- 
 formed by the distinct groups of muscles, it is positively 
 agreeable to find how much interest may be communi- 
 cated to the subject. 
 
 It would be foreign to the object of this work to 
 introduce such demonstrations here. Yet it is remark- 
 able that the muscles of the arm and hand should so 
 closely resemble the muscles of the fore extremity of 
 certain animals — of the lion, for example. I have 
 added a sketch of the muscles of the lion's fore leg and 
 paw ; and we see how great a resemblance they bear to 
 those of the fore-arm of man. The flexors, extensors, 
 pronators, and supinators, in the brute, are exactly in 
 the same relative place which the student of anatomy 
 
138 CIRCULATION OF THE BLOOD chap. it. 
 
 is taught to observe with so much interest in the 
 human arm. This example is sufficient to show how 
 accurately the arrangement of the muscles conforms to 
 the structure of the bones ; and that in proportion as 
 the bones of the extremity of any animal resemble, in 
 shape and power of motion, those of the human arm, 
 so will the muscles — another proof of the extent of the 
 system of analogies established in the animal frame. 
 
 There is one circumstance more which should not be 
 omitted in the comparative anatomy of these muscles, 
 as it exhibits another instance of conformity in the 
 structure of parts, to the offices they have to perform. 
 We have just stated that the power of contraction is a 
 vital property. The continued action of a muscle, 
 therefore, exhausts its vitality. Now, to support that 
 action, when inordinate, there must be a more than 
 usual provision for the supply of the living power to 
 the muscle : — there must be a means of increasing ot 
 maintaining the circulation of the blood within it, that 
 being the source of all vital power. 
 
 In the loris tardigradus* it has been observed that 
 the axillary and femoral arteries, the great arteries of 
 the anterior and posterior extremities, present this pe- 
 culiarity — the main vessel is subdivided into a number 
 of equal-sized and tortuous cylinders, which, previous to 
 the distribution of the proper branches to the muscles, 
 again unite to form a single trunk. + As this sub- 
 
 * See p. 32. 
 
 f There is some doubt as to the reunion of the vessels. 
 
CHAP. IV. 
 
 THROUGH THE MUSCLES. 
 
 139 
 
 division of the trunk of the vessel produces a retarda- 
 tion of the blood, it has been argued that it is adapted 
 to the slow motion of the animal. On the contrary, I 
 believe it to be a provision for long-continued action. 
 The animals which possess this peculiarity in their 
 circulation, are not more remarkable for the slowness 
 of their progression, than for the tenacity of their hold : 
 their extremities are long, and their muscles powerful, 
 either for sustaining the animal by grasping the branches 
 of trees, or for digging. But surely the strength of the 
 muscles cannot be maintained by retarding the circula- 
 tion of the blood : it is a principle universally admitted, 
 that the expenditure of arterial blood always bears a 
 proportion to the vital force employed. 
 
 Buffon tried to make a dog amphibious, by immers* 
 ing the puppy, before it had breathed, in tepid water. 
 One of our own physiologists thought it possible, by 
 putting ligatures upon the arteries which go to 
 the limbs, and forcing the blood to take a circuitous 
 'course and by numerous channels, to the muscles, to 
 make a tardigrade animal, like the loris, out of a 
 vivacious spaniel. We need hardly say that these ex- 
 periments failed. They were undertaken in a mis- 
 conception of the nature of the living properties of 
 muscles ; which are more finely adjusted than any thing 
 in the mere mechanism of the body. Every muscle 
 has its prescribed mode of action, from the unwearied 
 irritability causing the incessant motion of the heart, 
 to the simple effort of the muscle which guides the pen. 
 
140 CIRCULATION OF THE BLOOD chap.iv. 
 
 Some muscles are ever in action, with but short inter- 
 vals of rest ; others act in regular succession : some 
 are under the will, others withdrawn from it ; some act 
 quickly, as the heart, others slowly, as the stomach ; 
 but these are original endowments, and do not result 
 from the force or languor of the circulation of the part. 
 
 To return to the subdivided and tortuous artery — 
 were the blood-vessels of the living body like rigid 
 tubes, and the laws of the circulation the same as those 
 of hydraulics, such a form of the artery would cer- 
 tainly be the means of retarding the course of the blood. 
 But it is impossible to believe that the circulation of the 
 blood can be performed according to the same laws 
 which govern the flow of water in dead tubes. The 
 artery is dilatable ; it contracts with a vital force ; and 
 both the dilatability and the contractility of arteries 
 are subject to the influence of the living principle. 
 When, therefore, the artery of a limb is divided into 
 four or five vessels, which are tortuous, as in the sloth, 
 the result will be a greater capacity of dilatation, and 
 a greater power of contraction ; and these, being vital 
 operations, will be subject to be influenced and adjusted 
 according to the necessity for the increase or diminu- 
 tion of the circulation. If such a peculiarity in the 
 form of the vessels in the extremities of these animals 
 retard the blood, it can only be during repose ; for, on 
 excitement, so far from retarding, it must bestow a 
 remarkable power of acceleration. I conclude, there- 
 fore, that this variety of distribution in the arteries, is 
 
CHAP. rv. THROUGH THE MUSCLES. 141 
 
 a provision for an occasional increase of activity in the 
 muscles of the limb, and for forcing the blood into 
 contact with the fibres, notwithstanding their long con- 
 tinued action and rigidity. We have seen, in the pre- 
 ceding chapter, that the same animal which at one time 
 moves out its paw as slowly as the hand of a watch, at 
 another, when seizing its prey, acts with extreme 
 rapidity : consequently, we cannot admit the inference 
 that the tortuous and subdivided artery is a provision 
 for languid movements. 
 
 OF THE RIGHT AND LEFT HAND. 
 
 In speaking of the arteries which go to the hand, it 
 may be expected that we should touch on a subject, 
 formerly a good deal discussed, whether the properties 
 of the right hand, compared with the left, depend on 
 the course of the arteries : for it has been affirmed that 
 the superiority of the right arm is owing to the trunk 
 of the artery which supplies it, passing off from the 
 heart more directly, so as to admit of the blood being 
 propelled more forcibly into the small vessels of that 
 arm, thkn the left. This, however, is assigning a cause 
 altogether unequal to the effect, and presenting too 
 confined a view of the subject: it partakes of the com- 
 mon error of seeking in the mechanism, the explanation 
 of phenomena which have a deeper origin. 
 
 Among all nations, there is an universal consent to 
 give the preference to the right hand over the left. It 
 
142 SUPERIORITY OF THE chap.iv. 
 
 cannot, therefore, be a conventional agreement : it must 
 have a natural source. For the conveniences of life, 
 and to make us prompt and dexterous, it is pretty 
 evident that there ought to be no hesitation which hand 
 should be used, or which foot should be put forward ; 
 nor is there, in fact, any such indecision. Is this 
 readiness taught, or is it given to us by nature ? 
 
 Sir Thomas Browne says, that if the right side were 
 originally the most powerful in man, we might expect 
 to find it the same in other animals. He affirms that 
 squirrels, monkeys, and parrots feed themselves with 
 the left leg rather than with the right. But the parrot 
 may be said to use the strongest foot where most 
 strength is required ; that is in grasping the perch and 
 standing, not in feeding itself. 
 
 That the preference for the right hand is not the 
 result of education, we may learn from those who by 
 constitution have a superiority in the left. They find 
 a difficulty in accommodating themselves to the modes 
 of society: and although not only the precepts of 
 parents, but every thing they see and handle, conduce 
 to make them choose the right hand, yet, will they 
 rather use the left. 
 
 It must be observed, at the same time, that there is 
 a distinction in the whole right side of the body, as 
 well as in the arm : and that the left side is not only 
 the weaker, in regard to muscular strength, but in its 
 vital or constitutional properties. The development of 
 the organs of motion is greatest upon the right side ; 
 
chap. iv. lilGHT HAND OVER THE LEFT. 143 
 
 as may at any time be ascertained by measurement, or 
 the testimony of the tailor or shoemaker. Certainly, 
 the superiority may be said to result from the more 
 frequent exertion of this side ; but the peculiarity 
 extends to the constitution also ; and disease attacks 
 the left extremities more frequently than the right. 
 We see that opera dancers execute their more difficult 
 feats on the right foot : but their preparatory exercises 
 better evince the natural weakness of the left limb ; 
 in order to avoid awkwardness in the public exhibitions, 
 they are -obliged to give double practice to the left leg ; 
 and if they neglect to do so, an ungraceful preference 
 to the right side will be remarked. In walking behind 
 a person, we seldom see an equalised motion of the 
 body ; the tread is not so firm upon the left foot, the 
 toe is not so much turned out, and a greater push is 
 made with the right. From the peculiar form of 
 woman, and from the elasticity of her step, resulting 
 from the motion of the ankle rather than of the 
 haunches, the defect of the left foot, when it exists is 
 more apparent in her gait. No boy hops upon his left 
 foot, unless he be left handed. The horseman puts 
 the left foot in the stirrup and springs from the right. 
 We think, therefore, we may conclude, that the adapt- 
 ation of the form of every thing in the conveniences of 
 life, to the right hand, as for example, the direction of 
 the worm of the screw, or of the cutting end of the 
 auger, or the shape of other tools or instruments, is not 
 arbitrary, but has relation to a natural endowment of 
 
144 
 
 SUPERIORITY OF THE RIGHT HAND. 
 
 the body. He who is left handed is most sensible to 
 the advantages of this arrangement, whether in opening 
 the parlour door, or a pen-knife. On the whole, the 
 preference of the right hand is not the effect of habit, 
 but is a natural provision, and is bestowed for a very 
 obvious purpose : and the property does not depend on 
 the peculiar distribution of the arteries of the arm — 
 the preference is given to the right foot, as well as to 
 the right hand.* 
 
 * There is a pleasant and ingenious epistle by Dr. Franklin, in which the 
 left hand is personated, and made to contend for equal rights. She complains 
 of being suffered to grow up without instruction — that she has had no master 
 to teach her writing, drawing, and suitable accomplishments : that, on the con- 
 trary, she is left totally without exercise, but for the sympathy of her sister. To 
 the countrymen of Dr. Franklin, the lesson of the subordination of the organs of 
 the animal frame, is not altogether unsuited. 
 
CHAPTEE V. 
 
 THE SUBSTITUTION OF OTHER ORGANS FOR THE HAND. 
 
 After having examined how one instrument, the hand, 
 is modified and adapted to a variety of uses in different 
 animals, it only remains, for elucidating the subject 
 further, to contrast the hand with its imperfect sub- 
 stitutes in other creatures. From the insect tribe, I 
 might have derived some of the most curious examples 
 of instruments suited for purposes similar to those of 
 the hand and fingers of man ; but I have intentionally 
 confined the inquiry to the higher classes of animals. 
 
 The habits of certain fishes require that they should 
 cling firmly to the rocks, or to whatever is presented to 
 them as a means of support. Their locomotive powers 
 are perfect ; but how do they become stationary in the 
 tide or stream ? For example, I have often thought it 
 wonderful that the salmon or trout should keep its 
 place, night and day, in the rapid current. 
 
 [The poising and motion of fishes in the water has 
 interested some of our greatest philosophers, as Galileo 
 and Borelli. It is estimated that fishes make their 
 way through a medium which resists nine hundred 
 
146 
 
 SUBSTITUTES FOR THE HAND. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 times more than the atmosphere : but then, as it offers 
 a certain resistance to their progress, it resists also the 
 motion of their tail and fins by which they have their 
 power of progression. The breadth of the tail of fishes, 
 compared with that of their fins, and its muscularity 
 and power, declare what is affirmed to us upon autho- 
 rity — that the tail is the great instrument of their pro- 
 gression; and we can see that when the trout darts 
 away, the force of his motion lays down the fins close 
 upon his body. But the fins direct him, as out-riggers, 
 and the pectoral fins especially, by raising or depress- 
 ing the head, give direction to the whole body under 
 the force of the tail. The lateral fins, and particularly 
 the pectoral fins, also sustain him in the right position 
 in the water : without the co-operation of these with 
 the tail, the fish would move like a boat sculled by one 
 oar at the stern. As the digestion of fishes, as well as 
 that of other animals, is attended with the extrication 
 of air, and as the intestines are below the centre, the 
 belly would be turned up but for the action of these 
 lateral fins ; as we see takes place in a dead fish. The 
 tail and fins are the instruments of motion; but the 
 incessant action of the muscles which move these is a 
 just matter of admiration. If a fish move with his head 
 down the stream, he must move more rapidly than the 
 water, or the water gets under the operculum of the 
 gills, and chokes him. He lies, therefore, continually 
 with his head to the stream. We may see a trout lying 
 for hours stationary, whilst the stream is running past 
 
chap.v. SUBSTITUTES FOR THE HAND. 147 
 
 him ; and they seem to remain so for days and nights. 
 In salmon-fishing, the fly is played upon the broken 
 water, in the midst of the torrent ; and there the fish 
 shows himself rising from a part of the river where men 
 could not preserve their footing, though assisted by 
 poles, or by locking their arms together. When the 
 salmon leaps, he makes extraordinary exertions. Just 
 under the cataract, and against the stream, he will rush 
 for some yards, and rise out of the spray six or eight 
 feet ; and amidst the noise of the water, they may be 
 heard striking against the rock with a sound like the 
 clapping of the hands. If they find a temporary lodg- 
 ment on the shelving rock, they lie quivering and pre- 
 paring for another somerset, until they reach the top 
 of the cataract. This exhibits not only the power of 
 their muscles, assisted by the elasticity of their bones, 
 but the force of instinct by which the} r are led to seek 
 the shallow streams for depositing their eggs. The 
 porpoise will swim round and round a ship which is 
 sailing at fourteen miles an hour : a tiling almost as 
 surprising as the fly circling round the horse's ear for 
 a whole stage. To all this may be added, that the 
 solid which mathematicians have discovered, by refined 
 application of the calculus, and have termed " the solid 
 of least resistance," because it is the conformation 
 which is less than any other affected by the resistance 
 of any medium, resembles a fish in its form* The sea 
 
 * According to Lacepede, the speed of a salmon is about twenty-six feet in 
 a second. 
 
 L 2 
 
148 
 
 SUBSTITUTES FOR THE HAND. 
 
 varies in temperature and pressure at different depths, 
 and no doubt the texture of the fish, and especially 
 of its integument, must conform to this variety. The 
 swimming-bladder is the means of adjustment by 
 which the fish lives at its native depths without waste 
 of animal exertion : such is the power of expansion of 
 the air-bladder when relieved from the pressure, that, 
 when a fish is brought up from the greatest depth, it 
 inverts and thrusts out the viscera from the mouth. 
 We do not see, however, that naturalists have adverted 
 to the place of this swimming-bladder. It lies close to 
 the spine, and appears to counterbalance, in some mea- 
 sure at least, the air in the intestines by being thus 
 placed above them. In the Cetacea, as the whale, 
 their buoyancy proceeds from the quantity of oil under 
 the skin, especially of their head, and which it has been 
 observed is bestowed in order to insure their readily 
 coming to the surface to breathe when their natural 
 powers are weakened. For the same reason, that they 
 may raise their heads to the surface, their tails are 
 horizontal. In the jelly-fish, those soft animals which 
 float in sheltered estuaries (the physsophora), there 
 is an air-vessel which they can fill and empty, by 
 which means they rise or sink at pleasure. Others (the 
 villela) raise a sail. Some of this class propel them- 
 selves by taking in water, and suddenly rejecting it.]* 
 
 * Author's note, in edition of " Paley's Natural Theology, with illustrative 
 notes by Lord Brougham and Sir Charles Bell." The additions to the text 
 which follow, included within brackets, are from the same work. 
 
chap.v. SUBSTITUTES FOR THE HAND. 149 
 
 In the sea, some fishes are provided with special 
 means of clinging to the rocks. The lump-fish {cyclop- 
 terns lumpus) fastens itself by an apparatus on the 
 lower part of its body ; while the sucking fish (remora) 
 has a similar provision on its back, by which it attaches 
 itself to the shark, or to whatever is afloat, as the 
 bottoms of ships : and it was from the ancients believ- 
 ing that this fish was a*ble to stop a ship under sail, 
 that Pliny called it remora. We must admire the 
 means by which these fishes can retain their proper 
 position in the water, without having to cling either by 
 their fins or their teeth, or being prevented from catch- 
 ing their food. The apparatus resembles a boy's 
 sucker : the organ is pressed against the surface to 
 which the creature is about to fix itself, the centre is 
 then drawn upon by muscles, in the same manner as 
 the sucker is drawn by the cord, and thus a vacuum is 
 made. Dr. Shaw tells us, that on throwing a lump-fish 
 into a pail of water, it fixed itself so firmly to the 
 bottom, that when he took hold of it by the tail, he 
 could lift the pail off the ground, although it contained 
 some gallons of water. 
 
 In the cuttle-fish w r e see a modification of the same 
 kind of apparatus : the suckers are ranged in rows 
 along the lower part of their feelers or arms, so as to 
 become instruments of prehension and of locomotion. 
 They can be turned by the animal in any direction, 
 either to fix itself, or to drag itself from place to place. 
 In the Indian seas these creatures become truly for- 
 
150 SUBSTITUTES FOR THE HAND. chap. v. 
 
 midable, both from the length of their arms, which 
 extend to eight or nine feet, and from the tenacity 
 with which they cling. * 
 
 There is another fish, which, from its name, we 
 should expect to be able to perform strange antics ; it 
 is called the " harlequin angler."! The appearance of 
 
 LOPHIUS H1STRIO. 
 
 this fish is grotesque and singular ; the pectoral fins 
 resemble short arms, and are palmated at their tips. I 
 
 * In the Mollusca and Zoophytes, we find many instances of animals holding 
 on against the force of tide or current. The Actiniae fix themselves to rocks 
 and shells ; and some, as the sea-carnation, hang suspended from the lower 
 surface of projecting rocks, resembling the calyx of a flower. By the elonga- 
 tion of their tentacula, they expand and blow out like a flower; the parts like 
 petals being prehensile instruments, by which the animal draws whatever food 
 floats near it into its stomach. The byssus of the mussel, a set of filaments 
 secreted from a gland near the joint, is fixed to the rock at one end, whilst the 
 gland piescrves the hold at the other; it thus retains the shell at anchor, 
 preventing it from drifting or lolling with the tide. In the oyster, the shell 
 is directly cemented to the rock. 
 
 + Lophius HistriOf — the first word from the Greek, signifying the process 
 which floats from the head, like a streamer or pennant ; the second from the 
 Latin word for an actor. 
 
 £ These fins have two bones like the radius and ulna; but Cuvier says that 
 they are more strictly bones of the carpus. 
 
chap. v. SUBSTITUTES FOR THE HAND. 151 
 
 M. Renau, in his history of fishes, affirms that he knew 
 an individual of this species ; and the expression is not 
 so incorrect, since he saw it for three days living out of 
 water, walking about the house in the manner of a dog. 
 The circumstance of its walking out of the water, has 
 some interest, from showing that relations may subsist 
 between organs apparently the least connected with 
 each other : the fact has been doubted ; but the form 
 of the branchial organs, or organs for breathing, inclines 
 me to believe that it had the power; and its habits 
 required such a provision. In this genus, the oper- 
 culum, which covers the gills, does not, as in most 
 fishes, open to let the respired water pass off freely 
 behind ; the water is discharged by a small aperture 
 which, in Mr. Owen's opinion, is capable of being 
 closed by a sphincter muscle ; and the cavities where 
 the branchiae lie, are large ; which, indeed, is partly 
 the reason of the lophius having so monstrous a head. 
 Thus, not only are the fins of this fish converted into 
 feet, but the gill-covers into pouches, capable of con- 
 taining water sufficient for the branchiae, when the sea 
 has retired : then the lophius, lying in the mud or 
 the shallow pools, watches its prey, and angles for it in 
 a very curious manner. 
 
 But, besides the " harlequin angler," other fishes 
 move out of the water on to dry land; and even 
 ascend trees, without being carried there by floods. 
 Thus the climbing fish (perca scandens), by means 
 of the spines of its gill-covers and spinous rays of its 
 
152 SUBSTITUTES FOR THE HAND. chap. v. 
 
 fins, can climb a tree, whence Dr. Shaw called it by 
 that name.* 
 
 All animals protected by feathers, or shells, or scales, 
 are endowed with an exquisite sense of touch in the 
 mouth, or in appendages belonging to it. Fishes have 
 hanging from their lips processes called cirri, which 
 
 ZEUS CILIARIS. 
 
 are equivalent to the feelers or tentacula of insects and 
 Crustacea. The fishing lines of the lophius are examples 
 of these processes : of which frog-like fish, Pliny relates, 
 that it will hide itself in the mud, and leaving the ex- 
 
 * The spines of the Echinus, or Sea Urchin, are moveable ; they assist in 
 progression. They are directed against an advancing enemy ! Although these 
 spines may be effectual for their purposes, they are to be regarded as the lowest 
 or least perfect substitutes for extremities. 
 
CHAP. V. 
 
 SUBSTITUTES FOR THE HAND. 
 
 153 
 
 tremities of its glittering filaments, like worms, exposed 
 to view, will entice the smaller fishes to become the 
 prey of their concealed enemy. 
 
 It is surprising how varied are the means by which 
 fishes obtain their food. The bandouliere a bee (chelmon 
 rostratus, of the genus Chcetodon rostratus), squirts water 
 at flies as they pass, brings them down, and then feeds 
 upon them. The scicena jacidatrix, according to Pallas, 
 possesses a similar skill ; and the spams insidiator sur- 
 prises aquatic insects by the sudden projection of its 
 snout. As to the elongated rays of the dorsal and anal 
 fins in the cordonnier of Martinique (zeus ciUaris, le 
 blepharis, Cuv.), some naturalists affirm that they are 
 employed to coil round the stems of plants, in order to 
 sustain the fish. The several offices attributed to 
 these processes in fishes, almost implies that they must 
 possess sensibility, if not muscular power. 
 
 Some years ago I discovered, by anatomical inves- 
 tigation and experiment, that, in man, the sensibility 
 of the head and its various appendages, as well as the 
 power of closing the jaws and masticating, depended 
 upon one nerve only, the Fifth, of the ten nerves which 
 arise from the brain, and are distributed within and 
 around the head. By the aid of comparative anatomy, 
 I found also that a corresponding nerve served similar 
 purposes in the lower animals. In those covered with 
 feathers or scales, or protected by shell, this nerve 
 becomes almost the sole organ of sensation. It gives 
 sensibility to the cirri of fishes, and to the palpi of the 
 
154 
 
 SUBSTITUTES FOR THE HAND. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Crustacea and the antennae of insects. It is the same 
 nerve which supplies the tongue, and is the organ of its 
 exquisite sensibility to touch, as well as of taste. In 
 some animals, especially reptiles, the tongue, by its 
 length and mobility, becomes a substitute for these 
 external appendages ; and in others, besides serving 
 for touch and for taste, it is an organ of prehension. 
 With it the ox gathers in the herbage ; and in the 
 giraffe it is curious to observe that, as the whole frame 
 of the animal is calculated to elevate the head to a 
 great height, so the tongue is capable of projecting 
 beyond the mouth to an extraordinary extent, and of 
 wrapping round and pulling down the extreme branches 
 of trees. 
 
 [What could have tempted Buffon to express his pity 
 for the woodpecker, as abject and degraded: and why 
 should this bird be described as leading an insipid life, 
 because continually employed in boring and hammering 
 the old stump of a tree ! A late naturalist describes 
 the woodpecker as enjoying the sweet hours of the 
 morning, on the highest branch of the tallest tree, 
 fluttering and playing with his mate and companions. 
 No doubt his diligence, perseverance, and energy in 
 plying his beak are very extraordinary. But, besides 
 the wedge-like strength of the beak, and the power of 
 the neck to strike with it, there is something remark- 
 able in its sensibility. That nerve, the fifth pair, on 
 which we have shown that all the sensibility of the 
 head depends, transmits a large branch along the inside 
 
ohap.v. SUBSTITUTES FOR THE HAND. 155 
 
 of the mandibles ; and, as the nerve approaches the 
 extremity, it perforates the bone by innumerable small 
 
 woodpecker's tongue. 
 
 canals, so as to be given to the horny covering of the 
 beak, which is thus possessed of a sensibility to feel in 
 
156 SUBSTITUTES FOR THE HAND. chap. v. 
 
 the crevices of the wood, and under the bark ; and the 
 woodpecker is enabled by this means to direct the 
 tongue, which moves with extraordinary celerity, and 
 with a point like a barbed arrow. We have repre- 
 sented the dissection of the head of this bird more 
 accurately in its anatomy, than is to be found in books. 
 We offer it because it exhibits a very curious piece of 
 mechanism, adjusted to the tongue, to enable the animal 
 to thrust it out far, and with unusual rapidity, a, is the 
 barbed tongue ; b, two slender elastic ligamentous car- 
 tilages, of very peculiar structure and use ; on one 
 extremity they are attached to the bone which supports 
 the upper mandible ; from this we trace them over the 
 skull down upon the sides of the neck ; and, with a 
 large sweep, turning under the lower mandible, and so 
 continued into the tongue, and not terminating until 
 they reach the horny point, c c c, a long muscle which 
 follows these ligamentous cartilages upon their concave 
 side, arising from the bone of the lower mandible, and 
 so sweeping round with the cartilages and over the 
 skull, to have another fixed point at the upper man- 
 dible : these protrude the tongue. Two muscles are 
 seen to arise from the sides of the larynx, which are 
 the opponents of the last, and retract the tongue. 
 Leaving the other parts of the anatomy, Ave beg the 
 reader's attention to the action of the muscle c c c, 
 which presents one of those curious instances observed 
 in comparative anatomy, of a mechanism adapted to a 
 particular purpose ; the tongue is not only thrust out 
 
chap.v. SUBSTITUTES FOR THE HAND. 157 
 
 far by this apparatus, but it is shot with great rapidity, 
 in correspondence with its barbed point ; this effect is 
 produced by the two extremities of the muscle being 
 fixed points, and the fibres of the muscle itself running 
 on the concave side of the cartilaginous bow, so as to 
 form a smaller circle. We require no mathematical 
 demonstration to prove, that the tongue must be thrust 
 out to a greater distance than the measure of contrac- 
 tion of the muscle. Let us tie the line of the fishing-rod 
 to the last ring of its slender top, and pull upon it at the 
 last ring of the butt : the motion of the top will be very 
 extensive, even when only an inch of the line is drawn 
 through the rings. This is a pretty accurate repre- 
 sentation of what takes place by the contraction of this 
 protruding muscle. We have noticed that the upper 
 end of this arch is fixed, the whole motion must there- 
 fore be given to the loose extremity in the tongue ; and 
 we cannot but observe, that whilst this peculiar arch 
 and muscular ring are adapted for the rapid protrusion 
 of the tongue, its retraction is produced by a common 
 muscle, that is, a muscle running in a straight course. 
 Another curious part of this apparatus is, that a very 
 large gland, which pours out a glutinous matter, is 
 embraced and compressed by the action of the circular 
 muscle. This viscid secretion bedewing the tongue 
 furnishes an additional means for the bird to pick up 
 insects, such as ants, without the necessity of sticking 
 each with its arrow. Nothing can be more mechanical, 
 or more happily adapted to its purpose, than the whole 
 
158 SUBSTITUTES FOR THE HAND. chap. v. 
 
 of this structure, and consequently nothing better 
 suited to strengthen our argument. Indeed, it is not 
 inferior to the means employed for giving rapidity of 
 motion to the membrana nictitans of the eye of the bird. 
 
 With the instrument, as we have before hinted, we 
 should expect a particular instinctive action, and a 
 corresponding muscular power. As an animal with 
 
 heron's bill. 
 
 horns has a powerful neck, so has the neck of the 
 heron, introduced here, an extraordinary muscular 
 power, without which, indeed, the long and sharp bill 
 would be of little use. When the dog approaches the 
 wounded heron, the bird throws itself upon its back, 
 and, retracting its long neck, suddenly darts it out, with 
 a force which strikes the bill deep into the dog. If you 
 hold your hat towards the bird, the bill will be struck 
 quite through it. In contending with the hawk, when 
 the latter is spitted, it is not by the rapid descent of 
 the hawk, but by the force with which the heron drives 
 its bill. The strength of the bill of the parrot, and 
 that of all birds which break the stones of fruit, or 
 
chap.v. SUBSTITUTES FOR THE HAND. 159 
 
 nuts, or hard seeds, is in another direction : the bill is 
 hooked, yet is differently formed from that of the car- 
 nivorous bird. The intention is, in the first place, that 
 the point shall play vertically, which, with the strength- 
 ening by successive layers of the horny material of the 
 bill near the point, enables it to break hard objects ; and 
 secondly, that by this form the nut or seed may be 
 
 brought nearer the joining or articulation of the jaw ; 
 which gives the same advantage that we have, when we 
 put a nut nearer the joint of the nut-cracker, that is, 
 nearer the fulcrum. One disadvantage of this form 
 and shortness of the bill would be, that the mandibles 
 could not open wide enough to take in a large seed ; 
 but it is provided that the upper mandible shall move 
 upon the skull, as well as the lower one. The form of 
 the bill of the cross-bill looks like an imperfection, but i 
 is attended with real advantages ; it is not for crushing, 
 but rather for splitting up a seed into halves, and tear- 
 ing the cones of the fir-tree. One of the most curious 
 provisions is in the bill of the sea-crow; the man- 
 dibles are compressed into the form of simple laminae, 
 
160 
 
 SUBSTITUTES FOR THE HAND. 
 
 and the lower mandible projects beyond the upper one ; 
 so that, as he skims along the water, he dips his bill, 
 and lifts his food, by the most appropriate instrument.] 
 
 The whiskers of feline quadrupeds, through branches 
 of the fifth nerve, which enter their roots, possess a fine 
 sensibility. Birds possess it also in a high degree, in 
 their mouths. Ducks, and all that quaffer with their 
 bills under water, have the sense very fine ; and in the 
 mandibles there are distributed branches of the fifth 
 nerve, remarkably developed. Animals feel in the 
 whole of their external surface ; and of serpents we 
 may say, that when they coil themselves round a body 
 they exercise the organ of touch over their whole length. 
 Still it is the fifth nerve of the brain, or nerves analo- 
 gous to it, which, in the greater number of animals 
 deficient in extremities, or in proper prehensile organs, 
 ministers to the appropriation of food ; the organs 
 may vary in conformation ; being sometimes only 
 delicate palpi, sometimes horny processes ; but in all, 
 the senses of touch and of taste are bestowed through 
 this — which is the nerve of sensation of the face, tongue, 
 and lips, and the motor nerve of the muscles of the 
 jaws, in man.* 
 
 But we may repeat, that, necessary as these appen- 
 dages, and this sensibility, are to the existence of the 
 animals possessing them, the imperfections which they 
 exhibit, serve to show, by contrast, how happily the 
 Hand is constructed. Our admiration is increased as 
 
 * See Note at the end of this Chapter. 
 
chap.v. CLASSIFICATION OF NERVES. 161 
 
 we consider the sensibility to various impressions of 
 touch, to varieties in the activity of the muscles, and to 
 changes of posture, possessed by the human hand ; and all 
 united to a facility of motion in the joints, for unfolding 
 and turning the fingers in every possible degree and 
 direction, without abruptness or angularity, and in a 
 manner inimitable by any artifice of springs, pulleys, 
 and levers. 
 
 Note. — Author's Classification of the Nerves : — 
 These observations on the uses of the Fifth nerve will 
 be imperfectly understood, unless it be explained that 
 they refer to the Classification of the nerves of the 
 human body, which the author proposed as the result 
 of viewing the Nervous System in the animal kingdom 
 generally. 
 
 In forming that classification, he began by looking to 
 the nerves in their earliest stage of development. To 
 see what were the first wants of an Animal which called 
 for the provision of a nervous system, he compared the 
 properties of an Animal of simple structure, with those 
 of a Vegetable, in which the nervous system is wanting. 
 With other physiologists, he considered that certain 
 functions, as nutrition, assimilation, secretion, &c, 
 were common to beings of both kingdoms ; and these he 
 put aside in the inquiry. But he perceived, on the 
 other hand, that in the mode of their procuring food, 
 an important distinction existed between them. What 
 mainly characterises a Vegetable, is its being fixed to 
 
 M 
 
162 
 
 AUTHOR'S CLASSIFICATION 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 the soil, and obtaining nourishment by roots : while the 
 Animal is characterised by moving from place to place, 
 in quest of food, and exercising sense and volition to 
 select and appropriate it. Accordingly, he conceived 
 that the earliest wants of an animal, which required a 
 nervous system, had relation to its mode of obtaining 
 food ; and that the following organs were essential to 
 the lowest as well as the highest : First, Locomotive 
 organs, — as legs, or substitutes for them ; secondly, 
 Prehensile organs, — as arms, or substitutes for them ; 
 thirdly, Manducatory organs, — as jaws and teeth, for 
 preparing the food for deglutition ; lastly, Nerves, 
 motor and sensitive, with a centre for volition, and a 
 sensorium. 
 
 From the variety of positions, habits, and instincts of 
 animals, connected with their procuring food, the organs 
 above enumerated present an almost endless diversity 
 of form and use ; and in those lowest in the scale, 
 we see them co-operating, or interchanging duties; 
 so that the prehensile organ will act for locomotion, 
 and the manducatory one for prehension ; or even, 
 occasionally, both for locomotion. But in the progres- 
 sive advancement of animals, we perceive a gradual 
 departure from this communion of office ; the several 
 organs are, by degrees, respectively disembarrassed of 
 duties pertaining to the others, and are more confined 
 to their own single purposes. So that, at length, we find, 
 in Man, the Lower Extremities appropriated exclusively 
 to locomotion ; the Arms exclusively to prehension ; 
 
chap.v. OF THE NERVES. 163 
 
 and the apparatus of Jaws and teeth exclusively to 
 manducation. It is not till the Mouth is thus freed 
 from participation in the duties of the other organs, 
 that its form is adapted to its high and distinguishing 
 office, in Man, that of serving for articulation of 
 sounds in Speech. 
 
 As to the Nervous System, the author conceived, that 
 of the endowments mentioned as essential for animal 
 existence, viz., motor power, with senses — the most 
 early required of the latter would be common Sensa- 
 tion, and the sense of Taste. Now, the Fifth nerve 
 bestows sensation on the surfaces of the head, and 
 likewise gives taste ; besides which, it is a motor nerve, 
 but limited to giving power to the muscles of manduca- 
 tion'. Again, the series of double nerves (motor and 
 sensitive), which pass off laterally from the whole length 
 of the Spinal Chord, to the trunk and extremities, 
 ministers to the general sensibility of the body, and to the 
 motion of the prehensile and locomotive organs. As 
 the Fifth nerve, both in structure and function, bears 
 an exact resemblance to the Spinal Nerves, and is the 
 only one of the ten nerves of the brain which does so, 
 he associated it with these nerves, in one Class. And 
 that class he considered to be, as he designated it, the 
 " Original " system of nerves ; or the representative, in 
 their highest stage of development, in Man, of the nerves 
 first introduced in the animal kingdom, to bestow pro- 
 perties which no animal is without — a class of nerves 
 which, besides conferring Touch, Taste, and general 
 
 M 2 
 
164 
 
 AUTHOR'S CLASSIFICATION 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Sensation, gives power to the Locomotive, Prehensile, 
 and Manducatory organs. 
 
 It may be briefly added ; — that in proportion as the 
 organisation of animals rises, and approaches towards 
 the perfection of man, new Senses are successively 
 provided — Vision, Hearing, Smell, each calling for 
 appropriate nerves and centres of influence in the 
 brain. 
 
 But further complexity is caused by the development 
 of the organ of Respiration. That organ, at first con- 
 fined to simply oxygenating the blood, by gradual and 
 interesting processes of change, has its mechanism at 
 length so greatly modified, that besides carrying on its 
 original office, it is adapted to be the instrument of 
 Voice, in man. To that condition it is not elevated 
 till the Mouth, by a concurrent advancement of the 
 locomotive, prehensile, and manducatory organs, has 
 been prepared to receive the wind-pipe and larynx 
 into its structure ; and has assumed a form calculated 
 to combine, in Man, the articulation of vocalised 
 sounds, in Speech, with its original, simple office 
 of manducation and deglutition. In correspon- 
 dence with that new construction, and new appli- 
 cation of the organ of breathing, distinct nerves are 
 introduced, and superadded to the former class ; and 
 the author called these the "Respiratory" sysem of 
 nerves. 
 
 According to his arrangement, there was still 
 a third set of nerves, the " Sympathetic which 
 
CHAP. V. 
 
 OF THE NERVES. 
 
 165 
 
 he supposed to regulate and combine the processes 
 of the economy commonly known as the " vegetative 
 functions . ' ' — (S .) * 
 
 * See " On the Nervous System of the Human Body," by the Author ; 
 also, " On Sir Charles Bell's Researches in the Nervous System," by the 
 writer of this Note. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE ARGUMENT PURSUED. 
 
 So far as we have hitherto proceeded, examining our 
 subject by comparative anatomy, we have been led to 
 conclude that, independently of a system of parts mar- 
 vellously combined to form the individual animal, 
 another more comprehensive one exists, embracing all 
 animals. However different animals may be in form 
 and bulk, or to whatever condition of the globe they 
 may have been adapted, an uniformity pervades the 
 whole. We have seen no accidental deviation or de- 
 formity; but every change has been for a purpose, and 
 every part has had its just relation. In all the varie- 
 ties, we have witnessed the forms of the organs moulded 
 with such a perfect accommodation to their uses, and 
 the alterations produced in such minute degrees, that 
 all notion of accidental external agency must be re- 
 jected. 
 
 We might carry our demonstration downward through 
 the lower classes of animals. For example, in insects, 
 we might trace the different modifications of the feet, 
 from their most perfect or complex state, till they dis- 
 
CHAP VI. 
 
 FROM COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. 
 
 167 
 
 appeared; or, following the changes in another direc- 
 tion, we might pursue them from their smallest begin- 
 ning, to the most perfect condition of the member, 
 where thigh, leg, and tarsus are represented, as in the 
 fly. We should, at first, discern the feet on the bodies 
 of worms, as fine cirri, like minute bristles, taking 
 slight hold of the surface over which they creep. In 
 the sea-mouse (aphrodita), we should perceive these 
 bristles standing out from distinct wart-like processes, 
 which are furnished with appropriate muscles. Then 
 in the myriapodes, the first order of insects, we should 
 see each foot of the " mairy feet" possessing a distinct 
 articulation. From that, we might pass to insects 
 which have a thigh, leg, and foot, with the most perfect 
 system of flexor, extensor, and adductor muscles ; 
 possessing, in fine, all that we most admire in human 
 anatomy. Nay, it is more curious to observe how r the 
 feet of true insects are again changed or modified, to 
 assume new offices — the anterior feet becoming feelers, 
 organs of prehension, or hands. We thus perceive, 
 that were it our object to examine the delicate and 
 finely adapted instruments of insects, it would be easy 
 to trace almost every one of them through a succession 
 of modifications. We have seen, among the vertebrata, 
 the hand become a wing or a fin , so might we discover 
 an opposite change in the wing of an insect. If we began 
 with the fly which has two delicate and perfect wings 
 incased and protected, we should find that the covers 
 were capable of being raised, so as to admit of the ready 
 
168 
 
 THEORY OF 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 expansion of the wings : in another, the cover itself or 
 case would be converted into a wing, and the fly 
 characterised by having four wings ; proceeding to a 
 third example, we should discover that this anterior 
 wing was larger and more perfect than the posterior : 
 in the fourth specimen, we should find that the posterior 
 wings had disappeared, and that it had only two perfect 
 ones : if we continued the examination further, the 
 next specimen would present an insect deprived of 
 wings altogether. These are not freaks of nature, but 
 new forms of the body ; new appendages required for a 
 different poising of the fly in its flight. They are 
 adaptations succeeding each other in that regular series 
 which we have observed to obtain in the larger animals, 
 and where the intention cannot be mistaken. 
 
 A very natural question will force itself upon us, 
 how are those varieties to be explained ? The curious 
 adaptation of a member to different offices and to 
 different conditions of the animal, has led to a very 
 extraordinary opinion, in the present day, — that all 
 animals consist of the same " elements." It would be 
 just to say that, in every species of animal, however 
 differing in form and structure, the material of which 
 they are formed, consists of the same chemical elements, 
 and that this material is attracted and assimilated by 
 the performance of the same vital functions. But by 
 elements, authors mean certain pieces, which enter 
 into the structure of the body, and which, they sup- 
 pose, by being transposed and differently arranged, 
 
CHAP. VI. ELEMENTARY PAETS. 169 
 
 give rise to the varieties in the forms of animals. 
 They illustrate their views by the analogy of the build- 
 ing materials of a house : if, they say, there be a given 
 quantity of materials, and these are exhausted in the 
 ornamental parts, as the portico and vestibule, there 
 must be a proportionate limitation of the apartments 
 for the family. The hypothesis essentially is, that 
 when a part occupying a certain place in one animal, is 
 missed there in another, we are to seek for it in the 
 latter, in some neighbouring organ. This new theory 
 is brought forward with the highest pretensions ; the 
 authors call upon us to mark the moment of its con- 
 ception, as the commencement of a new era ! They 
 speak of the "elective affinities of organs," "the 
 balancing of organs," " a new principle of connection," 
 " a new theory of analysis ; " and on such grounds 
 affirm that this surpasses all former systems as a 
 means of discovery. 
 
 Now, the perfection or aggrandisement of any one 
 organ of an animal, is not attended with the curtailment 
 or proportional deficiency of any other. Perhaps the 
 supporters of this theory dwell too much upon the 
 bones ; but even in them, we shall show that the system 
 is untenable. In the meantime, we may ask, is the 
 addition of new parts in connection with the stomach, 
 making this organ highly complex, as in ruminating 
 animals, attended with a shortening of the intestinal 
 canal, or increased simplicity in its structure ? On the 
 contrary, is not a complex stomach necessarily con- 
 
170 THEORY OF CHAP. VI. 
 
 nectecl with a long and complicated intestine ? Does a 
 complex intestinal canal throughout all its course, 
 render the solid viscera which are in juxtaposition 
 imperfect ? Is there any defect in them, because the 
 organs of digestion are perfect or complicated ? Does 
 the complex heart imply a more simple, or a more 
 perfect condition of the lungs ? In short, as animals 
 rise in the scale of existence, do we not find that the 
 systems of digestion, circulation, respiration, and sen- 
 sation bear ever a proportional increase ? Is there any 
 instance of an improvement in one organ thrusting 
 another out of its place, or diminishing its volume ? 
 As to the osseous system, were we to follow these 
 theorists into the very stronghold of their position, the 
 bones of the skull, where the real intricacy of the parts 
 allows some scope for ingenuity, we might show how 
 untenable was the principle that they had assumed. 
 But we prefer confining ourselves to our own subject. 
 
 We have already stated that, in the higher orders of 
 the vertebrata, the bones of the shoulder perform a 
 double office ; that they have an important share in the 
 act of respiration, whilst they afford a perfect found- 
 ation for the motions of the extremity. Let us take an 
 instance where the mode of respiration of the animal is 
 inconsistent with, what we may term, the original 
 mechanism of the bones of the shoulder. In the batra- 
 chian order (p. 65), the ribs are wanting. Where then 
 are we to look for them ? Shall we follow a theory that 
 directs us, if a bone be absent in the cavity of the ear 
 
chap. vi. ELEMENTARY PARTS. 171 
 
 of the bird, to seek for it in the jaw; and yet, when a 
 whole class of animals is deficient of thirty-two ribs, will 
 not inform us where these are to be found, or how the 
 elements are built up in other structures ? If we 
 adopt, on the contrary, the principle, that parts are 
 added or withdrawn, with a never failing relation to the 
 function to be performed, we can comprehend, that if, 
 to suit the peculiarities of the animal, the compages of 
 the chest be removed, and the shoulder be consequently 
 deprived of support, the bones to which the extremity 
 is fixed, will be expanded and varied both in form and 
 articulation, so as to fulfil the main object of a shoulder, 
 — that of giving security and a centre of motion to the 
 arm. 
 
 With respect to the instance incidentally noticed, 
 and brought forward so vauntingly as a proof of the 
 excellence of the theory, — the mechanism of the jaw in 
 birds, it proves the reverse, indeed, of what is assumed. 
 The matter to be explained is simply this. The chain 
 of bones in the ear, which is so curiously adapted, in 
 the mammalia, to convey the vibrations of the mem- 
 brane of the tympanum to the auditory nerve, is not 
 found in the organ of hearing in birds; there is sub- 
 stituted a mechanism entirely different. The supporters 
 of the theory choose to say that the incus is the one of 
 the four bones of the chain which is absent in the bird : 
 and where, they ask, is it to be found ? Here, they 
 reply, in the apparatus of the jaw or mandible ; the 
 bone called os quadratum is the incus. I believe that 
 
172 MECHANISM OF chap.vi. 
 
 the slight and accidental resemblance which the bone (b.) 
 (see figure p. 174) in the bird, has to the incus in man, 
 is the real origin of the fancy. 
 
 Let us follow a juster mode of reasoning, and see 
 how the hypothesis in question obscures the beauty of 
 the subject. The first step ought to be, to inquire 
 whether there be any imperfection in the hearing of 
 birds, from want of the incus. That question is easily 
 answered — the hearing of birds is most acute ; the 
 slightest noise alarms them ; the nightingale, or other 
 bird of song, in a summer evening, will answer to the 
 note of his rival, when out of our hearing. We have 
 next to observe another peculiarity in the organ — the 
 absence of an external ear ; the presence of which would 
 be at variance with all that we most admire in the 
 shape of the bird, and direction of the feathers, as con- 
 ducing to its rapid passage through the air. With this 
 obvious defect of the external ear, can we admit that 
 the internal ear is also imperfect — notwithstanding the 
 remarkable acuteness of hearing, which, we know, can 
 result only from the internal structure ? 
 
 Now, although the structure of the ear of the bird 
 does, in fact, differ from that of the mammalia, yet 
 nothing is wanting. The columella, a shaft of bone of 
 exquisite delicacy, extending from the outward mem- 
 brane of the ear to the labyrinth, or proper seat of the 
 nerve of hearing, occupies the same place, and performs 
 the same office, as the chain of four bones in the 
 ear of the mammalia: and we have no authority for 
 
chap. vi. BIRDS' BILL. 173 
 
 affirming that the incus, more than any other bone of 
 the chain, is wanting. The sense of hearing is enjoyed 
 by birds in as exquisite a degree as by quadrupeds : 
 the organ is not imperfect ; it is a varied apparatus, 
 adapted to a new construction ; it is suited to the con- 
 dition of the bird : and there is no accidental dislocation 
 or substitution. 
 
 Let us but look to the mandibles of the bird, and see 
 the use to which this os quadratum, supposed by the 
 upholders of the theory to be transposed from the ear, 
 is applied in the apparatus for opening them ; and we 
 shall have a most curious example of mechanical adapt- 
 ation. Indeed, the bill of the bird, in some degree, 
 pertains to our subject, as it is an organ of prehension 
 and of touch. It is withal a fly trap — hence, its motions 
 must be rapid. Now, the velocity is increased by the 
 most obvious means imaginable, — that is, by giving 
 motion to both mandibles, instead of to one. When a 
 dog snaps, he throws back his head, and thereby raises 
 the upper jaw at the same time that the lower one is 
 dropped ; but these are slow and clumsy motions, per- 
 formed by the muscles of the neck as well as by those 
 of the jaws ; and the poor hound makes many attempts 
 before he can catch the fly that teases him. But a 
 swallow or a fly-catcher makes no second effort ; the 
 apparatus of prehension which they possess corresponds 
 so admirably to the liveliness of their eye and to their 
 instinct. The mechanism by which such rapidity of 
 motion is attained, is this : the muscles which depress 
 
174 
 
 ELEMENTARY PARTS. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 the lower mandible, by the same effort elevate the 
 upper one : a. is a process of the lower mandible, pro- 
 jecting behind the centre of motion ; accordingly, when 
 the muscle attached to this process contracts, it causes 
 
 the point of the bill to descend : but the os quadratum (b.) 
 situated between the lower mandible and the skull, is 
 at the same time compressed: therefore, a shaft or 
 process (c.) from this bone, and which has its anterior 
 extremity fixed against the upper mandible, projects 
 forwards ; hence, when the muscle acts, and the os 
 quadratum receives the pressure of the lower mandible, 
 and the process (c.) is thrust forward, like a bolt? 
 against the upper mandible, the latter moves upon 
 the skull at (n.), and is elevated, at the same time 
 that the lower is depressed.* Here, then, is a piece of 
 mechanism as distinct as the lock of a gun, and mani- 
 festly intended, as we have said, to give rapidity to the 
 motions of the bill. Now, whether is it nearer the 
 truth to consider this as a new apparatus, suited to the 
 necessities of the creature, or to look upon it as an 
 
 * Another process of the os quadratum, directed more internally, assists in 
 raising the upper mandible. 
 
 c 
 
chap. vi. LAMARCK'S THEORY. 175 
 
 accidental result of the introduction of a bone, which in 
 its proper office has nothing to do with the jaw ? 
 
 But we have wandered somewhat from our subject. 
 Let us test the correctness of the theory by attending 
 to the bones which correspond to those of the hand. 
 "We have seen that, in animals generally, the same 
 system of bones is preserved, variously modified so as 
 to be adapted to every possible change in office. Now 
 as it is insisted that the number of elements of an 
 organ continues the same, what can be said with regard 
 to the number of bones entering into the paddle, in the 
 saurian and chelonian reptiles ? Whilst in man the bones 
 of the wrist and fingers are twenty-seven, and those of 
 the horse only fifteen, the corresponding polygonous 
 bones of the ichthyosaurus (p. 112) are sixty or seventy. 
 Yet, notwithstanding there are in the paddle so many 
 bones, in the part corresponding to the arm and fore- 
 arm, there is only the proper complement. If the system 
 fail us in such an obvious instance, with what confidence 
 can we prosecute the inquiry, under its guidance, into 
 the analogy of the intricate bones of the spine and 
 head.* 
 
 In seeking assistance from the works of distinguished 
 naturalists, we do not always find indications of that 
 disposition of mind which we should expect to prevail 
 
 * Since the above criticism, justified by the extravagance of the views 
 propounded at the time, was written, the theory has been greatly amended ; 
 and connected with it many interesting facts have been disclosed, quite con- 
 sistent with the general course of argument throughout the treatise. See " On 
 the Archetype and Homologies of the Vertebral Skeleton," and " Discourse 
 on the Nature of Limbs," by Professor Owen. — (S.) 
 
176 
 
 THEORY OF 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 as a necessary result of their peculiar studies ; we miss 
 that combination of genius with sound sense, which dis- 
 tinguished Cuvier, and has been ever the characteristic 
 of all great men of science. It is, above all, surprising 
 with what perverse ingenuity some will seek to obscure 
 the conception of a Divine Author, an intelligent, 
 designing, and benevolent Being ; how, clinging to the 
 greatest absurdities, they will rather interpose the cold 
 and inanimate influence of some theory of " elements," 
 so as to extinguish in our minds all feeling of de- 
 pendence, all emotions of gratitude. 
 
 Some comparative anatomists there are, who will 
 maintain that all varieties in animated beings are the 
 mere result of changes of circumstance, influencing an 
 original animal ! They hold that new organs have been 
 produced by a desire, and consequent effort, of an animal, 
 to stretch and mould itself into a shape suitable to the 
 condition in which it is placed ; — that, as the leaves of a 
 plant expand to light, or turn to the sun, or as the roots 
 shoot to the appropriate soil, so do the exterior organs 
 of animals grow and adapt themselves ! An opinion, as 
 we shall presently find, has prevailed that the organisa- 
 tion of an animal determines its propensities ; but the 
 philosophers of whom we now speak, imagine the con- 
 trary; — they pretend that, influenced by new circum- 
 stances, organs can accommodate themselves, and 
 assume particular forms.* 
 
 * The means which Nature employs to give existence to all its productions, 
 according to Lamarck, are time and favourable circumstances. The circum- 
 
CHAP. VI. 
 
 SURROUNDING INFLUENCE. 
 
 177 
 
 It must be here remarked, that there are no instances 
 in the animal kingdom, of new organs being produced 
 by the union of individuals belonging to different species. 
 Nor is there any foundation for the opinion, that new 
 species may be formed, by the union of individuals of 
 different families. But it is contended, that, although 
 in the last 5000 years the species of animals have not 
 changed, we cannot tell what may have been the effect 
 of revolutions occurring in the globe, before that time ; 
 that is, previous to the present condition of the world. 
 On subjects of such a nature, however, we can argue 
 only from what we know, and what we see. 
 
 We do, however, perceive, in the conformation of 
 the same animal, surprising changes; some of which 
 are familiar to us. But they all evince foreknowledge 
 and a prospective plan, — an alteration gradually taking 
 place in preparation for, never consequent upon, a new 
 
 Btances alluded to, are climate, temperature, and the surrounding elements : as 
 to the time, he allows no bounds. The bird, he says, which seeks its nourish- 
 ment in the water, must stretch its toes ; hence, in course of time, membranes 
 will extend between them, and the web-foot will be perfected, as has been the 
 case in the duck. But in the bird that perches on the branch, the toes will have 
 the points lengthened, and hooked, to embrace the twig. The bird which 
 wades, as the crane, and which either cannot swim, or is unwilling to put its 
 body in the water, extends its toes to obtain its food ; in time, those feet and 
 limbs will elongate, and the body will become mounted on stilts. By a similar 
 process of gradual development, he would persuade us, that the ouran-outang 
 has shortened his arms, lost his tail, and broadened his feet, and has taken the 
 stature and bearing of a human being ! 
 
 That a man should have given expression to such fancies, in jest, or in mere 
 idleness, or to provoke discussion, is probable : but that he should have 
 published them, as a serious introduction to a system of natural history, is, 
 indeed, a marvel. It is a miserable theory, to which we can only conceive a 
 vain person driven by the dread of being thought to harbour the belief of vulgar 
 minds. — See the Systeme des Animaux sans Vertebres : discours d'ouverture, 
 page 15. 
 
 N 
 
178 THEORY OF THE CHAP. VI. 
 
 condition. It will suffice for our purpose to take the 
 highest and lowest examples. Man, in the body, has 
 two conditions of existence ; hardly two beings can be 
 less alike than an infant and an adult. Now, the whole 
 foetal state is a preparation for birth. My readers 
 would not thank me, were I to explain how necessary 
 to his being born alive are the proportions and forms of 
 the infant, as contrasted with those of the full-grown 
 man: yet nothing would be so easy to demonstrate. 
 From the moment of birth, the growth of the body 
 takes a new direction, so that the proportions are 
 changed, and the conformation is accommodated to the 
 erect posture. Few, however, are aware that the life 
 of the child unborn has relation to its condition ; and 
 that if the period of birth be protracted beyond the 
 appointed time, it will die, not from a defect of nourish- 
 ment, but because the period has arrived for a change 
 in its whole economy ! 
 
 Now, previous to birth, * all the organs of the body 
 are being prospectively developed ; the lungs becoming 
 perfected, before the admission of air — new tubes con- 
 structed, before the flood-gates, which are to admit the 
 blood, are opened. But there are other provisions finer, 
 and more curious, than these. Take any of the grand 
 organs, as the heart, or brain ; examine it through all 
 its gradations of change in the embryo state, and we 
 shall recognise it, first, as simple in form ; then gradually 
 expanding; and finally, assuming the condition peculiar 
 to adolescence. So that it is affirmed, not without the 
 
CHAP. VI. 
 
 SURROUNDING INFLUENCE. 
 
 179 
 
 support of a most curious series of observations, that in 
 its earlier stage of growth the human brain resembles 
 that of a fish: next, it bears a resemblance to the 
 cerebral mass of the reptile ; in its increase, it is like 
 that of a bird ; and slowly, and only after birth, does it 
 assume the proper form and consistence of the human 
 brain. But in none of all these stages of development 
 do we see the influence of any supposed law of ele- 
 mentary constituents ; or of any other law, than that 
 the order of his development has been so predestined. 
 
 If, passing over the thousand instances which might 
 be gathered from intermediate parts of the chain of 
 animal life, we were to proceed to examine the structure 
 of insects, more particularly the metamorphoses they 
 undergo, similar conclusions would be arrived at. For 
 example, if we took the larva of a winged insect, we 
 should perceive in the arrangement of its muscles, and 
 distribution of its nervous system, all the requisite pro- 
 visions for its moving over ground. But if, anticipating 
 the metamorphosis, we dissected the same larva im- 
 mediately before the change, we should find a new 
 apparatus in progress towards perfection ; we should 
 see the muscles of its many feet decaying ; the nerves 
 to each muscle wasting ; a new arrangement of muscles, 
 with new points of attachment, directed to the wings, 
 instead of to the feet ; and finally, a new distribution 
 of nerves, accommodated to the members about to be 
 put in motion. Here is no budding or stretching forth 
 of organs, under the influence of surrounding elements ; 
 
 n2 
 
180 KEVOLUTIONS OF THE ANIMAL SYSTEM. chap.vi. 
 
 it is a change operated on all the economy, and 
 prospective, that is, in anticipation of a condition which 
 the creature has not yet attained. 
 
 These facts countenance the conclusion, drawn from 
 the comparative anatomy of the hand and arm — that 
 with each new instrument, visible externally, there are 
 a thousand internal relations established. The intro- 
 duction of a new mechanical contrivance in the bones or 
 joints, infers an alteration in every part of the skeleton; 
 a corresponding arrangement of all the muscles ; 
 an appropriate distribution of the nervous filaments 
 laid intermediate between the instrument and the 
 centre of life and motion ; and finally, in relation to the 
 new organ, new sources of activity must be created, 
 otherwise the part will hang an useless appendage. 
 
 It must now be apparent, that nothing less than the 
 Power which originally created, is equal to effect those 
 changes on animals, which adapt them to their con- 
 ditions : and that their organisation is predetermined ; 
 not consequent on the condition of the earth or of the 
 surrounding elements. Neither can a property in the 
 animal itself account for the changes which take place 
 in the individual, any more than it can for the varieties 
 in the species. Every thing declares the diversity of 
 species to have its origin in distinct creations ; and not 
 to be owing to a process of gradual transition from 
 some original type. Any other hypothesis than that of 
 new creations of animals, suited to the successive 
 changes in the inorganic matter of the globe — the 
 
chap. vi. REVOLUTIONS OF THE ANIMAL SYSTEM. 181 
 
 condition of the water, atmosphere, and temperature — 
 brings with it only an accumulation of difficulties. 
 
 To fortify what we have said, we ought not to omit 
 bringing into the argument, a series of changes of 
 structure altogether differing from those which we have 
 been hitherto considering — revolutions in the material 
 of the frame, which take place, without a pause, and 
 during the whole life, in every animal. From no study 
 of the mechanical adaptations of the body, not even from 
 examining the structure and endowments of the organs 
 of the senses, can we obtain a higher idea of the Power 
 which continually superintends the processes of the 
 economy, than from viewing the influence of life, in 
 collecting, arranging, and incessantly changing, the 
 material of the animal frame. Astounded by the 
 magnitude of natural objects, bewildered by $ seeing 
 neither beginning nor end, beholding processes of 
 decay alone, persuaded, almost, that every thing must 
 be yielded up to a power of destruction, — how useful is 
 it to possess proofs, in the microcosm of the living 
 body, that even when the substance of which that body 
 is composed, is undergoing a ceaseless change, to its 
 minutest elements, the whole animal system may con- 
 tinue in freshness and vigour. 
 
 [Is it not surprising that an individual, who retains 
 every peculiarity of body and of mind, whose features, 
 whose gait and mode of action, whose voice, gestures, 
 and complexion we are ready to attest as the very proof 
 
182 
 
 CHANGES IN THE BODY DURING LIFE. 
 
 CHAP. VI 
 
 of personality, — should, in the course of a few clays, 
 change every particle of his solid fabric ; that he, whom 
 we suppose we saw, is, so far as his body is concerned, a 
 perfectly different person from him we now see ! That 
 the fluids may change, we are ready to allow ; but that 
 the solids should be thus ever shifting, seems at first 
 improbable. And yet, if there be any thing firmly 
 established in physiology, if there be truth in the science 
 at all, that fact is incontrovertible. 
 
 There is nothing like this in inanimate nature. It 
 is beautiful to see the shooting of a crystal; to note 
 the formation of the integrant particles from their 
 elements in solution, and these, under the influence 
 of attraction or crystalline polarity, assuming a deter- 
 minate shape; but the form here is permanent. In 
 the different processes of elective attraction, and in 
 fermentation, we perceive a commotion ; but in a little 
 time the products are formed, and the particles are at 
 rest. In these instances there is nothing like the revolu- 
 tions of the living animal substance, where the material 
 is alternately arranged, decomposed, and re-arranged. 
 • The end of this is, that the machinery of the body is 
 ever new ; that it possesses a property within itself of 
 mending that which was broken, of throwing off that 
 which was useless, of building up that which was inse- 
 cure and weak, of repelling disease, or of controlling it, 
 and of substituting what is healthful for that which is 
 morbid. The whole animal machinery we have seen to 
 be fragile and liable to injury; now, without this con- 
 
chap. vi. CHANGES IN THE BODY DURING LIFE. 1S3 
 
 tinual change of material, and this new modelling of 
 that material, our lives would be precarious; the texture 
 of our bodies would be spoiled; like some fine piece 
 of mechanism which had stopped, and which no work- 
 man had knowledge sufficient to reconstruct. By these 
 living actions the minute particles of the body die 
 successively ; not as in the final death of the whole 
 body; but part by part is deprived of vitality, and 
 taken into the general circulation, in order to be cast 
 out of the system ; whilst new parts received from the 
 food, are endowed with life, and built up in their place. 
 Thus we see that nature, instead of having to establish 
 a new mode of action for every casualty, heals all 
 wounds, unites all broken bones, throws off all morbid 
 parts, by the continuance of its usual operations ; and 
 the surgeon, who is modest in his calling, has nothing 
 to do but to watch, lest ignorance or prejudice interfere 
 with the process of nature. This property of the living 
 body to restore itself when deranged, or to heal itself 
 when broken or torn, is an action which so frequently 
 assumes the appearance of reason, as if it were adapting 
 itself to the particular occasion, that Mr. John Hunter 
 speaks of parts of the body, as "conscious of their 
 imperfection," and " acting from the stimulus of neces- 
 sity ; " thus giving the properties of mind to the body, 
 as the only explanation of phenomena so wonderful. 
 
 The bones of the leg and thigh, which suffer the 
 fatigue of motion, and support the weight of the body, 
 are nevertheless continually undergoing an operation 
 
184 CHANGES IN THE BODY DURING LIFE. chap. vi. 
 
 of repair ; in which the old particles are withdrawn, 
 whilst new ones replace them, without in the slightest 
 measurable degree diminishing their length, or altering 
 their proper form. We see with what care the walls of 
 a house are shored up, to admit of repair — how correctly 
 the workman must estimate the strength of his pillars 
 and beams — how nicely he must hammer in his wedges, 
 that every interstice may be filled, and no strain be 
 permitted ; and if this operation fail in the slightest 
 degree, it is attended with a rent of the wall from top to 
 bottom. We say, then, that from the very awkwardness 
 of this proceeding (in which, after all, there is danger 
 of the whole fabric tumbling about the workmen), we 
 are called upon to admire how the solid pillars in our 
 own frames are a thousand times renewed, whilst the plan 
 of the original fabric is followed, to the utmost nicety, 
 in their restoration. And if it deviate at all, it is only 
 in a manner to surprise us the more : since it will be 
 discovered that the change has been effected with a 
 view to adapt the strength of material to some new 
 circumstance ; as the increasing weight which the bone 
 has to support, or the jar it is subject to, from some 
 alteration in the activity or exercise of the body. 
 
 There is a living principle, which, while the material 
 changes, is itself permanent ; attracting and arranging, 
 dissolving and throwing off successive portions of the 
 solids. And influencing this living principle, there is 
 a law which shapes, and limits the growth of, every 
 part; and carries it through a regular series of changes, 
 
chap. vi. -CHANGES IN THE BODY DURING LIFE. 185, 
 
 in which its form and aptness for its office are pre- 
 served, whilst the material alone is altered. The 
 influence of disease will, for a time, disorder this 
 modelling process, and produce tumours and distortions ; 
 but when at length the healthy action, that is, the 
 natural action, prevails, these incumbrances are carried 
 away, and the fair proportions of the fabric are 
 restored.] 
 
 Life preserves the materials of the body free from 
 the influence of those affinities which hold the 
 inorganic world together ; and it not only does that, 
 but it substitutes other laws. Of the wonders of the 
 microscope, none exceed those presented on looking at 
 the early rudiments of an animal — it may be of the 
 largest creature that inhabits the earth. This rudi- 
 mentary structure will but appear an homogeneous, 
 transparent, soft jelly; there will be visible in it only a 
 single pulsating point ; yet this mass possesses within 
 it a principle of life ; and it is not only ordered what 
 this influence shall perform in attracting matter, and 
 building up the complex structure of the body, but 
 even the duration of the animal's existence is from 
 the beginning defined. The term may be limited to a 
 day, and the life be truly ephemeral; or it may be 
 prolonged to an hundred years ; but the period is ad- 
 justed according to the condition and enjoyment of the 
 individual, and to the continuance of its species, as per- 
 fectly as are the mechanism and structure themselves. 
 
 [In a seed, or a nut, or an egg, we know that there 
 
186 CHANGES IN THE BODY DURING LIFE. chap.vi. 
 
 is life; from the length of time that these bodies will 
 remain without development, we are forced to acknow- 
 ledge that this life is stationary or dormant ; and that 
 it is limited to the counteraction of putrefaction or 
 chemical decomposition. But no sooner does this living 
 principle become active, than a series of intestinal or 
 internal changes are commenced ; which are regularly- 
 progressive, without a moment's interruption, while life 
 continues. That principle, which may continue an 
 indefinite number of days, months, or years, without 
 producing any change, begins at once to exhibit its 
 influence, builds up the individual body, regulates 
 the actions of secretion and absorption ; and, by its 
 operation upon the material of the frame, stamps it 
 with external marks of infancy, maturity, and age. 
 
 Those who say that life results from structure, 
 and that the material is the ruling part, bid us look 
 to the contrast of youth and age. The activity 
 of limb and buoyancy of spirit in youth they consider 
 as necessary consequences of the newness and per- 
 fection of the organisation. On the other hand, a 
 ruined tower, unroofed, its walls exposed to be broken 
 up by alternation of frost and heat, dryness and 
 moisture, wedged by the roots of ivy, and toppling to 
 its fall, they compare to old age — with the shrunk 
 limbs, tottering gait, shrivelled face, and scattered 
 grey hair of the old. 
 
 But in all this, there is no truth. Whilst there are 
 life and circulation, there is change of the material of 
 
chap. vi. CHANGES IN THE BODY DURING LIFE. 187 
 
 the frame ; and there is a sign of that if a broken bone 
 unite, or a wound heal. Ascribe the distinction to 
 the velocity of circulation, or to the more or less energy 
 of action, or the rapidity of change ; but with the 
 antiquity of the material, it can have nothing to do. The 
 roundness and fulness of flesh, the smoothness, trans- 
 parency, and colour of the cheek, belong to youth as 
 characteristic of the time of life, not as a necessary 
 quality of the material. Is there a physiognomy in all 
 nature — among birds and beasts, insects and flowers 
 — and shall man alone have no indication of his con- 
 dition, in the outward form and character? The distinc- 
 tions in the body apparent in the stages of life, have a 
 deeper source than the accidental effect of the deteriora- 
 tion of the material of the frame. The same changes 
 which are wrought on the structure of the body in youth 
 and in the spring of life, are going on in the last term of 
 life ; but the fabric is rebuilt on a different plan ; each 
 stage, from the embryo to the foetus, the foetus to the 
 child, from that to adolescence, to maturity, and to old 
 age, has its outward form, as indicative of the season 
 of life, but not of the perfection or imperfection of the 
 gross material. "We might as well consider the 
 difference in the term of life of the annual or biennial 
 plant as compared with the oak, or of the ephemeris 
 fly as compared with the bird that hawks at it, to result 
 from the qualities of the matter which forms them, as 
 that the outward characters of the different stages of 
 human life, arise from the perfection or imperfection of 
 
188 
 
 CHANGES IN THE BODY DURING LIFE. chap. 
 
 the material of the body. Not only has every creature 
 its appointed term of life, but parts of the body, in 
 that respect, are independent of the whole; some 
 organs, at their regulated period, shoot to perfection ; 
 and at their allotted time, decay, before the failure 
 of the body. What can more distinctly show that So 
 long as the processes of digestion and assimilation go 
 on, the material of the frame is ever decaying, ever 
 renewing, and never older, and never younger ? We 
 must conclude that the differences in outward appear- 
 ances, at the distinct epochs of our life, have been 
 designed as signs which the Creator intended should 
 be interpreted ; and that the tenure by which we hold 
 life may be continually before us. 
 
 The grand phenomena of nature make powerful 
 impressions on our imagination, and we acknowledge 
 them to be under the guidance of Providence ; but it is 
 more pleasing, more agreeable to our self-importance ; 
 it gives us more confidence in that Providence, to 
 discover that the minutest changes in nature are equally 
 His care, and that "all things do homage." This 
 exaltation of ourselves is not like the influence of pride 
 or common ambition. We may use the words of 
 Socrates to his scholar, who saw, in the contemplation 
 of nature, only a proof of his own insignificance, and 
 concluded " that the gods had no need of him ;" which 
 drew this answer from the sage : " The greater the 
 munificence they have shown in the care of thee, so 
 much the more honour and service thou owest them ! "] 
 
chap. vi. CHANGES IN THE BODY DURING LIFE. 189 
 
 When the many beautiful fabrics built up within the 
 animal body are passed under review, and it is proved 
 that they are not permanent, but are the product of an 
 energy of life, which continues uniform in its operation, 
 whilst all the materials upon which it works are 
 changing — who can hesitate to believe, that the revo- 
 lutions occurring in the inorganic world around us, are 
 superintended by a presiding Power ? The difficulty of 
 comprehension here must be attributed to the partial 
 view of these changes, which we can alone obtain. 
 Their fulfilment extends into periods far beyond our 
 measure of time. Nevertheless, we cannot doubt that 
 such a Power does overlook them ; and we must 
 acknowledge that a balance is preserved ; and that 
 order and harmony prevail. 
 
CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 OF SENSIBILITY AND TOUCH. 
 
 We find every organ of sense, with the exception of 
 that of touch, more perfect in brutes than in man. 
 In the eagle, hawk, gazelle, and feline tribe, the per- 
 fection of the eye is admirable ; — in the dog, wolf, 
 hyaena, as well as birds of prey, the sense of smell, 
 is inconceivably acute ; and if we hesitate to assign a 
 more exquisite sense of taste to the inferior animals, 
 we cannot doubt their superiority in that of hearing. 
 But in the sense of touch, seated in the hand, man 
 claims the superiority ; and it is of consequence to our 
 conclusion that we should observe why it is so. 
 
 Some author has said that, accompanying the 
 exercise of touch, there is a desire of obtaining know- 
 ledge ; in other words, a determination of the will 
 towards the organ of the sense. Bichat avers that 
 touch is active, whilst the other senses are passive. 
 This opinion implies something to be understood — 
 something deeper than what is expressed. We shall 
 arrive at the truth by considering that, in the use of 
 the hand, a double sense is exercised. In touch, we 
 
chap. vii. SENSIBILITY AND TOUCH. 191 
 
 must not only feel the contact of the object ; but we 
 must be sensible of the muscular effort made to reach 
 or grasp it in the fingers. It is in the exercise of the 
 latter power, that there is really any effort made. There 
 can be no more direction of the will towards the proper 
 nerve of touch, than there can be towards any sensible 
 nerve. But, before entering on the consideration of 
 the sensibility, and the actions, which belong to the 
 fingers, we must attend to the common sense of feeling 
 in the surface generally. 
 
 Besides that common sensibility is bestowed upon 
 the hand as upon other parts, and some inquiry into 
 it is necessary for our subject, I enter upon its 
 examination the more willingly, because nothing can 
 afford more surprising proofs of design and bene- 
 volence in the Author of our being, than this property. 
 However obviously the illustrations which we have 
 already given from the mechanism of the body point 
 to the same conclusion, they are not comparable in 
 point of interest, to the examples which we are about 
 to present, from the living endowments of the frame. 
 
 I have used the term common sensibility, in con- 
 formity with the language of authors and customary 
 parlance ; but the expressions, " common nerves," and 
 " common sensibility," in a philosophical inquiry, are 
 inadmissible. Indeed, the use of these terms has been 
 the cause of much of the obscurity which has hung 
 over the subject of the nervous system ; and of our 
 blindness to the benevolent adaptation of the endow- 
 
192 SENSIBILITY OF THE SURFACE chap.vii. 
 
 ments of that system to the condition of animal 
 existence. Thus it has been supposed that some 
 nerves are but coarsely provided for sensation, while 
 others, of a finer quality, are adapted to more delicate 
 impressions. It has been assumed that the nerve of 
 the eye is finer than the nerve of the finger — without 
 considering that the retina* is insensible to qualities, 
 of which the nerve of touch is cognisant. Nerves 
 are, indeed, appropriated to peculiar senses, and to 
 bestowing distinct functions ; but delicacy of texture 
 has nothing to do with that. It is not because the 
 nerve of touch has a coarser or more common texture 
 than the optic or auditory nerve, that it is insensible 
 to light or to sound. The beauty and perfection of the 
 system is, that each nerve is susceptible to its peculiar 
 impression only. The nerve of the skin is alone 
 capable of giving the sense of contact, as the nerve of 
 the eye is alone capable of giving vision. If this 
 appropriation resulted merely from delicacy of texture ; 
 if the retina were sensible to light only from possessing 
 a finer sensibility than the nerve of touch, the acute - 
 ness of the sense would be a source of torment ; whereas 
 it is most beneficently provided that the retina shall 
 not be sensible to pain; or be capable of conveying any 
 impressions but those which operate according to 
 its proper function, producing light and colour. 
 
 The pain experienced in the eye from irritation of 
 dust, depends on a distinct nerve from that which 
 
 The retina is the expansion of the optic nerve within the eye. 
 
COMPARED WITH THE DEEPER PARTS. 
 
 193 
 
 bestows vision ; and again, the sensitive nerve of the 
 eye is susceptible to a different kind of impression from 
 the sensation of the body generally ; of which more pre- 
 sently. When the surgeon performs the operation of 
 couching for cataract, and the point of the needle 
 passes through the outer coat of the eye, it gives the 
 sensation of pricking, which is an exercise of the nerve 
 of touch ; but when the needle passes through the retina, 
 which is the expanded nerve of vision, and forms the 
 internal coat of the eye, it gives the idea of a spark of 
 fire in the eye. The nerve of vision is as insensible 
 to touch, as the nerve of touch is insensible to light.* 
 We form our notions of sensibility, from that of the 
 skin; it is in constant communication with things 
 around us, and affected by their qualities ; it affords 
 us information which corrects the ideas received from 
 the other organs of sense, and it excites our attention 
 to preserve our bodies from injury. So familiar 
 are we with the painful effects of injuries upon the 
 surface, that all are apt to imagine that the 
 deeper the injury, the more dreadful the pain. But 
 that is not the fact ; nor would it accord with the 
 beneficent design which shines out everywhere. To 
 such irritants as would give the skin pain, the internal 
 parts are totally insensible. The sensibility of the 
 skin not only serves to give the sense of touch to the 
 surface, but it guards the parts beneath ; and as the 
 
 * These views of the distinct functions of the nerves of sense, were published 
 (1811), in the earliest statement of my observations on the Nervous System. 
 
 O 
 
194 
 
 SENSIBILITY OF THE SURFACE. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 deeper structures cannot be reached except through 
 the skin, and we must suffer pain in it before they can 
 be injured, it would be superfluous to bestow sensi- 
 bility upon the deeper parts themselves. If the internal 
 organs possessed sensibility similar in kind and degree 
 to that of the integument, so far from answering an 
 useful purpose, it would have been, in the common 
 exercise of the frame, a continual source of pain. 
 
 Surgeons, from becoming practically acquainted with 
 a greater number of the phenomena on which physi- 
 ology is founded than physicians, have perhaps superior 
 opportunities of advancing that science. In perform- 
 ing an operation, the surgeon informs his patient, 
 after he has cut through the skin, that the greatest 
 pain is over ; but if, in the advanced stage, he is 
 obliged to extend the incision, it is properly considered 
 an awkwardness ; not only because it proves that he has 
 miscalculated what was necessary to the correct per- 
 formance of his operation, but because the patient, 
 bearing courageously the deeper incisions, cannot 
 sustain the renewed cutting of the skin, without giving 
 token of severe pain. The fact of the exquisite sen- 
 sibility of the surface, as compared with the deeper 
 parts, being thus ascertained by daily experience, we 
 cannot mistake the intention : that it is to make the 
 skin the safeguard to the delicate textures within, 
 by forcing us to avoid what will injure the surface. 
 And it does afford a more effectual defence, than if our 
 bodies were clad with the hide of the rhinoceros. 
 
chap. vn. COMPARED WITH THE DEEPER PARTS. 195 
 
 The greater the consideration we give to this subject, 
 the more convincing will be the proofs, that the painful 
 sensibility of the skin is a benevolent provision ; that 
 it makes us alive to injuries, which would otherwise 
 bruise and destroy the internal vital organs. 
 
 In pursuing the inquiry, we learn with much interest, 
 that when bones, cartilages of the joints, or the mem- 
 branes and ligaments which cover them, are exposed — 
 they may be cut, pricked, or even burned, without the 
 patient, or the animal, suffering the slightest pain. 
 We have arrived at the full comprehension of this 
 subject slowly; disagreeable experiments have been 
 made ; but the following is as interesting, as it was 
 innocently performed. A man, who had his finger 
 torn off, so as to be connected by the tendon only, 
 came to a pupil of Dr. Hunter : " I shall now see," 
 he said, " whether this man has any sensibility in 
 the tendon." He laid a cord along the finger, and 
 blindfolding the patient, cut across the tendon. 
 " Tell me," he asked, "what I have cut?" " Why 
 you have cut across the cord, to be sure," was 
 the answer. At first, these facts would appear to 
 prove, beyond all question, that the structures 
 enumerated are devoid of sensation. After witness- 
 ing such remarkable instances of absence of pain, 
 who could come to any other conclusion ? But if we 
 adopt the true, philosophical, and I may say, religious 
 view of the subject ; and consider that pain is not con- 
 ferred as an evil, but, on the contrary, for benevolent 
 
 o 2 
 
196 PAIN THE SAFEGUARD OF THE BODY. chap. tii. 
 
 and important purposes, we perceive that the subject 
 requires further elucidation. 
 
 In the first place, it is obvious, that if a sensibility- 
 like that of the skin had been bestowed upon these 
 internal parts, it must have remained unexercised. 
 Had the bones, cartilages, ligaments, or tendons been 
 rendered sensible to pricking or burning, they would 
 have possessed a quality never to be useful ; since, 
 without previous warning received through the skin, 
 no such injuries as these could reach them. 
 
 But, further, allowing pain to be a benevolent pro- 
 vision which admonishes us to avoid such violence as 
 would affect the functions of parts, we may yet inquire 
 whether certain other injuries may not reach these 
 internal structures, without warning from the skin. Now, 
 of this there can be no doubt ; the textures around the 
 joints are subject to sprain, rupture, and shocks, while 
 the skin may not be at all implicated in the accident. 
 
 Accordingly, notwithstanding the apparent demon- 
 stration by experiment that these internal parts are 
 devoid of sensibility, it is evident that they must possess 
 an appropriate kind of feeling, or it would imply an 
 imperfection. Every clay's observation shows that 
 such is the case : for we find that the cartilages, liga- 
 ments, and tendons, which may be pricked, cut, or 
 burned, without exhibition of pain — are acutely sensible 
 to concussion, stretching, or laceration. Is it not 
 remarkable that men, the luminaries of their profession, 
 should have held that these parts were insensible ; and 
 
CHAP. VII. 
 
 PAIN THE SAFEGUARD OF THE BODY. 
 
 197 
 
 yet that they should have been in daily attendance upon 
 persons suffering from sprained ankle ; where the struc- 
 tures injured are the very ones enumerated, and where 
 the pain, felt at the instant of the sprain, is excessive ? 
 
 How consistent, then, and beautiful is the distri- 
 bution of this property of life ! The sensibility to pain 
 varies with the function of the part. The skin is alive 
 to every possible injurious impression likely to be 
 made upon it; but had the same kind and degree of 
 sensibility been universal ; had the membranes between 
 the bones of our great joints, or the ligaments which 
 knit the bones, or the tendons of the muscles, been 
 sensible in the same manner and degree as the skin, or 
 surface of the eye — we should have been racked with 
 pain in the common movements of the body — the mere 
 weight of one bone on another, or motion of a limb, 
 would have been attended with suffering as acute as 
 that of a man who should attempt to walk in a violent 
 attack of rheumatism. On the other hand, had the 
 deeper structures possessed no sensibility, we should 
 have been without a guide to our exertions. The 
 internal parts do possess sensibility ; but it is limited 
 to warning us of those kinds of injury alone which may 
 possibly reach so deeply. It teaches us what we can 
 do with impunity ; if we leap from too great a height, 
 or carry too heavy a burden, or attempt to interrupt a 
 body whose impetus is too powerful, we are admonished 
 of the danger as effectually by this internal sensibility, 
 as of the approach of a sharp point, or a hot iron, to 
 
198 PAIN THE SAFEGUARD OF THE BODY. chap.vii. 
 
 the skin. Accordingly, pain is not given here super- 
 fluously : the safe exercise and enjoyment of every part 
 is permitted without alloy : the excess only is restrained. 
 
 In continuation of this view of the benevolent object 
 for which pain is awarded, I may be excused for stating 
 the argument as I have delivered it in my lectures : — 
 
 " Without meaning to impute inattention or restless- 
 ness, I may request you to observe how every one 
 occasionally changes his position, and shifts the pressure 
 of the weight of his body. Were you constrained to 
 keep in one position during the whole hour, you would 
 rise stiff and lame. The sensibility of the skin here 
 guides you to do that, which, if neglected, might be 
 followed even by death of the part. When a patient is 
 affected with paralysis of the lower half of the body, 
 we give especial directions to the nurse and attendants 
 to change the position of his limbs at short intervals, 
 to place pillows under his loins and hams, and to shift 
 them often. If these precautions be omitted, you know 
 the consequence to be inflammation of the integument 
 where the pressure is directed ; and from that come 
 fever, local irritation, and death. 
 
 " Thus you perceive that, without disturbing your 
 train of thought, the natural sensibility of the skin 
 induces you to shift the body, so as to permit the free 
 circulation of the blood in the minute vessels : and 
 when this sensibility is lost, the utmost attention of 
 friends, and the watchfulness of the nurse, are but poor 
 substitutes for the protection which nature is con- 
 
CHAP. VII. 
 
 SENSIBILITY TO HEAT. 
 
 199 
 
 tinually affording. If you thus suffer, lying on a soft 
 bed, how could you encounter the rubs and shocks 
 incident to an active life, if deprived of the sense of 
 pain in the skin ? You must acknowledge that the 
 sensibility of the integuments is as much a protection 
 to the frame generally, as that of the eyelids is to the 
 eyes ; and the reflection suggests a motive for gratitude 
 which probably you never thought of before." 
 
 Sensibility of the hand to the varieties of temperature 
 is a different endowment from that of touch. This 
 property is seated in the skin, and is, consequently, 
 limited to the exterior surface of the body. The 
 internal parts being of uniform temperature, it would 
 have been superfluous to bestow it upon them. As we 
 are surrounded by an atmosphere, the temperature of 
 which is continually varying, its extremes might cause 
 the destruction of our frame ; and as we must suit our 
 exertions or contrivances to sustain life against such 
 vicissitudes, the possession of this peculiar sensibility 
 affords another proof of a foreknowledge of our con- 
 dition. To illustrate the evils which might befal us 
 were it not for this sensibility, we might recur to our 
 former example. The paralytic, having no sense of the 
 extremes of temperature, is frequently severely burned ; 
 or his extremities may be mortified through cold. A 
 man, who had lost this sense in his right hand, but 
 retained muscular power, lifted the cover of a pan, 
 which from falling into the fire was burning hot, and 
 deliberately replaced it, without being conscious of the 
 
200 
 
 SENSIBILITY TO HEAT. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 heat ; the effect, however, was that the skin of the palm 
 and fingers was destroyed. The same man had a con- 
 tinual sensation of coldness in the affected arm, which 
 actual cold did not aggravate, nor heat in any degree 
 assuage.* 
 
 Sensibility to heat, inasmuch as it is capable of 
 becoming a painful sensation, is not only a safeguard, 
 but a never-failing excitement to activity, and a con- 
 tinual source of enjoyment. Cold braces and animates 
 to exertion, whilst the warmth which is pleasant to us, 
 is genial to all the operations of the animal economy. 
 And here we may remark an adaptation of the living 
 property, very different from a physical influence. Heat 
 is uniform in its effect on dead matter ; science informs 
 us that warmth and cold are only relative degrees of 
 caloric. But the sensation varies, as heat is given to, 
 or abstracted from, the living body. To the skin, cold 
 and heat are distinct sensations ; and without such 
 contrast, we should not continue to enjoy the sense. 
 For in the nervous system it holds universally, that 
 variety, or contrast, is necessary to sensation; the 
 finest organ of sense losing its property, by the 
 continuance of the same impression. It is by a 
 
 * There are certain morbid conditions of sensation when cold bodies feel 
 intensely hot. — Dr. Abercrombie '§ Inquiry into the Intellectual Powers. 
 
 It is a curious illustration of the powers of the cutaneous nerves to receive 
 impressions of the varieties of temperature, that when one is affected by disease 
 anywhere in its course, the sensation of burning may accompany the pain ; and 
 the patient will refer the sense of heat to that part of the skin to which the 
 extreme branches of the nerve are distributed. By a burning sensation in the 
 sole of the foot, the surgeon may be directed to disease seated in the centre of 
 the thigh. 
 
CHAP. VII. INSENSIBILITY OF THE BRAIN. 201 
 
 comparison of cold and heat that we enjoy either 
 condition. 
 
 To contrast still more strongly the sensibility of the 
 external surface with the endowments of the internal 
 parts ; and to show how very different a property sen- 
 sibility generally is, from what is suggested by first 
 experience ; and how admirably it is varied and accom- 
 modated to the functions, we shall add one other fact. 
 The brain is insensible — that part of the brain, which, 
 if disturbed or diseased, takes away consciousness, is as 
 insensible as the leather of our shoe ! That the brain 
 may be touched, or a portion of it cut off, without 
 interrupting the patient in the sentence that he is utter- 
 ing, is a surprising circumstance ! Physiologists formerly 
 inferred, from this fact, that the more important organ 
 of the brain had not been reached. But that opinion 
 arose from the notion that a nerve must necessarily 
 be sensible ; whereas, when we consider that different 
 parts of the nervous system possess totally distinct 
 endowments, and that some nerves, as I have elsewhere 
 shown, though exquisitely alive to their proper office, 
 are insensible to touch and incapable of giving pain, 
 we have no just reason to conclude that the brain 
 should be sensible, or exhibit the property of a nerve 
 of the skin. Reason on it as we may, the fact is so ; — 
 the brain, through which every impression must be 
 conveyed before it is perceived, is itself insensible. 
 This informs us that sensibility is not a necessary 
 attendant on the delicate texture of a living part, but 
 
202 
 
 SENSIBILITY OF THE EYE. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 that it must have an appropriate organ, and that it is 
 an especial provision.* 
 
 To satisfy my reader on this interesting subject, I 
 shall contrast two organs, one external and exposed, 
 and the other internal and carefully excluded from 
 injury. 
 
 The eye, consisting of its proper nerve of vision, 
 and its transparent humours and coats, is an organ of 
 exquisite delicacy ; and not only is it exposed to all 
 the injuries to which the general surface of the body 
 is liable, but it is subject to be inflamed and rendered 
 opaque by there getting into it particles so light that 
 they float in the atmosphere, and to the contact of 
 which the common skin is quite insensible. Now the 
 mechanical, and more obvious contrivance for the 
 protection of this organ, is a ready motion of the 
 eyelids, and the shedding of tears ; which tears, 
 coming, as it were, from a small fountain, play over 
 the surface of the eye, and wash away whatever is 
 offensive. But to regulate the action of this little 
 mechanical and hydraulic apparatus, an exquisite 
 sensibility is required — not that kind which enables 
 the eye to receive the impressions of light, and may 
 at times warn it of approaching danger — but a 
 property which more resembles the tenderness of the 
 skin, yet is happily adapted by its fineness, to the 
 condition of the organ. 
 
 If the excitement which puts in motion the me- 
 
 * See the Sensibility of the Retina, " Additional Illustrations/* 
 
chap. vii. SENSIBILITY OF THE EYE. 203 
 
 chanism for guarding the eye, depended on our will — 
 if it were not an influence quicker than thought — the 
 apparatus would be unavailing. It is not by feeling 
 the pain of the offensive body, estimating its dangers, 
 and acting on the conviction, that we close the eyes to 
 avoid injury. That would be all too slow for the 
 purpose. When a light, foreign, body touches the 
 eyelashes, seated on the tender extremities of sensitive 
 nerves, they give alarm ; and, more swiftly than an 
 act of volition, they cause a motion both of the eyelids 
 and eyeballs, even before the offending body can touch 
 the eye's surface. 
 
 It sometimes happens that the nerve which bestows 
 this appropriate sensibility on the external surface 
 of the eye, and sends its branches into the roots of the 
 eyelashes, is injured, and deprived of its functions ; and 
 the consequences are distressing. Smoke and offensive 
 particles afloat in the atmosphere enter and rest upon 
 the eye, or flies and dust lodge under the eyelids ; but 
 without producing sensation, and without exciting 
 either the hydraulic or mechanical apparatus to act 
 in expelling them. Yet, although these objects do 
 not give pain, they irritate the surfaces and produce 
 inflammation ; that causes opacity of the fine trans- 
 parent membranes of the eye, and the organ is lost, 
 even when the proper nerve of vision remains entire. 
 I have seen many instances of the eye being thus 
 deprived of sensibility to touch ; * and on these 
 
 * They are stated at length in the author's work on the Nervous System. 
 
204 
 
 SENSIBILITY OF THE EYE. 
 
 CHAP. VTI. 
 
 occasions, before the transparency of the organ was lost, 
 it has been singular to remark, that when the hand was 
 waved before the eye, or a feather brought near it, the 
 person shut the eye ; yet when the finger was put into 
 the eye, and rubbed the surface, or when blood was 
 drawn from the inflamed vessels by the lancet, he did 
 not even wink. That is, when the sense of vision, 
 through the optic nerve, gave notice of danger to the 
 organ, the patient winked to avoid it ; but the sense of 
 touch being lost, there was no pain felt, nor alarm given 
 by the sensitive nerve, and the action of winking was 
 not excited to defend the organ. 
 
 I shall present another instance of the peculiar 
 nature of the sensibility which protects the eye. Every 
 one knows that if the eye be touched by a thing of the 
 lightness of a feather, the muscles will be thrown into 
 uncontrollable action and spasm. But the oculist has 
 observed that if he pass the point of his finger some- 
 what rudely between the eyelids, and press directly 
 against the eye, he will produce hardly any sensation — 
 certainly no pain — and he can hold the ball steady for 
 his intended operation ! This is one of the little 
 secrets of the art. The oculist can turn out the eye- 
 lids, and finger the eye in a manner which appears at 
 once rude and masterly : and still the wonder grows 
 that he can do such things dexterously, and without 
 inflicting pain, when daily experience makes us feel 
 that even a grain of sand will produce exquisite 
 torture. The explanation is, that the eye and eyelids 
 
chap. vii. SENSIBILITY OF THE HEART. 205 
 
 possess a sensibility adjusted to excite the action of 
 its protecting parts against the intrusion of such small 
 particles as might lodge, and inflame its finer mem- 
 branes : but the apparatus is not calculated to defend 
 the surface against the injury of a stick or stone. 
 From such accidents the eye could not be saved by a 
 delicate sensibility, and an involuntary action ; they 
 call for an exertion of the will. 
 
 These details afford new proofs of the exact relation 
 established between the kind of sensibility belonging 
 to an organ, and the end to be attained through it. 
 Were it not for the pain to which the eye is exposed, 
 we should soon lose the enjoyment of the sense of 
 vision altogether. But we are about to institute a 
 comparison between the eye and the heart. 
 
 The observation of the admirable Harvey, the 
 discoverer of the circulation of the blood, is to this 
 effect. A noble youth of the family of Montgomery, 
 from a fall, and consequent abscess on the side of the 
 chest, had the interior marvellously exposed ; so that 
 after his cure, on his return from his travels, the heart 
 and lungs were visible, and could be handled : which 
 when it was communicated to Charles L, he expressed 
 a desire that Harvey should be permitted to see the 
 youth, and examine his heart. " When," says Harvey, 
 " I had paid my respects to this young nobleman, and 
 conveyed to him the King's request, he made no con- 
 cealment, but exposed the left side of his breast, when 
 I saw a cavity into which I could introduce my fingers 
 
206 
 
 SENSIBILITY OF THE HEART. 
 
 CHAP. VII* 
 
 and thumb ; astonished with the novelty, again and 
 again I explored the wound, and first marvelling at the 
 extraordinary nature of the cure, I set about the exami- 
 nation of the heart. Taking it in one hand, and placing 
 the finger of the other on the pulse of the wrist, I satisfied 
 myself that it was indeed the heart which I grasped. I 
 then brought him to the King, that he might behold and 
 touch so extraordinary a thing, and that he might 
 perceive, as I did, that unless when we touched the 
 outer skin, or when he saw our fingers in the cavity, this 
 young nobleman knew not that we touched the heart." 
 
 Other observations confirm this great authority, 
 and the heart is declared insensible. And yet the 
 opinions of mankind must not be lightly called in 
 question. Not only does every emotion of the mind 
 affect the heart, but every change in the condition of the 
 body — motion during health — the influence of disease 
 — is attended with a response in the action of the heart. 
 
 Here is the distinction manifested, to which we 
 desire the reader's attention. The sensibility of the 
 surface of the eye is for a purpose ; so is that of the 
 heart. Whilst the sensibility of the eye guards it 
 against injury from without — the heart, insensible to 
 touch, is yet alive to every variation in the circulation, 
 to every alteration of posture, or of exertion, and is in 
 sympathy, of the strictest kind, with the constitutional 
 powers. 
 
 "When we consider these facts, we can no longer 
 doubt that the sensibilities of the living frame are 
 
chap. vii. SENSIBILITY A BENEFICENT ENDOWMENT. 207 
 
 appropriate endowments ; not qualities necessarily 
 arising from life ; still less the consequences of delicacy 
 of texture. Nor can we, I should hope, longer doubt 
 that they are suited to the condition, and especially to 
 the degree of exposure, of each part, and destined for 
 the protection of the different organs. We perceive 
 that they vary in an extraordinary manner, according as 
 they are given to external or to internal parts ; as they 
 belong to one apparatus of action, or to another ; and 
 they are ever adapted to excite some salutary or 
 necessary action. We find no instance of pain being 
 bestowed as a source of suffering or punishment 
 purely, or without finding it overbalanced by great and 
 essential advantages — without, in short, being forced 
 to admit that there could be no protection more perfect 
 for the part. We perceive that the more an organ is 
 exposed, or the greater the delicacy of its organisation 
 — the more exquisitely contrived is the apparatus for 
 its defence, the more peremptory the call for the 
 activity of that mechanism : and as in such instances, 
 the motive to action admits of no thought or hesitation, 
 the action itself is more instantaneous than the quickest 
 suggestion or impulse of the will. 
 
 We are speaking of the natural functions of the body. 
 It requires a deeper consideration — indeed it is foreign 
 to my subject — to advert to the pains which result from 
 disease ; or to reconcile those who suffer in an ex- 
 traordinary degree, to the dispensations of Providence. 
 But as a witness I may speak. It is my daily duty to 
 
208 
 
 PAIN NECESSAKY TO EXISTENCE. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 visit certain wards of the hospital, where no patient is 
 admitted but with a complaint that more than any 
 other fills the imagination with the idea of insufferable 
 pain and certain death. Yet these wards are not the 
 least remarkable for the composure and cheerfulness 
 of their inmates. The individual who suffers has a 
 mysterious counter-balance to that condition, which to 
 us who look on, appears attended with no alleviating 
 circumstance. 
 
 It affords an instance of the boldness with which 
 philosophers have questioned the ways of Providence, 
 that they have asked — why might not all our actions 
 be performed at the suggestion of pleasure ? why 
 should we be subject to pain at all? In answer, I 
 would say, that consistently with our condition, our 
 sensations and pleasures, there must be variety in the 
 impressions. Such contrast is common to every organ 
 of sense. The continuance of an impression occasions 
 it to fade. If the eye look steadfastly upon one object, 
 the image is soon lost — if we continue to look on one 
 colour, we become insensible to it ; and for a perfect 
 perception, colours opposed to each other are ne- 
 cessary.* So have we seen that in the sensibilities of 
 the skin, variety is required to render the sensations 
 perfect. 
 
 It is difficult to say what these philosophers would 
 define as pleasure. But whatever exercise of the 
 senses it may be, unless we are to suppose an entire 
 
 * See additional illustrations in the Appendix. 
 
chap. vii. PAIN NECESSAKY TO EXISTENCE. 209 
 
 change of our nature, its opposite must also be implied. 
 Nay, further, in this fanciful condition of existence did 
 anything of our present constitution prevail, we must 
 suppose that emotions purely of pleasure, would lead 
 to indolence, relaxation, and indifference. In the 
 lower creatures, governed by instinct, there may be, for 
 aught we know, some such condition of existence. 
 But the complexity and delicacy of the human frame 
 are necessary for sustaining those powers or attributes 
 which are in correspondence with superior intelligence ; 
 since they are not in relation to the mind alone, but 
 intermediate between it and the external material 
 world. Grant that vision is necessary to the develop- 
 ment of thought, the organ of it must be formed with 
 relation to light. Speech, so necessary to the deve- 
 lopment of the reasoning faculties, implies a complex 
 and exceedingly delicate organ, to play on the atmo- 
 sphere around us. It is not to the mind that the 
 various organisations are wanted ; but to its condition 
 as related to a material world. 
 
 The necessity for this delicacy of the animal structure 
 being admitted, the textures must be preserved by 
 modifications of sensibility, which shall either excite 
 the parts to instinctive efforts, or rouse us to instanta- 
 neous voluntary activity. Could the eye guard itself, 
 unless it possessed sensibility greater than the skin : 
 or unless this sensibility were in consent with an 
 apparatus, which acts as quickly as thought? Could 
 
 we, by the mere influence of pleasure, or by any 
 
 p 
 
210 
 
 PAIN NECESSARY TO EXISTENCE. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 cessation or variation of pleasurable feelings, be kept 
 alive to those injuries to which the lungs are exposed 
 from substances being carried into them with the air 
 we breathe ? Would anything but the painful sense 
 which accompanies the danger of suffocation, produce 
 those instant and sudden efforts which guard the throat 
 from the intrusion of offensive or injurious matters ? 
 Pleasure is, at the best, a poor motive to exertion ; and 
 rather induces languor and indulgence, and at length 
 indifference. To say that animals might be continually 
 in a state of enjoyment, and that when urged by 
 necessities such as thirst, hunger, and weariness, they 
 might merely feel a diminution of pleasure, is to sup- 
 pose not only their nature, but that of the external 
 world altered. Whilst earth, rocks, woods, and water 
 are the theatre of our existence, the textures of our 
 bodies must be exposed to injuries : and they can only 
 be protected from them by sensibilities adapted to each 
 part, and capable of rousing us to the most animated 
 exertions. To leave us to the guidance of the solici- 
 tations of pleasure, would be to place us where acci- 
 dent would befall us at every step ; and whether these 
 injuries were felt or not, they would be destructive to 
 life. 
 
 In short, to suppose that we might move and act 
 without experience of resistance, or of pain, that 
 there should be nothing to bruise the skin, or hurt 
 the eye, and nothing noxious to be inhaled with 
 the breath, would be to imagine another state of 
 
chap. vii. PAIN NECESSARY TO EXISTENCE. 211 
 
 existence altogether from the present ; and the theorist 
 would be mortified, were that interpretation put on his 
 meaning. Pain is the necessary contrast to pleasure : 
 it ushers us into existence, and is the first to give us 
 consciousness : it alone is capable of exciting the 
 organs into activity : it is the companion and the 
 guardian of human life. If all were smooth in our 
 path, if there were neither rugged places nor accidental 
 opposition, whence should we derive those affections of 
 our minds which we call enterprise, fortitude, and 
 patience ? 
 
 Independently of pain, which protects us more power- 
 fully than a shield, there is inherent in us, and for a 
 similar purpose, an innate horror of death. " And 
 what thinkest thou (said Socrates to Aristodemus) of 
 this continual love of life, this dread of dissolution, 
 which takes possession of us from the moment that we 
 are conscious of existence ? " "I think of it (answered 
 he,) as the means employed by the same great and wise 
 artist, deliberately determined to preserve what he has 
 made." 
 
 The reader will, no doubt, observe here the distinc- 
 tion. We have experience of pain from injuries, and we 
 learn to avoid them. But we can have no experience 
 of death. Therefore the Author of our being has 
 implanted in us an innate horror at dissolution ; and 
 we may see the same principle extending through all 
 animated nature. Where it is possible to be taught by 
 experience, we are left to profit by it ; but where we 
 
 p 2 
 
212 
 
 PAIN NECESSARY TO EXISTENCE. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 can have none, feelings are engendered without it. 
 And this is all that was necessary to show how the life 
 is guarded ; sometimes it is by mechanical strength, as 
 in the skull ; sometimes by acute sensation, as in the 
 skin and in the eye ; sometimes by innate affections of 
 the mind, its in the horror of death ; and these will 
 prevail, as the voice of nature, when we can no longer 
 profit by experience. 
 
 The highest proof of benevolence is this ; that we 
 possess the chiefest source of happiness in ourselves. 
 Every creature has pleasure, in the mere exercise of 
 his body, as well as in the languor and repose that 
 follow exertion. But these conditions are so balanced, 
 that we are impelled to change ; and every change is an 
 additional source of enjoyment. What is apparent in 
 the body, is true of the mind also. The great source 
 of happiness is to be found in the exercise of talents ; 
 and perhaps the greatest of all is when the ingenuity of 
 the mind is exercised in the dexterous employment of 
 the hands. Idle men do not know what is meant 
 here ; but nature has implanted in us this stimulus to 
 exertion ; so that the ingenious artist who invents, or 
 with his hands creates, enjoys a source of delight, 
 perhaps greater, certainly more uninterrupted, than 
 belongs to the possession of higher intellectual powers ; 
 far at least beyond what falls to the lot of the mere 
 minion of fortune.] 
 
CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 OF THE SENSES GENERALLY, INTRODUCTORY TO THE 
 SENSE OF TOUCH. 
 
 Although we are most familiar with the sensibility 
 of the skin, and believe that we perfectly understand 
 the nature and mode of conveyance of the impressions 
 received upon it to the sensorium, yet there is a 
 difficulty in comprehending the operations of the other 
 organs of the senses — a difficulty not removed by the 
 apparent simplicity of that of touch. 
 
 There was a time when the enquirer was satisfied 
 by finding in the ear, a little drum, and a bone to play 
 upon it, with an accompanying nerve ; this was deemed 
 a sufficient explanation of the organ of hearing. It 
 was thought equally satisfactory if, in experimenting 
 upon the eye, the image of the object were seen 
 painted at the bottom, on the surface of the nerve. 
 But although the impression can be thus traced to 
 the extremity of the nerve, still nothing is compre- 
 hended of the nature of that impression, or of the 
 manner in which it is transmitted to the sensorium. 
 On the most minute examination of the nerves, in all 
 
214 NATURE OF THE IMPRESSION. CHAP. VIII. 
 
 their course, and where they are expanded in the 
 external organs of the senses, they seem to be the 
 same in substance and in structure, whatever be their 
 function. "Whether the disturbance of the extremity of 
 the nerve that gives rise to the sensation, be a vibration, 
 or an image painted upon the surface, it cannot, in either 
 case, be transmitted to the brain according to any 
 physical laws that we are acquainted with. All that we 
 can say is, that the different affections of the nerves of 
 the outward senses, are the signals, which the Author of 
 nature has willed to be the means by which corre- 
 spondence is held with the realities. The impression 
 on the nerve can have no more resemblance to the 
 ideas suggested in the mind, than there is between the 
 sound and the conception, in the mind of that man, 
 who, looking out on a dark and stormy sea, hears the 
 report of cannon, which conveys to him ideas of despair 
 and shipwreck — or between the light received into the 
 eye, and the idea excited in one who, apprehending 
 national convulsion, sees a column of flame afar off, 
 which to him is the signal of actual revolt. 
 
 Such illustrations, it may be said, rather tend to 
 show how independent the mind is of the organs of the 
 senses. That a tumult of ideas should arise from an 
 impression on the retina, not more intense than that 
 produced by a burning taper, may be regarded as an 
 instance of excited imagination. But even in a common 
 act of perception, the determined relations between the 
 sensation, and the idea in the mind, have no more 
 
CHAP. VIII. 
 
 ORIGIN OF IDEAS. 
 
 215 
 
 actual resemblance. How this consent, so precise and 
 constant, is established, can neither be explained by 
 physiology, nor any mode of physical inquiry whatever. 
 
 From this law of our nature, that certain perceptions 
 originate in the mind in consequence of the impressions 
 on corresponding nerves, it follows, that one organ of 
 sense can never become the substitute for another, so 
 as to excite the same ideas. When an individual is 
 deprived of the organs of sight, no power of attention, 
 or continued effort of the will, or exercise of the other 
 senses, can enable him to enjoy the class of sensations 
 which is lost. The sense of touch may have its 
 delicacy increased in an exquisite degree ; but if it 
 be true, as has been asserted, that individuals can 
 distinguish colours by touch, it can only be by their 
 feeling a change upon the surface of the stuff, and not 
 by any perception of the colour. It has been my 
 painful duty to attend on persons who have feigned 
 blindness, and pretended that they could see with their 
 fingers : but I have ever found that these first devia- 
 tions from truth entangled them in a tissue of deceit ; 
 and they have at last been forced into admissions which 
 showed their folly and weak inventions. When such 
 patients were affected with nervous disorders, pro- 
 ducing extraordinary sensibility in their organs, — as 
 a power of hearing much beyond our common expe- 
 rience, they became objects of pity; this acuteness of 
 sensibility, from its exciting interest and wonder, 
 has gradually led these morbidly affected persons to 
 
216 
 
 OKIGIN OF IDEAS. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 pretend to powers, greater than they actually possessed ; 
 and it has been difficult to distinguish the symptoms of 
 disease, from the supposed gifts of which they boasted. 
 
 Experiment proves, as we have already stated, that 
 each organ of sense is appropriated to receive a 
 particular kind of sensation only ; and that the nerves 
 intermediate between the brain and the outward 
 organs respectively, are capable of receiving no other 
 sensations but such as are proper to their particular 
 organs. Every impression on the nerve of the eye, 
 or of the ear, or of smelling, or of taste, excites only 
 perceptions of vision, of hearing, of smelling, or of 
 taste; not simply because the extremities of these 
 nerves individually are suited to one kind of external 
 impression ; but because the nerves, through their 
 whole course, and wherever they are affected, are 
 capable of communicating the idea to which they are 
 appropriated, and no other. A blow on the head, an 
 impulse quite unlike that for which the organs of the 
 senses are provided, will excite them all in their several 
 ways ; besides the pain, there will be sparks of fire in the 
 eyes, and a loud noise in the ears. An officer received 
 a musket-ball which went through the bones of his 
 face — in describing his sensations, he said that he felt 
 as if there had been a flash of lightning, accompanied 
 with a sound like the shutting of the door of St. Paul's. 
 
 It is owing to the circumstance of every nerve being 
 appropriated to its function, that the false sensations 
 which accompany the morbid irritation of the nerves 
 
CHAP. VIII. DOCTRINE OF UNDULATIONS, 217 
 
 from internal causes, are produced — such as flashes of 
 light, ringing of the ears, bitter tastes, or offensive 
 smells. These sensations are caused by derangement 
 of some internal organ, most frequently the stomach, 
 exciting the respective nerves of sense. 
 
 Nothing affords a more perfect proof of power and 
 design, than the confidence all men put in the corre- 
 spondence between the perceptions or ideas that arise 
 in the mind, through the exercise of the organs of the 
 senses, and the qualities of external matter. Although 
 it must ever be beyond our comprehension, how the 
 object presented to the outward sense and the idea of 
 it are connected, they are, nevertheless, indissolubly 
 united ; so that the knowledge of the object, gained 
 by these unknown means, is attended with an absolute 
 conviction of the real existence of the object — a con- 
 viction independent of reason, and to be regarded as 
 a first law of our nature. 
 
 The doctrine of the vibration of an ether producing 
 light, and communicating a corresponding vibration to 
 the optic nerve, has had powerful advocates in our 
 day. But such an explanation of the phenomena of 
 vision is quite at variance with anatomy, and assumes 
 more than is usually granted to an hypothesis. It 
 requires us to imagine the existence of the ether ; and 
 that this fine air is governed by laws unlike any other 
 of which we have experience. It supposes a nervous 
 fluid in tubes, or fibres, to exist in the nerve, for 
 receiving and conveying vibrations. It supposes 
 
218 DOCTEINE OF UNDULATIONS. CHAP. VIII. 
 
 everywhere motion as the sole means of propagating 
 sensation. The theory would appear to have originated 
 in the misconception, that if a certain kind or degree 
 of vibration be communicated to any nerve, this 
 particular motion will be propagated to the sensorium, 
 and a corresponding idea excited in the mind ; for 
 example, it is supposed that if the nerve of hearing 
 were placed in the bottom of the eye, it would be 
 impressed with the vibration proper to light, and that 
 this, when conveyed to the brain, would give rise to 
 the sensation of light or colours. But all this is 
 contrary to fact. Nor, when I find that a fine needle 
 pricking the retina will give rise to all the colours of 
 the rainbow, and that the pressure of the finger on the 
 ball of the eye will have a similar effect, can I be 
 satisfied with the statement, that light and colours 
 result from vibrations, which vary " from four hundred 
 and fifty-eight millions of millions, to seven hundred 
 and twenty-seven millions of millions, in a second ? " 
 
 In the percipient or sentient principle residing in 
 the brain and nerves, as well as in the organ of sense, 
 there must be a conformity to the impression, and a 
 correspondence with the qualities of matter. The 
 organs of sense may be compared to so many instru- 
 ments, or tests, which the philosopher successively 
 employs for distinguishing the different properties of 
 a body which he investigates : as all the qualities are 
 not communicable through any one, he has recourse to 
 several : and so in the use of the senses, each organ is 
 
CHAP. VIII. 
 
 OF TOUCH. 
 
 219 
 
 provided for receiving a particular impression, and no 
 other. However mortifying it may be to acknowledge 
 that we know nothing of the manner in which sensation 
 is propagated, or the mind ultimately influenced, it is 
 nevertheless pleasing to observe the correspondence 
 established, through a series of organic parts, between 
 the mind, and the condition or qualities of matter in 
 the external world. Nothing can convey a more 
 sublime idea of Power ; and of the unity of the system 
 which embraces the organic and the inorganic creations. 
 
 Returning to the consideration of the sensibility of 
 the skin, or the sense of touch ; it is as distinct an 
 endowment as the sense of vision ; it is neither 
 inferior nor more common. Touch is not consequent 
 upon the mere exposure of the delicate surface of the 
 animal body. It is a sense the organ of which is 
 seated in the skin; and although the organ is ne- 
 cessarily extended widely over the surface of the 
 body, yet the nerves are as appropriate as if they were 
 gathered into one trunk, like those belonging to the 
 organs of vision and hearing. In fact, we do find that 
 the portion of nervous matter on which the sensation 
 of touch depends, however diffused in its sentient 
 extremities over the whole exterior surface, is con- 
 centrated towards the brain, and is there appropriated 
 to raising its own peculiar perceptions in the mind. 
 
 Perhaps this will be better understood from the fact 
 that a certain large portion of the skin may be the seat 
 of excruciating pain, and yet the surface, which to the 
 
220 
 
 ORGAN OF TOUCH. 
 
 CHAP. VIII« 
 
 patient's idea is the seat of pain, will be altogether 
 insensible to cutting, burning, or any mode of 
 destruction ! " I have no feeling in all the side of my 
 face, and it is dead ; yet surely it cannot be dead, 
 since there is a constant pricking pain in it." Such 
 were the words of a young woman whose disease was 
 at the root of the nerve of sensibility near the brain.* 
 The disease had destroyed the power of the nerve to 
 convey sensation from the exterior ; but by producing 
 irritation near its root, it had substituted that morbid 
 impression, which was referred to the tactile extremities 
 of the nerve. 
 
 If we use the term common sensibility, we can do so 
 only in reference to touch : since, from being the most 
 necessary of the senses, it is enjoyed by all animals, 
 from the lowest to the highest in the chain of 
 existence. Whilst this sense is distinct from the 
 others, it is the most important of any; for it is 
 through it alone that some animals possess the con- 
 sciousness of existence ; and to those which enjoy 
 many organs of sense, that of touch, as we shall 
 presently show, is essential to the full development of 
 the powers with which they are endowed. 
 
 OF THE ORGAN OF TOUCH. 
 
 Touch is that peculiar sensibility which gives the 
 consciousness of the resistance of external matter, and 
 
 * See the author's work on the " Nervous System." 
 
CHAP. VIII. 
 
 ORGAN OF TOUCH. 
 
 221 
 
 makes us acquainted with the hardness, smoothness, 
 roughness, size, and form, of bodies. While it 
 enables us to distinguish what is external, from what 
 belongs to us, and informs us of the geometrical 
 qualities of bodies, we must refer to this sense also 
 our judgment of distance, of motion, of number, and 
 of time. 
 
 Premising that the sense of touch is exercised by 
 means of a complex apparatus — by a combination of 
 the consciousness of the action of the muscles, with 
 the sensibility of the proper nerves of touch ; we shall, 
 in the first place, examine in what respect the 
 organisation resembles that of the other senses. 
 
 We have said before, that, on the most minute 
 examination of the extremities of the nerves expanded 
 on the different organs of sense, no appropriate struc- 
 ture can be detected ; that they appear every where 
 the same, — soft, . pulpy, prepared for impression, 
 and so distributed that the impression shall reach 
 them. What is termed the structure of the organ of 
 sense, is that apparatus by which the external impres- 
 sion is conveyed inwards, and by which its force is 
 concentrated on the extremity of the nerve. The 
 mechanism by which the external organs are suited 
 to their offices, is highly interesting; from their 
 resembling things of human contrivance, they serve to 
 show, in a way level to our comprehension, the design 
 with which the fabric is constructed. Thus we can 
 understand how the eye is so seated and so formed, as 
 
222 ORGAN OF TOUCH. chap.vtii. 
 
 to embrace the greatest possible field of vision ; we 
 can estimate the happy effects of the convexity of the 
 transparent cornea ; and the influence of the three hu- 
 mours, of various densities, acting like an achromatic 
 telescope ; we can admire the precision with which the 
 rays of light are concentrated on the retina j and the 
 beautiful provision for enlarging or diminishing the 
 pencil of light, in proportion to its intensity. But all 
 this explains nothing, in respect to the perception 
 raised in the mind by the impulse on the extremity 
 of the nerve. 
 
 In like manner, in the complex apparatus of the ear, 
 we see how the organ is formed with reference to a 
 double course of vibrations, — as they come through 
 the atmosphere, and through the solids of the body 
 itself : we comprehend how the undulations and vibra- 
 tions of the air are collected and concentrated; how 
 they are directed, through the intricate passages of the 
 bone, to a fluid in which the nerve of hearing is 
 suspended; and we see how, at last, that nerve is 
 moved. But nothing more can we comprehend from 
 the study of the external organ of hearing. 
 
 The illustration is equally clear, as regards the 
 organ of smelling, or of taste. There is nothing in 
 the nerve itself, either of the nose or the tongue, 
 which can explain why it is susceptible of the particular 
 impression that it receives. For these reasons, we 
 are prepared to expect very little complexity in the 
 organ of touch ; and to believe that the peculiarity of 
 
chap. viii. ORGAN OF TOUCH. 223 
 
 the sense consists more in the property bestowed on 
 the nerve, than in the mechanical adaptation of the 
 exterior organ. 
 
 OF THE CUTICLE. 
 
 The cuticle or epidermis covers the true skin, 
 excludes the air, limits the perspiration, and in some 
 degree regulates the heat of the body. It is a dead or 
 insensible covering; it guards from contact the true 
 vascular surface of the skin; and in this manner, it 
 often prevents the communication of infection. We 
 are most familiar with it as the scarf skin, which 
 scales off after fevers, or by the use of the flesh-brush, 
 or by the friction of the clothes ; for it is continually 
 separating in minute thin scales, whilst it is as 
 regularly formed anew by the vascular surface below. 
 
 The structure of this covering is intimately con- 
 nected with the organ of touch. The habit of con- 
 sidering the function of certain textures as produced 
 accidentally, has induced some anatomists to believe 
 that the cuticle is formed by the mere hardening of 
 the true skin. The fact, however, that the cuticle is 
 perfect in the new-born infant, and that even then it is 
 thickest on the hands and feet, should have shown that, 
 like every thing in the animal structure, it participates 
 in the great design. 
 
 The cuticle is so far a part of the organ of touch, 
 that it is the medium through which the external 
 
224 
 
 ORGAN OF TOUCH. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 impression is conveyed to the nerve ; and the manner 
 in which that is accomplished, is not without interest. 
 
 The extremities of the fingers best exhibit the 
 provisions for the exercise of the sense. The nails give 
 support to the tips of the fingers ; and in order to sustain 
 the elastic cushion which forms their extremity, they 
 are made broad and shield-like * This cushion is an 
 important part of the exterior apparatus ; its fulness 
 and elasticity adapt it admirably for touch. An ingeni- 
 ous gentleman has observed that we cannot feel the 
 pulse at the wrist, with the tongue. That is a remark- 
 able fact ; and I apprehend that it is owing, not to the 
 insensibility of the tongue, but to its softness of tex- 
 ture ; the tip of the tongue is not fitted to receive that 
 peculiar impulse, to which the firm and elastic pad of 
 the finger is so perfectly suited. Is it not interesting 
 to find that, had the organ of touch been formed as 
 delicately as the tongue, we should have lost one of our 
 inlets to the knowledge of matter ! 
 
 But to return — on a nearer inspection, we discover 
 in the points of the fingers a more particular provision 
 for adapting them to touch. Wherever the sense of 
 feeling is most exquisite, there we see minute spiral 
 ridges of the cuticle. These ridges have corresponding 
 depressions on the inner surface ; and they, again, give 
 lodgment to soft pulpy processes of the skin, called 
 papillae, in which lie the extremities of the sentient 
 nerves. Thus the nerves are adequately protected, 
 
 * Unguis scutiformis. 
 
chap. viii. ORGAN OF TOUCH. 225 
 
 while they are, at the same time, sufficiently exposed, 
 to have impressions communicated to them through the 
 elastic cuticle, and thus to give rise to the sense of 
 touch. The organisation is simple, yet it is in strict 
 analogy with the other organs of sense. 
 
 Every one must have observed a tendency in the 
 cuticle to become thickened and stronger by pressure 
 and friction. If the pressure be partial and severe, 
 the action of the true skin is too much excited, fluid is 
 thrown out, and the cuticle is raised in a blister. If 
 it be still partial, but more gradually applied, a corn is 
 formed. If, however, the general surface of the palms 
 or soles be exposed to pressure, the cuticle thickens, 
 until it becomes a defence, like a glove or shoe. Now, 
 what is most to be admired in this thickening of the 
 cuticle is, that the sense of touch is not thereby lost, 
 or indeed much diminished, certainly not in proportion 
 to the increased protection afforded by it to the skin 
 beneath. 
 
 The thickened cuticle partakes of the character of 
 the hoof of an animal. We may therefore examine 
 the structure of the hoof of the horse, as the best 
 illustration how the sensibility of the skin is preserved 
 in due degree, whilst the surface is completely guarded 
 against injury. The human nail is a continuation of 
 the cuticle, and the hoof of an animal belongs to the 
 same class of parts as the nail. 
 
 In observing how the nerves are disposed with regard 
 to the hoof, we have, in fact, a magnified view of the 
 
 Q 
 
226 
 
 ORGAN OF TOUCH. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 structure which exists, only more minutely and 
 delicately, in the cuticular covering of the fingers. 
 The crust or hoof is in itself altogether insensible : 
 but on separating it from the part which it covers, we 
 perceive that its inner surface is marked by numerous 
 grooves or fissures. On the other hand, the surface 
 with which the hoof is in contact, possesses, during 
 life, a high degree of vascularity, and sensibility ; and 
 projecting from it are small villi,*" containing blood 
 vessels and nerves, which enter into the fissures of 
 the hoof, where they are securely lodged. When we 
 detach the hoof from the vascular and nervous surface, 
 we can see these delicate tufts or villi, as they are 
 pulled out from the interspaces which they occupied ; 
 and they are not merely extremities of nerves ; they 
 consist of nerves with the necessary accompaniment of 
 membrane and blood vessels, on a very minute scale : 
 for it must be remembered that nerves can perform no 
 function unless supplied with blood, all qualities of life 
 being supported through the circulating blood. The 
 nerves so prolonged within the villi into the hoof, receive 
 the vibrations of that body : and by that means the horse 
 is sensible to the motion and pressure of its foot, or to 
 its percussion against the ground ; without which 
 provision, there would be a certain imperfection in the 
 limb. 
 
 In a former part of this treatise, I have shown by 
 
 * Villi, delicate tufts, like the pile of velvet, projecting from the surface of 
 any membrane. 
 
chap. viii. ORGAN OF TOUCH. 227 
 
 what a curious mechanism the horse's foot is rendered 
 yielding and elastic, to enable it to bear the shocks to 
 which it is liable. But owing to the hardness of our 
 made roads, and the defects of shoeing, the pressure 
 and concussion are too severe and too incessant not 
 to be attended with injury of the foot; accordingly, 
 inflammation follows; and then the protecting sensi- 
 bility is converted into a source of pain ; the horse is 
 " foundered." There is a remedy for this condition, 
 by dividing the nerve across before it reaches the foot ; 
 the consequence of which operation is, that the horse, 
 instead of moving with timid steps, puts out his feet 
 freely, and the lameness is cured. But were we to 
 leave the statement thus barely, the fact would be 
 opposed to the conclusion, that for the perfection of 
 the instrument, the mechanical provision and sensibility 
 are equally necessary, and require to be associated. 
 It may relieve us from the difficulty, if we consider 
 that pressure against the sole and crust is essential 
 to the play of the foot, and to its perfection : when the 
 foot is inflamed, and the animal does not put it freely 
 down, it does not bear its weight upon the hoof so as 
 to bring all the parts into action; hence contraction is 
 produced, the most common defect, as we before said, 
 of the horse's hoof. But when the animal is relieved 
 from its pain by the division of the nerve, it then uses 
 the foot freely, and use restores all the natural actions 
 of this fine piece of mechanism. 
 
 It is obvious, however, that when the nerve is cut 
 
 Q2 
 
228 ORGAN OF TOUCH. chap.yiii. 
 
 across, there must be a certain defect; the horse will 
 have lost his natural protection, and must now be 
 indebted to the care of his rider. He will not only have 
 lost the sense of pain to guard against over exertion, 
 but the feeling of the contact of the ground, necessary 
 to his being a safe roadster. 
 
 The teeth are endowed with sensation ; and in the 
 same manner as the hoof of the horse. Although 
 neither the substance, nor the enamel of the tooth is 
 itself sensible, yet a branch of the sensitive nerve (the 
 fifth) enters into the cavity of each tooth ; a vibration 
 can thus be communicated through the tooth to 
 the nerve ; and the smallest grain between the teeth is 
 easily felt. 
 
 To return to the human hand. If a man use the 
 forehammer, the cuticle of his fingers and palm will 
 become thickened in a remarkable manner; but the 
 grooves on the inner surface become also deeper, and 
 the papillae, projecting into them, longer ; the conse- 
 quence of which is, that owing to the cuticle retaining 
 its aptitude to convey impressions to the included 
 nerves, he continues to possess the sense of touch in 
 a very useful degree. 
 
 In the foot of the ostrich,* we may behold a magnified 
 view of the cuticle, with processes disposed like the 
 thickset hairs of a brush, each process enclosing a 
 papilla, into which the lengthened nerves are prolonged. 
 The outer skin of the foot, in this "runner," almost 
 
 * See engravings, pp. 101, 134. 
 
chap. viii. ORGAN OF TOUCH. 229 
 
 equals in thickness the hoof of the horse. In separating 
 it from the skin, the papillae, containing within them 
 the nerves, are withdrawn from each of the processes 
 of cuticle, and leave corresponding foramina or pores. 
 If the object had been merely to protect the foot by an 
 insensible covering, it would have sufficed to invest the 
 sole with a succession of dead layers of cuticle ; and 
 that would have been the case had the scarf skin been 
 simply thickened by pressure ; but the structure is 
 adapted in all respects to the habits of the bird; besides 
 having adequate callosity, it is endowed with sensation 
 proportioned to its wants. 
 
 Such, then, is the structure of the organ of touch : 
 obvious in the extremities of the fingers ; magnified in 
 the foot of the horse, or of the ostrich ; and existing 
 even in the delicate skin of the lips. 
 
 I have casually noticed that increased vascularity, as 
 being necessary to sensibility, always accompanies the 
 distribution of nerves to a part. In the museum of 
 the College of Surgeons, we see that Mr. Hunter had 
 taken pains to demonstrate this, by injecting the blood 
 vessels of a slug; although the coloured size was 
 injected from the heart, the blush of the vermilion 
 extends principally over its "foot; " the foot, in these 
 gasteropoda, being the whole lower flat surface or belly 
 on which the animal creeps. This vascular surface is 
 also the organ of touch, by which the slug feels and 
 directs its motions. It is the same principle, if we 
 may compare such things, that explains the rosy-tipped 
 
230 OKGAN OF TOUCH. chap.viii. 
 
 fingers and ruby lips ; the colour implies that high 
 vascularity is combined with the fine sensibility of these 
 parts. 
 
 Having described the relation of the cuticle to the 
 nerves in the organ of touch, we may notice the ad- 
 vantages which accrue from the roughness of its 
 surface. We must be sensible that on touching a 
 finely polished object, the sense is but imperfectly 
 exercised, compared with touching or grasping a rough 
 and irregular body. Had the cuticle been perfectly 
 smooth, it would have been ill suited to touch ; but 
 being, on the contrary, slightly rough, its quality is 
 more adapted to convey sensation. 
 
 A provision for increasing friction is especially 
 necessary, in some parts of the skin. Thus, the 
 roughness of the cuticle in the palm of the hand, 
 and in the sole of the foot, gives us a firmer grasp 
 and a steadier footing: nothing is so little apt to 
 slip, as the thickened scarf-skin, either of the hand or 
 foot. In the hoofs of animals, as might be expected, 
 roughness and tenacity in the structure are further 
 developed. It is owing to this quality that the cha- 
 mois, ibex, or goat, steps securely at great heights on 
 the narrow ledges of rocks, where it would seem 
 impossible to cling. So in the pads or cushions of 
 the cat, the cuticle is rough and granular ; and in the 
 foot of the squirrel, indeed of all animals which climb, 
 we find the pads covered with the cuticle, similarly 
 roughened, allowing them to descend the bole of the 
 
CHAP. VITI. 
 
 ORGAN OF TOUCH. 
 
 231 
 
 tree securely, while their claws enable them to grasp 
 and cling to the branches. 
 
 In concluding this section, we perceive that the 
 organ of touch consists of nerves, appropriated to 
 receive impressions of contact from bodies capable of 
 offering resistance. Fine filaments of sensitive nerves, 
 wrapped up in delicate membrane, with their accom- 
 panying arteries and veins, project from the true 
 skin into papillae on the surface, and these again are 
 lodged in corresponding grooves or foramina of the 
 cuticle. The filaments are not absolutely in contact 
 with the cuticle, but are surrounded with a semi- 
 fluid matter ; by which and the cuticle the nerves are 
 protected, at the same time that they are sensible to 
 pressure, cutting, pricking, and heat. But this capa- 
 city, we repeat, is not owing, strictly speaking, to 
 anything in the structure of the organ; it is to the 
 appropriation of the nerve to this class of sensations. 
 
CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 OF THE MUSCULAR SENSE. 
 
 A notion prevails that although the young of the 
 lower animals are directed by instinct, there is an 
 exception in regard to the human offspring. It is 
 believed that in the child we may trace the gradual 
 dawn and progressive improvement of reason, inde- 
 pendently of instinct. That is not true. We doubt 
 whether the actions of the body, if not first instinctive, 
 or directed by sensibilities which are innate, would 
 ever be exercised under the influence of reason alone. 
 
 The sensibilities and motions of the lips and tongue, 
 are perfect in the young infant from the beginning. 
 The dread of falling is shown by the infant long before 
 it could have experience of violence of any kind. 
 
 The hand, destined to become the instrument for 
 perfecting the other senses, and for developing the 
 endowments of the mind itself, is, in the infant, ab- 
 solutely powerless. Pain is poetically figured as the 
 power into whose "iron grasp" we are consigned 
 when introduced to a material world. Now, although 
 the infant is capable of expressing pain in a 
 
CHAP. IX. OF THE MUSCULAR SENSE. 233 
 
 manner not to be misunderstood, yet it is uncon- 
 scious of the part of the body which is injured. 
 There occur certain congenital imperfections which 
 require surgical assistance in early childhood ; but the 
 infant will make no direct effort with its hand to repel 
 the instrument, or disturb the dressing, as it will do 
 at a period somewhat later. 
 
 The lips and tongue are the parts first exercised by 
 the child ; the next motion is to put its hand to the 
 mouth, to suck it : and, as soon as the fingers are 
 capable of grasping, whatever they hold is carried to 
 the mouth. Hence the sensibility to touch and power 
 of action in the lips and tongue, are the first inlets 
 to knowledge. The use of the hand is a later 
 acquirement. 
 
 The knowledge of external objects cannot be ac- 
 quired, until the organ of touch has become familiar 
 with our own body. We cannot be supposed capable 
 of judging of the form or tangible qualities of anything 
 in contact with the skin, or of exploring it by the 
 motion of the hand, before having the consciousness of 
 our own body, as distinguished from things external. 
 
 The first office of the hand, then, is to exercise the 
 sensibility of the mouth : and the infant as certainly 
 questions the reality of things by that test, as does 
 the dog by its acute sense of smelling. In the infant, 
 the sense of the lips and tongue is resigned in favour 
 of that of vision, only when the exercise of the eye has 
 improved, and offers greater attraction. The hand 
 
234 
 
 OF THE MUSCULAR SENSE. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 very slowly acquires the sense of touch ; and many 
 ineffectual efforts may be observed in the arms and 
 fingers of the child, before it can estimate the direc- 
 tion or distance of objects. Gradually the length of the 
 arm, and the extent of its motions, become the measure 
 of distance, of form, of relation, and perhaps of time. 
 
 Next in importance to the sensibility of the mouth, 
 we may consider that sense which is early exhibited 
 in the infant, — the terror of falling. The nurse will 
 tell us that the infant lies composed in her arms, while 
 she carries it up stairs ; but that it is agitated when 
 she carries it down. If an infant be laid upon the 
 arms and dandled up and down, its body and limbs 
 will be at rest as it is raised ; but in descending, it 
 will struggle and make efforts. Here is the indication 
 of a sense, an innate feeling, of danger ; and we may 
 perceive its influence, when the child first attempts to 
 stand or run. When set upon its feet, the nurse's 
 arms forming a hoop around it, without touching it, the 
 child slowly learns to balance itself and stand ; but under 
 a considerable apprehension ; it will only try to stand 
 at such a distance from the nurse's knee, that if it 
 should fall, it can throw itself for protection into her lap. 
 In these, its first attempts to use its muscular frame, it 
 is directed by a fear which cannot as yet be attributed 
 to experience. By degrees it acquires the knowledge 
 of the measure of its arm, the relative distance to which 
 it can reach, and the power of its muscles. Children 
 are, therefore, cowardly by instinct : they show an 
 
CHAP. IX. OF THE MUSCULAR SENSE. 235 
 
 apprehension of falling ; and we may trace the gradual 
 efforts which they make, under the guidance of this 
 sense of danger, to perfect the muscular sense. We 
 thus perceive how instinct and reason are combined in 
 early infancy ; how necessary the first is to existence : 
 how it soon becomes subservient to reason : and how it 
 eventually yields to the progress of reason, until obscured 
 so much, that we can hardly discern its influence. 
 
 When, treating of the senses generalty, and showing 
 how one organ profits by the other, and how each is 
 indebted to that of touch, I observed, that touch itself 
 is dependent on the exercise of a distinct property — 
 that without the accompaniment of muscular action, 
 and a consciousness of effort, this sense could hardly 
 be an inlet to knowledge at all. 
 
 In my lectures, I have always delivered the same 
 views. I have endeavoured to prove that for the 
 perfect exercise of the sense of touch, motion of the 
 hand and fingers, and consciousness of the action of 
 the muscles in producing such motion, must be com- 
 bined with the feeling of contact of the object. To 
 that consciousness of exertion, I gave the name 
 " muscular sense ; " calling it a sixth sense. Although 
 I questioned the correctness of my opinions, when I 
 perceived that none of the chief authorities in mental 
 philosophy, in treating of the senses, adverted to 
 the knowledge obtained from the action of the 
 muscles, yet I can now refer to authors educated to 
 medicine, who have confirmed my views ; it having 
 
236 OF THE MUSCULAR SENSE. chap. ix. 
 
 occurred to them, as to me, that the combination of 
 two kinds of sense was required in the organ of touch. 
 
 Those distinctions were connected with my inquiries 
 into the functions of the Nervous system. It was the 
 conviction that we are sensible of the action of the 
 muscles, which led me to investigate their nerves ; 
 first, by anatomy, and then by experiment. I was 
 finally enabled to show, that the muscles are provided 
 with two classes of nerves; that on exciting one of 
 these, the muscle contracts ; on exciting the other, no 
 action takes place ; and that the nerve which has no 
 direct power over the muscle, is for giving sensation. 
 Thus it was proved, that muscles are connected with 
 the brain, through a " nervous circle ; " that one nerve 
 is not capable of transmitting what may be called 
 nervous influence, in two different directions at once ; 
 in other words, that a nerve cannot carry volition to the 
 muscles, and sensation towards the brain, simultane- 
 ously and by itself: but that, for the regulation 
 of muscular action, two distinct nerves are required ; 
 first, a nerve of sensibility to convey a conscious- 
 ness of the condition of the muscles to the sensorium ; 
 and secondly, a nerve of motion for conveying a 
 mandate of the will to the muscles. 
 
 In their distribution through the body, the nervous 
 fibrils which possess these two distinct powers, of 
 conferring sensation, and of exciting the muscles to 
 contraction, are wrapped up, or woven together in the 
 same sheath, and present the appearance of a single 
 
CHAP. IX. OF THE MUSCULAR SENSE. 237 
 
 nerve : but by examining them where they arise from 
 the brain or spinal marrow, they are found to come off 
 from different tracts, by two distinct " roots ; " and the 
 fibrils of these roots soon coalesce, to form what, in 
 reality, are compound nerves, although they appear 
 simple. By anatomical reasoning and experiment I 
 succeeded in demonstrating that one of these roots, 
 with its prolonged fibrils in the nerve, is for 
 bestowing motive power on the muscles ; and that 
 the other root, with its prolonged fibrils, is for confer- 
 ring sensation * 
 
 The Abbe Nollet, after extolling the sense of touch 
 as superior to all the rest, and deserving to be con- 
 sidered the genus, under which the others should be 
 included as subordinate species, makes this remark — 
 " Besides, it has this advantage over them, to be at the 
 same time both active and passive : for it not only puts 
 it in our power to judge of what makes an impression 
 upon us, but likewise of what resists our impulsions." 
 The mistake here is the same as that to which I have 
 already referred ; where it was alleged that the pecu- 
 liarity of the sense of touch consisted in there being 
 an effort propagated towards it, as well as a sensation 
 received from it. The confusion is obviously from 
 considering the muscular action directed by the will in 
 
 * In the Face, the nerve of motion, instead of being included in the same 
 sheath with that of sensation, passes from the brain to its destination, by a 
 circuitous course, and altogether apart from it ; hence the two nerves being 
 separate, the distinct functions of the nerves of motion and of sensation, 
 could be more easily proved in the face, than in any other part of the body. 
 See " On the Nervous circle which connects the voluntary muscles with the 
 brain" in the "Nervous System," by the Author. 
 
238 
 
 OF THE MUSCULAR SENSE. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 the exercise of touch, as belonging to the nerve of touch 
 properly. I proceed to show how the sense of motion, 
 and that of contact are necessarily combined. 
 
 When a blind man, or a man blindfolded, stands 
 upright, neither leaning upon, nor touching aught ; by 
 what means does he maintain the erect position ? The 
 symmetry of his body is not the cause. A statue of 
 the finest proportion must be soldered to its pedestal, 
 else the wind will cast it down. How is it, then, that 
 a man sustains the perpendicular posture, or inclines 
 in due degree towards the wind that blows upon him ? 
 It is obvious that he has a sense by which he knows 
 the inclination of his body ; and that he has a ready 
 aptitude to adjust the parts of it, so as to correct any 
 deviation from the perpendicular. What sense is this ? 
 he touches nothing and sees nothing ; there is no 
 organ of sense hitherto observed which can aid him. 
 Is it not that sense which we have seen exhibited so 
 early in the infant, in the fear of falling ; and which 
 caused its struggles, while it yet lay in the nurse's 
 arms ? It can only be by the adjustment of muscles, 
 that the limbs are stiffened, the body firmly balanced, 
 and kept erect; and there is no other source of knowledge 
 but a sense of the degree of exertion in his muscular 
 frame, by which a man can become conscious of the 
 position of his body, and action of his limbs, while he 
 has no point of vision, or the contact of any external 
 body to direct his efforts. In truth, we stand by so 
 fine an exercise of this power, and the muscles, from 
 
chap. ix. OF THE MUSCULAR SENSE. 239 
 
 habit, are directed with so much precision, and with 
 an effort so slight, that we do not know how we stand. 
 But if we attempt to walk on a narrow ledge, or rest in 
 a situation where we are in danger of falling, or balance 
 on one foot, we become subject to apprehension : and 
 the actions of the muscles are then, as it were, 
 magnified, and demonstrative of the degree in which 
 they are excited. 
 
 Although we touch nothing and see nothing, yet 
 we are sensible of the position of our limbs ; that the 
 arms hang by the sides, or that they are raised and 
 held out. And it must be by a property internal to the 
 frame, that we know this. At one time I entertained 
 a doubt whether this knowledge proceeded from a 
 sense of the condition of the muscles, or from a con- 
 sciousness of the degree of effort which had been 
 directed to them in volition. But I reasoned in this 
 manner, — we awake with the knowledge of the position 
 of our limbs : this cannot be from a recollection of the 
 action which placed them where they are ; it must 
 therefore be a consciousness of their present condition. 
 When a person just after awaking moves his body, it is 
 with a determined object; and before he can desire a 
 change or direct a movement, he must be conscious of 
 a previous condition. 
 
 After a limb has been removed by the surgeon, the 
 person still feels pain, and heat, and cold, as if present 
 in the limb. Urging a patient who had lost his leg, to 
 move it, I have seen him catch at the limb, to guard it, 
 
240 
 
 OF THE MUSCULAR SENSE. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 forgetting that it was removed. Long after his loss, 
 he experiences a sensation not only as if the limb 
 remained, but as if it were placed or hanging in a 
 particular position or posture. I have asked a patient 
 — "Where do you feel your arm now ?" and he has said, 
 " I feel it as if it lay across my breast," or that it is 
 " lying by my side." It seems also to change with the 
 change of posture of the body. These are additional 
 proofs of a muscular sense ; that there is an internal 
 sensibility corresponding to the changing condition of 
 the muscles ; and that as the sensations of an organ of 
 sense remain, after the destruction of the outward 
 organ, so a deceptious sensibility to the condition of 
 the muscles, as well as to the condition of the skin, will 
 be felt after the removal of a limb. 
 
 By such arguments, I have been in the habit of 
 showing that we possess a muscular sense ; and that 
 without a perception of the condition of the muscles 
 previous to the exercise of the will, we could not 
 command them in standing, far less in walking, leaping, 
 or running. And as for the hand, it is not more the 
 freedom of its action which constitutes its perfection, 
 than the knowledge which we have of these motions, 
 and our consequent ability to direct it with the utmost 
 precision.* 
 
 * When Ulysses, fearing to betray himself to the suitors by an exhibition 
 of the whole strength of his arm, deliberates as to the force he will put into 
 the blow he is about to inflict on the beggar Irus — 
 
 u Whether to strike him lifeless to the earth 
 At once, or fell him with a managed blow," 
 it is by an exercise of the muscular sense, that he decides on merely fracturing 
 his opponent's jaw. , 
 
CHAP. IX. 
 
 THE MUSCULAR SENSE. 
 
 241 
 
 The necessity for the combination of two distinct 
 properties of the nervous system in the sense of touch, 
 becomes more obvious if we examine their operation in 
 other, but analogous organs ; for example, in the palpi 
 or tentacula of the lower animals. These instruments 
 consist of a rigid tube, containing a pulpy matter, in 
 which there is a branch of a nerve that possesses, in 
 an exquisite degree, the sense of touch; and the 
 animals use them for groping their way. When the 
 tentaculum touches a body, and the vibration runs 
 along the pulp of the nerve, the animal can be sensible 
 only of an obstruction; but how is the creature's 
 progress to be directed to avoid it ? When we see 
 the instrument moving about and feeling on all sides, 
 we must acknowledge that it is the sense of the 
 action of the muscles communicating that motion, 
 which conveys the knowledge of the place or direc- 
 tion of the obstructing body. It appears, therefore, 
 that even in the very lowest creatures, the sense of 
 touch implies the comparison of two distinct senses. 
 
 That insects possess the most exquisite organs of 
 sense, must be allowed : but we do not reflect on the 
 extraordinary accuracy with which they measure 
 distances in their movements. This they can only 
 accomplish by an adaptation of the muscular exertion 
 to the sense of vision. The spider, to which I have 
 already alluded — the aranea scenica, when about to 
 leap, elevates itself on its fore -legs, and lifting its 
 head, seems to survey the spot before it jumps ; if it 
 
 R 
 
242 THE MUSCULAR SENSE. CHAP . IX . 
 
 spy a small gnat or fly on the wall, it creeps very 
 gently towards it, with short steps, till it comes within 
 a proper distance, and then springs suddenly upon it 
 like a tiger. It will jump two feet to seize upon a 
 bee.* 
 
 We have a more curious instance of the precision of 
 the eye and of the adaptation of muscular action, in 
 some of the chsetodons, as the chelmon rostratus.t 
 This fish inhabits the Indian rivers, and lives on the 
 
 smaller aquatic flies. If it observe one of these 
 insects, alighted on a twig, or flying near (for it can 
 shoot them on the wing), it darts forth a drop of water 
 from its beak, with so steady an aim, as to bring the 
 fly into the water, when it falls an easy prey. These 
 fishes are kept in large vases for amusement ; and if a 
 fly be presented on the end of a twig, they will shoot 
 at it with surprising accuracy. In its natural state it 
 will hit a fly at the distance of from three to six inches. 
 
 The zeus insidiatori has also the same power of 
 forming its mouth into a tube, and squirting at flies, so 
 
 * Kirby. + Chaetodon, a genus of the Acanthopterygii. 
 
 £ Belonging to another genus of the same section. 
 
CHAP. IX. 
 
 THE MUSCULAR SENSE. 
 
 243 
 
 as to encumber their wings and bring them to the 
 surface of the water. Now, whether we regard these 
 habits in the lower creatures, as bestowed by instinct, 
 or look upon similar powers belonging to ourselves, as 
 acquired properties, we must acknowledge that in both, 
 the operation is compound.* 
 
 Some would have us believe that the effect of the 
 impression of odours on the nerve of smelling, is exactly 
 similar to that of light on the nerve of vision ; and yet 
 they suppose that the impression on the retina alone 
 suffices to inform us of the direction and distance of 
 objects. But of the direction and distance from which 
 odours come, we are quite ignorant until, by turning 
 the head, and directing the nostrils this way and that, 
 we make a comparison, and at length discover on which 
 side the smell is strongest on the sense. 
 
 In insects, the motion of the body is rendered 
 subservient to smell, as well as to vision. There is 
 nothing in the mere exercise of the organ of smell that 
 can direct an insect in its flight : yet if a piece of carrion 
 be thrown out, flies will approach it, — not by flying in 
 a direct line to it, but by coming towards it in circles. 
 So it is with the bees, in a garden, when attracted to a 
 flower : they may be seen, at first, flying wide, describing 
 circles in their flight, each circle diminishing as they 
 come nearer, until at last they alight upon the object. 
 Having no organ like lungs and thorax to enable them 
 
 * A difficulty will occur to the reader : since the rays of light are refracted 
 at the surface of the water, how does the fish judge of position ? Does instinct 
 enahle it to do so, or is it experience ? 
 
 B 2 
 
244 THE MUSCULAR SENSE. CHAP. IX. 
 
 to inhale the effluvia, they make currents in the air, by 
 their mode of flight, so as to impress the nerve of 
 smelling : and it is from the sense of the odour being 
 more acute in one part of the circle, that the next wheel 
 is made ; and thus they are directed in a line drawn 
 through these circles, to the flower. 
 
 We can judge of the direction from which sounds 
 proceed, without turning the ear towards them. That 
 is because the strength of the vibration is unequal on 
 the two sides of the head ; and we can readily compare 
 the two impressions, so as to decide upon the direction. 
 But when a person is deaf in one ear, the comparison 
 is difficult, and he is often mistaken as to the point 
 from which the sound comes ; he has more frequent 
 occasion to turn the head, and test the position of the 
 tube of the ear with the strength of the impressions. 
 Accordingly, in mixed company, where there are many 
 speakers, a man in this condition appears positively 
 deaf, from the impossibility of distinguishing minutely 
 the direction of sounds. 
 
 The last proof of the necessity of the combination of 
 the muscular sense with the sense of contact will be 
 conclusive. It is not a solitary instance : — A mother 
 while nursing her infant was seized with a paralysis, 
 attended with the loss of muscular power on one side 
 of her body, and the loss of sensibility on the other. 
 The surprising, and indeed, the alarming circumstance 
 here was, that she could hold her child to her 
 bosom with the arm which retained muscular power, 
 
CHAP. IX. THE MUSCULAR SENSE. 245 
 
 only so long as she looked to the infant. If sur- 
 rounding objects withdrew her attention from the state 
 of her arm, the flexor muscles gradually relaxed, and 
 the child was in danger of falling. The details of 
 the case do not belong to our present enquiry ; but we 
 see, first, that two distinct properties are possessed by 
 the nerves of the arm, as evinced by the loss of the 
 one, and continuance of the other ; secondly, that these 
 two properties exist through different endowments of 
 the nervous system; and, thirdly, that muscular 
 power is insufficient for the exercise of the limbs, 
 without a sensibility to accompany and direct it. 
 
 Let me offer another example : — Nothing serves 
 better to make us appreciate the blessings which we 
 enjoy, than examining the organisation of a part which, 
 from its familiarity, and the absolute perfection of its 
 action, we neglect or think meanly of. The lips receive 
 the food, and aid in mastication ; they are a principal 
 part of the organ of speech ; they are expressive of 
 emotion; they are the most acutely sensible to 
 touch. The vermilion surfaces of the lips possess 
 their exquisite sensibility through minute and delicate 
 villi, into which the extremities of the sensitive nerve are 
 distributed : and these, being covered only with a cuticle 
 the most thin and transparent, afford the ready instru- 
 ment of touch. Again, a concourse of fine muscles 
 converges to the lips, and surrounds them ; and these 
 muscles receive their motor influence from a distinct 
 nerve, coming from a different quarter of the brain 
 
246 
 
 THE MUSCULAR SENSE. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 from the sensitive. Now, if this nerve of motion be cut 
 and lose its function, the animal puts its lips to the grains 
 it feeds upon, but cannot gather them. So also, if the 
 nerve of sensation be injured, the animal presses its 
 lips to the food, but wanting the sensibility by which 
 the motion of the lips should be directed, it does not 
 gather them. These facts show that whilst sensibility 
 and motion depend upon different nerves, they are 
 necessarily combined for so simple an act as taking the 
 food into the mouth. As connected with the subject, 
 it is a strange thing to see a person who has every 
 capacity for motion in the lips and tongue, letting 
 the morsel remain in his mouth for hours, with- 
 out knowing it. The first instance I found of a defect 
 in the lips exactly similar to that produced by the 
 experiment of cutting the nerve of sensation on one 
 side of the face, was in a gentleman who, being under 
 the hands of his dentist, had the nerve of sensation 
 hurt by the pulling of a tooth : having a glass of water 
 given to him, he remarked that the glass was a broken 
 one ! The fact being, that the portion of the tumbler 
 in contact with one half of his lips was not felt at all, 
 which gave him the same sensation as if a bit of the 
 glass had been broken away. 
 
 The capacity, therefore, of the hand to ascertain the 
 distance, size, weight, form, hardness or softness, 
 roughness or smoothness of objects, results from its 
 having a compound function — from the sensibility of 
 the proper organ of touch, being combined with the 
 
chap. ix. THE MUSCULAR SENSE. 247 
 
 consciousness of the motion of the arm, hand, and 
 fingers. 
 
 But it is the motion of the fingers that is especially 
 necessary to the sense of touch. These bend, or ex- 
 tend, or expand, or move in every direction, like palpi, 
 with the advantage of embracing the object, feeling it 
 on all its sides, estimating its solidity or its resistance 
 when grasped, moving round it, and gliding over its 
 surfaces, so as to feel every asperity, and be sensible of 
 every slight vibration. 
 
 THE PLEASURES ARISING FROM THE MUSCULAR 
 SENSE. 
 
 As much of the knowledge usually supposed to be 
 obtained through the organs of the senses, has its 
 source in the exercise of the muscular frame, so we 
 may trace to it some of our chief enjoyments. It may, 
 indeed, be affirmed that nature benevolently intends 
 that the vigorous circulation of the blood, and healthful 
 condition both of mind and body, should result from 
 alternations of muscular exertion and repose. The 
 pleasure which proceeds from activity, may be partly 
 due to a gratification naturally arising from the 
 exercise of any kind of power — as that implied by mere 
 dexterity, or the successful pursuit of some field sport, 
 or the accomplishment of a work of art. But inde- 
 pendently of such sources of satisfaction, active 
 exercise is followed by weariness, and a desire for rest ; 
 and although this condition may not be attended with 
 
248 
 
 THE MUSCULAR SENSE. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 any describable local pleasure, yet after fatigue, and 
 whilst the active powers are sinking into repose, there 
 is diffused through every part of the frame a feeling 
 almost voluptuous. To this feeling an impatience of 
 rest succeeds. Thus are we urged to follow the alter- 
 nations of activity and of repose necessary to health ; 
 and are invited on from stage to stage of our existence. 
 
 We owe other enjoyments to the muscular sense. 
 In modern times comparatively little may be thought 
 of the gratifications arising from motion. Yet we read 
 that the gravest of the Greeks, even of the Eomans, 
 studied elegance in their attitudes and movements* 
 Their apparel favoured that display of grace, while 
 their exercises and games contributed to encourage 
 elegance of movement. The dances they performed, 
 were not exhibitions of mere exuberance of spirits and 
 activity. It was their pride to combine harmony hi the 
 motion of the body and limbs, with majesty of gait; 
 their movements consisted more of the unfolding of the 
 arms, than of the play of the feet, — " their arms sub- 
 lime, that floated on the air." The Pyrrhic danced 
 were attitudes of combat, or martial movements, per- 
 formed in correct coincidence with the expression of the 
 music. The spectators, in their theatres, must have 
 had very different associations from ours, to account 
 for the national enthusiasm displayed by the influence 
 of their music, and the rage excited by a mere error in 
 time. 
 
 This may remind us that in music the divisions of 
 
CHAP. IX. 
 
 THE MUSCULAR SENSE. 
 
 249 
 
 time depend in some degree on the muscular sense. 
 A man will put down his staff in regulated time ; and 
 in his common walk, the sound of his steps will fall 
 into a measure. A boy striking the railing in mere 
 wantonness, will do it with a regular succession of 
 blows. This tendency of the muscular frame to move 
 in accordance with time, is the source of much that is 
 pleasing in music, and assists the effect of melody. 
 
 " The hand 
 Sang with the voice, and this the argument." 
 
 The closest connection is thus established between 
 the enjoyments of the sense of hearing, and the exer- 
 cise of the muscular sense.* 
 
 The effect of disorders of the nervous system upon 
 the muscular frame, is sometimes to show how natural 
 certain combinations of actions may be, although 
 morbidly excited. The following is a curious illustration : 
 — A young woman, who could not be taught to go down a 
 country-dance, suffering under a nervous illness, began 
 to execute involuntary movements, not unbecoming an 
 opera dancer. At one time she would pace slowly 
 
 * It is probahle that we must ascribe to this, the power possessed by music 
 over the passions, and even over disease. It is recorded that the music teacher 
 of Socrates [and many will be pleased to know that so sage a man had a music 
 teacher] seeing one inflamed with wine, intent, while the flute was played 
 in Phrygian measure, on setting fire to the house, cured him by ordering the 
 player to change the mode, to the grave and soothing Spondseus ! Galen 
 records instances of the restorative influence of music over the passions and 
 over disease. And it appears to have been resorted to by Egyptians, Hebrews, 
 Greeks, and Romans, both in acute and chronic disorders. Hence the phrase, 
 u Loca dolentia incantare." 
 
 To learn how much of the pleasure of the sense of Vision depends on 
 muscular action, see the " Additional Illustration " in the Appendix. 
 
250 THE MUSCULAR SENSE. chap. ix. 
 
 round the room, with a measured step, the arms carried 
 with elegance, as in a minuet ; again, she would stand 
 on the toes of one foot, and beat time with the other ; 
 on some occasions she would strike the table, or what- 
 ever she could reach, with her hand, many times 
 softly, and then with force ; at length it was found 
 that she did everything in rhythm. A friend thought 
 that in her regular beating he could recognise a tune ; 
 and he began singing it. The moment the sound 
 struck her ears, she turned suddenly to the man, 
 danced directly up to him, and continued to dance, 
 until he was quite out of breath. The cure of this 
 young woman was of a very unusual kind : a drum and 
 fife were procured, — and when a tune corresponding to 
 the rhythm of her movements was played, in whatever 
 part of the room she might be, she would dance close 
 up to the drum, and continue dancing until she missed 
 the step, — when these involuntary motions instantly 
 ceased, and the paroxysm ended. The physician, 
 profiting by this, and observing a motion in her 
 lips, put his ear close to her mouth ; he thought he 
 could hear her sing; and questioning her, she said 
 there was a tune continually dwelling upon her ear, 
 which at times irresistibly impelled her to begin her 
 involuntary dance. In the end, she was cured by 
 altering the time, in beating the drum ; for, whenever 
 she missed the time, the influence ceased to have 
 its effect.* 
 
 * Med, Chir. Trans, vol. vii.. 
 
CHAP. IX. THE MUSCULAR SENSE. 251 
 
 If asked, what this extraordinary disease is ; we can 
 only answer that, being an excitable state of the nervous 
 and muscular systems, it will be called Chorea; but it 
 is an instance of a natural combination of muscular 
 actions, morbidly produced ; just as in hysteria, where 
 the expression of various natural passions, for example, 
 weeping, or laughing, is frequently exhibited. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE ORGAN ADAPTED TO THE INSTINCT. — THE HAND NOT 
 THE SOURCE OF INGENUITY OR CONTRIVANCE, NOR CON- 
 SEQUENTLY OF MAN'S SUPERIORITY 
 
 Seeing the perfection of the human Hand, both in 
 structure and endowments, we can hardly be surprised 
 at some philosophers entertaining the opinion of 
 Anaxagoras, that the superiority of man is owing to 
 his hand. Although the system of bones, muscles, and 
 nerves, which belongs to this extremity, is suited to 
 every form and condition of vertebrated animals, yet it 
 is in the human hand, that we perceive the consumma- 
 tion of all perfection, as an instrument. This superi- 
 ority consists in its combination of strength, with 
 variety, extent, and rapidity of motion ; in the power 
 of the thumb, and the forms, relations, and sensibility 
 of the fingers, which adapt it for holding, pulling, 
 spinning, weaving, and constructing ; properties which 
 may be found separately in other animals, but are com- 
 bined in the human hand. 
 
 In virtue of these provisions, the hand corresponds 
 to the superior mental capacities with which man is 
 endowed. The instrument is capable of executing 
 
OKGAN ADAPTED TO INSTINCT. 
 
 253 
 
 whatever his ingenuity suggests. Nevertheless, the 
 possession of the ready implement, is not the 
 cause of man's superiority : nor is its aptness for 
 execution, the measure of his attainments. So we 
 rather say with Galen, that man has a hand, because 
 he is the wisest of creatures, than ascribe to his 
 possession of a hand, his superiority in knowledge * 
 
 This question has been raised, from observing the 
 perfect correspondence between the propensities of 
 animals, and their forms and outward organisation. 
 When we see the heron, still as a grey stone, and 
 hardly distinguishable from it, standing by the water 
 side, intently watching his prey, we might at first 
 suppose this was a habit acquired from the use of his 
 stilt-like limbs, constructed for wading, with his long 
 bill, and flexible neck ; for the neck and bill are as 
 much suited to its mode of seizing the fish, as the 
 liester is to the fisherman, in spearing the salmon. But 
 in the configuration of the black bear, there is nothing 
 particularly adapted for his catching fish ; yet will he 
 sit, on his hinder extremities, by the side of a stream, 
 morning, or evening, on the watch, like a practised 
 fisher : and so perfectly motionless is he, that he will 
 deceive the eye of the Indian, who mistakes him for 
 the burnt trunk of a tree; when the bear sees his 
 
 * Ita quidem sapientissimum animalium est homo : ita autem et maims 
 sunt organa sapienti animali convenientia. Non enim quia manus habuit 
 propterea est sapientissimum, ut Anaxagoras dicebat : sed quia sapientissimum 
 erat, propter hoc manus habuit, ut rectissime censuit Aristoteles. Non 
 enim manus ipsae homines artes docuerunt, sed ratio. Manus autem ipsa? 
 sunt artium organa ■ sicut lyra, musici ; et forceps, fabri. 
 
254 THE ORGAN ADAPTED chap. x. 
 
 opportunity favourable, he will thrust out his fore-paw, 
 and with incredible celerity seize a fish. In this 
 instance, the exterior organ is not the cause of the 
 habit or of the propensity. Hence if we see the 
 instinct bestowed without the appropriate organ, may 
 we not in other examples, when the two are conjoined, 
 believe that the habit exists with the instrument, not 
 through it ? 
 
 The canine teeth are not given without a carnivorous 
 appetite ; nor is the necessity of living by carnage 
 joined to a timid disposition ; but boldness and fierce- 
 ness, as well as cunning, belong to the animal armed 
 with retractile claws and sharp teeth, and which preys 
 on the living* On the other hand, the propensities of 
 the timid vegetable feeder are not to be attributed to 
 his having mobile, erect ears, or prominent eyes : though 
 his suspiciousness and timidity correspond to these 
 forms. The boldness of the bison or the buffalo may 
 be as great as that of the lion ; but the impulse that 
 directs them in their mode of attack is different : 
 instinct impels them to gore with their horns. And they 
 will strike with their heads, whether they have horns or 
 not ; " The young calf will butt against you before he 
 has horns," says Galen ; or as the Scotch song has it, 
 " the putting cow is ay a doddy ; " that is, the humble 
 cow (inermis), although wanting horns, is ever the most 
 
 * In some of the quadrumana, the canine teeth are as long and sharp as 
 those of the tiger — but they are instruments of defence only : they bear no 
 relation to the appetite, mode of digestion, or internal organisation. 
 
chap. x. TO THE INSTINCT. 255 
 
 mischievous. When that noble animal, the Brahmin 
 bull, of the Zoological Gardens, first put his hoof on 
 the sod, and smelt the fresh grass after his voyage, — 
 placid and easily managed before, he became excited, 
 plunged, and struck his horns into the earth, ploughing 
 up the ground on alternate sides, with a very remark- 
 able precision. This was his dangerous play ; just as 
 the dog, in his gambols, worries and fights : or the cat, 
 though pleased, puts out its claws. It would, indeed, 
 be strange, where all else is perfect, if the instinctive 
 character or disposition of the animal were at variance 
 with its arms or instruments. 
 
 But the idea may still be entertained, that the 
 accidental use of the organ may conduce to its more 
 frequent exercise, and thereby to the production of a 
 corresponding disposition. Such an hypothesis would 
 not explain the facts. The late Sir Joseph Banks, in 
 his evening conversations, told us that he had seen, 
 what many perhaps have seen, a chicken catch at a fly, 
 whilst the shell stuck to its tail. Sir Humphry Davy 
 relates that a friend of his, having discovered, under 
 the burning sand of Ceylon, the eggs of an alligator, 
 had the curiosity to break one of them ; when a young 
 alligator came forth, perfect in its motions and in its 
 passions ; for although hatched in the sand under 
 the influence of the sunbeams, it made towards 
 the water, its proper element : when hindered, it 
 assumed a threatening aspect, and bit the stick 
 presented to it. We may therefore conclude, that as 
 
256 
 
 THE OKGAN ADAPTED 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 animals have propensities implanted in them, to perform 
 certain motions to which their external organs are 
 subservient, so their passions or dispositions are given 
 as the means of directing them how to defend them- 
 selves, or obtain their food. 
 
 But this has been well said seventeen hundred years 
 ago. " Take," says Galen, " three eggs, one of an 
 eagle, another of a goose, and a third of a viper : and 
 place them favourably for hatching. When the shells 
 are broken, the eaglet and the gosling will attempt to 
 fly ; while the young of the viper will coil and twist 
 along the ground. If the experiment be protracted to 
 a later period, the eagle will soar to the highest regions 
 of the air, the goose betake itself to the marshy pool, 
 and the viper will bury itself in the ground." 
 
 We have daily before us proofs of ingenuity in the 
 arts not only surviving the loss of the hand, but excited 
 and exercised, where the hands were wanting from 
 birth. What is more surprising than to see the feet, 
 in individuals under such circumstances, becoming 
 substitutes for the hands, and working minute and 
 curious things ? Unfortunately too, the most diabolical 
 passions will be developed in some natures, and crimes 
 committed, which we might have supposed impossible 
 from the power of execution being denied. The most 
 remarkable instance of that was in a man, who from 
 birth was deprived of arms ; like the unfortunate youth 
 described in the early part of the volume. As if 
 possessed by a devil, this wretch had committed many 
 
chap. x. TO THE INSTINCT. 257 
 
 murders before being discovered and executed ; he 
 was a beggar, who took his stand in the high way- 
 some miles from Moscow, on the skirts of a wood : his 
 manner was to throw his head against the stomach of 
 the person who was in the act of giving him charity, 
 and having stunned him, to seize him with his teeth, 
 and so drag him into the wood ! 
 
 But to turn to a more agreeable topic. The posses- 
 sion of an instrument like the hand, implies that a 
 great part of the organisation which strictly belongs to 
 it, must be concealed. The hand is not a thing 
 appended, or put on, to the body, like an additional 
 movement in a watch ; but a thousand intricate rela- 
 tions must be established throughout the whole frame, 
 in connection with it : not only must appropriate nerves 
 of motion and of sensation, and a part of the brain 
 having correspondence to these nerves, be supplied, 
 but unless, with all this superadded organisation, a 
 propensity to put it into operation were created, the 
 hand would lie inactive. 
 
 Voltaire has said, that Newton, with all his science, 
 knew not how his arm moved; so true is it that all 
 such studies have their limits ! But, as he acknow- 
 ledges, a wide difference exists between the ignorance 
 of the child or peasant, and the consciousness of the 
 philosopher that he has arrived at a point of know- 
 ledge beyond which man's faculties do not carry him. 
 
 Nevertheless, is it nothing to have our minds 
 awakened to the perception of the numerous proofs of 
 
 s 
 
258 FOR SPEECH, MORE REQUIRED chap.x. 
 
 design which present themselves in the study of the Hand 
 — to be brought to the conviction that every thing in its 
 structure is orderly and systematic, and that the most 
 perfect mechanism, the most minute and curious appa- 
 ratus, and sensibilities the most delicate and appro- 
 priate, are all combined in operation that we may move 
 the hand? What the first impulse to motion is, or 
 how the mind is related to the body, we know not ; yet 
 it is important to learn with what extraordinary con- 
 trivance, and perfection of workmanship, the bodily 
 apparatus is placed between that internal faculty which 
 impels us to use it, and the exterior world. 
 
 I have been asked, and that by men of the first edu- 
 cation and talents, whether in the organs of voice of 
 the orang-outang any thing really deficient had been 
 discovered to prevent him from speaking. The reader 
 will give me leave to place the matter correctly before him. 
 In speaking, there is, first, a certain force of expired 
 air, or an action of the whole muscles of respiration 
 required ; in the second place, the vocal chords at the 
 top of the wind-pipe must be drawn by their muscles 
 into accordance, else no vibration will take place, and no 
 sound issue ; thirdly, the open passages of the throat 
 must be expanded, contracted, or extended, by their 
 numerous muscles, in correspondence with the condition 
 of the vocal chords; and these must all sympathise, 
 before even a simple sound will be produced. But 
 to articulate that sound, so that it may become part of 
 a conventional language, there must be added actions 
 
chap.x. THAN ORGANISATION. 259 
 
 of the pharynx, of the palate, of the tongue, and of the 
 lips. The exquisite organisation for all this, is not 
 visible in the organs of the voice, as they are called : it 
 is to be found in the nerves, which combine these 
 various parts in one simultaneous act. The meshes of 
 a spider's web, or cordage of a man-of-war, are few and 
 simple, compared with the concealed filaments of nerves 
 which move these parts ; and if but one of them be 
 wanting, or its tone or action disturbed in the slightest 
 degree, every body knows how a man will stand with 
 his mouth open, twisting his tongue and lips in vain 
 attempts to utter a word. 
 
 It will now appear that there must be distinct lines 
 of association, suited to the organs of voice : different 
 to combine them in the bark of a dog, in the neighing 
 of a horse, or in the shrill whistle of the ape. That 
 wide distinctions exist in the structure of the vocal 
 organs in different classes of animals, is most certain ; 
 but independently of those which are apparent, there are 
 secret and minute varieties in the associating nervous 
 cords. The ape, therefore, does not articulate — First, 
 because the organs are not perfect to that end; Secondly, 
 because the nerves do not associate the different parts 
 of the organ in that harmony of action which is neces- 
 sary to speech ; And, lastly, were all the exterior 
 apparatus perfect, there is no impulse to the act of 
 speaking. 
 
 From this enumeration of parts it will appear that 
 the main difference lies in the internal faculty or 
 
 s 2 
 
260 INFLUENCE OF PKINTING. chap. x. 
 
 propensity. As soon as a child can distinguish and 
 admire, then are its features in action ; its voice begins 
 to be modified into a variety of sounds; these are 
 taken up and repeated by the nurse, and already a sort 
 of convention is established between them. The 
 perfect correspondence between the vocal instrument, 
 and the laws governing the motions of the air, is a 
 contrivance ; but that which prompts to the first efforts 
 at articulation, is in our intellectual nature. We 
 cannot, therefore, doubt that a propensity is created in 
 correspondence with the outward organs ; and without 
 which these outward organs would be useless appen- 
 dages. The aptness of the instrument and its exercise 
 will undoubtedly improve the faculty — just as we find 
 that giving freedom to the expression of passion, adds 
 force to the emotion in the mind. 
 
 One cannot but reflect here on that grand revolution 
 which took place when language, till then limited to its 
 proper organ, had its representation in the work of 
 the Hand. Now that a man, of mean estate, may 
 possess a library of more intrinsic value than that of 
 Cicero ; when the sentiments of past ages may be as 
 familiar to him as those of the present ; and when the 
 knowledge of different empires is transmitted and 
 common to all, we cannot expect our sages to be 
 followed, as of old, by their five thousand scholars. 
 Nations will not now record public acts by building 
 pyramids, consecrating temples, or raising statues, 
 once the only means of perpetuating great deeds or 
 
chap. x. VALUE OF THE STUDY. 261 
 
 extraordinary virtues. It is in vain that our artists 
 complain of patronage being withheld. The ingenuity 
 of the Hand has at length subdued the arts of design. 
 Printing has made all other records barbarous ; and 
 great men build for themselves a "livelong monument." 
 
 On this, as upon many other occasions, it may be 
 urged that a further multiplication of evidences in 
 favour of natural religion is unnecessary ; it may be 
 said that we only vary the instances, without making 
 the proofs stronger. For example, as to speech, no 
 higher argument can be sought for to prove the per- 
 fection of design, than the simple fact that, by means 
 of the voice, two intellectual beings can breathe out 
 their thoughts, and hold communion on the ideas that 
 arise in their minds : the knowledge of the intricate 
 organs by which voice is produced, can add nothing to 
 our wonder, or to the force of our conviction, that all 
 which regards man's state is ordered in perfection. So, 
 philosophically considered, our admiration ought to 
 be as great from observing that by willing it, we can 
 raise the arm ; as from knowing all the relations of the 
 nerves, muscles, bones, and joints of the arm, through 
 which that motion is accomplished. But I would ask, 
 who, in speaking or moving his arm, thinks of these 
 proofs of design, or feels this emotion ? Do these 
 actions excite either admiration or gratitude ? Before 
 such feelings arise, do we not require to be brought to 
 consider them anew ? Is it not agreeable to know how 
 such actions are performed ? Is it not important, 
 
262 
 
 EXPRESSION IN THE HAND. 
 
 CHAP. X 
 
 therefore, that the emotions of surprise and gratitude 
 excited by contemplating them, should be repeated and 
 enforced, until they become an enduring devotional 
 feeling ? In fine, whilst it is pleasing to reflect that the 
 great authorities in natural science, in times past, have 
 entertained the belief of the great Architect, and of 
 the continuance of His government, it cannot be 
 without its use to add strength to the same belief, by 
 having recourse to those improvements which in all 
 departments of knowledge are being daily introduced. 
 
 Of Expression in the Hand : — Before we con- 
 clude let us speak of the Hand as an organ of 
 Expression. Formal dissertations have been com- 
 posed on this topic. But were we to seek for autho- 
 rities, we - should take in evidence the works of the 
 great Painters. By representing the hands disposed 
 in conformity with the attitude of the figures, the old 
 masters have been able to express every different kind 
 of sentiment in their compositions. Who, for example, 
 has not been sensible to the expression of reverence in 
 the hands of the Magdalens by Guido, to the eloquence 
 of those in the cartoons of Baphael, or the significant 
 force in those of the Last Supper, by Da Vinci. In 
 these great works may be seen all that Quintilian says 
 the hand is capable of expressing. — " For other parts 
 of the body assist the speaker, but these, I may say, 
 speak themselves. By them we ask, we promise, we 
 invoke, we dismiss, we threaten, we intreat, we depre- 
 cate, we express fear, joy, grief, our doubts, our assent, 
 
BUFFON. 263 
 
 our penitence ; we show moderation, profusion ; we 
 mark number and time."* 
 
 Buffon has attempted to convey to us, how know- 
 ledge may have been originally imparted in the world, 
 by fancifully tracing the impressions on the newly- 
 awakened senses of the First created Man. But, 
 for that which in our great Poet is both consistent 
 and splendid — imagining man to raise his wondering 
 eyes to heaven, and spring, by quick instinctive 
 motion, as " thitherward endeavouring," — Buffon sub- 
 stitutes a poor combination of philosophy with false 
 eloquence. 
 
 For greater dramatic effect, the first created man is 
 supposed to address us himself ; and he commences 
 thus : — " he remembers the moment of his creation — 
 that time, so full of joy and trouble, when first he 
 looked around on the verdant lawns and crystal foun- 
 tains, and beheld the vault of heaven over his 
 head !" He then proceeds to declare, — " that he knew 
 not what he was, or whence he came, but believed that 
 all he saw was part of himself." Thus he is repre- 
 sented as conscious of objects, which even to see im- 
 plies experience, and to enjoy supposes a thousand 
 agreeable associations already formed. But he goes 
 on to say, from that blissful state he is awakened 
 
 * " Nam ceterae partes loquentem adjuvant, hae, prope est ut dicam, ipsae 
 loquuntur. His poseimur, pollicemur, vocamus, dimittimus, minamur, 
 supplicamus, abominamur, timemus ; gaudium, tristitiam, dubitationem, con- 
 fessio-nem, penitentiam, modum, copiam, numerum, tcmpus, ostendimus, &c." 
 
264 CONCLUDING REMARKS. C hap. x. 
 
 " by striking his head against a palm tree, which he 
 had not yet learned could hurt him ! " 
 
 Men are often diffident of their first acquired know- 
 ledge, and conceive that philosophy must lead to 
 something very different from what they have been 
 early taught. Hence, perhaps, the absurdity of this 
 attempt to unite philosophy and poetry. 
 
 Later writers have argued that we have no grounds 
 for supposing that there has been, at any time, an 
 interruption to the uniform course of nature ; meaning 
 by the term, uniformity of nature, the prevalence of the 
 same laws which are now in operation. If it were 
 found, they say, that on the arrival of a colony in a 
 new country, fruits were produced spontaneously 
 around them, and flowers sprung up under their feet, 
 then, we might suppose that our first parents were 
 placed in a scene of profusion and beauty — suited to 
 their helpless condition — and unlike what we see now 
 in the course of nature. It is not very wise to enter- 
 tain the subject at all ; but if it is to be discussed, this 
 is starting altogether wide of the question. We do 
 not desire to know how a whole tribe migrating west- 
 ward, could find sustenance, — but in what state man 
 could be created and live, without a deviation from 
 what is called the uniform course of nature. If the 
 first man had been formed helpless as an infant, he 
 must have perished : and if mature in body, he must 
 have been gifted with faculties suited to his condition. 
 A human being, pure from the Maker's hands, with 
 
chap.x. CONCLUDING REMARKS. 265 
 
 desires and passions implanted in him adapted to his 
 state, and with a suitable theatre of existence, implies 
 something very near what we have been early taught 
 to believe. 
 
 In every change which the globe has undergone, an 
 established relation is perceived between the animal 
 that has been created, and the elements around it. 
 It is idle to suppose that this has been a matter of 
 chance. Either the structure and functions of the 
 animal must have been formed to correspond to the 
 condition of the elements, or the elements must have 
 been controlled to minister to the necessities of the 
 animal ; and if, in contemplating all the inferior grada- 
 tions of animal existence, the most careful investigation 
 leads us to this conclusion, what makes us so unwilling 
 to admit such an influence, in the last grand work of 
 creation, the introduction of man ? 
 
 We cannot resist these proofs of a beginning, or of a 
 First Cause. When we are bold enough to extend 
 our inquiries into those great revolutions that have 
 taken place, whether in the condition of the earth, or 
 in the structure of the animals which have inhabited it, 
 our notions of the " uniformity " of the course of nature 
 must suffer some modification. At certain epochs, 
 changes in the face of the globe have been wrought, 
 and beings differing from those previously, or now 
 existing, must have been brought into existence. Such 
 interference is not contrary to the great scheme of 
 creation ; it is so only to our present state. For the 
 
266 CONCLUDING REMARKS. chap.x. 
 
 most wise and benevolent purposes, a conviction is 
 implanted in our nature that we may rely on the course 
 of events being permanent. We belong to a certain 
 epoch ; and it is when our ambitious thoughts carry us 
 beyond our natural condition, that we feel how much 
 our faculties are confined, and our conceptions, as well 
 as our language, imperfect. "We must either abandon 
 these speculations altogether, or cease to argue purely 
 from our present situation. 
 
 It has now been made manifest, that man, and the 
 animals inhabiting the earth, have been created with 
 reference to the magnitude of the globe ; — that their 
 living endowments bear a relation to the elements 
 around them. We have also learnt that the system of 
 animal bodies, notwithstanding the diversity of forms 
 that meet the eye — is simple and universal : that it not 
 only embraces all living creatures, but has been 
 continued from periods of the greatest antiquity, 
 according to the geological calculations of time. The 
 most obvious appearances, and the labours of the 
 geologist, give us reason to believe that the earth has 
 not always been in the state in which it is now 
 presented to us. Every substance that we see is 
 compound ; we nowhere obtain the elements of things : 
 the most solid materials of the globe are formed of 
 decompounded and reunited parts. Changes, therefore, 
 have been wrought on the general surface, with long 
 periods, or epochs intervening ; and the proofs of these 
 are as distinct, as the furrows on a field are indicative 
 
CHAP. X. 
 
 CONCLUDING KEMARKS. 
 
 267 
 
 that the plough has passed over it. In short, progressive 
 changes, from the lowest to the highest state of organi- 
 sation and of enjoyment, point to the great truth, that 
 there was a beginning. 
 
 There is nothing in the inspection of the species of 
 animals, which countenances the idea of a return of the 
 world to any former condition. When we acknowledge 
 that animals have been created in succession and with 
 an increasing complexity of parts, we are not to be 
 understood as admitting that there is here proof of a 
 growing maturity of power, or an increasing effort in 
 the Creator. And for this very plain reason, which we 
 have stated before, that the bestowing of life, or the 
 union of the vital principle with the material body, is 
 a manifestation of power, superior to that displayed 
 in the formation of an organ, or the combination of 
 many organs, or construction of the most complex 
 animal mechanism. It is not, therefore, a greater 
 power that we see in operation ; but a power manifesting 
 itself in the perfect and successive adaptation of one 
 thing to another — of vitality and organisation to 
 inorganic matter. 
 
 "We mark changes in the earth's surface, and observe, 
 at the same time, corresponding changes in the animal 
 creation. We remark varieties in the outward form, size, 
 and general condition of animals, with corresponding 
 varieties in the internal organisation, — until we find 
 Man created, of undoubted pre-eminence over all, and 
 placed suitably in a bounteous condition of the earth. 
 
268 CONCLUDING REMARKS, chap, x 
 
 There is extreme grandeur in the thought of an 
 anticipating or prospective intelligence : in the reflec- 
 tion, that what was finally accomplished in man, was 
 begun in times incalculably remote. Most certainly 
 the original crust of the earth has been fractured and 
 burst up, that its contents might be exposed ; that 
 they might be resolved and washed away by the 
 vicissitudes of heat, cold, and rain : mountains and 
 valleys have been formed ; the changes of temperature 
 in the atmosphere have ensured continual motion and 
 healthful circulation : the plains have been made 
 salubrious, and the damps which hung on the low 
 grounds have gathered on the mountains in clouds, so 
 that refreshing showers have brought down the soil to 
 fertilise the plain. In this manner have been supplied 
 the means necessary for man's existence; with objects 
 suited to excite his ingenuity, to reward it, and to 
 develope all the various properties both of his body 
 and of his mind. And thus it is, " that the invisible 
 things, from the creation of the world, are perceived 
 by what we do see." 
 
 Nor are these conclusions too vast to be drawn from 
 the examination of a part so small as the Human 
 Hand ; since we have shown that the same system of 
 parts which constitutes the perfection of that instru- 
 ment adapted to- our condition, had its type in the 
 members of those vast animals which inhabited the 
 bays, and inland lakes of a former world. If we seek 
 to discover the relations of things, how sublime is that 
 
CHAP . x . CONCLUDING REMARKS. 269 
 
 established between the state of the earth's surface, 
 which has resulted from a long succession of revolu- 
 tions, and the final condition of its inhabitants, as 
 created in accordance with these changes. 
 
 To our measure of time, nothing is more surprising 
 than the slowness with which the designs of Providence 
 have been fulfilled. But as far as we can penetrate by 
 the light of natural knowledge, the condition of the 
 earth, and with it, Man's destinies, have hitherto been 
 accomplished, in great epochs. 
 
 We have been engaged in comparing the structure, 
 organs, and capacity of man and of animals. We have 
 traced a relation. But we have also observed a broad 
 line of separation between them — Man alone capable of 
 reason, affection, gratitude, and religion : sensible to 
 the progress of time, conscious of the decay of his 
 strength and faculties, of the loss of friends, and the 
 approach of death. 
 
 One who was the idol of his day has recorded his 
 feelings on the loss of his son, in nearly these words, — 
 " We are as well as those can be who have nothing 
 further to hope or fear in this world. We go in and 
 out, but without the sentiments that can create attach- 
 ment to any spot. We are in a state of quiet, but it is 
 the tranquillity of the grave, in which all that could 
 make life interesting to us is laid." If in such a state, 
 there were no refuge for the mind, then were there 
 something wanting in the scheme of nature : — an 
 
270 CONCLUDING REMARKS. CH ap.x 
 
 imperfection in man's condition, at variance with the 
 benevolence which is manifested in all other parts of 
 animated nature. 
 
 The extension of knowledge does not always direct 
 the mind to the most consolatory contemplations. We 
 may contrast the ancient philosopher with the modern. 
 The former, viewing everything as suited, or subor- 
 dinate to man, considered him as a " little god, 
 harboured in a human body," and yielded unre- 
 sistingly to the sentiments which flowed directly from 
 the objects and phenomena around him. 
 
 But as the period advanced when by philosophical 
 inquiry, experiment, and the improvement of optical 
 instruments, vision was extended to objects too remote, 
 or too minute for its natural sphere — when, instead of 
 the wide plane and visible horizon of the stable earth, 
 our globe was thought of as a ball rolling, amidst 
 myriads greater than it, through infinite space ; there 
 was a danger that man would consider his own position 
 with different sentiments ; that he would fall back with 
 the impression of the littleness of all belonging to him; 
 that his life would seem but a point of time, compared 
 with geological periods ; his body as a mere atom driven 
 about amidst unceasing changes of the material world. 
 To him, " the earth, with Man upon it, does not seem 
 much more than an ant-hill, where some ants carry 
 corn, and some carry their young, and some go empty, 
 and all to and fro, a little heap of dust." 
 
 The danger of adopting such disproportioned views 
 
chap.x. CONCLUDING REMARKS. 271 
 
 of man's estate, is greater to the scholar than to the 
 philosopher. He who has the power and the genius 
 to investigate nature, will not be satisfied with the 
 discovery of secondary causes ; his mind will become 
 enlarged, and his thoughts more elevated. It is other- 
 wise with him who learns, at second hand, the result of 
 those inquiries. If such an one see the fire of heaven 
 brought down into a phial ; or materials compounded 
 to produce an explosion louder than the thunder, and 
 ten times more destructive, — the storm will no longer 
 speak an impressive language to him. When, in 
 watching the booming waves of a tempestuous sea 
 along the coast, he marks the line at which the utmost 
 violence of the ocean is stemmed, and by an unseen 
 influence thrown back, he is more disposed to feel the 
 providence extended to man, than when the theory 
 of the moon's action is, as it were, interposed between 
 the scene which he contemplates, and the sentiments 
 naturally arising in his breast. Those influences which 
 are natural and just, and have served to develope the 
 sentiments of millions before him, are dismissed as 
 vulgar and to be despised. With the pride of newly 
 acquired knowledge, his conceptions embarrass, if they 
 do not mislead him; in short, he has not had that 
 intellectual discipline, which, should precede and 
 accompany the acquisition of knowledge. 
 
 But a man, of the highest order of genius, may lose 
 the just estimate of himself, from another cause. The 
 sublime nature of his studies may consign him to 
 
272 CONCLUDING REMARKS. C hap. x. 
 
 depressing thoughts. He may forget the very attri- 
 butes of his mind, which have privileged these high 
 contemplations, and the ingenuity of the hand, which 
 has so extended the sphere of his observation. The 
 remedy, to such a mind, is in the studies which we are 
 enforcing. The heavenly bodies in their motions 
 through space, are held in their orbits by the continuance 
 of a Power not more wonderful or more to be admired, 
 than that by which a globule of blood is suspended in 
 the mass of fluids — or by which, in due season, it is 
 attracted and resolved : than that, by which a molecule 
 entering into the composition of the body, is driven 
 through a circle of revolutions and made to undergo 
 different states of aggregation: becoming sometime, 
 a part of a fluid, sometime, an ingredient of a solid, 
 and finally cast out again, from the influence of the 
 living forces. 
 
 Our argument, in the early part of the volume, has 
 shown Man, by the power of the Hand (as the ready 
 instrument of the mind) accommodated to every 
 condition through which his destinies are to be 
 accomplished. We first see the hand ministering to 
 his necessities, and sustaining the life of the individual. 
 In a second stage of his progress, we see it adapted to 
 the wants of society, when man becomes a labourer and 
 an artificer. In a state still more advanced, science is 
 brought in aid of mechanical ingenuity, and the 
 elements which seemed adverse to the progress of 
 society, become the means conducing to it. The 
 
CHAP. X. 
 
 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 
 
 273 
 
 seas, which at first set limits to nations, and grouped 
 mankind into families, are now the means by which 
 they are associated. Philosophical chemistry has sub- 
 jected the elements to man's use ; and all tend to the 
 final accomplishment of the great objects to which 
 every thing, from the beginning, has pointed — the 
 multiplication and distribution of mankind, and the 
 enlargement of the sources of man's comfort and enjoy- 
 ment — the relief from too incessant toil, and the conse- 
 quent improvement of the higher faculties of his nature. 
 Instinct has directed animals, until they are spread to 
 the utmost verge of their destined places of abode. 
 Man too is borne onwards ; and although, on consulting 
 his reason, much is dark and doubtful, yet does his 
 genius operate to fulfil the same design, enlarging the 
 sphere of life and enjoyment. 
 
 Whilst we have before us the course of human 
 progress, as in a map, we are recalled to a nearer and 
 more important consideration : for what to us avail 
 all these proofs of divine power — of harmony in nature 
 — of design — the predestined accommodation of the 
 earth, and the creation of man's frame and faculties, if 
 we are stopped here ? if we perceive no more direct 
 relation between the individual and the Creator ? But 
 we are not so precluded from advancement. On the 
 contrary, reasons accumulate at every step, for a higher 
 estimate of the living soul, and give us assurance that 
 its condition is the final object and end of all this 
 machinery, and of these successive revolutions. 
 
274 CONCLUDING REMARKS, chap. x. 
 
 To this must be referred the weakness of the frame, 
 and its liability to injury, the helplessness of infancy, 
 the infirmities of age, the pains, diseases, distresses, 
 and afflictions of life — for by such means is man 
 to be disciplined — his faculties and virtues unfolded, 
 and his affections drawn to a spiritual Protector. 
 
 As every instinct, or sense, has an end, or design : 
 and every emotion in man has its object and direction ; 
 we must conclude that the desire of communing with 
 God is but another test of his being destined for a 
 future existence, and the longing after immortality the 
 promise of it. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 ADDITIONAL ILLUSTEATIONS. 
 
 T 2 
 
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 ♦ 
 
 [THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF THE SOLID STRUCTURE 
 OF THE ANIMAL BODY CONSIDERED. 
 
 To prepare us for perceiving design in the various 
 internal structures of an animal body, we must first of 
 all know that perfect security against accidents is not 
 consistent with the scheme of nature. A liability to 
 pain and injury only proves how entirely the human 
 body is formed with reference to the Mind : since, 
 without the continued call to exertion, which danger 
 and the uncertainty of life infer, the development of 
 our faculties would be imperfect, and the mind would 
 remain, as it were, uneducated. 
 
 The contrivances (as we should say of things of art) 
 for protecting the vital organs, are not absolute securities 
 against accidents ; but they afford protection in that 
 exact measure or degree calculated to resist the shocks 
 and pressure to which we are exposed, in the common 
 circumstances of life. A man can walk, run, leap, and 
 swim, because the texture of his frame, the strength 
 and power of his limbs, and the specific gravity of his 
 
278 
 
 MECHANICAL PROPERTIES 
 
 body, are in relation to all around him. But, were the 
 atmosphere lighter, the earth larger, or its attraction 
 greater — were he, in short, an inhabitant of another 
 planet, there would be no correspondence between the 
 strength, gravity, and muscular power of his body, and 
 the elements around him ; and the balance in the 
 chances of life would be destroyed. 
 
 "Without such considerations, the reader would fall 
 into the mistake, that weakness and liability to fracture 
 imply imperfection in the frame of the body ; whereas 
 a deeper contemplation of the subject will convince him 
 of the incomparable perfection both of the plan and of 
 the execution. The body is intended to be subject to 
 derangement and accident, and to become, in the course 
 of life, more and more fragile, until, by some failure in 
 the framework or vital actions, life terminates. 
 
 And this leads us to reflect on the best means of in- 
 forming ourselves of the intention or design shown in 
 this fabric. Can there be any better mode of raising 
 our admiration than by comparing it with things of 
 human invention ? It must be allowed that we shall 
 not find a perfect analogy. If we compare it with the 
 forms of architecture — the house or the bridge is not 
 built for motion, but for solidity and firmness, on the 
 principle of gravitation. The ship rests in equilibrium, 
 prepared for passive motion, and the contrivances of the 
 ship -builder are designed for resisting an external force. 
 Whereas in the animal body, we perceive securities 
 against the gravitation of the parts ; provisions to with- 
 
OF THE ANIMAL FRAME. 
 
 279 
 
 stand shocks and injuries from without ; at the same 
 time that the framework is calculated to sustain an 
 internal impulse from the muscular force, which moves 
 the bones as levers, or, like an hydraulic engine, 
 propels the fluids through the body. 
 
 As in things artificially contrived, lightness and 
 motion are balanced against solidity and weight, so it 
 is in the animal body. A house is built on a founda- 
 tion, immoveable ; and the slightest shift of the ground, 
 followed by the ruin of the house, brings no discredit 
 on the builder; for he proceeds on the certainty of 
 strength from gravitation on a fixed foundation. But 
 a ship is built with reference to motion ; to receive an 
 impulse from the wind, and to move through the water; 
 in comparison with the fabric founded on the fixed and 
 solid ground, it becomes subjected to new influences, 
 and in proportion as it is fitted to move rapidly in a 
 light breeze, it is exposed to founder in the storm. A 
 log of wood, or a Dutch dogger, almost as solid as a 
 log, is comparatively safe in the trough of the sea, 
 during a storm — when a bark, slightly built and fitted 
 for lighter breezes, would be shaken to pieces ; that is 
 to say, the masts and rigging of a ship (the provisions 
 for its motion) may become the source of weakness, 
 and, perhaps, of destruction ; and safety is thus volun- 
 tarily sacrificed in part, to obtain another property, 
 motion. 
 
 So in the animal body : sometimes we see the safety 
 of parts provided for by strength calculated for inert 
 
280 
 
 MECHANICAL PKOPERTIES 
 
 resistance ; but when made for motion, when light and 
 easily influenced, they become proportionally weak and 
 exposed ; unless some other principle be admitted, and 
 a different kind of security be substituted for that of 
 weight and solidity: still a certain insecurity arises 
 from this delicacy of structure. 
 
 We have already had occasion to show that there 
 is always a balance between the power of exertion, and 
 the capability of resistance, in the living body. A 
 horse or a deer receives a shock in alighting from a 
 leap ; but still the inert power of resisting that shock, 
 bears a relation to the muscular power with which it 
 springs. And so it is in man ; the elasticity and strength 
 of his limbs are always accommodated to his activity. 
 But it is obvious, that in a fall, the shock which the 
 lower extremities are calculated to resist, may come on 
 the upper extremity; which, from being adapted for 
 extensive and rapid motion, is incapable of sustaining 
 the impulse, and the bones are broken or displaced. 
 
 The analogy between the structure of the human 
 body and the works of human contrivance, is, there- 
 fore, not perfect. Sometimes the material is different, 
 sometimes the end to be attained is not precisely the 
 same ; and, above all, in the animal body a double 
 object is often secured by the structure or framework, 
 which cannot be accomplished by mere human in- 
 genuity, and of which, therefore, we can offer no 
 illustration strictly correct. However ingenious our 
 contrivances may be, they are not only limited, but 
 
OF THE ANIMAL FRAME. 
 
 281 
 
 they present a sameness which becomes tiresome. 
 Nature, on the contrary, gives us the same objects of 
 interest, or images of beauty, with such variety, that 
 they lose nothing of their influence and attraction by 
 repetition. 
 
 If, from a too careless survey of external nature, and 
 the consequent languor of his reflections, the reader 
 have an imperfect notion of design and providence, we 
 hope that the mere novelty of the instances we have to 
 place before him, may carry conviction to his mind ; 
 for we draw from nature in a field which has been left 
 strangely neglected ; though the nearest to us of all, 
 and of all the most fruitful. 
 
 Men proceed in a slow course of advancement in 
 architectural, mechanical, or optical sciences ; yet it is 
 found that when an improvement is made, there are all 
 along examples of it in the animal body ; which ought 
 to have been marked before, and which might have 
 suggested to us the improvement. It is surprising 
 that this view of the subject has seldom, if ever, been 
 taken seriously, and never pursued. Is the human 
 body formed by an all-perfect Architect, or is it not ? 
 And, if the question be answered in the affirmative, 
 does it not approach to something like infatuation, 
 that, possessing such perfect models as we do in the 
 anatomy of the body, we are so prone to neglect them ? 
 We undertake to prove, that the foundation of the 
 Eddystone lighthouse, the perfection of engineering 
 skill, is not formed on principles so correct, as those 
 
282 
 
 MECHANICAL PEOPERTIES 
 
 which have directed the arrangement of the bones of 
 the foot ; that the most perfect pillar or kingpost is 
 not adjusted with the accuracy of the hollow bones 
 which support our weight ; that the insertion of a 
 ship's mast into the hull is a clumsy contrivance com- 
 pared with the connexions of the human spine and 
 pelvis ; and that the tendons are composed in a 
 manner superior to the last patent cables of Huddart, 
 or the yet more recently improved chain-cables of 
 Bloxam. 
 
 In two introductory chapters of his Natural Theology, 
 Archdeacon Paley has given us the advantage of simple, 
 but forcible language, with extreme ingenuity, in 
 illustrating the mechanism of the frame. But for his 
 example, we should have felt some hesitation in making 
 so close a comparison between design, as exhibited by 
 the Creator in the animal structure, and the mere 
 mechanism, the operose and imperfect contrivances, of 
 human art. 
 
 Certainly there may be a comparison ; for a super- 
 ficial and rapid survey of the animal body may convey 
 the notion of an apparatus of levers, pulleys, and ropes, 
 which may be compared with the spring, barrel, and 
 fusee, the wheels and pinions of a watch. But if we 
 study the texture of animal bodies more curiously, and 
 especially if we compare animals with each other — for 
 instance, the simple structure of the lower creatures 
 with the complicated structure of those higher in the 
 
OF THE ANIMAL FRAME. 
 
 283 
 
 scale of existence — we shall see that, in the lowest links 
 of the chain, animals are so simple, that we should 
 almost call them homogeneous ; and yet there, we find 
 life, sensibility, and motion. It is in the animals higher 
 in the scale that we discover parts having distinct 
 endowments, and exhibiting complex mechanical 
 relations. The mechanical contrivances which are so 
 obvious in man, are the provisions for the agency and 
 dominion of an intellectual power over the materials 
 around him. 
 
 We mark this early, because there are authors who, 
 looking upon this complexity of mechanism, confound 
 it with the presence of life itself, and think that it is a 
 necessary adjunct — nay, even that life proceeds from 
 it ; whereas the mechanism which we have to examine 
 in the animal body, is formed with reference to the 
 necessity of acting upon, or receiving impressions from, 
 things external to the body ; an inevitable condition of 
 our state of existence in a material world. 
 
 Many have expressed their opinion very boldly on the 
 necessary relation between organisation and life, who 
 have never extended their views to the system of 
 nature. To place man, an intelligent and active being, 
 in this world of matter, he must have properties bearing 
 relation to that matter. The existence of matter 
 implies an agency of certain forces ; the particles of 
 bodies must suffer attraction and repulsion, and the 
 bodies formed by the balance of these influences upon 
 their atoms or particles, must have weight or gravity, 
 
284 
 
 MECHANICAL PROPERTIES 
 
 and possess mechanical properties. So must the living 
 body, independently of its peculiar endowments, have 
 similar composition and qualities, and have certain 
 relations to the solids, fluids, gases, heat, light, 
 electricity, or galvanism, which are around it. Without 
 these, the intellectual principle could receive no 
 impulse — could have no agency and no relation to the 
 material world. The whole body must gravitate or 
 have weight; without which it could neither stand 
 securely nor exert its powers on the bodies around it. 
 But for this, muscular power itself, and all the appli- 
 ances which are related to that power, would be useless. 
 When, therefore, it is affirmed that organisation or 
 construction is necessary to life, we may at least pause 
 in giving assent, under the certainty that we see 
 another and a different reason for the construction of 
 the body. Thus we perceive, that as the body must 
 have weight to have pow T er, so must it have mechanical 
 contrivance, or arrangement of its parts. As it must 
 have weight, so must it be sustained by a skeleton ; 
 and when we examine the bones, which give the body 
 height and shape, we find each column (for in that sense 
 a bone may be first taken) adjusted with the finest 
 adaptation to the perpendicular weight it has to bear, 
 as w r ell as to the lateral thrusts to which it is subject in 
 the motions of the body. 
 
 The bones also act as levers, on the most accurate 
 mechanical principles. And whilst these bones are 
 necessary to give firmness and strength to the frame, it 
 
OF THE ANIMAL FRAME. 
 
 285 
 
 is admirable to observe that one bone never touches 
 another; but a fine elastic material, the cartilage, 
 intervenes betwixt their ends, the effect of which is to 
 give a very considerable degree of elasticity to the 
 whole frame. Without such elasticity a jar would 
 reach the more delicate organs, even in the very 
 recesses of the body, at every violent motion ; and, but 
 for this provision, every joint would creak by the 
 attrition of the surfaces of the bones. The bones are 
 surrounded by the flesh or muscles. The muscle is 
 a particular fibrous texture, which alone, of all the 
 materials constituting the frame, possesses the peculiar 
 inherent power or endowment of contracting ; it is this 
 power which we are to understand when professional 
 men speak of irritability. The contraction of the 
 muscle bears no proportion to the cause which brings it 
 into operation; more than the touch of the spur upon 
 the horse's side does, as a mechanical impetus, to the 
 force with which the animal propels both himself and 
 rider. Each muscle of the body — and by common 
 estimate there are hundreds — is isolated ; and no pro- 
 perty of motion is propagated from one to another; 
 they are distinct instruments of motion. The muscles 
 surround the bones, and are so beautifully classed, that 
 in every familiar motion of the limbs some hundreds of 
 them are adjusted in their exact degree, to effect the 
 simplest change in the position of the body. Each 
 fibre of a muscle, and a muscle may contain millions of 
 fibres, is so attached to the tendon, that the whole 
 
286 
 
 MECHANICAL PROPERTIES 
 
 power is concentrated there ; and it is the tendons of 
 the muscles which, like ropes, convey the force of the 
 muscles to the bones. The bones are passive levers ; 
 the muscles are the active parts of the frame. With all 
 the seeming intricacy in the running and crossing of 
 these tendons, they are adjusted accurately on me- 
 chanical principles. Where it is necessary, they run 
 in sheaths, or they receive new directions by lateral 
 ligamentous attachments, or there are placed under 
 them smooth and lubricated pulleys, over which they 
 run; and where there is much friction, there is a 
 provision equal in effect to the friction-wheel of 
 machinery. Thus the bones are levers, with their 
 heads most curiously carved and articulated; and 
 joined to the intricate relations of the muscles and 
 tendons, they present on the whole a piece of perfect 
 mechanism. 
 
 It is with this texture — the coarsest, roughest 
 portion of the animal frame — that a parallel is drawn, 
 when we compare it with the common mechanical con- 
 trivances of machinery. But whilst these grosser parts 
 of the living body exhibit a perfection in mechanical 
 adaptation far greater than the utmost ingenuity of 
 man can exhibit in his machinery, let the reader 
 remember that they are surpassed as objects of admi- 
 ration, by the finer organs ; such, for example, as the 
 structure of those nerves which carry the mandate of 
 the will to the moving parts ; or of the vessels which 
 convey the blood in the circulation, and where the laws 
 
OF THE ANIMAL FRAME. 
 
 287 
 
 of hydraulics may be finely illustrated; or of those 
 secreting glands, where some will affirm the galvanic 
 influence is in operation, with something subtler than 
 the apparatus of plates and troughs. And could we 
 compare the contrivances of man, with such fine 
 mechanisms in the animal frame, there are struc- 
 tures to be adduced, much more admirable still. The 
 organs of the senses, which are so many inlets for 
 the qualities of surrounding matter to excite cor- 
 responding sensations and perceptions, afford us 
 delightful subjects of contemplation; and give proofs 
 of design in the human organism the most conclusive, 
 not only in regard to the system of the body itself, but 
 as it forms a part of the great scheme of the universe.] 
 
OF THE SOLID STKUCTURES OF ANIMAL BODIES. 
 
 SUBSTITUTES FOR THE TRUE SKELETON. 
 
 It has been shown, in the first chapters, that solidity 
 and gravity are qualities necessary to every inhabitant 
 of the earth ; the first, to protect it ; the second, that 
 the animal may stand, and possess that resistance 
 which shall make the muscles available for action. In 
 all animal bodies, besides those structures on which their 
 economy and much of their vital functions depend, 
 there must be a texture to give firmness. Without 
 this, the vegetable would have no characteristic form ; 
 and animals would want the protection necessary for 
 their delicate organs, and could not move upon their 
 extremities. We have to show with what admirable 
 contrivance, in the different classes of organised beings, 
 this firm fabric is reared ; sometimes to protect the 
 parts, as a shell; and sometimes to give them form and 
 motion, as in the skeleton. 
 
 In vegetables, as in animals, a certain firm material 
 is essential to support the parts which are the living 
 active organs of their system, and which are so 
 beautiful and interesting. The ligneous or woody 
 
SUBSTITUTES FOR A SKELETON. 289 
 
 fibre, is a minute, elastic, semi- opaque filament, which, 
 closing in and adhering to other filaments of the same 
 kind, forms the grain or solid part of the wood. The 
 best demonstration of the office of the woody fibre is in 
 the leaf. When the leaf of a plant is prepared by 
 maceration and putrefaction, and the soft part washed 
 away, there remains an elegant skeleton of wood, which 
 retains the form of the leaf, and is perfectly well suited 
 to support its delicate organisation. It is the same 
 substance which, when accumulated and condensed, 
 gives form and strength to the roots and branches of 
 the oak. And these, though fantastic and irregular in 
 their growth, preserve a mechanical principle of 
 strength ; as obvious, to the ship-builder, in the knees 
 of timber, as in the delicate skeleton of the leaf : Lord 
 Bacon speaks of " knee-timber that is good for ships 
 that are to be tossed." The woody fibre, though not 
 directly engaged in the living functions of the tree, is 
 yet essential for extending the branches and leaves to 
 the influence of the atmosphere, and by its elasticity 
 under the pressure of the wind, giving what is equi- 
 valent to exercise for the motion of the sap. A tree 
 opposed to winds and to a severe climate is dense in its 
 grain, and the wood is preferred by the workman to 
 that which is the growth of a milder climate. 
 
 "We cannot miss seeing the analogy of the woody 
 fibre to the bones of animals. Bones are firm, to 
 sustain the animal's weight, and to give it form. They 
 are jointed, and move under the action of muscles; 
 
 u 
 
290 SUBSTITUTES FOR A SKELETON. 
 
 and this exercise promotes the activity of the living 
 parts, and is necessary to health. But let us first 
 observe the structure of some of the lower animals. 
 It will be agreeable to find the hard material, though 
 always appropriate and perfect, becoming more and 
 more mechanical and complex in its construction, from 
 the lithophytes, testacea, Crustacea, reptiles, fishes, 
 mammalia, up to Man. 
 
 The first material to be taken notice of, which 
 bestows this necessary firmness on the animal textures, 
 is the cellular substance. This consists of delicate 
 membranes, which form cells ; these cells communicate 
 with each other, and the tissue thus composed enters 
 everywhere into the structure of the animal frame. It 
 constitutes the principal part of the medusa, which 
 floats like a bubble on the water ; and it is found in 
 every texture of the human body. It forms the most 
 delicate coats of the eye; and gives toughness and 
 firmness to the skin. It is twisted into ligaments, 
 and knits the largest bones : it is the medium between 
 bone, muscle, and blood-vessel : it produces a certain 
 firmness and union of the various component parts of 
 the body, while it admits of their easy motion. Without 
 it, we should be rigid, notwithstanding the proper 
 organs for motion; and the cavities could not be 
 distended or contracted, nor could the vessels pulsate. 
 
 But the cellular texture is not sufficient on all 
 occasions, either for giving strength or protection : 
 nor does it serve to sustain the weight, unless the 
 
SUBSTITUTES FOR BONE. 
 
 291 
 
 animal lives suspended in water, or creeps upon the 
 ground. Shell-fish have their strong covering for a 
 double purpose : to keep them at the bottom of the 
 sea, and to protect them when drifted by the tide 
 against rocks. Those animals of the molluscous 
 division which inhabit the deep sea, and float singly, 
 or in groups, as the genus scalpa, have a leathern 
 covering only ; because they are not liable to the 
 rough movements to which the others are subject, in 
 the advancing and retiring tides. The scalpa, simple 
 as it is in structure — for it presents the appearance of 
 a mere bag with two orifices capable of opening and 
 closing by valves — possesses at once all the functions 
 of digestion, respiration, reproduction, and, more 
 strange than any, locomotion : in its outward form and 
 substance, we may see the provisions for its mode 
 of life, and the place that it holds : from floating or 
 swimming at will, it is one of the "natantes;" and 
 it is further distinguished by the term "tunicata," 
 from being furnished with a leathern coat : now it is 
 worthy of admiration, that although unprovided with 
 exterior members, and having only two or three 
 muscular bands attached to its outer covering, it 
 can move from place to place, by merely taking in, 
 and throwing out, the water in which it floats ; and 
 the same operation is sufficient to supply it with its 
 food, and carry on the process of respiration. 
 
 The hermit crab gives us a demonstration of the 
 necessity for a protecting covering. Its tail or hinder 
 
 u 2 
 
292 
 
 DENSE INTEGUMENT. 
 
 part has no crust, or shell upon it, as its body and 
 claws have; therefore this animal requires to seek a 
 suitable dwelling-place for itself — some empty univalve 
 shell, into which it insinuates its tail, and from which 
 its head and arms project : with this power of selecting a 
 house, it removes, when it has outgrown the shell in which 
 it has dwelt ; and may then be seen trying the empty 
 shells upon the shore, or contending with others of its 
 own species for the possession of a shell. Surveying 
 these instances, we cannot resist the conviction of the 
 fine adaptation of the sensibilities and instincts of 
 animals, to their forms and substances. 
 
 With all this, when we look to animals of more 
 complex structure, possessing a distinct system of 
 muscles, we perceive the necessity for some harder and 
 more resisting material being added, if the weight is to 
 rest on points or extremities; or if the muscular 
 activity is to be concentrated. And nature has other 
 means of supplying the fulcrum and lever, besides the 
 bones, or true skeleton, which we have been examining 
 in the first part of the volume. Perhaps we shall find 
 that there is a system of solid parts superior even to 
 what we have been studying in the vertebrata. 
 
 The larvae of proper insects, and the annelides, have 
 no exterior members for walking or flying : but to 
 enable them to creep, they must have points of resist- 
 ance, or their muscles would be useless. Their skins 
 suffice ; and these are hardened by a deposit within 
 them, for that purpose. But if this skin were not 
 
A SUBSTITUTE FOR SKELETON. 
 
 293 
 
 further provided, it would be rigid and unyielding, and 
 be no substitute for bone. The hardened integuments 
 are, therefore, divided into rings ; to these the muscles 
 are attached ; and as the cellular membrane between 
 the rings is pliant, the animals are enabled to creep 
 and turn, in every direction. 
 
 Without further argument, we perceive how the skin, 
 by having a hard matter deposited within it, is adapted 
 to all the purposes of the skeleton. It is worthy of 
 notice that some animals, still lower in the scale — the 
 tubipores, sertularia, cellularia, &c, exhibit something 
 like a skeleton. They are contained within a strong 
 case, from which they can extend themselves ; whilst 
 the corals and madrepores, on the other hand, have a 
 central axis of hard material, the soft animal matter 
 being, in a manner, seated upon it. But these substi- 
 tutes for the skeleton are, like shell, foreign to the 
 living animal ; although in sustaining the softer sub- 
 stance and giving form, they may resemble bone. 
 
 The texture of a sponge, its form and elasticity, 
 depends upon a membranous and horny substance, 
 to which both silicious and calcareous spiculse are 
 added. Of shell, the hardening material is carbonate 
 of lime, united to a membranous or cartilaginous 
 animal matter. Paley describes the slime of a snail 
 hardening into shell by the influence of the atmosphere: 
 but that is a very imperfect, and indeed, erroneous 
 view. The shell of the o} r ster, and even the pearl, 
 consists of concentric layers of membrane and carbonate 
 
294 
 
 DESIGN IN SHELL OF OYSTER. 
 
 of lime ; and it is their laminated arrangement which 
 causes the beautiful iridescence in the polished surface 
 of those shells.* In the rough outer surface of an 
 oyster shell, we shall see the marks of the successive 
 layers : that which now forms the centre and utmost 
 convexity of the shell was at an earlier age sufficient to 
 cover the whole animal; but as the oyster grows, 
 it throws out from its surface a new secretion, com- 
 posed of animal matter and carbonate of lime, which is 
 attached to the shell already formed, and projects 
 farther at its edges. Thus the animal is not only pro- 
 tected by this covering, but as it increases in size, the 
 shell is made thicker and stronger by successive layers. 
 
 The reader will not be unwilling that we should 
 stop here to show that, rudely composed as this 
 covering of the oyster seems to be, it not only 
 answers the purpose of protecting the animal, but 
 is shaped with as curious a destination to the vital 
 functions of respiration and obtaining food, as any- 
 thing we can survey in the higher animals. We 
 cannot walk the streets without noticing that, in the 
 fish-shops, the oysters are laid with their flat sides 
 uppermost. They would die were it otherwise. The 
 animal breathes and feeds by opening its shell, and 
 thereby receiving a new portion of water into the 
 concavity of its under shell; and if it did not thus 
 open its lid, the water could neither be propelled 
 through its branchiae or respiratory apparatus, nor 
 
 * See the discoveries of Sir David Brewster on this subject. — Phil. Trans, 
 1814, p. 397. 
 
DESIGN IN SHELL OF OYSTER. 
 
 295 
 
 sifted for its food. It is in this manner that they lie in 
 their native beds ; were they on their flat surface, no 
 food could be gathered, as it were, in their cup ; and if 
 exposed by the retreating tide, the opening of the shell 
 would allow the water to escape, and leave them dry, 
 thus depriving them of respiration as well as food.* 
 We perceive, then, that the form of the oyster-shell, 
 rude as it seems, is not a thing of chance. Since the 
 shell is a cast of the body of the animal, the peculiar 
 shape must have been given to the soft parts, in antici- 
 pation of that of the shell ; an instance of prospective 
 adaptation. 
 
 That the general conformation of the shell should 
 have relation to what we may term its function, will be 
 less surprising, when we find a minute mechanical 
 intention in each layer of that shell. We should be 
 inclined to say that the earthy matter of the shell 
 crystallises, were it not that the striated or fibrous 
 appearance differs in the direction of the fibres in each 
 successive stratum — each layer having the striae com- 
 posing it parallel to one another, but directed obliquely 
 to those of the layer previously formed, and the whole 
 exhibiting a strong texture arranged upon well-known 
 mechanical principles. 
 
 Shell is not alive, as true bone is. If the shell of 
 any of the testacea be broken, the surface of the animal 
 
 * In confirmation of these remarks, when the geologist sees the fossil shells 
 in their strata, he can determine whether the oysters were overwhelmed in 
 their native beds ; or were rolled and scattered, as shells merely. 
 
296 
 
 EXTERNAL SKELETON 
 
 secretes a new shell : not, however, by the concretion 
 of slime, but by the regular secretion of a sub- 
 stance combined of earthy and gelatinous matter.* 
 Delicate experiments have been made by steeping 
 shells in diluted nitric acid, by which it is shown 
 that the carbonate of lime is the earthy material of 
 shells; and that, when that earth is dissolved in the 
 acid, a gelatinous substance of the form of the shell 
 remains. 
 
 Crustaceous animals, such as the lobster and crab, 
 have their shell formed of the same substances as the 
 testacea, but with the addition of phosphate of lime to 
 the carbonate of lime. A question may arise, How 
 do these animals grow ? It is said that they cast their 
 shells, and remain retired until a new shell is secreted ; 
 and Reaumur has given a very particular account of the 
 process of separation in the cray-fish. Naturalists 
 have not found these cast-off shells. If they be not 
 cast, the animals must, at a particular season, have 
 their shells so softened as to permit sudden expansion 
 of their bodies within ; yet it would be difficult to say 
 by what internal means this shell could be thus softened 
 and made pliant. We presume that the reason why 
 the shells of the Crustacea are not found in our 
 museums, is that they are not thrown off at once ; but 
 that the portions are detached in succession. In the 
 
 * We owe our knowledge of the formation of shell to the great French 
 naturalist Reaumur ; who, by ingenious experiments, showed the distinction 
 "between shell and bone, and that the former was secreted from the surface of 
 the animal. 
 
CONTRASTED WITH INTERNAL SKELETON. 297 
 
 Crustacea, we find an approximation to bone, inasmuch 
 as the shell is articulated ; and has certain processes 
 directed inwards, to which the muscles are attached.] 
 
 In the proper insect, I should say that there is a nearer 
 approach to a skeleton ; were it not that the apparatus 
 is more perfect than in some animals which have a 
 true skeleton. The resisting material is here deposited 
 externally, and is converted to every purpose which we 
 have seen attained by means of an osseous system. 
 Distinct members are formed, with the power of 
 walking, leaping, flying, holding, spinning, and weaving. 
 The hardened integuments, thus articulated and per- 
 forming the office of bones, like them have spines 
 and processes : with this difference, that their aspect 
 is towards the centre, instead of projecting exteriorly. 
 Were we to compare the system of " resisting parts " 
 in man, and in the insect, we should be forced to 
 acknowledge the mechanical provisions in the lower 
 animal to be superior ! The first advantage of the 
 skeleton (as we may be permitted to call the system of 
 hard parts in the insect)* being external, and lifeless, is, 
 that it is capable of having greater hardness and 
 strength bestowed upon it, according to the necessities 
 of the animal, than can be bestowed upon bone. True 
 bone, being internal and growing with the animal, is 
 penetrated with blood-vessels; and therefore must be 
 porous and soft. The next advantage in the exterior 
 crust or skeleton, is mechanical. The hard material is 
 
 * It is termed " exoskeleton," as contrasted with the " endoskeleton" or 
 internal skeleton. 
 
298 EXTERNAL, AS CONTRASTED 
 
 strong, to resist fracture, and bear the action of muscles, 
 in proportion to its distance from the centre : for the 
 muscles in the insect, instead of surrounding the bones, 
 as in the higher animals, are contained within the shell; 
 and the shell consequently is so much the further 
 thrown off from the axis of the limb. 
 
 When considering the larger vertebral animals, we 
 had reason to say that a correspondence is preserved 
 between the resistance of the bones, and the power of 
 the muscles ; and we may indulge the same reflection 
 here. As the integument covering the insect is much 
 harder than bone, so are the muscles stronger, com- 
 pared with those of the vertebrata. From the time 
 of Socrates, have comparisons been made between the 
 strength of the horse, and that of the insect; to the 
 undoubted superiority of the insect. 
 
 As goodly a volume has been written on the muscles 
 of a caterpillar, as has ever been dedicated to human 
 myology ; the most minute anatomical description has 
 been given of the caterpillar which feeds upon the 
 willow.* And here we learn that the annular con- 
 struction of the hard integument determines the plan 
 of the whole anatomy — the arrangement of the muscles, 
 even the distribution of the nerves. Each ring has its 
 three sets of muscles; direct and oblique; traversing 
 and interweaving, but yet distinct and symmetrical; 
 and all as capable of being minutely defined, as have 
 been those of the human body by Albinus. Corre- 
 
 * The work referred to is by Lyonnet, who reckons four thousand and 
 sixty-one muscles in this caterpillar. 
 
WITH INTERNAL SKELETON. 
 
 299 
 
 sponding to these muscles, the system of nerves is 
 delicately laid down. In short, we allow ourselves to 
 be misled in supposing that animals, either of minute 
 size, or low in the scale of arrangement, exhibit any 
 neglect or imperfection. Even if they were more 
 simple in structure, the admiration should be the 
 greater : since all have the functions necessary to life, 
 in full operation. 
 
 We may perceive that a certain firm substance, 
 calculated to sustain the more strictly living part, and 
 to give strength, is traceable through all living bodies. 
 In the vegetable, it is the woody fibre; and there 
 sometimes, as if to mark the analogy, we have silicious 
 earth deposited, instead of the phosphate and car- 
 bonate of lime of the animal structure. In the lower 
 animals, we find membranes capable of secreting a 
 solid material ; and although, in some instances, that 
 substance resembles leather or cartilage, it is, in 
 general, earthy, and, for the most part, consists of 
 carbonate of lime. But when elasticity, as well as 
 general resistance, is necessary, cartilage is employed ; 
 a highly compressible and elastic substance. Thus, 
 fishes have a large proportion of cartilage in their 
 bones ; and some, from having it in greater quantity, 
 are called cartilaginous, in distinction to the osseous 
 or true fishes. The cartilaginous and elastic structure 
 comes into use in an unexpected manner, in the fish ; 
 when the salmon or trout leaps from the water, the 
 muscles of one side first bend the spine; as they 
 
300 
 
 DESIGN IN THE 
 
 relax, the spine recoils : hence its elasticity assists the 
 action of the muscles of the opposite side : and thus 
 these two forces combine to give a powerful stroke 
 on the water with the tail, and the fish makes its 
 bound. 
 
 MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BONE OR OF THE 
 TRUE SKELETON. 
 
 Those considerations lead us to understand more 
 readily the composition of bone. It consists of three 
 parts, having different properties ; — membrane, cartilage, 
 and phosphate of lime. By these various substances 
 being united in its texture, bone is enabled to resist 
 stretching, torsion, and compression. If there had 
 been a superabundance of the earthy parts, it would 
 have broken like a piece of porcelain ; and if it had 
 not possessed toughness and some degree of elasticity, 
 it would not have enabled a man to pull, and push, 
 and twist. [The earthy substance is not merely united 
 with the cartilage or gelatinous matter ; but membranes 
 and vessels enter into the composition of bone. Bone 
 is not excreted, or foreign to the system of the 
 animal body ; on the contrary, it participates in those 
 laws that govern living matter. It is continually under- 
 going changes of deposition and absorption, through 
 the influence of blood-vessels and absorbing vessels ; by 
 which means it grows with the growth of the soft parts. 
 
 In fishes, which live in an element that supports the 
 
COMPOSITION OF BONE. 
 
 301 
 
 weight, the bones have a very large proportion of 
 elastic cartilage in their composition; and some, as 
 we have already remarked, possess so little phosphate 
 of lime, as to be denominated cartilaginous fishes. 
 Indeed, in the higher classes of animals which live 
 upon land, there is, in the different bones, a finely 
 appropriated union of earth, cartilage, and fibre ; so as 
 to give to each respectively the due proportion of 
 resistance, elasticity, and toughness. Not only is the 
 bone of each class of animal peculiar in the pro- 
 portion of its ingredients ; but each bone of the 
 skeleton, as of man, has a due proportion of earth, 
 cartilage, and fibre, to suit its office. The temporal 
 bone, in which the ear is situated, is as dense as 
 marble (it is called os petrosv/m), and of course is suited 
 to propagate the vibration of sound : the heel-bone, or 
 projection of the elbow, on which the powerful 
 muscles pull, is, on the other hand, fibrous, as if partaking 
 of the nature of a tendon or rope ; whilst the columnar 
 bones, which support the weight, have an intermediate 
 degree of density, and an admirable form, as we shall 
 see presently. 
 
 Looking to the hard texture of bone, we should 
 scarcely suppose that it was elastic. But if ivory 
 possess elasticity, this property cannot be denied to 
 bone. A billiard ball being put upon a marble slab, 
 recently painted, a very small spot will mark the point 
 of contact ; but if we let the ball drop upon the marble 
 from a height, we shall find the spot much larger; 
 
302 PROPORTIONING OF THE 
 
 because the elasticity of the ivory has permitted the 
 ball to yield, and to assume momentarily an oblate 
 spheroidal form. 
 
 When a new principle is admitted into a complex 
 fabric, the utmost ingenuity can hardly anticipate all 
 the results. Elasticity is extensively employed in the 
 machinery of the animal body. Now, to show how finely 
 it must be apportioned, we may take the illustration of 
 a bridge, built of iron, instead of stone, and having a 
 certain swing and elasticity. It lately happened that a 
 bridge of that construction fell ; and it was under very 
 curious circumstances — by the marching of a body of 
 soldiers over it. The bridge was calculated to sustain 
 a greater weight than that of the body of men ; and 
 had they walked tumultuously over it, it would have 
 withstood the pressure. But the soldiers marched 
 to time across it : accordingly, they accumulated a 
 motion in the bridge, consequent on the elasticity of 
 the material; which swinging motion, added to their 
 weight, broke it down. This may give us some idea 
 how finely adjusted the different qualities in the solid 
 material of the animal fabric must be ; not merely to 
 enable it to sustain the incumbent weight, or to resist 
 transverse or oblique impulses, but to withstand the 
 frequent and regularly repeated forces to which it may 
 be subject in the various actions of the body. It gives 
 interest to this fact, that hardly is there a bone which 
 has not a constitution of its own, or a disposition of its 
 material adjusted to its place and use : the heel bone, 
 
MATERIAL OF BONE. 
 
 303 
 
 the shin bore, the vertebrae, and the bones of the 
 head, all differ in their mechanical construction. 
 
 This explanation of the use of the prominent ridges 
 of a bone, imparts a new interest to osteology. The 
 anatomist ought, from the form of the ridges, to deduce 
 the motions of the limb, the forces bearing upon the 
 bone, and the nature and common-place of fracture; 
 while, to the general inquirer, an agreeable course of 
 reasoning is introduced into a department, which, 
 when the " irregularities " of the bone are spoken of as 
 if they were the accidental consequences of the pressure 
 of the flesh upon it, is altogether barren of interest. 
 It is perhaps not far removed from our proper object 
 to remark, that a person of feeble texture and indolent 
 habits, has the bone smooth, thin, and light ; but that 
 nature, solicitous for our safety in a manner which 
 we could not anticipate, combines with the powerful 
 muscular frame, a dense and perfect texture of bone, 
 where every spine and tubercle is completely developed. 
 And thus the inert and mechanical provisions of the 
 bone always bear relation to the living muscular power 
 of the limb ; and exercise is as necessary to the perfect 
 constitution and form of a bone, as it is to the increase 
 of the muscular power. 
 
 Jockeys speak correctly enough when they use the 
 term " blood and bone" as distinguishing the breed or 
 genealogy of horses ; for blood is an allowable term for 
 the race, and bone is so far significant, that the bone of 
 a running horse is remarkably compact, compared with 
 
304 
 
 SKELETON COMPARED 
 
 the bone of a draught horse. The reader can easily 
 understand, that in the gallop, the horse must come on 
 his forelegs with a shock proportioned to the span ; and 
 that, as in man, the greater his muscular power, the 
 denser and stronger must be the bone. 
 
 As the bones are not mere pillars, intended to bear a 
 perpendicular weight, we ought not to expect uniformity 
 in their shape. According to its place, each bone bears 
 up against the varying forces applied to it. Consider 
 two men wrestling together, and then think how various 
 must be the direction of the resistances : now they are 
 pulling, and the bones are like ropes ; or again, they 
 are writhing and twisting, and the bones bear a force 
 like the axle-tree between two wheels; or the bones 
 are like pillars, under a great weight; or they are 
 acting as levers. We see, therefore, why a bone, to 
 withstand these different shocks, should consist, as we 
 have stated, of three parts ; the earth of bone (phos- 
 phate of lime) to give it firmness ; fibres to give it 
 toughness ; and cartilage to give it elasticity.] 
 
 Let us compare the machinery of some complicated 
 engine with the mechanical properties in an animal 
 body, that we may comprehend what is most truly 
 admirable in the latter. Suppose the engineer has 
 contrived a steam carriage ; that with the utmost 
 possible precision he has calculated the power of the 
 steam, the pressure of the atmosphere, the strength of 
 the tubes and cylinder, the weight to be moved, and 
 the friction of the whole machinery. At length, the 
 
WITH ARTIFICIAL MECHANISM. 305 
 
 engine is constructed. But, on trial, it remains im- 
 moveable. After much thought, the cause of the 
 impediment is discovered, the pressure is eased, or 
 the friction diminished ; and, to the admiration of 
 the beholders, the carriage actually moves — till, in 
 course of time, a pipe bursts. This, however, is 
 mended ; the whole is improved, and a day is ap- 
 pointed for a great trial. The engine now runs for 
 half a mile, and first a bolt is shaken loose, then a 
 spring snaps ; but, at length, with renewed ingenuity 
 and labour, and much correction, after a few months, 
 the carriage actually runs a stage. By this comparison 
 we are taught how much, even in the mere machinery 
 of the animal frame, before the powers of life are 
 measured out to it, is to be admired. Such, for ex- 
 ample, as the force of the heart to propel the blood ; 
 the resistance of the tubes to the circulating fluids ; 
 the proportioning of the strength of the limbs to the 
 weight of the body ; the adjustment of the power of the 
 muscles to the length of the bones, as levers ; the flexi- 
 bility of the joints ; the density of the bones to resist 
 pressure or weight ; their elasticity to prevent con- 
 cussion and fracture. In the animal body, so finely 
 are the active and resisting powers balanced, that no 
 accident occurs from disproportioned forces ; no second 
 trial is wanted, to increase the power, or strengthen the 
 levers, or add to the elasticity of the springs. It is at 
 once perfect ; perfect to its end. But to understand 
 that fully, and the adaptations in the constitution of 
 
 x 
 
306 
 
 LIABILITY TO ACCIDENTS. 
 
 the bones, we must proceed a little deeper in our 
 investigation. 
 
 It has been already said, that perfect security against 
 accidents, in the animal body, and in man especially, 
 is not consistent with the scheme of nature. Without 
 the precautions and the continued calls to exertion, 
 which danger and the uncertainty of life produce, many 
 of the faculties of the mind would remain unexercised. 
 Whence, else, would come courage, resolution, and all 
 the manly virtues ? Take away the influence of the 
 uncertain duration of life, and we must suppose also 
 a change in the whole moral constitution of man. 
 Whether we consider the bones as formed to protect 
 important organs, as in the skull; or levers for the 
 attachment of the muscles, as in the limbs ; or in both 
 capacities, as in the texture of the chest — while they 
 are perfectly adapted to their function, they are yet 
 subject to derangements from accident. The mecha- 
 nical adaptations are sufficient to their ends, and afford 
 safety, in the natural exercises of the body. To these 
 exercises there is an intuitive impulse, ordered with a 
 relation to the strength of the frame of the body ; for 
 by the admonitions of pain we are deterred from the 
 excessive or dangerous use of the limbs. 
 
 The bones of the extremities are termed hollow 
 cylinders. Now, after having convinced ourselves of 
 the necessity of the cylindrical form for the bones of 
 the limbs, as it is that which combines strength with 
 lightness, we may find, upon a more particular exami- 
 
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BONE. 307 
 
 nation, that they vary in their shape, in many instances ; 
 and we may even, at last, be prone to believe that there 
 is much chance or irregularity in their forms. But 
 such a conception is quite inconsistent with a correct 
 knowledge of the skeleton ; and as it leads to further 
 mistakes, we shall take pains to show, — first, why the 
 bones are hollow cylinders ; and secondly, why they 
 vary in shape, so as to appear to the superficial 
 observer irregular. 
 
 The reasoning that serves to explain the admirable 
 structure of the hollow cylindrical bone, applies equally 
 to many other natural forms ; as that of a quill, a reed, 
 or a straw. And this last example may remind us of 
 the saying of that unfortunate man, who being drawn 
 from his cell, before the Inquisition, was accused of 
 denying that there is a God ; picking up a straw which 
 had stuck to his garments, he said, "If there were 
 nothing else in nature, to teach me the existence of a 
 Deity, this straw would be sufficient." 
 
 It hardly requires demonstration that, having a given 
 mass of material with which to construct a pillar or 
 column, the hollow cylinder will be the form of greatest 
 strength. The experiments of Du Hamel on the 
 strength of beams, afford us the best illustrations as to 
 how the material should be arranged, to resist trans- 
 verse fracture. When a beam, resting on its ex- 
 tremities, sustains a weight upon its centre, it admits of 
 being divided into three portions ; each being in a 
 different condition with regard to the weight ; the lower 
 
 x 2 
 
308 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE 
 
 part resists fracture by its toughness ; the upper part, 
 by its de'nsity and resistance to compression : and the 
 portion between these is not acted upon at all. This 
 middle part might, therefore, be taken away, without 
 any considerable weakening of the beam : or it might 
 be added to the upper or the lower part, with great 
 advantage. In illustration of this ; when a tree is 
 blown down, and broken at its trunk, the fractured part 
 gapes to the windward — where the wood has been torn 
 asunder like the snapping of a rope ; to the leeward, 
 the woody fibres are crushed into one another and 
 splintered — having given way to the compression : 
 while the central part is merely bent, not wholly 
 fractured. 
 
 It can be readily understood how a tougher sub- 
 stance added to the lower part, would strengthen the 
 beam : we see it in the skin laid along the back part of 
 the Indian's bow ; or in the leather of a carriage spring. 
 Again, the following is a beautiful experiment to 
 demonstrate the quality in the upper portion of the 
 timber by which the weight is resisted; if a part, 
 amounting to nearly a third of the beam, be cut away, 
 and a denser piece of wood be nicely let into the space, 
 the strength will be increased ; because the hardness of 
 the new piece of wood is calculated to withstand 
 compression. This experiment I like the better 
 because it explains an interesting peculiarity in the con- 
 struction of the cylindrical bones ; namely, a difference 
 in the density of the several parts or sides of the bones. 
 
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BONE. 309 
 
 In reading anatomical books, we are led to suppose 
 that the pressure of the muscles which surround the 
 bones, has the effect of moulding them into their 
 particular forms. This is a mistake. Were we to 
 admit the truth of such an explanation, it would be the 
 same as admitting an imperfection in the design : and 
 we should expect to find, that if the bones yielded at 
 all to the force of the muscles, they would give way 
 more and more, according as the power of the muscles 
 increased, until they were ultimately destroyed. 
 Nothing, however, in the living frame is more 
 admirable than the relation established between the 
 muscular power and the strength, or capacity of 
 passive resistance, in the bones. The deviations from 
 the cylindrical forms are not irregularities. If we 
 take for our example the chief bone of the leg, the 
 tibia, or shin bone, which, of all others, varies the 
 most from the cylindrical shape, — we shall have the 
 best demonstration of the correspondence between 
 the form of the bone and the force which it has to 
 sustain. When we consider the direction in w T hich 
 the force falls upon the tibia, as we put the foot to 
 the ground, in walking, running, leaping, or in any 
 of the powerful exertions where the weight of the body 
 is thrown forwards on the ball of the great toe, it must 
 appear that the pressure comes chiefly on the anterior 
 part. Accordingly, if the tibia were a perfect cylinder, 
 it would be subject to fracture, even from the mere 
 force of the body, when thrown upon it. But if a 
 
310 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE 
 
 column be rendered stronger, by the material being 
 accumulated to a distance from the centre, we readily 
 perceive the advantage gained by a spine or ridge 
 being formed upon the front of the tibia. Again, if we 
 examine the internal structure of that spine, we shall 
 find that it is much denser and stronger than the rest 
 of the bone. No one, therefore, can deem the devia- 
 tion from the regular cylindrical form, or the density 
 of this ridge, a thing of accident; it corresponds so 
 perfectly with the experiment of Du Hamel, where a 
 dense piece of wood being let into the beam of timber, 
 had the effect of increasing its power of resisting trans- 
 verse fracture. With the knowledge of these facts, were 
 we to proceed to examine all the different bones of the 
 skeleton, we should find, everywhere, that the form was 
 in strict relation either to the motion to be performed, 
 or the strain to which the bone was most exposed. 
 
 In comparing the true bones of the higher animals, 
 with the coverings of insects, we observed the necessity 
 for the former being of a porous structure ; and how 
 inferior they were in strength from that cause. If the 
 texture of a bone be very dense, it will not re-unite, 
 upon being fractured ; and, if exposed, it will die. 
 Here, then, is an obvious defect : the bones of animals 
 cannot be made capable of sustaining great weight, 
 without losing a property necessary to their existence 
 — that of restoration on being injured. And even 
 were the material very much condensed, it does not 
 appear that the phosphate of lime, united as it is with 
 
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BONE. 311 
 
 the animal matter, would be capable of withstanding 
 great compression. Accordingly, a limit is put to the 
 size of animals. This may, perhaps, countenance the 
 belief that, in size and duration of life, animals bear a 
 relation to the powers and life of man — that it was 
 only in a former condition of the world, that creatures 
 of the greatest dimensions could exist. Our allusion 
 here is to such animals only as have their huge bulk 
 resting on extremities ; for, with respect to the whale, 
 it lies out buoyed and supported in the water. Some 
 of those great fossil animals, the remains of which are 
 found in the secondary strata, are estimated to have 
 been seventy feet in length ; and they had extremities ; 
 but the thigh and leg did not exceed eight feet in 
 length, while the foot extended to six feet ; a proportion 
 which implies that the extremities assisted the animal 
 to crawl, rather than to bear its weight, like the ex- 
 tremities of the mammalia. However, in the larger 
 terrestrial animals, the material of the bones is found 
 to be dense, and their cavities filled up ; the diameters 
 of those of the extremities, together with their spines 
 and processes, being remarkably increased. Nothing 
 can be conceived more clumsy than the bones of the 
 megatherium. Hence it really appears as if nature 
 had exhausted her resources, with respect to this 
 material : that living and vascular bone could not be 
 moulded into a form capable of sustaining the bulk and 
 weight of an animal much superior in size to the 
 elephant, mastodon, or megatherium. 
 
312 ON THE DEER'S HORN. 
 
 [The subject may be illustrated in this manner: — A 
 soft stone projecting from a wall, may make a stile 
 strong enough to bear a person's weight ; but if it be 
 necessary to double the length of the stile, the thick- 
 ness must be more than doubled, or a freestone 
 substituted : and were it necessary to make this free- 
 stone project twice as far from the wall, it would not 
 be strong enough to bear a proportioned increase of 
 weight, even if doubled in thickness ; granite must be 
 placed in its stead; and even granite would not be 
 capable of sustaining four times the weight which the 
 soft stone bore in the first instance. In the same way, 
 the stones which form an arch, of a large span, must 
 be of the hardest granite, or their own weight will 
 crush them. The same principle is applicable to the 
 bones of animals : the material of bone is too soft to 
 admit of an indefinite increase of weight. It is another 
 illustration of what was before stated, that a relation is 
 established through all nature ; that the structure of 
 the very animals which move upon the surface of the 
 earth, is proportioned to its magnitude, and the 
 gravitation to its centre.] 
 
 [ON THE DEER'S HORN. 
 
 Let us consider the structure, increase, and decay of 
 the deer's horn, as an example of the most rapid 
 growth of bone ; and a curious instance of the appro- 
 priation of bone to a particular purpose. First, why 
 
ON THE DEER'S HORK 313 
 
 should these antlers be deciduous, or fall at an 
 appointed season ? The breeder of domestic cattle and 
 horses endeavours to propagate the favourite quality of 
 fleece, or carcase, speed, or power, by means of crossing. 
 In the deer, Nature accomplishes her end by giving to 
 the strongest. 
 
 SECTION OF THE ROOT OF A DEER'S HORN. 
 
 The antlers of the stag, which is in maturity and 
 vigorous health, grow with the greatest spread of palms 
 and crotches : and with the growth of the horn there 
 is increase of strength in the neck and shoulder. 
 During this time, the carotid artery, which nourishes 
 the head, increases rapidly in size. We cannot be 
 surprised, then, that in contention with his rivals, he 
 that carries the largest antlers should obtain supremacy 
 
314 
 
 ON THE DEER'S HORN. 
 
 over the herd. After the season, his antlers fall, and 
 we then find the stag feeding with the other males, 
 which before he had driven off. Be this, however, as it 
 may, the growth and fall of the antlers is a remarkable 
 phenomenon, and deserving further consideration. 
 
 The horn of the deer is bone, and is formed as an 
 internal part, that is to say, it is covered during its 
 growth. It grows from the outer table of the skull, a ; 
 but there extends, at the same time, from the integu- 
 ments of the head, a soft vascular covering, b, like 
 velvet ; so that, during the whole period of its growth, 
 the horn, c, has around it a tender soft covering, full of 
 vessels, and which is necessary to its growth and 
 support. But when the horn has acquired its full form 
 and strength, this velvet covering is destroyed by a very 
 curious process. At the root of the horn, near the 
 skull, a circlet of tubercles, d, called the burr or pearl, 
 is found ; the principal vessels run between these 
 tubercles, and, as the tubercles grow, they close in upon 
 the ascending blood-vessels, compress them, and pre- 
 vent their conveying blood to the horn; then the 
 membrane, which was vascular, becomes insensible and 
 dead, and in time is rubbed off. 
 
 In old treatises on hunting, the separation of the 
 outer cuticle, or velvet, is called fraying; and the 
 huntsman, in leading on his hounds upon a hart of 
 many " tines," judges of his size and strength by the 
 fraying-post — the height of the tree against which he 
 has been butting and rubbing his horns to separate the 
 
ON THE DEER'S HORN. 
 
 315 
 
 outer covering. When the velvet is detached the horns 
 are now perfect. It is after this that the stag seeks the 
 female in the depth of the forest ; and now it is that, 
 in encountering his rivals, fierce contests ensue. 
 They dart against each other with great fury, take no 
 repose, and in a very few weeks become quite 
 exhausted. In the museum of the College of Surgeons 
 are two superb sets of antlers, entangled and wedged 
 together ; they belonged to two males, which had struck 
 so fiercely against each other, that they could not 
 withdraw their horns, and being thus strangely locked 
 together, they starved, and were found dead. The stag 
 is a very different animal, in regard to strength, at 
 different seasons of the year. He feeds, too, on different 
 herbage, sometimes preferring the broom and heath ; 
 at another season he resorts to copses, springs, and 
 corn-fields : and these correspond with his different 
 condition as to strength and fatness, and with his 
 passions. It is after the period of contention that the 
 stag is once more found in the copses and underwood, 
 feeding peacefully with his former rivals. And now 
 the process of absorption takes place at the root of the 
 horns, and they are shed ; sometimes one is carried a 
 considerable time after the other is fallen; and it is 
 observed that the oldest and strongest harts shed their 
 antlers the soonest. The remarkable circumstance is, 
 that such is the provision for separation through the 
 absorption at the root of the horn, that now a slight 
 shock will detach what before bore the united force of 
 
316 
 
 OF THE JOINTS. 
 
 the two combatants. The fallow-deer have the same 
 habits and passions ; but they will contend in herds for 
 favourite pasture-grounds, and divide into parties under 
 the oldest and strongest of the herd. "Who can doubt 
 that the antlers are for a temporary purpose, since, for 
 the greater part of the year, they are either wanting, or 
 in a tender state of growth ? Nature bestows them 
 only as arms for the combat which is to decide for the 
 strongest, and give a sire to the herd.] 
 
 OF THE JOINTS. 
 
 With regard to the articulation of the bones at the 
 joints, we cannot mistake the reason why the surfaces 
 of contact should be enlarged ; the expansion of the 
 ends of the bones makes them sit more securely upon 
 each other, and diminishes the danger of dislocation. 
 Now this advantage is gained without detriment to the 
 motion of the joint. In machinery it is found that 
 the weight or pressure being the same, an increase in 
 the extent of the surfaces in contact does not add to 
 the friction. For example, if a stone, or piece of 
 timber, of the shape of a book or a brick, be laid 
 upon a flat surface, and drawn across it, it will be 
 moved with equal facility whether it rest upon its 
 edge, or upon its side. In the same manner, the 
 friction between the articular surfaces of the bones 
 of the knee joint, is not increased by their greater 
 diameter : while obvious advantages result from their 
 
OF THE JOINTS. 
 
 additional breadth; the ligaments knit the bones 
 more strongly than they would otherwise do : and the 
 tendons being removed to a distance from the centre of 
 motion, more power is given to the action of the muscles. 
 
 [In comparing the skeleton with carpentry, or with 
 anything artificial that may admit of comparison with 
 it, we remark an absence of straight lines, or regular 
 forms in the various bones, whether they serve the 
 purposes of shafts, axles, or levers ; while, in the 
 mechanism made by man, every part is levelled and 
 squared, or formed according to some geometrical line 
 or curve. This, as we have said, leads the superficial 
 thinker to conclude, that the bones are formed 
 irregularly, or without reference to principle. But 
 the consideration of by Whom formed, leads to a 
 review; and a deeper examination brings with it the 
 conviction that the curves, spines, and protuberances 
 of the bones, where they enter into the joints, are formed 
 with a relation to the weight which they bear, and the 
 thrusts and twists to which they are subjected, in the 
 different motions of the body. If we observe the various 
 postures of a man at any manual labour, or under a 
 weight, or running, or leaping, or wrestling, we shall be 
 convinced that no carpentry of the bones formed accord- 
 ing to geometrical lines or curves, could suit all this 
 variety of motion. No splicing, dove-tailing, cogging, or 
 any of all the various shapes into which the carpenter 
 or joiner cuts his material, could enable them to with- 
 stand the motions of the body, where it is so utterly 
 
318 
 
 OF THE JOINTS. 
 
 impossible to estimate the forces, or to calculate upon 
 the variety in their direction. 
 
 That the varieties in the forms of the joints are not 
 irregular or accidental, but are related to the motions 
 to be performed, is apparent in the close examination 
 of the human skeleton; and it is still more clearly- 
 evinced by comparative anatomy. To comprehend the 
 fine adjustment of each bone in its articulation, we 
 should require to go more minutely into the anatomy 
 than is suitable to this work. Then we should find 
 with what curious mechanical adaptation the motions 
 are permitted in the prescribed direction, and checked 
 in every other. We should observe how the motions of 
 one joint are related to those of another; and how, by 
 the combination of joints, each of which is securely 
 checked and strengthened, facility and extent of motion 
 are produced in the whole : for example, in the arm 
 and hand, where the motions are free, and varied in 
 every possible direction. 
 
 It is interesting to see how the joints of the lower 
 extremities in man are modified, in comparison with 
 those of the upper. We have elsewhere remarked that 
 the bones of the human pelvis, thigh, and leg exceed 
 those of all other animals in relative size ; which is 
 a provision for the erect position of man. The same 
 design is evinced in the form of the ankle, knee, and 
 hip joints. Whilst in their combination they give every 
 necessary degree of motion consistent with security, 
 there is a happy adaptation of each to produce at 
 
OF THE MUSCULAR AND ELASTIC FORCES. 
 
 319 
 
 once firmness and mobility. That is to say, when the 
 limb is thrown forward in walking or running, the 
 whole member is loose, and capable of being freely 
 directed ; so that we plant it with every convenience to 
 the irregularity of the ground ; but when the body is 
 carried forward, and the weight comes to be perpen- 
 dicular over the limb, it acquires, by the curious adjust- 
 ment of the bones, a firmness equal to that of a post. 
 Again, when the body is still further thrown forward, 
 and the limb is disencumbered of the weight of the 
 body, the joints are let loose, so as to be bent easily, 
 and to obey the action of the muscles.] 
 
 OF THE MUSCULAR AND ELASTIC FORCES. 
 
 Elastic ligaments are liberally supplied in the human 
 spine : a range of peculiar ligaments run along the 
 course of the column, and are highly elastic. The 
 ligamentum nuchce is that ligament which extends from 
 the prominence of the spine between the shoulders, to 
 the back of the head ; and the student who hangs his 
 head over his book, enjoys the advantage of this elastic 
 support. We may trace the same ligament, with 
 increasing strength, from that which sustains a man's 
 head, to the powerful elastic structure in the neck of 
 the elephant, which, like the spring of a steel-yard, 
 weighs against its immense head and tusks. 
 
 These elastic ligaments vary with the length and 
 motion of the neck. It would be tedious to describe 
 
320 OF THE MUSCULAR AND ELASTIC FORCES. 
 
 their varieties in the camel, cameleopard, ostrich, &c. 
 We may be satisfied with the fact, that the elastic 
 ligament is a structure extensively used in the animal 
 textures ; generally coming in aid of the muscles, or as 
 a substitute for them. 
 
 The muscular power is contrasted with the elastic, 
 as being a property of motion possessed exclusively by 
 a living part, the muscular fibre. We acquiesce in 
 the distinction, since the fibre ceases to have irrita- 
 bility or power after death ; while the elastic structures 
 retain their peculiar quality. But yet there is a 
 property in the elasticity of the living body, which 
 cannot be preserved after death. To illustrate this, 
 let us take the instance of the catgut string of a 
 harp, and suppose that it is screwed tightly, so as 
 to vibrate in a given time, and sound the note correctly ; 
 if it be struck rudely, it will be put out of tune ; that 
 is, it will be stretched and somewhat relaxed, and no 
 longer vibrate in time. But this will not take place 
 in the living elastic fibre ; in it there is a power of 
 restoring the property. If we see the tuner screwing 
 up the harp string, and with difficulty, and after 
 repeated trials, with the tuning fork, and with his 
 utmost acquired skill, bringing it to its due tension, 
 and restoring it to its former elasticity, we have 
 a demonstration of how much Life is performing, after 
 every act of over- exertion, in repairing the fibres of 
 the animal frame. The more powerful the active 
 forces of the body are, the more carefully is the proper 
 
ELASTIC STRUCTURES. 
 
 321 
 
 tension of the tendons, ligaments, and heart-cords 
 preserved. 
 
 Or we may take the example of a steel spring. A 
 piece of steel, heated to a white heat, and plunged into 
 cold water, acquires certain properties ; and if heated 
 again to 500° of Fahrenheit, it becomes elastic J 
 possessing what is called a " spring temper," so that it 
 will recoil and vibrate. But if this spring be bent in a 
 degree too much, it will be deprived of part of its 
 elasticity. In the living body, should a similar thing 
 happen to one of the elastic structures, it has a power 
 of restoration, which the steel has not. 
 
 [The safeguard against the excess of muscular power 
 is in the elasticity of the parts. This is obvious in the 
 limbs and general texture of the frame ; but it is most 
 perfectly exhibited in the organs of circulation. If the 
 action of the Heart impelled the blood against parts of 
 solid structure, they would quickly yield. When, by 
 accident, this does take place, even the dense bone is 
 very soon destroyed. But the coats of the artery which 
 receive the rush of blood from the heart, although thin, 
 are limber and elastic; and by this elasticity or 
 yielding, they take off or subdue the shock of the 
 heart's action, while no force is lost ; for as the elastic 
 artery has yielded to the sudden impulse of the heart, 
 it contracts by elasticity in the interval of the heart's 
 pulsation ; and the blood continues to be propelled on- 
 ward in the course of the circulation, without interruption, 
 though regularly accelerated by the pulse of the heart. 
 
 T 
 
322 
 
 ELASTIC STRUCTURES. 
 
 If a steam-engine were used to force water along 
 pipes, without the intervention of some elastic body, 
 the water would not flow continuously, but in jerks; 
 therefore, a reservoir is constructed, containing air, 
 into which the water is forced, against the elasticity of 
 the air. Thus, each stroke of the piston is not 
 perceptibly communicated to the conduit-pipe, because 
 the intervals are supplied by the resilience of the com- 
 pressed air. The office of the reservoir containing air, 
 is performed in the animal body by the elasticity of the 
 coats of the arteries ; by which means the blood flows 
 uninterruptedly into the arteries, and has a continuous 
 flow in the veins beyond them. 
 
 But as life advances, the arterial system loses much 
 of its elasticity, and becomes rigid. This is so common 
 an occurrence that we can no more call it a disease 
 than the stiffened joints of an old man ; it is the 
 forerunner or the accompaniment of the decline of life. 
 Sometimes this change takes place too early in life, and 
 to an extreme degree ; and from its effects we must 
 call it morbid ; for it not unfrequently happens that 
 the muscular power of the heart being still entire and 
 vigorous, the arteries can no longer withstand it. 
 They have lost that power which, yielding to the 
 heart's action, resists, recoils, and the more it gives 
 way, the more it takes off the suddenness of the shock ; 
 which, in yielding, wastes no power, since the recoil 
 gives as much force to the acceleration of the blood, 
 as was lost of the heart's action. The artery, then, 
 
ELASTIC STRUCTURES. 
 
 323 
 
 being rigid, yields indeed to the heart's impulse, but 
 has no rebound. It becomes permanently dilated or 
 enlarged ; and is called aneurismal. A stronger 
 beat of the heart, excited by inordinate action or 
 passion, chips and bursts the now rigid coats of the 
 artery. If the breach be gradual, a pouch forms — a 
 true aneurism. And here is the proof we require; 
 for this bag coming to pulsate upon the solid bones, 
 they are absorbed. That action of the heart, which 
 was so lightly and so easily borne whilst the vessels 
 were elastic, now beating upon a solid structure, in a 
 short time destroys it. Thus, from what takes place 
 on a very slight derangement of the properties of the 
 parts, we are led to a more accurate knowledge of the 
 fine adjustment of the active and resisting properties in 
 the circulating vessels, during youth and health. 
 
 A piece of rope, of a new patent, has been shown to 
 us, which is said to be many times stronger than any 
 other rope of a like diameter. It is so far formed 
 upon the same principle as the tendon of a muscle, 
 that the strands are plaited, instead of being twisted ; 
 but the tendon has still a superiority; for the lesser 
 yarns of each strand in it, are interwoven with those of 
 other strands. It may be asked, however, do not the 
 tendons of the human body sometimes break ? They * 
 do ; and in circumstances which only add to the 
 interest of the subject. By the exercise of the tendons, 
 (and their exercise is the act of being pulled upon by 
 the muscles, or having a strain on them,) they get 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 
 
 ELASTIC STRUCTURES. 
 
 firmer and stronger; but in the failure of muscular 
 activity, they become less capable of resisting the tug 
 made upon them ; and if, after a long confinement, a 
 man has some powerful excitement to muscular 
 exertion, then the tendon breaks. An old gentleman, 
 whose habits have been staid and sedentary, and 
 who is very guarded in his walk, is upon an annual 
 festival tempted to join the young people in a dance ; 
 then he breaks his tendo Achillis. This reminds us 
 that we are speaking of a living body; and that, in 
 estimating the mechanical properties, we ought not to 
 forget the influence of Life ; and the law, that the 
 natural exercise of the parts, whether they be active or 
 passive, is the stimulus to the circulation through 
 them, and to their growth and perfection.] 
 
ON THE POSITION OF THE HEAD OF ANIMALS AND 
 ITS RELATION TO THE SPINE. 
 
 To illustrate the proposition, that " all parts of the skeleton are co-related ; and that 
 the variations in their form depend on the functions." 
 
 It has been shown in the text, when treating of the 
 upper or anterior extremity, that the changes of form 
 exhibited in different animals, may be referred to one 
 principle — the adaptation of the parts to their proper 
 uses. The head, in certain animals, may be con- 
 sidered as performing in some measure the office of 
 hands. Now, if we adopt this view, we shall be able 
 to judge more correctly how far it holds true that the 
 centre of the skeleton, to which the head belongs, 
 remains permanent in its form, compared with the 
 extreme parts. 
 
 We have seen that it is the opinion of some 
 naturalists, that all the varieties in the conformation of 
 the skeleton admit of being explained according to a 
 law, by which the central parts preserve an uniform 
 shape, whilst the extremities are incident to change. 
 That opinion I shall controvert, and show that 
 although the spine and head, in retaining their office, 
 common to all vertebrated animals, of protecting the 
 
326 
 
 VARIATIONS IN THE CENTRE 
 
 brain and spinal marrow, are permanent in regard 
 to them, yet they vary in the shapes of their pro- 
 cesses, and in their relations to the adjacent parts. 
 Pursuing that idea, we shall be able to account for the 
 characteristic forms of animals. 
 
 The principle, then, which will guide us, both here 
 and in a more universal survey of animal nature, is, 
 that the organisation varies in correspondence with the 
 condition in which the animal is placed, in reference to 
 procuring food, and multiplying its species. If we 
 consider any of the great functions on which life 
 depends, we shall perceive that the apparatus is 
 altered and adapted to every changing circumstance. 
 Digestion, for example, is the same in all animals ; but 
 the organisation presents numerous interesting varieties. 
 Whether it be in the quadruped, the bird, the fish, or 
 the insect, the stomach varies both in its form, and the 
 number of its cavities, in accordance with the nature of 
 the food which it receives. And the variation does not 
 depend upon the size or form of the animal: it is 
 adapted purely to the conversion of its particular food 
 into nourishment: the gizzard of the fish, or of the 
 insect, is as perfect as that of the fowl. So with the 
 decarbonisation of the blood, in breathing : the process 
 of throwing off the carbon is the same in all living 
 animals : but the mode in which respiration is per- 
 formed, varies according to circumstances ; the apparatus 
 is especially modified and adjusted, according as it is 
 carried on in the atmosphere, or the water. 
 
AND THE EXTREMITIES. 327 
 
 But although the organs subservient to the grand 
 functions, — the heart and blood-vessels, the lungs, the 
 stomach, — be variously adapted to the different classes of 
 animals, they change much less than the parts by which 
 animals are enabled to pursue their prey, or obtain 
 their food. Their extremities, by which they walk, or 
 run, or creep, or cling, must vary infinitely. And so 
 their teeth and horns, and the position of their head, 
 and the strength of their neck, exhibit nearly as much 
 variety as their proper extremities ; because these parts 
 likewise must be adapted to their different modes of 
 obtaining food, or of combating their enemies. 
 
 SKULL OF SUS ETIIIOPICUS.* 
 
 Following this principle, therefore, let us observe the 
 
 * This is a sketch of the dried head of the Sus Ethiopicns, with part of 
 the skull exposed. The tusks show what a formidable animal it must have 
 been. That which rises out of the upper jaw, is of great size ; and we must 
 
328 
 
 VARIATIONS IN THE CENTRE 
 
 forms of some of the more remarkably shaped animals, 
 and endeavour to explain their meaning. When we 
 look upon the boar's head, its form alone enables us 
 to comprehend something of the habits of the animal ; 
 we see the direction in which he will employ his 
 strength. He lives by digging up roots; and the 
 instruments by which he feeds are also those by which 
 he defends himself ; the position of his tusks protects 
 his eyes in rushing through the underwood ; but the 
 formation of the skull, and of the spine, and the mass 
 of muscle in the neck, all show the intention of his 
 configuration to be, that he may drive onward with his 
 whole weight and strength, and rend with his tusks. 
 Accordingly, the back part of the skull rises in remark- 
 able spines or ridges for the attachment of muscles; 
 and corresponding with them, the spinous processes of 
 the vertebrae of the neck and back are of extraordinary 
 length and strength. Processes of such dimensions as 
 these, distinctly indicate the immense power of the 
 muscles which pass from the neck to the head. We 
 now understand the reason of the shortness and 
 inflexibility of the neck of the boar ; it is so formed 
 because the strength of the shoulders is directed to the 
 head, or, we may say, to these large tusks. An 
 
 admire the mariner in which the tusk of the lower jaw closes upon it, so as 
 to strengthen it near its root. The size and sharpness of these tusks illustrate 
 what is offered in the text — that the main strength of the animal must have 
 been directed towards them. The rising of the back of the head will be seen 
 to correspond with the great height and strength of the spinous processes 
 of the back, exhibited in the next figure, taken from the wild boar of 
 Germany. 
 
AND THE EXTREMITIES. 
 
 329 
 
 elongated and flexible neck would have rendered these 
 implements useless. The characteristic form of the 
 wild boar, then, consists in the height of the back, the 
 shortness and thickness of the neck, the wedge shape 
 of the head, the projection of the tusks, and the 
 shortness of the fore legs, which must always be in 
 proportion to the neck. 
 
 SKELETON OF WILD BOAR * 
 
 Thus we perceive that the skull, unaffected in its 
 office of containing and protecting the brain, is yet 
 subject to variations in its form and place, according to 
 its other functions : — that it is adapted, just as the 
 extremities are, to the animal's mode of life. In the 
 same manner, we see the spine permanent in its 
 
 * In mounting the skeleton from which the above figure was taken, the 
 body has been raised too high on the anterior extremities. 
 
330 
 
 VARIATIONS IJST THE CENTRE 
 
 office as a tube to protect the spinal marrow ; but yet 
 varying in its processes and articulations, as they bear 
 a reference to the skull. In short, although these be 
 the very central parts of all, they undergo changes of 
 form in due accommodation to the whole skeleton. 
 
 What a complete contrast there is between the wild 
 boar and any of the feline tribe ! But it is a contrast 
 of form and motion, at once referable to their spine. In 
 the tiger or leopard, the perfect flexibility of the body, 
 and the almost vermicular motion of the spine, 
 correspond to the teeth and jaws, and the free use of 
 the paws. 
 
 The peculiarity of the elephant's configuration has 
 been happily illustrated by the celebrated Cuvier : and 
 the principle may be pursued in a manner interesting 
 both to the naturalist and geologist. 
 
 In ourselves, we may feel between the shoulders a 
 certain projection of the spine, which is called the 
 "vertebra prominens ;" and if we stoop forward, as in 
 reading a book which lies upon the table, a ligament 
 will be felt extending from that process to the back of 
 the head. This ligament suspends the head, and 
 relieves the muscles. But as man for the most part 
 carries his head balanced on the extremity of the spine, 
 or can vary its relation under fatigue, the strength of 
 that suspensory ligament is not to be compared with 
 the corresponding part in quadrupeds ; where, from 
 the horizontal position of the spine, the head always 
 hangs : and where there would be a great waste of 
 
AND THE EXTREMITIES. 
 
 331 
 
 muscular exertion, but for the interposition of this 
 elastic ligament. In the horse it is long and strong ; 
 and the admirable thing is, the accurate adjustment of 
 the elasticity of this ligament to the weight and position 
 of the head : the head is nicely balanced by it, as on a 
 steelyard. With this circumstance in our mind, let us 
 observe the peculiar form of the elephant. 
 
 1. As in treating of the boar, we begin again by 
 observing the teeth. Now, one grinder tooth of the 
 elephant weighs seventeen pounds ; * and of these 
 there are four in the skull, besides the rudiments of 
 others. 2. We next observe how admirably these 
 teeth are suited to sustain great pressure and attri- 
 tion. 3. The jaws must be constructed of a suffi- 
 cient size, not only to afford a deep socketing to 
 the teeth ; but to give lodgment to muscles strong 
 enough to move this large grinding machine. 4. The 
 animal must be provided for its defence too. Now 
 each of the tusks sometimes weighs as much as one 
 hundred and thirteen pounds : and projecting as they 
 do, they may be considered as placed at the extremity 
 of a long lever. 5. If this enormous and heavy head 
 had hung on the end of a neck of anything like the 
 proportions in the horse, the pressure on the anterior 
 extremities would have been inordinate ; and more 
 than four times the expenditure of muscular power 
 would have been necessary to the motion of the head. 
 
 * The natural tooth weighed seventeen pounds, the fossil tooth sixteen- 
 and-a-half pounds. 
 
332 
 
 VARIATIONS IN THE CENTRE 
 
 6. What has been the resource of nature ? There are 
 seven vertebrae of the neck in this animal (the same 
 number that we count in the giraffe) ; but these bones 
 are compressed into a small space in a very remarkable 
 manner ; and thus the head is brought close upon the 
 body, so as to appear a part of the body, without the 
 interposition of any neck. 7. But the animal must 
 feed: and since its head, owing to the short neck, 
 
 cannot reach the ground, it must possess an instrument, 
 like a hand, in the proboscis, — to minister to the 
 mouth, to grasp the herbage, and lift it to its lips.* 
 
 * Anguimanus, was a name given to the elephant by Lucretius. 
 
 16 The beast who hath between his eyes 
 The serpent for a hand." 
 
AND THE EXTREMITIES. 
 
 333 
 
 Thus we perceive that the conformation of the 
 elephant, as regards the peculiar character of his 
 figure, in the shoulders and head, in the closeness of 
 the head to the body, in the possession of the pro- 
 boscis, and the defence of that proboscis by the 
 projecting tusks, — is a necessary adaptation to the 
 great weight of the head, and, indeed, of the general 
 large size of the animal. 
 
 We may carry the inquiry a little further to the 
 effect of elucidating a very curious part of natural 
 history. The Mastodon is the name of an extinct 
 animal, which must have been nearly of the same size 
 as the elephant. It has received that name from the 
 early familiarity of Naturalists with the teeth ; which 
 have upon their surfaces of contact mamillary-shaped 
 projections. It was supposed, at one time, that these 
 teeth belonged to a carnivorous animal. But a portion 
 of the upper jaw, with the teeth preserved in it, being 
 found, it admitted of this course of reasoning: — In 
 the superior maxillary bone of all vertebrated animals, 
 there is a hole for transmitting a branch of the fifth 
 nerve which goes to the upper lip ; * when, however, as 
 in the elephant, a great proboscis is added to the lip, 
 it follows that, as that organ possesses its sensibility 
 through the same branch of the fifth, not only will the 
 nerve itself be proportionably large, but the hole 
 through which it is transmitted, will be increased in 
 diameter. Accordingly, when a fragment of the upper 
 
 * See page 160. 
 
334 
 
 VARIATIONS IN THE CENTRE 
 
 jaw-bone in which that hole is preserved is found, we 
 can infer from the greater size of the orifice, that the 
 nerve supplied more than a mere upper lip — that, as in 
 the case of the mastodon, the animal had a proboscis, 
 and was a species of elephant. 
 
 By reviewing the specimens of extinct, as well as 
 of living elephants, and taking the teeth as his 
 guide, it has been lately discovered by our conservator 
 in the College of Surgeons, Mr. Clift, that from the 
 Asiatic elephant, to the mastodon of the Ohio, a regular 
 series may be traced. If we consider that tooth most 
 perfect which is most capable of resisting attrition, 
 whether from its mode of growth or structure, we shall 
 begin with the great Asiatic elephant. The grinding 
 tooth of that animal consists of alternate layers of ivory 
 and enamel, with a third interposed portion, called crusta 
 petrosa. The tooth of the African elephant is easily 
 distinguished by the wide interstices, between the layers 
 of ivory and enamel, occupied by the crusta petrosa. On 
 the banks of the Irawadi, the tooth of a new species of 
 mastodon is found, where the mammillary processes 
 are so high, and the interstices so deep, that a 
 section of it resembles the tooth of the African 
 elephant; and it stands intermediate between that 
 and the mastodon giganteum of North America. 
 
 Let us consider the principle in another light. How 
 are the neck and head of an animal accommodated to 
 feeding, when the neck is short, and there is no 
 proboscis ? The elk is a strange, uncouth animal — 
 
AND THE EXTREMITIES. 
 
 335 
 
 principally from the setting on of its head. The 
 weight of the horns is enormous : and if the head and 
 horns were placed at the extremity of an elongated 
 neck, it would be preposterous; they would, in fact, 
 overbalance the body. It is for that reason, we 
 presume, that the head is so curiously approximated to 
 the trunk. We observe, in the next place, a want of 
 relation between the fore -legs and the neck — that the 
 legs are of great length, while the neck is extremely 
 short. Now it is interesting to find that the animal 
 does not browse upon the herbage at its feet ; it feeds 
 
 off the sides of the rocks ! A very remarkable proof of 
 the incapacity of this animal to feed in the common 
 
336 
 
 OF THE GIRAFFE. 
 
 way, was afforded by an accident which befell a fine 
 male specimen confined in the Zoological Gardens. 
 To reach the ground, on which his food was unin- 
 tentionally scattered, he had to extend out his fore- 
 legs laterally; in this position his foot slipped, he 
 dislocated his shoulder, and died of the accident. 
 
 Contrasted in a most remarkable manner with the 
 elk, we have the giraffe. The giraffe feeds upon the 
 branches of lofty trees ; and the whole constitution and 
 form of the animal are provided to enable it to reach 
 high — the fore-legs are long, the neck still longer, the 
 head is remarkably small and light, and the tongue 
 has a power of elongation which no other quadruped 
 possesses. The tongue, indeed, is not inaptly com- 
 pared with the trunk of the elephant ; it can be 
 extended seventeen inches : it can be twisted about so 
 as to resemble a long black worm ; and it is used with 
 extraordinary dexterity, in picking up a straw, as well 
 as pulling down a branch. The relative proportions of 
 the skeleton of the giraffe are full of interest, as 
 showing the accommodation in the structure to the 
 necessities of the animal. 
 
 And, first, of the head : if we have the skull of the 
 giraffe before us, and compare it with that of the camel 
 or horse, we shall be struck with the delicacy of the 
 bony textures of the former, with its being cellular, 
 thin, and light, as a paper case. Now, can there be 
 anything more obvious than that this lightness of tex- 
 ture is provided in consequence of the extraordinary 
 
OF THE GIRAFFE. 
 
 337 
 
 length of the neck ? Had the skull of the giraffe been 
 as strong and heavy as that of the horse or camel, it 
 would have preponderated too much at the extremity 
 of such a neck. 
 
 Secondly, as to the spine : there is an accommo- 
 dation in the form and position of this part also. In 
 most quadrupeds, the spine lies horizontally : but if the 
 bones had been so placed in the giraffe, the whole, 
 weight of the shoulders, neck, and head would have 
 been thrown on the anterior extremities. This, how- 
 ever, is prevented by the anterior extremities being 
 much longer than the posterior : whence it results that 
 the trunk is placed in an oblique, or semi-erect 
 position ; and, accordingly, a portion of the weight of 
 the neck and head, parts which in other creatures are 
 sustained altogether by the fore -legs, falls upon the 
 hind legs.* 
 
 Thirdly, on looking to the ribs, we observe another 
 peculiarity of form; which may be accounted for on 
 the same consideration of the length, and consequent 
 weight, of the neck and head. The chest is supported, 
 of course, upon the anterior extremities : but the ribs 
 in front, which rest upon the legs and bear the principal 
 pressure, are of great comparative strength ; while the 
 posterior ones, by their delicacy, weakness, and 
 mobility in breathing, present a singular contrast to 
 them. In short, the fore part of the chest, which in a 
 
 * The ligamentum nucha in this animal extends the whole length of the 
 spine, from the os sacrum to the skull. 
 
 z 
 
338 
 
 OF THE HIPPOPOTAMUS 
 
 manner intervenes between the neck and anterior 
 extremities, requires its compages to be particularly 
 firm and strong, for supporting the superincumbent 
 weight ; while the motions of respiration are performed 
 chiefly by the posterior ribs. 
 
 Although the proportions between the neck and the 
 legs, in this creature, may seem to be duly preserved, 
 yet he is not suited to browse the grass ; his proper 
 food is the leaves on the high branches of trees. In 
 attempting to reach the ground with his mouth, his 
 limbs appear to be in danger of suffering dislocation ; 
 he extends his feet laterally, elevates the scapulae, 
 draws in the crupper, and stretches the neck, so as to 
 present a very ludicrous figure. 
 
 We have here a sketch of the skeletons of the 
 hippopotamus, and of the camel, as they stood acci- 
 dentally contrasted, in the Museum. The head of the 
 hippopotamus is of great strength and weight, and it is 
 appended to a short neck ; in the shortness of its 
 legs also, we see the correspondence which we have 
 had occasion to remark between the position of the 
 head, and the height of the trunk from the ground. 
 The form of the camel is, in every respect, different. 
 This animal must have rapidity and ease of motion on 
 the ground: which qualities are secured by the 
 length of the extremities ; and in accordance with the 
 extremities, are the elongated neck and lightly formed 
 head. Here, then, is the skeleton of an animal, 
 properly terrestrial; it is accommodated to other 
 
AND CAMEL. 
 
 339 
 
 peculiarities of its organisation connected with its 
 living on arid plains ; and is admirably adapted for a 
 
 CAMEL AND HIPPOPOTAMUS. 
 
 rapid and long- continued course. The hippopotamus, 
 on the other hand, seeks its safety in the water ; and 
 its uncouth form and weight are suited to that element. 
 
 Of the Horse's Head. — It is perhaps better to 
 draw our arguments from what is familiar and 
 
 z 2 
 
340 
 
 PROVISIONS FOR LIGHTNESS 
 
 constantly before us : let us then take the form of the 
 horse's head. Some have affirmed that the sound of 
 neighing is produced in two sets of membranous 
 chambers in the horse's head, called the Eustachian 
 cavities. That name has been given to these cavities, 
 because they communicate with the tubes termed 
 Eustachian tubes, which lead from the throat to the ear. 
 But that is a very unsatisfactory account of the cavities 
 in question. We are of opinion that their use is 
 connected with the weight of the head, the length of 
 the neck, and the power of mastication of the animal. 
 It is a very remarkable circumstance that a horse, 
 whose "points" are approved of by the jockey, will 
 starve in a grass field. By a system of crossing, the 
 breeder will contrive, in a manner almost artificial, to 
 combine the incidental defects of nature, so as to make 
 the proportions of a horse correspond with his own 
 ideas of perfection ; and as a notion prevails that a 
 short neck, and small head are excellencies, inasmuch 
 as the weight upon the fore-feet is thereby diminished, 
 it has sometimes happened that the neck has become 
 too short ; so that the animal has actually been unable 
 to reach the ground, in grazing. Having observed 
 that splints, corns, sandcracks, whitters, inflamma- 
 tions, and other diseases of the horse's foot, belong 
 almost exclusively to the anterior extremity — they 
 have attributed these to the weight of the head and 
 neck, in conjunction with the artificial condition of the 
 horse : for were it, they say, the shoeing, and hard 
 
m HORSE'S HEAD. 
 
 341 
 
 roads alone that produced these bad effects, they would 
 have been equally perceptible in the hind feet. Such 
 considerations tend to show the importance of the 
 peculiarity now to be pointed out, in the horse's skull. 
 
 On looking to the horse's head in profile, we see 
 that its peculiar form, especially the great depth of 
 its jaws posteriorly, is a necessary consequence of the 
 length of the grinding teeth. We have already noticed 
 the magnitude and weight of the elephant's head, in 
 correspondence with its enormous teeth, provided for 
 the attrition of its food : and if we apply the same rule 
 to the head of the horse, we shall see how curiously it 
 accounts for the peculiar shape of the skull. Like the 
 elephant, the horse is graminivorous ; and the structure 
 of the teeth evinces how well calculated they are for 
 mastication, without wearing. To enable the teeth to 
 bear great pressure, they are socketted very deeply in 
 the jaw; and as the strength of the muscles of mas- 
 tication is applied not merely to close the jaws, as in 
 the carnivorous animal, but to grind, or to rub the teeth 
 both laterally and to and fro, extraordinary space is 
 provided in the jaws, for the lodgment of the powerful 
 muscle called masseter ; a muscle which has the 
 double action of closing the teeth, and of drawing the 
 lower jaw across the upper. Here then, we have the 
 reason for that great square portion of the jaw under 
 the ear, which peculiarly distinguishes the horse's 
 head : the bone is large, so as to give both a deep 
 socketting to the molar teeth, and an extensive attach- 
 
342 
 
 OF THE HORSE'S HEAD. 
 
 ment to the muscles. Now, although the maxillary 
 and nasal cavities in the horse are very capacious, yet 
 the space which they take up does not suffice to occupy 
 the remarkable depth of the lower jaw. In fact, the 
 larynx and pharynx, the organs contained in that 
 space, cannot fill up the whole depth of the head at 
 this part ; there is a great deal of room in the skull 
 neither required for the lodgment of the brain, nor for 
 the bony cavities of the nose, nor for the pharynx, nor 
 the larynx ; but solely resulting from the great size of 
 the jaws. Had this space been occupied by solid bone, 
 it would have added materially to the weight of the 
 head. Accordingly it has been filled up by the two 
 great membranous cells, the Eustachian cavities; 
 which receive air into them by communicating with 
 the cavities of the nose. On the whole, then, we may 
 consider these large cells in the horse's head, as 
 permitting the enlargement of the jaw-bone at its back 
 part, so as to afford a deep socketting for the grinding 
 teeth, and a sufficient lodgment for the powerful 
 muscles employed in mastication, without increasing 
 very considerably the solid material of the head. As 
 in birds, advantage is here taken of the admission of 
 air, to increase the volume and strength of the parts, 
 without adding to the weight. We now perceive that, 
 if the horse's skull had been formed without these 
 membranous air-cells, there would have been a positive 
 defect, especially in the running horse ; 'for the head 
 would have greatly exceeded in weight; the animal 
 
SPERMACETI WHALE. 
 
 343 
 
 would not have been properly balanced upon its 
 extremities ; and the weight upon the fore-feet would 
 have been so much increased, as to have rendered him 
 still more liable to those diseases of the foot to which 
 his artificial condition subjects him. 
 
 This provision for making the head of the horse 
 lighter, has a parallel in the head of the spermaceti 
 whale. The spermaceti whale, a species of the 
 physeter or cachelot, has a very large head ; it is 
 remarkable also for possessing teeth; the common 
 whale having only whalebone in its mouth for teeth. 
 Now, from the great size and length of the head, 
 loaded as it is with teeth and jaw-bones, ponderous and 
 dense in proportion, and from the lungs being situated 
 too far behind the centre of gravity, it would have 
 followed that the animal could not raise itself to the 
 surface of the sea, for breathing : accordingly, large 
 cavities in the head, (twelve feet long, and four feet 
 deep) are filled with spermaceti, a material lighter than 
 water ; by this means the head is rendered buoyant, 
 and the equilibrium of the animal is maintained. 
 
 Although the changes in the shape of the skulls of 
 animals principally affect their anterior part, that is, 
 the bones of the face, yet the slighter deviations behind, 
 if minutely scanned, may indicate much. For example, 
 among other interesting specimens of fossil bones, the 
 portion of a skull was found, in the caves of the lime- 
 stone rock near Plymouth. It consisted merely of the 
 condyles or articulating processes of the skull, which 
 
344 
 
 HARDNESS OF TEXTURE 
 
 join it to the vertebrae of the neck ; together with parts 
 of the occipital and temporal bones. Yet from that 
 alone it could be ascertained that the fragment 
 belonged to an hyaena : although its proportions were 
 double those of the corresponding parts of the largest 
 recent species. First, the high spine indicated great 
 muscular power in the neck : secondly, the depth and 
 extent of the fossa or hollow for the lodgment of the 
 temporal muscle, proved that there was a remarkable 
 mass, and consequent strength of muscle, for closing 
 the jaws; thirdly, that the fragment belonged neither 
 to the bear nor the tiger, was shown by the extra- 
 ordinary thickness and density of the whole bone. In 
 this last respect, the portion of bone corresponded 
 with that of no animal but the hyaena ; for the entire 
 skull of the hyaena participates in the strength which 
 belongs so remarkably to its teeth ; these being capable 
 of breaking the hardest and largest bones.* 
 
 In treating of the jaw-bones and teeth of the hyaena, 
 found in a fossil state, Dr. Buckland has given us an 
 example of the mode of drawing deductions from such 
 a subject, not inferior to the best specimen of similar 
 reasoning by Cuvier. While lecturing on the com- 
 parative anatomy of the skeleton, I have put the 
 subject in this light: — " All nature, we have seen, is 
 full of life ; and wherever food is to be obtained, there 
 animals are, suited in structure to reach it. Suppose 
 
 * This specimen is in the Museum of the College of Surgeons, and is beau- 
 tifully drawn in Mr. Clift's paper in the Philosophical Transactions. 
 
OF HYAENA'S JAWS. 
 
 345 
 
 the horse run down by wolves ; and his carcase con- 
 sumed by lesser carnivorous quadrupeds, and birds of 
 prey ; there is still left, in the large cylindrical bones, 
 an abundance of nutriment; which, however, these 
 animals cannot get at. Turn your attention, then, to 
 the skull of the hysena : it presents great clumsiness 
 and weight, contrasted with that of the dog, the wolf, 
 or the bear. Next, observe the teeth; you see that 
 they are conical — which is the very form of strength ; 
 and that by their abundant enamel, they are case- 
 hardened on the exterior. In proportion to the power 
 of resistance of the teeth, are the size and density 
 of the jaws. Again, this hollow for lodging the 
 temporal muscle, which closes the jaws ; and this 
 prominence of the zygomatic arch, which gives attach- 
 ment to another muscle of the same class, produce 
 together that extraordinary breadth of the face which 
 is characteristic of this very ugly animal. And, cor- 
 responding with the strength of its teeth, jaws, and 
 muscles, you see how much thicker, and denser in its 
 texture, the whole skull is, than in other animals : as if 
 to show, by the supporting frame -work, the strength of 
 the engine; an engine capable of breaking these 
 powerful cylindrical bones of the larger animals, 
 and of disclosing a rich repast in the marrow they 
 contain." 
 
 [Of the Spine. — As the skull thus exhibits a freedom 
 in changing its form, when required by its applica- 
 tion to new offices, so it is with the spine; which, 
 
346 
 
 THE PKOPOSITION TESTED 
 
 according to the theory we are considering, is still 
 more centrally placed than the skull. It is true that 
 the spine presents a general uniformity of shape and 
 appearance. As the spinal marrow belongs to the 
 whole class of vertebrated animals, and must be 
 protected by the bony canal which we call the spine, 
 the principal use of the part being permanent, so, also 
 must its form be permanent. But whenever there is a 
 change in the action, or rather the play of the spine, 
 we find the vertebrae conforming to that action. 
 
 Thus the progress of a fish through the water, results 
 mainly from lateral movements of the spine and of the 
 tail. Now, were the constituent bones formed like 
 those of other vertebrata, the processes on each side 
 would lock together, and interfere with these motions ; 
 they are, therefore, kept subordinate ; while other pro- 
 cesses, required to give varied and extensive origin to 
 the numerous muscles, are elongated in a more remark- 
 able and diversified manner than is to be found in any 
 other animals. In the whale, dolphin, &c, the position 
 of the tail differs from that in the fish : its flat surface 
 is placed horizontally instead of vertically, which is to 
 accommodate it to the important function of respiration; 
 for these inhabitants of the sea must rise to the surface 
 to breathe the air, and their tails are thus directed to 
 enable them to elevate the head above the water. 
 
 In quadrupeds, the tail is the prolongation of the 
 spine ; and here the advocates of the theory think they 
 have a strong case. Because the bones constituting 
 
BY THE SPINE. 347 
 
 the tail become smaller and rounder towards the 
 end, and terminate in cartilage, in which there is no 
 bone, it is thought to confirm the law — that parts, 
 when repeated, become more and more imperfect as 
 they recede from the centre. But is it not obvious 
 that the tail is constructed with a view to its proper 
 purpose : firm towards the root, and large enough for 
 the attachment of muscles which shall play it about in 
 all directions ; but less firm, and more lithe and elastic 
 towards the end, for it to carry the brush ? Can any- 
 thing be better adapted for its peculiar uses ? Would 
 it have been more perfect, if, instead of a series of 
 round bones joined together, there had been a set of 
 vertebrae, fully formed, with all their projecting 
 processes ? In short, shall we conceal from ourselves 
 the admirable adaptation of this appendage to its 
 various offices — sometimes used as a mantle to coil 
 round the animal for warmth — sometimes as a rudder 
 in running — sometimes as a fan or switch, reaching 
 where neither the ear nor the tongue can touch — all to 
 favour an hypothesis of animal bodies being consti- 
 tuted so imperfectly, that if a part, like a vertebra, be 
 formed in the centre, and be repeated or prolonged, 
 each link, as it recedes, becomes less and less perfect, 
 degenerating from what is gratuitously assumed to be, 
 its original form ? 
 
 The spine is the most perfect structure in the whole 
 animal machine. Perhaps, if our words were critically 
 taken, it would be better to say, that the intention of 
 
348 
 
 VAKIETIES IN THE SPINE 
 
 the curious mechanical structure was here the most 
 apparent, and on that account, most the object of our 
 admiration. Besides binding the bones of the skeleton 
 together, and forming, as it were, the very centre of the 
 whole, the spine is a tube, for protecting the most vital 
 organ of all — the spinal marrow. But, again, in man, 
 the spine has a new office imposed upon it ; in corres- 
 pondence with his privilege of carrying himself erect, 
 it is a pillar for sustaining, not only the superior parts 
 of the body, but the globe of the head, which we shall find 
 it protects in a very unexpected manner. Our admira^ 
 tion, then, arises from being able to perceive the modes 
 by which these different offices are performed by the 
 construction of this column : how nature has reconciled 
 the most opposite and inconsistent functions in one set 
 of bones ; — for the vertebrae are so strong, as not to 
 suffer under the longest fatigue or the greatest weight 
 which the limbs can bear ; and so flexible, as to perform 
 the chief turnings and bendings of the body; and yet 
 so steady withal, as to contain and defend the most 
 material and the most delicate part of the nervous 
 system. 
 
 In some animals, the lowest of the vertebrata, the 
 protecting texture of the spinal marrow hardly deserves 
 the name of vertebral column. In certain fishes, for 
 example, the myxine, lamprey, sturgeon, &c, the spine 
 consists of a cartilage, made tough by ligamentous 
 intertexture. In the myxine, this cartilage does not 
 entirely enclose the spinal marrow ; for it lies in a deep 
 
ACCORDING TO ITS USES. 
 
 349 
 
 groove on the upper part of the spine. But let us not 
 suppose that in fishes there is any imperfection in the 
 vertebral column : it is an elastic structure on which 
 the muscles act so as to become the means of powerful 
 locomotion; and in all fishes the spine has, more or 
 less, this remarkable elasticity. Ascending in the 
 scale of animals, we find the cartilage forming the 
 spinal column subdivided by cavities, which contain a 
 gelatinous fluid ; and these cavities being surrounded 
 with a strong but elastic ligamentous covering, nothing 
 can be conceived more admirably adapted to give a 
 springiness to the whole column. Still ascending, we 
 discover that the bony matter becomes deposited 
 between these cavities ; and here the separate vertebrae 
 first appear. If two vertebrae of the great shark be 
 taken out together, and the sac between them punc- 
 tured, such is the elasticity of the walls of this sac, 
 that the fluid will be spouted out to a distance. In 
 other fishes, as the cod-fish (an osseous fish), the 
 structure approaches to that of the mammalia; the 
 intervertebral substance is gelatinous. In the whales, 
 circular concentric ligaments join the vertebrae, and 
 a small portion in the centre consists of a glairy 
 matter. In mammalia, and in man, there are strong 
 and distinct bones — the vertebrae ; and these are joined 
 by a ligamentous cartilage, the outer circle of which is 
 remarkably strong, and the central soft and elastic. 
 The toughness and strength of the exterior circle, 
 and the soft condition of the centre, make a joint 
 
350 ADAPTATION OF HUMAN SPINE 
 
 equivalent in action to what might be produced by a 
 ball intervening between the surfaces : a facility of 
 motion is thus bestowed which no form of solid could 
 give ; and yet the joint is so strong, that the bone 
 breaks from violence, but the ligamentous cartilage 
 never gives way. When the veterinary surgeon casts a 
 horse, if he be not careful to restrain him, he will twist 
 himself with a force which will break the vertebrae : 
 fracture is a frequent accident in man ; but the texture 
 that gives mobility to the spine never yields. 
 
 The next thing admirable in the spine is the manner 
 in which the head is sustained on an elastic column, 
 whereby the brain is saved from undue concussion in 
 the movements of the body. This object is not 
 attained altogether through the elastic substance 
 which we have described as intervening between the 
 bones ; it is owing, in a great measure, to the general 
 form of the spine in man. Had the vertebrae been 
 built up, like a lofty column, of portions put correctly 
 and vertically over one another, the spine would not 
 have had the advantages which result from the structure 
 we are about to describe. The incumbent weight would 
 then have fallen on the centres of all the bodies of the 
 vertebrae ; and they would have yielded but to a slight 
 degree. The column is formed according to the figure 
 of the italic /; which waving line we need not admire 
 because it is the line of beauty, as some have defined 
 it, but because it is the form of elasticity. The spine 
 being originally of this curved shape, the pressure is 
 
TO PROTECT THE BRAIN. 
 
 351 
 
 directed upon the margins of the vertebrae and of the 
 intervertebral substances ; they therefore yield readily ; 
 by yielding, they produce an increase of the curve, and 
 a consequent shortening of the whole column ; and 
 then they admit of an easy return to their original 
 places. Suppose we rest the palm of the hand upon 
 a walking-cane, elastic, but perfectly straight; it bears 
 a considerable pressure without yielding, and when it 
 does yield, it is with a jerk; but if it be previously 
 bent, however we may increase or diminish the pressure, 
 there will be no shock : the hand will be supported, or 
 the cane yield, with an easy and uninterrupted resiliency. 
 Such we conceive to be the end obtained through the 
 double curvature of the spine : that the brain shall 
 receive no shock, in the sudden motions of the body. 
 
 Were we to give our attention to the processes of 
 bone which stand out from the bodies of the vertebrae, 
 we should find unexpected provisions there also. It is 
 a common remark of anatomists, that the bones of the 
 spine are secured in their proper places, by the relations 
 of the surfaces in contact ; the surface of the body of the 
 vertebra being oblique in one direction, and those of the 
 articulating processes in another — the one inclination 
 prevents the bone being dislocated forwards, and the 
 other prevents it being displaced backwards. There is 
 something more than this. The articulating processes 
 consist of four wedge -like projections from the back and 
 lateral parts of each vertebra ; two being directed 
 upwards, and two downwards ; and their smooth 
 
352 
 
 OF THE HUMAN SPINE. 
 
 surfaces are inclined in such a manner that those of 
 the adjoining vertebrae slide upon one another — that 
 is to say, the surface of the lower articulating process 
 of the vertebra above, being itself inclined, moves upon 
 another, viz., that of the upper articulating process of 
 the vertebra below, which is also inclined. As the 
 intervertebral substances of the bodies yield and recoil, 
 the articulating process of the upper vertebra shifts 
 upon the inclined surface of the process on which it is 
 seated, ascending and descending ; but owing to the 
 wedge -like shape of the processes, the impediment to 
 the descent is greater the more the vertebra sinks ; thus 
 adding to the elasticity and security of the whole, and 
 preventing the abrupt shocks which would be the con- 
 sequence of the surfaces being horizontal. The eighteen- 
 pounder made to recoil upon an ascending plane, or a 
 surface forming a portion of a circle, represents the 
 mechanism of the articulating processes of the vertebrae. 
 
 Let the separate spine be presented before us; it 
 stands up, like a mast, broad and strong below, and 
 tapering upwards. The mast of a ship is supported by 
 the shrouds and stays ; and if we sought for analogies 
 to these, we must select the long muscles of the back 
 which run along the spine to sustain it. But as a mast 
 goes by the board in a storm, we see where the spine 
 would be most in danger, if nature had not provided 
 against it. When we start forward in walking or 
 running, it is by the exertion of the muscles of the 
 lower extremities ; and the body follows. Did the 
 
WHY THE SPINE IS CURVED. 
 
 353 
 
 spine stand directly up, perpendicularly, it would 
 sustain a shock or jar at its base, in these sudden 
 motions. We see, therefore, the intention of the lower 
 vertebrae being inclined forwards from their foundation 
 on the sacrum: for by this arching forwards, the jar 
 which might endanger the junction of the lowest piece, 
 is divided amongst the five pieces that form the curve. 
 The same thing is seen in the neck of the quadruped ; 
 for as the spine in the back and loins lies horizontally, 
 and the neck rises towards the perpendicular, there 
 would be danger of dislocation, if the vertebrae of the 
 neck rose suddenly and abruptly upwards from the 
 body : there is, therefore, at the lowest part of the 
 neck, a sweep or semicircle formed by several vertebrae, 
 to permit the head to be erected; a remarkable 
 example of which is shown in the stag.* 
 
 It may be here observed, that when a delicate 
 piece of mechanism is constructed by the hands of man, 
 
 * Every one who has seen a ship pitching in a heavy sea, must have asked 
 himself why the masts are not upright, or rather, why the foremast stands 
 upright, whilst the main and mizen masts stand oblique to the deck, or, as the 
 phrase is, rake aft or towards the stern of the ship. The main and mizen 
 masts incline backwards, because the strain is greatest in the forward pitch of 
 the vessel ; for the mast having received an impulse forwards, it is suddenly 
 checked as the head of the ship rises ; but the mast being set with an inclina- 
 tion backwards, the motion falls more in the perpendicular line from the head 
 to the keel. This advantage is lost in the upright position of the foremast, but it 
 is sacrificed to a superior advantage gained in working the ship; the sails upon 
 this mast act more powerfully in swaying the vessel round, and the perpen- 
 dicular position causes the ship to tack or stay better ; but the perpendicular 
 position, as we have seen, causes the strain in pitching to come at right angles 
 to the mast, and is, therefore, more apt to spring it. These considerations 
 give an interest to the fact, that the human spine, from its utmost convexity 
 near its base, inclines backwards. 
 
 A A 
 
354 EXERCISE ESSENTIAL TO PERFECTION". 
 
 it may be put aside, locked up, and preserved. But 
 the most delicate textures of the living frame stand 
 distinguished above all by this quality — that if they be 
 not put to use, they very quickly degenerate. Not 
 only is the power of action lost, by inaction ; as every 
 one must be aware in the functions of his own mind, 
 or in the exercise of his senses ; but the texture of the 
 organs quickly deteriorates. If by accident, a limb 
 should lose certain movements; the muscles, nerves, 
 vessels, which nature intended to be subservient to 
 these motions, become, in a few weeks or months, so 
 wasted, that they are hardly recognisable by the 
 anatomist. Applying this acknowledged principle to 
 the spine, and bearing in mind that the texture of 
 bone, cartilage, ligament, tendon, muscle, in short, all 
 the parts which enter into its structure, however 
 varying in solidity or composition, retain their per- 
 fection by being exercised, we shall readily perceive 
 the effect of undue confinement, on young females. 
 Without any positive disease, but from being over- 
 educated in modes which require sedentary application, 
 the spine becomes weak, and loose in texture, and 
 yields to the prevailing posture, whatever that may be. 
 We mention this, because it is a principle important in 
 every consideration to each individual, and applicable 
 to both body and mind. 
 
 Of the Chest. — The thorax, or chest, is formed of 
 bones and cartilages, so disposed as to sustain and 
 protect the most vital parts, the heart and lungs ; to 
 
ELASTICITY OF CHEST. 
 
 355 
 
 move incessantly in the act of respiration, without a 
 moment's interval during a whole life ; and to turn and 
 twist with perfect facility, in every motion of the body. 
 In anatomical description, the thorax is formed of the 
 vertebral column, or spine, on the back part ; the ribs 
 on either side ; and the breastbone, or sternum, on 
 the forepart. The manner in which these bones are 
 united ; and especially, in which they are joined to the 
 breastbone by the interposition of cartilages, or gristle, 
 a substance softer than bone, and more elastic and 
 yielding; is most admirable. By this combination of 
 hardness and elasticity, the ribs are fitted to protect 
 the chest against the effects of violence ; and even to 
 sustain life, after the muscular power of respiration 
 has become too feeble to continue, without the aid of 
 elasticity. 
 
 If the ribs were complete circles, formed entirely 
 of bone from the spine to the breastbone, there would 
 be greater liability to fracture and danger to life ; the 
 rubs and jolts to which the human frame is continually 
 exposed, would be too much for their delicate and brittle 
 texture. This evil is avoided by the interposition 
 of the elastic cartilages. On their forepart, the ribs 
 are eked out and joined to the breastbone by means of 
 cartilages of a form corresponding to their own ; being, 
 as it were, the continuations of the arches of the ribs 
 by substances more adapted to yield, and recoil, in every 
 shock or contusion, than bony hoops. The elasticity 
 of this portion meets and subdues those crushings of 
 
 A A 2 
 
356 
 
 OF THE ELASTICITY 
 
 the body which would otherwise occasion fracture of 
 the ribs. We lean forward, or to one side, and the 
 ribs accommodate themselves, not by a change of form 
 in the bones, but by the bending or elasticity of the 
 cartilages. A severe blow upon the ribs does not break 
 them, because their extremities recoil and yield to the 
 violence. But it is only in youth, when the human 
 frame is in perfection, that this pliancy and elasticity 
 have full effect. In old age, the cartilages of the ribs 
 become bony ; they are firmly attached to the breast- 
 bone, and the extremities of the ribs are fixed, as if 
 the whole arch were formed of bone, unyielding and 
 inelastic. Then a violent blow upon the side will 
 fracture the ribs, an accident seldom occurring in 
 childhood, or in youth. 
 
 There is a purpose still more important to be 
 accomplished by means of the elastic structure of the 
 ribs ; that is, in the highly excited respiration which 
 accompanies great efforts of bodily strength. There 
 are two acts of breathing — expiration, or the sending 
 forth of the breath ; and inspiration, or drawing in the 
 breath. "When the chest is at rest, it is neither in a state 
 of expiration, nor in that of inspiration; it is in the 
 intermediate condition ; and the muscular effort by 
 which either the one or the other is produced, is an 
 act opposed to the elasticity of the ribs. The muscles 
 of respiration are excited alternately, to dilate or to 
 contract the cavity of the chest, and, in doing so, to 
 raise or depress the ribs. Hence it is, that both in 
 
OF THE CHEST. 357 
 
 inspiration and in expiration, the elasticity of the ribs 
 is called into play ; and, were it within our province, 
 it would be easy to show, that after the muscular 
 power had become too weak to continue the breathing 
 unassisted, the action can be carried on, and life 
 preserved, through the aid of the elastic property of 
 the ribs. 
 
 From what has been now explained, it will at once 
 be understood that violent exertion is incompatible 
 with the condition of the chest in old age. The 
 elasticity of the cartilages is gone, the circle of the ribs 
 is unyielding, and will not allow that high breathing, 
 that sudden and great dilatation and contraction of the 
 cavity of the chest, which is required for circulating 
 the blood through the lungs, and relieving the heart in 
 the tumultuous flowing of the blood which laborious 
 exertion produces. 
 
 Looking to the means of guarding life, nothing can 
 be more important than the condition of the lungs in 
 respect to the quantity of atmospheric air within them. 
 The sensibility, and the rapid contraction of the 
 glottis, near the mouth of the respiratory tube, are for 
 arresting any foreign matter, afloat in the atmosphere, 
 which might be drawn in by the stream of inspired air, 
 and so reach the recesses of the lungs. But were this 
 all, the office would not be half performed. The 
 foreign body would be arrested ; but how expelled, if 
 it lodged ? In common expiration, the air is never 
 discharged altogether from the lungs ; there is enough 
 
358 WINDPIPE AND CHEST ILLUSTRATED 
 
 retained to be propelled against this foreign body, and 
 to eject it. And, but for this, the sensibility of the 
 glottis, and the actions of the expiratory muscles, would 
 be in vain ; we should be suffocated by the slightest 
 husk of seed, or subject to deep inflammation from 
 foreign matter drawn into the air-tubes collecting in 
 the lungs. 
 
 We may here observe, that the instinctive actions for 
 the protection of the body, are calculated, if we may 
 say so, for the natural condition of man. The manu- 
 facturer is sometimes removed from that condition ; 
 and our invention must be taxed, not only to maintain 
 the purity, in a chemical sense, of the atmosphere in 
 which he works, but to arrest, or convey away, the 
 small portions of material which may be thrown off — 
 for example, by the operations of the flax- dresser in 
 heckling, or of the cutler who grinds the steel after the 
 instrument is forged, or of the stone-cutter, &c. — and 
 so to prevent those particles from being inhaled. The 
 length of the air-passages which lead to the lungs, the 
 sensibility and muscular apparatus bestowed upon 
 them, and the mucous secretions thrown into them, 
 are the natural means by which foreign matter is 
 arrested and thrown out. But in these artificial 
 conditions of men, insoluble particles are continually 
 floating in the atmosphere which they breathe ; these 
 are drawn in and lodge in the lungs, and irritate to 
 disease. 
 
 This part of our subject suggests the consideration 
 
BY HYDROSTATIC PARADOX. 
 
 359 
 
 of that law of fluids which appears, at first, so contra- 
 dictory, as to be called the " hydrostatic paradox." 
 Suppose a machine formed of two boards of equal 
 diameter, and joined together by leather nailed to their 
 margins, like a pair of bellows ; a hole is made in the 
 upper board, into which is inserted a tube. If a person 
 mount upon this apparatus when it is filled with water, 
 and blow into the tube, he can raise the upper board, 
 carrying himself upwards by the force of his own breath 
 — indeed, by the power of his cheeks alone. It is on 
 the same principle that, when a forcing pump is let 
 into a closed reservoir of water, it produces surprising 
 effects. The piston of the hydraulic press being loaded 
 with a weight of one pound, the same degree of pressure 
 will be transmitted to every part of the surface of the 
 reservoir that is given to the bottom of the tube, and 
 the power of raising the upper lid will be multiplied in 
 the proportion that its surface is larger than the 
 diameter of the tube. Or, to state it conversely : sup- 
 pose we had to raise the column of water in the tube 
 by compressing the reservoir; it would require the 
 weight of a pound on every portion of the superficies of 
 the reservoir equal in extent to the base of the piston, 
 before the water could be raised in the tube. Were 
 the apparatus which we have described full of air in- 
 stead of water, we should witness a similar effect ; for 
 all fluids, whether elastic or not, press equally in all 
 directions ; and this is the law on which the pheno- 
 menon depends. If we blow into the nozzle of a 
 
360 WINDPIPE AND CHEST ILLUSTEATED 
 
 common pair of bellows, it is surprising what a weight 
 of books we can heave up if laid upon its board. 
 
 Understanding, then, that the power of the hydraulic 
 press, in raising the lid, depends on the size of the 
 reservoir, and its relation to the tube ; and again, that 
 in pressing the fluid up through the tube, the pressure 
 upon the sides of the reservoir must be the greater the 
 larger the cavity, we can conceive how a glass-blower 
 propels the air into his blow-pipe with great ease, if he 
 blow by means of the contraction of the cheeks, the 
 smaller cavity ; but that it will be with an exhausting 
 effort, if he blow by the compression of the larger cavity, 
 the chest. Dr. Young made a calculation that, in pro- 
 pelling the air through a tube of the same calibre, a 
 weight of four pounds, operating upon a cavity of the 
 size of the mouth, would be equal to the weight of 
 seventy pounds, pressing upon a cavity of the dimensions 
 of the chest. 
 
 Let us see how beautifully this hydraulic principle 
 is introduced to give strength in the common actions of 
 the body. We have remarked that the extension of the 
 superficies of the thorax is necessary to the powerful 
 action of the muscles which lie upon it ; and these are 
 the muscles of the arms. In preparation for a great 
 effort, we draw the breath and expand the chest. The 
 start of surprise, and of readiness for exertion, in man 
 and animals, is this instinctive act. But unless there 
 w r ere other means of preserving the lungs distended, 
 the action of those muscles which should be thrown 
 
BY HYDROSTATIC PARADOX. 
 
 361 
 
 upon the arms, would be wasted in keeping the chest 
 expanded. It is here then, that the principle which we 
 have noticed is brought into play. The chink of the 
 glottis, which the reader has already understood to be 
 the top of that tube which descends into the lungs, is 
 closed by a muscle not weighing a thousandth part 
 of the muscles which clothe the chest ; yet this little 
 muscle controls them all ! A sailor leaning his breast 
 over a yard-arm, and exerting every muscle on the 
 rigging, gives a direction to the whole muscular system, 
 and applies the muscles of respiration to the motions of 
 the trunk and arms, through the influence of this small 
 muscle, that is not capable of raising a thousandth 
 part of the weight of his body; because this little 
 muscle operates upon the chink of the glottis, and is 
 capable of opposing the whole combined power of all 
 the muscles of expiration. It closes the tube just in 
 the same way that the man standing on the hydraulic 
 bellows can with his lips support his whole weight. 
 Thus it is that the muscles which would else be engaged 
 in dilating the chest, are permitted to give their power 
 to the motions of the arms. 
 
 Some cruel experiments have been made, which, for 
 whatever intended, illustrate the necessity of closing 
 the top of the windpipe during exertion. The wind- 
 pipe of a dog was opened, which produced no defect 
 until the animal was solicited by his master to leap 
 across a ditch, when it fell into the water in the act of 
 leaping ; it failed in its leap, because the muscles which 
 
362 
 
 WHY BIRD IS OVIPAROUS. 
 
 should have given force to the fore -legs lost their 
 power by the sudden sinking of the chest. This expe- 
 riment is sufficiently repugnant to our feelings ; and 
 I need not offend the reader by giving instances in 
 further illustration, from what sometimes takes place 
 in man.] 
 
 Relation between the Skeleton of the Bird, 
 and its mode of producing its Offspring. — Having, 
 in the earlier part of the volume, noticed some of the 
 more remarkable peculiarities of the skeleton of the 
 bird, we may take this opportunity of observing the 
 relation between its general form, and one of its 
 principal functions. Putting out of the question, for 
 the present, digestion and respiration, functions neces- 
 sary for preserving the life of the individual, the 
 continuation of the species, is the next in importance. 
 If a bird is to be buoyant and capable of flying, it 
 cannot be viviparous. We have seen that a full 
 stomach impeded the flight of a carnivorous bird ; now, 
 from that it is evident that it could not have carried its 
 young within it. Is it not curiously provided, then, 
 that the bird shall produce its offspring by a succession 
 of small eggs ; and that these shall accumulate in the 
 nest, instead of growing in the body ? In short, it 
 requires no argument to prove that the hollow bones of 
 the skeleton, the extension of the breast-bone, the air- 
 cells, the quill-feathers, the bill, and the laying of 
 eggs, are all in necessary relation to each other. 
 
 Of the Kangaroo. — Since we have spoken of the 
 
OF THE KANGAKOO. 
 
 363 
 
 adaptation of the skeleton of the bird, to its mode of 
 producing its young, we may, for the same object, 
 advert to the subject in a quadruped. In the mammalia, 
 there is no deviation from the general form of the 
 skeleton more extraordinary than that in the kangaroo ; 
 and there is at the same time, a remarkable peculiarity 
 in the manner in which it produces its offspring. 
 Instead of remaining within the mother for the usual 
 period of gestation, the young, by a singular process, 
 not perfectly understood, is excluded, and found 
 attached to the teat there, covered by an exterior 
 warm pouch, formed of the skin ; it hangs by the mouth, 
 until, from being a minute and shapeless thing, it is 
 matured to the degree when the offspring of other 
 animals are usually brought forth. 
 
 Now it appears that the upright position of this 
 animal, and the disproportioned magnitude of the 
 lower part of its body — for it is the only creature 
 except man, which rests in the perpendicular — may 
 account for the peculiarity of its mode of gestation. 
 Without entering far into the subject, we may observe 
 that an accurate correspondence must subsist between 
 the form of the young offspring, and the bones of the 
 mother through which it has to be expelled. In 
 animals generally, the head is the larger part ; but in 
 the kangaroo, that bears no proportion to the magnitude 
 of the hind quarters ; for when an animal is designed 
 for the perpendicular position, the hip-bones must 
 necessarily be of large size to sustain the weight ; and 
 
364 
 
 OF THE GIZZARD. 
 
 such is the case with the kangaroo. Nature has, 
 therefore, accomplished the production of the young 
 safely, and by the simplest means, — that is, by antici- 
 pating the period of the separation of the young 
 animal ; and providing for its growth exteriorly, after 
 it has passed through the circle of bones called the 
 pelvis. For these reasons, we conclude that there is a 
 relation between the mode of producing the offspring, 
 and the form of the skeleton, in this animal. 
 
 [Of the Gizzard. — The bill of a bird has extensive 
 relations both externally and internally. When we see 
 a bird preening his feathers with his bill, and combing 
 out each from the root to the point, we cannot but 
 observe, that admirably as feathers are formed for 
 flight, and for protection against cold and wet, they 
 would be inconsistent with the tongue and teeth of the 
 quadruped. The rough tongue would not penetrate 
 to their interstices ; nor would the ruder operation of 
 the dog's teeth suit the delicate texture of the quills. 
 The bill, therefore, implies the absence of teeth and of 
 salivary glands. Lips and muscular cheeks are neces- 
 sary for mastication ; and however familiar the operation 
 may be, a chapter might be well occupied in showing 
 how cheeks and lips, salivary glands and teeth, must 
 co-operate before a morsel can be swallowed, and how 
 the derangement of one filament of the nerves supplying 
 these parts, disorders the whole train of action* We 
 
 * See a paper on this subject, by the author, treating of the nerves of mas- 
 tication, in 6! Philosophical Transactions " for 1829. 
 
OF THE GIZZARD. 
 
 365 
 
 have to explain, then, how this function, deficient in 
 the bird, is compensated by internal structure. 
 
 The gizzard is a fleshy stomach, the exact substitute 
 for the muscles of the jaws, and teeth. Its substance 
 consists of a strong muscle ; the dark part of the 
 gizzard being the muscle, and the shining part of it 
 the tendon to which the muscular fibres are attached. 
 There are, in fact, two muscles with a central tendon ; 
 it is what anatomists call a digastric or double-bellied 
 muscle. The cavity within this muscle is lined with a 
 dense, rough, insensible coat ; and there are always 
 found contained in it small stones, generally of quartz, 
 if it be in the reach of the creature's instinct to obtain 
 them. The grains are mixed with these portions of 
 stone ; and if we put our ear close to a bird, we may 
 hear the grinding motions going on, as distinctly as 
 the noise of the horse's jaws in the manger. In fact, 
 the gizzard is equivalent to the muscles of the jaws, 
 and the pebbles are a fair equivalent to the teeth, with 
 this advantage, that when they are ground down, the 
 instinct of the bird supplies it with more. It picks up 
 small portions of gravel with as much alacrity as it 
 will the grain itself. Some have supposed that this 
 was sheer stupidity in the fowl ; but here surely instinct 
 is better than reason. 
 
 When we recollect the provisions against attrition 
 necessary to make the teeth last for the full period of 
 the life of a graminivorous quadruped, we are prepared 
 to understand the advantage of this beautiful and simple 
 
366 
 
 OF THE GIZZARD. 
 
 substitute ; which, to so small a creature as the pigeon, 
 gives an equal power over the material of its food, 
 as the horse has with its powerful jaws, and strong 
 grinding teeth. 
 
 However, we are but describing a new instrument 
 for grinding, or comminuting the food. Yet this alone 
 is not sufficient to supply what is wanting in the 
 mouth ; and in passing, we may observe that the 
 gizzard does not exclusively belong to birds. The 
 gillaroo trout and the mullet have gizzards. The 
 toothless ant-eater has a gizzard ; it lives on scaly 
 and hard insects, such as beetles ; and to assist in 
 bruising them in its muscular stomach, it picks up 
 pebbles like the domestic fowl. Before the grain 
 descends into this grinding apparatus of the bird, it is 
 deposited in the crop ; from the crop it descends, by 
 little and little, into the cardiac cavity, as the first part 
 of the stomach is called ; in this latter cavity, there are 
 glands for secreting the gastric juice, which fluid is 
 necessary to digestion. We should here also note a 
 particular provision in the upper orifice of the gizzard ; 
 namely, the overlapping of a part of the muscle, which 
 produces an obliquity in the passage, and holds the 
 contents of the stomach confined, during the strong 
 action of grinding. It was, indeed, at one time sup- 
 posed that such a mechanical operation of the stomach 
 as we have described in the gizzard, fitted the food at 
 once to become the nourishment of the body; but we 
 repeat, that it has no further operation than that of 
 
OF THE GIZZARD. 
 
 367 
 
 comminuting the hard food, and preparing it for the 
 action of the gastric juice, which digests ; and diges- 
 tion is the first process of assimilation. 
 
 It may be interesting to the reader to know that 
 the lower orifice of the gizzard, where it opens into the 
 first intestine, is differently guarded in different 
 families of birds. In birds which have abundance of 
 food, the gizzard has no valve to retard its escape; 
 so that a greater part of the grains or seeds on which 
 they feed passes off undigested : whence the distribu- 
 tion of plants, by means of birds. Were birds of prey 
 furnished with the same grinding apparatus which is 
 suited for birds that feed upon grain, our argument 
 would be overturned : but in them the gizzard is very 
 weak ; the cuticular lining very thin ; and the gastric 
 glands, which pour out the digesting fluid, very large. 
 In the hawk and kite, we find no such macerating crop 
 as in the domestic fowl. 
 
 It has been stated that one class of birds cannot 
 digest grains; the other cannot digest flesh. This, 
 however, taken literally, does not accord with the 
 experiments of Mr. Hunter; since he brought the 
 carnivorous birds to live on grains, and the grani- 
 vorous fowls to live on meat. But the necessity 
 of accomplishing this change by very slow degrees, 
 shows the general statement to be true. It is presum- 
 able that animal and vegetable matter are, in their 
 ultimate elements, nearly the same ; and therefore, the 
 last action of assimilation of the food is probably similar 
 
368 
 
 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 
 
 in all creatures. The variety of organisation or struc- 
 ture in the stomach, will be found to depend on the 
 proportion of nutritious matter in the mass that is 
 swallowed. A vegetable feeder, from the poverty of its 
 food, requires to be continually digesting ; and happily 
 its food is in abundance around it. The carnivorous 
 animal gorges its food, after long and irregular intervals ; 
 its prey is precarious ; but then that food is richer in 
 nutritious matter, requiring to undergo only the last 
 process of assimilation. That the variety and complica- 
 tion in the structure of the digestive organs depend on 
 the nature of the food, is not exhibited in quadrupeds and 
 birds only, but in fishes and insects. Insects that suck 
 blood have a simple canal : the grasshopper and white 
 ant, vegetable feeders, have a complicated canal. Just 
 for the same reason the intestines of the lion are short 
 and wide, and those of the goat long and complicated.] 
 
 I hope that I have now gone far enough to prove 
 that where uniformity is preserved in the shape of any 
 part of the skeleton, it depends on the permanence in 
 the function of the organ. In certain respects the head 
 and spine are persistent in their forms ; but that is 
 merely because the brain and spinal marrow contained 
 within the skull and vertebral column do not vary, except 
 in point of relative size. As regards the application of the 
 bones of the face to be instruments for obtaining food, 
 for attack, or defence, they are ever curiously changed 
 in their processes and articulations, in accommodation to 
 
IMAGINARY ANIMALS. 
 
 369 
 
 the numerous different modes of using the parts. In 
 fine, we may observe, that there never takes place any 
 modification in the form of the parts of the body, — 
 whether in the forehead, occiput, jaws, teeth, spine, 
 pelvis, or extremities, — without a corresponding adap- 
 tation extending through the whole skeleton. 
 
 Imaginary Animals. — " No doubt we can imagine a 
 greater variety of animals, than do actually exist," such 
 are the words of Archdeacon Paley. But what is the 
 fact? Suppose we take the fabled animals of antiquity; 
 not one of them could have existed ! 
 
 It may serve both to show the imperfection of man's 
 ingenuity, compared with nature, and the perfection of 
 the system of the animal body, if, for a moment, we 
 examine these imaginary animals ; and enquire whether 
 they could have fed, or breathed, or moved, or flown. 
 
 What, in fact, are these monstrous fancies, but 
 an incongruous union of parts of different animals, 
 patched together, without order or system, and which 
 could not have belonged to any living creature ? When 
 the head of a lion is joined to the belly of a goat; or 
 the head of a woman to the body of a bird; or the body of 
 a man to the tail of a serpent — there is no real invention. 
 Not one of the centaurs of Thessaly, satyrs of the 
 Indian mountains, sphynxes of Egypt, griffins among 
 the one-eyed nations, could have stood, run, or flown. 
 It may be alleged, and perhaps truly, that these figures 
 were merely allusive representations — the mystical types 
 
 B B 
 
370 
 
 IMAGINARY ANIMALS. 
 
 of some country, or element. It is sufficient, however, 
 for our argument, that such are the only imaginary 
 animals which have been acquiesced in by the classical 
 scholar, as having had a fanciful existence. 
 
 In the antique marble figure of the centaur, the 
 merit of the sculptor is evinced by his success in recon- 
 ciling our fancy to the unnatural union of the various 
 members : for example, in the face, the expansion of 
 the nostrils, and the coltish wildness of the expres- 
 sion, are in correct correspondence with the artist's 
 design of joining to the human form that of the horse. 
 But this attempt at combined representation would not 
 have satisfied one narrowly acquainted with the propor- 
 tions of the horse. He would know that too heavy a 
 fore-quarter, too long a neck, or too large a head, 
 was incompatible with wind, speed, or safe going ; and 
 he would have concluded that an animal with such 
 defects would be unsound, would founder in the feet. 
 What, then, would he have said to a centaur — where, 
 besides head and extremities, an additional body is 
 made to rest upon the fore-legs ? 
 
 Galen wonders if Pindar believed in centaurs. 
 " For," says he, " if such an animal were to exist, it 
 ought to have two mouths ; one to correspond to the 
 stomach of man ; the other to masticate for the stomach 
 of the horse. If it could run upon the plain, it could 
 not climb the hill, or make its way in rocky places. 
 Though possessed of human faculties, it could not 
 build for itself an habitation, or navigate ships, or man 
 
IMAGINARY ANIMALS. 
 
 371 
 
 the sails ; " and, more particular still in his objections, 
 he adds, " that it could neither sit like the tailor, nor 
 make shoes like the cobbler." 
 
 How nature manages to rear a heavy structure on 
 the fore-legs of a quadruped, without the incumbent 
 weight bearing inordinately upon them, we saw when 
 examining the skeleton of the giraffe. We observed 
 that the pressure of the greatly elongated neck was 
 partly taken off the fore-quarters, and directed on the 
 hind-legs by the oblique position of the spine, and 
 shortness of the hind-quarters. However beautiful, 
 then, as works of art may be the figures of the centaur 
 upon antique gems, they are yet monsters ; their con- 
 struction, a joining together of incongruous parts. 
 
 Few designs are more difficult to execute than that 
 of the fawn or satyr. This results from the artist 
 having to reconcile the inconsistencies of a human 
 form and face united to the limbs of a brute. If we 
 have attended to the great size and strength of the 
 human lower extremities, as compared with the upper 
 part of the body, we may have perceived the incongruity 
 of rearing the human trunk and head upon the hind- 
 legs of a goat ; the bones of which are disproportionately 
 small, and the masses of muscle misplaced. This is 
 not thought of by the painter and sculptor, when 
 they represent their fawns dancing and piping. An 
 instant's consideration of the comparative size and 
 relative position of the bones, and of the action of the 
 muscles, would have shown that the limbs must have 
 
 b b 2 
 
372 IMAGINAKY ANIMALS. 
 
 been incapable of such activity. Had these fabulous 
 forms actually existed, they must have crept weakly 
 along the ground. 
 
 And so of the griffin. Eagle's wings could never 
 have raised the body of the lion. For a creature to 
 rise on the wing, there must be not only a mass of 
 muscle proportioned to the extended wing, but a 
 surface of bone of sufficient extent to give lodgment 
 and attachment to the muscles of flight. Corresponding 
 to the muscular strength of the lion, his bones are 
 thick, dense, and heavy ; now a skeleton composed of 
 such bones, would never answer for a creature that was 
 to be buoyant in the air. Accordingly, even if the 
 external forms were consistent, the internal conforma- 
 tion would be incompatible with the existence of such 
 an animal as the griffin. The lion's tail, again, would 
 be a very useless appendage, compared with the fine 
 rudder with which the eagle directs his swoop. 
 
 These instances might be multiplied. But we 
 venture to say that every animal form, not actually 
 existing in nature, but the invention of the artist or 
 poet, would be discovered to have some defect in the 
 balance of the exterior members, or in the relation of 
 the parts necessary for motion ; or were the exterior 
 and moving parts duly balanced, some internal organ 
 would be found unconformable, or displaced — too much 
 developed, or too much compressed. In short, man's 
 imagination is more limited than he may at first 
 have believed. His inventions are only the incongruous 
 
IMAGINARY ANIMALS. 
 
 373 
 
 union of things presented separately in nature. It 
 is, indeed, far beyond his power to accomplish what 
 was supposed possible by Paley ; who said, " that 
 multitudes of conformations, both of vegetables and 
 animals, may be conceived capable of existence and 
 succession, which yet do not exist." 
 
 This manner of viewing the subject confirms more 
 strongly our belief in the perfection of that natural 
 system of parts, which, in an infinite variety of 
 creatures, admits of all the changes necessary for the 
 different acts of walking, running, flying, swimming, 
 &c. ; at the same time that it accommodates the 
 internal functions which minister to life, to every 
 condition of existence to which the animal may be 
 destined. 
 
APPROPRIATE SENSIBILITIES INDUCE COMBINED MUS- 
 CULAR ACTIONS, FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE 
 VITAL ORGANS, OR THE PERFORMANCE OF THEIR 
 FUNCTIONS. 
 
 In addition to the examples given in the seventh 
 chapter, we offer one or two more, to show how the 
 sensibilities, which are endowments of life, vary and 
 are adapted to the mechanical organization, with an 
 appropriation more admirable than the mechanism. 
 The sensibility we allude to differs from that of the 
 skin. It is put in connection with numerous muscles ; 
 and without its high and peculiar property of controlling, 
 independently of the will, the multiplied combinations 
 of the muscles, the mechanical provisions we are about 
 to describe would be useless. 
 
 The top of the windpipe, the larynx, consists of five 
 elastic cartilages. These do not merely keep the sides 
 of the windpipe apart, and a passage for the breath 
 free, but they perform offices important to the economy 
 both of body and mind ; they are an essential part of 
 the instrument of voice ; they, at the same time, guard 
 the lungs from injury. 
 
 The thyroid cartilage is the largest ; it is that which 
 
SENSIBILITY OF THE APERTURE OF THE GLOTTIS. 375 
 
 we feel projecting on the fore part of the throat. 
 Situated behind, and within the embrace of the thyroid, 
 are the arytenoid cartilages, of an irregularly trian- 
 gular form, socketed on the cricoid cartilage below, 
 and perfectly moveable. Between the corners of the 
 arytenoid cartilages which project forwards, and the 
 thyroid, are stretched, from behind forwards, two 
 ligaments, parallel, and at a little distance from each 
 other, called the vocal cords {corclce vocales) ; these 
 ligaments or cords, being invested with the lining 
 membrane of the windpipe, a slit, like the till of a 
 shop-counter, is formed between them ; and through 
 this chink (called rima glottidis) the air passes to and 
 fro. To the sides and back part of the arytenoid 
 cartilages small muscles are attached ; and these, by 
 moving the cartilages, tighten or relax the cordae 
 vocales; which, again, by vibrating in the stream of 
 air, vocalize the breath, and the tones so produced are 
 articulated in speech. 
 
 This is a subject far from being exhausted in our 
 philosophical works ; but at present we may look on 
 these vocal cords, not as connected with voice, but in 
 another of their offices, as forming the commissure 
 which opens and shuts in breathing to protect the 
 lungs from the intrusion of extraneous bodies. And 
 here it is pertinent to remark, that in the structure of 
 an animal body, one organ is frequently made subser- 
 vient to several functions, and that without interference 
 with the performance of any of them. This is especially 
 
376 
 
 SNEEZING. 
 
 true of the larynx. It is to one of its uses only that 
 we have at present to attend. 
 
 The chink of the glottis formed between the cordse 
 vocales opens at every inspiration, and closes at every 
 expiration, expanding and contracting as we see the 
 nostrils do in breathing. But the admirable thing is 
 the acute sensibility given to this part, and the imme- 
 diate influence of that sensibility upon the muscles 
 connected with it. As soon as the lightest husk, or 
 seed, or smallest fly, drawn in with the breath, touches 
 the margin of the chink, there is a rapid action of the 
 muscles which move the vocal cords, the aperture is 
 closed, and the object is arrested. This provision is 
 an effectual means of preventing the entrance of foreign 
 matters into the delicate cells of the lungs ; but how is 
 the object carried thus far, expelled ? The same 
 sensibility of the aperture of the glottis animates 
 another, and that a very extensive class of muscles, 
 viz., all those which, seated on the chest, compress it, 
 and force out the air, in coughing ; these combining in 
 one powerful and simultaneous effort, whilst the glottis 
 is closed, overcome that constriction, and propel the 
 breath through the contracted pipe with an explosive 
 force, which brushes off the offending body. 
 
 There is one thing more necessary to this most 
 important, though familiar action. The lungs are 
 never empty of air : in breathing, we do not fully expel 
 it. If we did, there would be a period of danger 
 occurring seventeen times in a minute ; for in the first 
 
SNEEZING. 
 
 377 
 
 part of each inspiration, something might be drawn 
 into the windpipe which would suffocate : but by this 
 reserve of air in the lungs, the act of coughing can take 
 place at any instant, and the object be expelled. 
 
 The sensibility seated in one spot of the throat, so 
 beneficently, does not extend into the windpipe or 
 lungs ; for we cannot more admire the perfect adapta- 
 tion of this property to its object, than the fact of its 
 never being bestowed in a superfluous degree, or given 
 where it is not absolutely required. Just as we have 
 seen that the sensibility of the skin suffices to protect 
 the parts situated beneath, so the sensibility of the 
 top of the windpipe protects all the interior of the 
 tube and the lungs themselves, without extending 
 through the whole continuous surface. 
 
 The simple act of sneezing affords a curious instance 
 of the mutual relation between the muscular activity 
 and the governing sensibility. The sensation which 
 gives rise to this convulsive act, is seated in the 
 membrane of the interior of the nostrils ; we are not 
 surprised, therefore, at its differing from the sensibility 
 in the throat which excites coughing, the seat of 
 both being different. But as regards the muscular 
 action succeeding the irritation in the nostrils, is it not 
 curious, that in the powerful expiration which consti- 
 tutes sneezing, some twenty muscles or more, which 
 had been excited in the similar act of coughing, are 
 thrown out of action ; while a different set, about equal 
 in number, which had not acted in coughing, are called 
 
378 
 
 OF THE MOUTH. 
 
 into action; the difference in the combination of the 
 muscles being for the obvious purpose of directing the 
 strong current of air, past the mouth, along the tubes 
 of the nostrils ? By no act of the will could the air be 
 propelled so successfully through the nose, to the effect 
 of brushing off the offensive and irritating particles 
 from the membrane, as by this co-operation of the 
 muscles, excited by the peculiar sensibility. 
 
 It is surely admirable to find in the Mouth so many 
 faculties combining and consenting in action : each 
 with its appropriate organization, and each most curi- 
 ously connected with other structures. Thus we have 
 the power of mastication, of deglutition, of modulation 
 of the voice, the senses of taste and of touch, concen- 
 trated in one apparently simple organ. Not to speak 
 of other relations, can there be any better proof of 
 design, than the effects of the excited sensibility of the 
 tongue ? No sooner have the gustatory points of nerves 
 been excited, than there is poured out into the mouth 
 most abundantly, by four distinct tubes, the saliva; 
 that fluid which facilitates mastication, and directly 
 prepares the food for the action of the stomach. We 
 presume that this fluid is chiefly useful in mastication; 
 as the glands are large, and the fluid most abundant, 
 in animals which chew the cud. In all, these glands 
 are so disposed as to receive gentle pressure from the 
 motion of the jaw ; so that, whilst their vascular 
 apparatus is excited by the sensibilities of the tongue, 
 the fluid is urged from the ducts by the pressure of the 
 
OF THE GIZZARD. 379 
 
 jaw, and action of the muscles which move it. And 
 however well we might imagine such a supply of fluid 
 to assist deglutition, this is not all that is here done in 
 preparation ; for whilst the morsel is moved by tongue, 
 and lips, and jaws, an appropriate fluid is collecting in 
 what appear to be mere irregularities in the back part 
 of the throat, but which are, in truth, so many recep- 
 tacles, that, pointing towards the stomach, give out 
 their contents as the morsel passes. 
 
 There is one curious circumstance which we may 
 notice before quitting this subject. Eating seems 
 always to be an act of the will, and attended with 
 gratification. Yet it is well known that the operation 
 of mastication, or what is very nearly the same, may 
 go on within the stomach, without any outward sign at 
 least of pleasure. The gizzard (with which we are most 
 familiar in fowls, though found, as we have seen, in the 
 vegetable feeders of different classes of animals,) is 
 correctly enough described as an organ of mastication, 
 in which an incessant and alternate action of opponent 
 muscles takes place, like the motions of the jaws. In 
 the stomach of the lobster, these are not merely the 
 muscles of chewing, but the teeth also : so that it 
 appears the function may be performed altogether 
 internally, and without the volition, and probably with- 
 out the sensations, that accompany the offices of the 
 mouth. We mention this, as drawing the reader 
 to comprehend that many organs may be in operation 
 in the internal economy, without our consciousness. 
 
380 
 
 DEGLUTITION BY CROCODILE. 
 
 Let us advert to the mode of swallowing by the 
 crocodile; — as an instance of the changes in the 
 organization which adapt an animal to new conditions. 
 In terrestrial animals, the act of swallowing must be 
 accommodated to the atmosphere ; but if the creature 
 live in water, and still breathes the air, the structure 
 of the parts must be changed. The crocodile seizes its 
 prey, and descends into the water with it. Its power 
 of descending does not result, as in the fish, from 
 compressing the air-bladder : but is owing, as we have 
 shown, to a provision in its ribs and lungs. Unless 
 the crocodile could expel the air from its lungs in a 
 greater degree than the mammalia are capable of doing, 
 it could not crawl upon the bottom, nor retain its place 
 there without continual exertion. There is in the 
 mouth, as well as in the thorax and lungs, an adapta- 
 tion to this mode of destroying its prey by carrying it 
 under water. The crocodile has no lips ; it lies on the 
 shore basking with its mouth open, and teeth exposed, 
 so that flies light upon and crawl into its mouth. 
 Against these the air tubes are protected, not by lips, or 
 a sensibility of the mouth, but by an apparatus which 
 separates the mouth from the throat and windpipe. 
 This partition between the cavities is necessary when 
 the animal seizes its prey : for as it plunges under the 
 water with open mouth, the air tube must be protected 
 against the ingress of the water. For that purpose, 
 there is a transverse ridge, arising from the body of 
 the bone of the tongue, which raises a duplicature of 
 
OF HUNGER AND THIRST. 381 
 
 the membrane, so as to form a septum across the back 
 part of the mouth below, whilst the curtain of the soft 
 palate, hanging from above, meets the margin of the 
 lower septum, and they form together a complete 
 partition between the anterior and posterior cavities. 
 Thus the animal is enabled to hold its prey in the open 
 mouth, without admitting the water to the air passages. 
 
 Hunger and Thirst. — Hunger and thirst are in 
 truth senses, although the seat or organ is not easily 
 ascertained. The wants, and desires, and pain accom- 
 panying them resemble no other sensations. Like the 
 senses, they are given as monitors and safeguards, at 
 the same time that, like them, they are sources of 
 gratification. 
 
 Hunger is defined to be a peculiar sensation experi- 
 enced in the stomach from a deficiency of food. Such 
 a definition does not greatly differ from the notions of 
 those who referred the sense of hunger to the mechani- 
 cal action of the surfaces of the stomach upon each 
 other, or to a threatening of chemical action of the 
 gastric juice on the stomach itself. But an empty 
 stomach does not cause hunger. On the contrary, the 
 time when the meal has passed the stomach is the best 
 suited for exercise, and when there is the greatest 
 alacrity of spirits. The beast of prey feeds at long 
 intervals; the snake and other cold-blooded animals 
 take food after intervals of days or weeks. A horse, on 
 the contrary, is always feeding. His stomach, at most, 
 contains about four gallons, yet throw before him a 
 
382 
 
 OF HUNGER AND THIRST. 
 
 truss of tares or lucerne, and lie will eat continually. 
 The emptying of the stomach cannot therefore be the 
 cause of hunger. 
 
 The natural appetite is a sensation related to the 
 general condition of the system, and not simply 
 referable to the state of the stomach ; neither to its 
 action, nor its emptiness, nor the acidity of its contents ; 
 nor in a starved creature will a full stomach satisfy the 
 desire of food. Under the same impulse which makes 
 us swallow, the ruminating animal draws the morsel 
 from its own stomach. 
 
 Hunger is well illustrated by thirst. Suppose we 
 take the definition of thirst — that it is a sense of dry- 
 ness and constriction in the back part of the mouth and 
 fauces — the moistening of these parts will not allay 
 thirst after much fatigue or during fever. In making 
 a long speech, if a man's mouth be parched, and the 
 dryness merely from speaking, it will be relieved by 
 moistening ; but if it come from the feverish anxiety 
 and excitement attending a public exhibition, his thirst 
 will not be so assuaged. The question, as it regards 
 thirst, was brought to a demonstration by the following 
 circumstance. A man having a wound low down in his 
 throat, was tortured with thirst ; but no quantity of 
 fluid passing through his mouth and gullet, and 
 escaping by the wound, was found in any degree to 
 quench his thirst. 
 
 Thirst, then, like hunger, has relation to the general 
 condition of the animal system — to the necessity for 
 
OF HUNGER AND THIRST. 
 
 383 
 
 fluid in the circulation. For this reason, a man dying 
 from loss of blood suffers under intolerable thirst. In 
 both thirst and hunger, the supply is obtained through 
 the gratification of an appetite ; and as to these appe- 
 tites, it will be acknowledged that the pleasures resulting 
 from them far exceed the pains. They gently solicit 
 for the wants of the body : they are the perpetual 
 motive and spring to action. 
 
 Breathing, as we have seen, is even more directly 
 necessary to life than food ; but to this we are differently 
 admonished. An appetite implies intervals of satiety 
 and indifference. The uninterrupted action of breath- 
 ing could not be supported by a perpetual desire : we 
 cannot imagine such an uniformity of sensation. The 
 action of breathing has been made instinctive, while 
 pain and the alarm of death are brought as the only 
 adequate agents to control the irregularities of a 
 function so necessary to life. Pain does here what 
 desire and the solicitation of pleasure could not 
 accomplish. 
 
 Of the sensibilities governing the actions of the 
 Stomach. — The examples recently given may introduce 
 us to an acquaintance with those internal sensibilities 
 which excite the actions of parts quite removed from 
 the influence of the will ; but the description of the 
 organs themselves may be deemed unnecessary. Let 
 us take the instance of the guard which nature has 
 placed on the lower orifice of the stomach, to check the 
 passage of aliments not easy of digestion, which the 
 
384 
 
 OF THE SENSIBILITY 
 
 appetites of hunger and thirst may have tempted one 
 to swallow. This lower orifice is encircled with a 
 muscular ring, and the ring is in the keeping of a 
 watchful guard. If we are employing the language of 
 metaphor, it is of ancient use ; for the Greeks called 
 this orifice pylorus, signifying a porter."* And his office 
 is this : when the stomach has received the food, it 
 lies in the left extremity, or is slightly agitated there. 
 When the digestive process is accomplished, the stomach 
 urges the food towards the lower orifice. If the matter 
 be bland and natural, it passes, and no sensation is 
 experienced. But if crude and undigested matter be 
 presented, opposition is offered to its passage ; and a 
 contention is begun which happily terminates in the 
 food being thrown again to the left extremity of the 
 stomach, to be submitted to a more perfect operation of 
 the digestive power seated there. It is during this 
 unnatural retrograde movement of the food, that men 
 are made sensible of having a stomach. Yet the 
 sensations, how unpleasant soever, are not to be 
 regarded as a punishment; but rather as a call on 
 reason to aid the instinctive powers, and to guard 
 against disease, by preventing impure matters from 
 being admitted into the portion of the intestinal canal 
 which absorbs, and would thus carry those impurities 
 into the blood to engender disease. 
 
 Here, then, is another example of a sensibility 
 
 * The upper orifice was called by them oesophagus, as it were the 'purveyor, 
 from two words signifying, to bring food. 
 
OF THE STOMACH. 
 
 385 
 
 bestowed to guard us against external influences, when 
 they threaten destruction to the framework; and to 
 regulate the operations of internal parts too complicated 
 and too remotely situated for the superintendence of 
 reason. 
 
 Medical authors, without being empirics, do, never- 
 theless, take great advantage of our ignorance. "We 
 can all of us take warning from the sensations expe- 
 rienced in the process of digestion ; and there can be 
 no harm in giving every man a confidence in the sensi- 
 bility of his stomach, and in its indications of healthy 
 or disturbed functions. We have the best proof of 
 what we wish to inculcate, in the action of the rumi- 
 nating stomach. A cow swallows the gross herbage, 
 and fills its large first stomach. Wlien it chews the 
 cud, the stomach, by its action, rolls up the grass into 
 distinct pellets, or balls, with as much regard to its 
 being returned into the mouth, as we do in masticating 
 and rolling the morsel, in preparation for swallowing. 
 When the ball is brought into the mouth and chewed, 
 it is again swallowed ; but in descending into the lower 
 part of the gullet, a muscle draws close the aperture by 
 which it had passed into the large stomach in the first 
 instance ; it is now ushered into a second stomach, 
 and so successively onwards to that stomach in which 
 the digestion is performed. The curious muscular 
 apparatus by which this is accomplished, need not be 
 described ; but surely the sensibility which directs it, 
 and which, although independent of the will, is yet 
 
 c c 
 
386 
 
 OF THE SENSIBILITY 
 
 so like an operation of reason in its results, presents 
 a subject of just admiration. 
 
 The elastic structure of the camel's foot ; the pro- 
 vision around its eyes for ridding them of offensive 
 particles ; the power of closing its nostrils against the 
 clouds of sand; and its endurance of fatigue — would 
 not enable it to pass the desert, unless there were 
 provisions for the lodgment of water in its stomach, and 
 unless this apparatus were animated by peculiar sensi- 
 bilities. Accordingly, a muscular apparatus is provided 
 for retaining the water in the cells of its stomach, only 
 permitting it to ooze out according to the necessities of 
 the animal ; there is also a muscular band which pulls 
 up the one, or the other, of the orifices of the different 
 stomachs, to receive the food from the lower end of the 
 gullet, according to its condition ; whether to be 
 deposited merely as in a store, or to be submitted to 
 the operation of digestion. The surprising thing in all 
 this is not so much the mechanical provision, as the 
 governing sensibility. "What, for example, should, in 
 the first place, impel the grosser food, newly collected, 
 into the first stomach? What, after rumination and 
 mastication in the mouth, should carry that into the third 
 stomach ? And why should the water be carried into 
 neither of these, but into the cells of the second stomach ? 
 
 Yet, after all, this only brings us back to a sense 
 of the operations in our own bodies. The act of 
 swallowing, — the propulsion of the food into the gullet, 
 the temporary closing of the windpipe by the epiglottis, 
 
OF THE STOMACH. 
 
 387 
 
 the momentary relaxation of the diaphragm, fibres of 
 which encircle the upper orifice of the stomach, at such 
 a time, — is just as surprising. The shutting of the 
 larynx by the epiglottis is never deranged but by 
 the interference of the will. If the individual attempt 
 to speak, that is, to govern the parts by volition, when 
 they should be left to these instinctive actions ; or if 
 terror, or some such mental excitement, prevail at 
 the moment of swallowing, then the morsel may stick 
 in the throat. 
 
 All this shows how perfect the operations of nature 
 are, and how well it is provided that the vital motions 
 should be withdrawn from the control of reason, and 
 even of volition, and be subjected to a more uniform 
 and certain law. But the point to which we would 
 carry the reader is this ; that the human stomach, 
 though not so complicated in its apparatus of mace- 
 rating and digesting vats, as in some of the lower 
 animals, especially the herbivorous, is possessed of a 
 no less wonderful degree of governing sensibility, which 
 may be trusted to, as surely as the precepts of the 
 most skilful physiologist. We are told that we must 
 not drink at meals ; lest the fluid interfere with the 
 operation of digestion. Of this there need be no 
 apprehension. The stomach separates, and lets off 
 with the most curious skill, all superfluous fluid through 
 its orifice ; while it retains the matter fit for digestion. 
 It retains it in its left extremity, permitting the fluid 
 to pass into the intestines, there to supply the other 
 
 co 2 
 
388 
 
 OF THE SENSIBILITY 
 
 wants of the system, no less important than digestion. 
 The veterinary professor, Coleman, ascertained that a 
 pail of water passed through the stomach and intestines 
 of a horse at the rate of ten feet in the minute, until it 
 reached the larger bowel. Drinking at a stated period 
 after meals, say an hour, is at variance with both 
 appetite and reason. The digestion is then effectually 
 interfered with ; for what was solid has become a fluid 
 (the chyme) ; this fluid is already in part assimilated ; 
 it has undergone the first of those changes which fit it 
 ultimately to be the living blood ; and the drink mixing 
 with it, must produce disturbance, and interrupt the 
 work of assimilation. 
 
 Looking in this manner upon the very extraordinary 
 properties of the stomach, we perceive how natural it 
 was for physicians to give a name to the sensibility of 
 which we have been speaking. The Archeus of Van 
 Helmont, the Anima of Stahl, were the terms used to 
 designate this nature, principle, or faculty, subordinate 
 to, and distinct from perception ; a notion entertained, 
 and more or less distinctly hinted at, by philosophers, 
 from Pythagoras to John Hunter. 
 
 We now learn what is meant by organic, and by 
 animal sensibility. The first is that condition of the 
 living organ which makes it sensible of an impression, on 
 which it reacts, and performs its functions. It appears 
 from what has preceded, that this sensibility may cause 
 the blowing of a flower, or the motion of a heart. The 
 animal sensibility is indeed an improper term, because 
 
OF THE STOMACH. 
 
 389 
 
 it would seem to imply that its opposite, organic sensi- 
 bility, was not also animal ; but it means that impres- 
 sion which is referred to the sensorium ; where (when 
 action is excited) perception and the effort of the will 
 are intermediate agents between the sensation and the 
 action or motion. 
 
 We may sum up the inquiry into sensibility and 
 motion thus : — 
 
 1. The peculiar distinction of a living animal is, that 
 its minute particles are undergoing a continual change 
 or revolution under the influence of life. Philosophers 
 have applied no term to these motions. 
 
 2. An organ possessed of an appropriate muscular 
 texture, and of sensibility in accordance with the 
 moving instrument, as the heart, or the stomach, has 
 the power of action without reference to the mind. 
 The term automatic, sometimes given to those motions, 
 conveys a wrong idea of the source of motion, as if, 
 instead of being a living power, it were consequent 
 upon some elastic or mechanical property. 
 
 3. There are sensibilities bestowed on certain 
 organs, and holding a control over a number of 
 muscles, which combine them in action in a manner 
 greatly resembling the influence of the mind upon the 
 body, yet independent of the mind ; as the sensibility 
 which combines the muscles in breathing. 
 
 4. In the last instance, a large class of muscles is 
 combined without volition. But the whole animal 
 fabric may be so employed; as in the instinctive 
 
390 VAKIETIES IN SENSIBILITIES, 
 
 operations of animals, where there is an impulse to 
 certain actions not accompanied by intelligence. 
 
 5. A motive must exist before there are voluntary 
 actions; and hence philosophers have supposed that 
 there can be nothing but instinctive actions in a new- 
 born child. But we must distinguish here what are 
 perfect at first, from what are at first imperfect and 
 irregular, and become perfect by use and the direction 
 of the will. The act of swallowing is perfect from the 
 beginning. The motions of the legs and arms, and 
 the sounds of the voice, are irregular and weak, and 
 imperfectly directed. It is the latter which improve 
 with the mind. From not knowing the internal 
 structure, and the arrangement of the nerves, philo- 
 sophers, as Hartley, supposed that an instinctive 
 motion, such as swallowing, may become a voluntary 
 act. Volition in the act of swallowing, consists merely 
 in putting the morsel within the instinctive grasp of 
 the fauces ; when a series of involuntary actions com- 
 mences, over which we have no more control in mature 
 age, than in the earliest infancy. Swallowing is not a 
 voluntary action ; the thrusting of the morsel back 
 with the tongue, is like the putting of the cup to the 
 lip. It is the preparation for the act of swallowing 
 that is voluntary ; but over the act itself we have no 
 control. 
 
 It is an error to suppose that all muscular actions 
 are, in the first instance, involuntary, and that over 
 some of them we acquire a voluntary power. A child's 
 
AND THEIR INDUCED ACTIONS. 
 
 391 
 
 face has a great deal of motion in it, very diverting 
 from its resemblance to expression, before there can be 
 any real motive to the action. It will crow, and make 
 strange sounds, before there is an attempt at speech. 
 But this gradual development of intelligence, and 
 acquisition of power, ought not to be called the will 
 attaining influence over involuntary muscles ; since, in 
 fact, the apparatus of nerves and muscles is prepared, 
 and waits for the direction of the mind with so perfect 
 a readiness, as to fall into action and just combination 
 before that condition or affection of the mind which 
 should precede the action takes place. A child smiles 
 before anything incongruous can enter the mind, before 
 even pleasure can be supposed a condition of the mind. 
 Indeed, the smile on an infant's face is first perceived 
 in sleep. 
 
 6. All the motions enumerated above are spontaneous 
 motions belonging to the internal economy ; but the ex- 
 ternal relations of the animal, the necessity of escaping 
 from injury or warding off violence, require a sensibility 
 to those outward impressions, and an activity con- 
 sequent on volition. Nothing less than perceptions of 
 the mind, and voluntary acts, suited to a thousand 
 circumstances of relation, could preserve the higher 
 classes of animals, and man above all others, from 
 destruction. 
 
 All these provisions proceed from an arrangement 
 of nerves and muscles. The mechanical adjustment 
 of the muscles and tendons is perfect according to the 
 
392 VARIETIES IN SENSIBILITIES, 
 
 principles of mechanics. The muscles themselves 
 possess a different property ; they are irritable parts ; 
 motion originates in them. This living property of 
 contraction is admirably suited, in each particular 
 muscle, to the office it has to perform. In some it is 
 necessary that the muscles should act as rapidly as the 
 bowstring on the arrow ; in others their action is slow 
 and regular; in others it is irregular, and after long 
 intervals, according as the functions to which they are 
 subservient require. The motions of the limbs, the 
 motions of the eye, those of the heart and arteries, 
 stomach and bowels, are all different. This appro- 
 priation of action is not in the muscles themselves, but 
 as they stand in relation to the nervous system, and 
 the sensibilities which impel them. 
 
 We hope, then, that by the course we have taken, 
 we have carried the reader to a higher sense of the 
 perfection of the animal structure. We first drew him 
 to observe provisions in the strengthening of the bones, 
 the adjustment of their extremities to the joints, the 
 course of the tendons, and other such mechanical 
 appliances ; proving to him the existence of design in 
 the formation of the solid fabric of the body. We have 
 then explained how that motion is produced which was 
 at all times familiar to him, but even the immediate 
 causes of which he did not comprehend. We have, in 
 the last place, shown him that under the term Life, he 
 has a still more admirable subject of contemplation, in 
 
AND THEIR INDUCED ACTIONS. 393 
 
 the adjustment of the living properties ; in the sensi- 
 bilities which differ not so much in degree, as in kind : 
 and in their appropriation, both to the operations of 
 the internal economy, and to the relations external, 
 and necessary to safety. 
 
 It is not possible to examine these things, without 
 having the full proofs before us of the power of the 
 Creator in forming and sustaining the animal body. 
 As a man with gutta serena may turn his eyes to the 
 sun, and feel no influence of light, so may the under- 
 standing be blind to these proofs. With the cele- 
 brated Dr. Hunter, we may say, that he who can con- 
 template them without enthusiasm, must labour under 
 a dead palsy in some part of his mind ; and we must 
 pity him as unfortunate.] 
 
A COMPARISON OF THE EYE WITH THE HAND. 
 
 " And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee." 
 
 If in quest of an object which shall excite the highest 
 interest, and at the same time afford the most 
 convincing proofs of design, we naturally turn to the 
 Eye, as the most delicate of all the organs of the body. 
 And some consideration of this organ is appropriate to 
 our present purpose, which is to show how much the 
 sense of vision depends on the Hand : how strict is the 
 analogy between these two organs. 
 
 From the time of Sir Henry Wotton, to the latest 
 writer on light, the eye has been a subject of admiration 
 and eulogy. But on a former occasion,* I have 
 ventured to say, that this admiration is misplaced, if 
 given to the ball of the eye, or the optic nerve, exclu- 
 sively. The high endowments of this organ belong 
 to the exercise of the whole eye — to its exterior appen- 
 dages of muscles, as much as to its humours and the 
 proper nerve of vision. It is to the muscular apparatus 
 which moves the eye, and to the conclusions we are 
 enabled to draw from the consciousness of muscular 
 
 * See Philosophical Transactions. 
 
COMPARISON OF EYE WITH HAND. 395 
 
 effort, that, in combination with the impression on the 
 retina, we owe our knowledge of the form, magnitude, 
 and relations of objects. One might as well imagine 
 that he understood the uses of a theodolite, by estimating 
 the optical powers of the glasses, without looking to 
 the quadrant, level, or plumb-line, as suppose that he 
 had learnt the whole powers of the eye, by confining 
 his study to the naked ball. 
 
 Let us begin by some observations on the minute 
 structure, and the sensibility, of the retina. The 
 retina is the internal coat of the eye ; it consists of a 
 delicate, pulpy, nervous matter, which is contained 
 between two membranes of extreme fineness ; and these 
 membranes both support it and give to its surfaces a 
 smoothness mathematically correct. The matter of 
 the nerve, as well as these supporting membranes, is 
 perfectly transparent during life. In the axis of the 
 human eye, there is a small portion which, after death, 
 when the rest of the membrane becomes opaque, 
 remains transparent ; and has thence been mistaken for 
 an opening in the retina.* Surprising as it may be, after 
 all the industry employed to demonstrate the structure 
 of the eye, it is only in the present day that a most 
 essential part of the retina has been discovered — the 
 membrane of Mr. Jacob. From observing the pheno- 
 mena of vision, and especially the extreme minuteness 
 of the image cast upon the retina, I had conceived that 
 the whole nerve was not the seat of vision, but only 
 
 * It is this part which is called the foramen of Soemmerring. 
 
396 
 
 COMPARISON OF EYE 
 
 one or other of its surfaces. That could not be well 
 demonstrated until this exterior membrane of the 
 retina was known ; now we see, when it is floated in 
 water under a magnifying glass, that this membrane is 
 of extreme tenuity : and its smooth surface is calculated 
 to correspond to the exterior surface of that layer of 
 nervous matter, which is the seat of the sense. 
 
 The term retina would imply that the nerve 
 constituted a network ; and the expressions of some of 
 our first modern authorities would induce us to believe 
 that they viewed its structure in that light, as agreeing 
 with their hypothesis. But there is no fibrous texture 
 in the matter of the nerve : although, when floated and 
 torn with the point of a needle, the innermost of the 
 membranes which support the retina, the tunica 
 vasculosa retince, presents something of that appearance. 
 
 Vision is not excited by light, unless the rays 
 penetrate through the transparent retina, and reach 
 its exterior surface from within. 
 
 We all know that by pressing upon the eye-ball with 
 a key or end of a pencil case, zones of light are 
 produced : and they are perceived as if the rays came 
 in a direction opposite to the pressure. It may be 
 said, that here the effect of the pressure is assimilated 
 to that of light ; and as light can approach and strike 
 the part of the nerve pressed upon from without by the 
 key, only by entering the interior of the eye and coming 
 from within, that the zones of light produced by the 
 mechanical impulse must appear in the usual direction 
 
WITH HAND. 
 
 397 
 
 of rays impinging upon that part : and that, conse- 
 quently, they will give the impression of their source 
 being in the opposite quarter. Contrast, however, this 
 phenomenon with the following experiment. Let the 
 eyelids be closed, and covered with a piece of black 
 cloth or paper, with a small hole in it ; place this 
 hole, not opposite to the pupil, but to the white of the 
 eye ; then direct a beam of light upon the hole : this 
 light will be seen in its true direction. Why is there 
 this difference in the apparent place from which the 
 light is derived, in these two cases ? Is it not because 
 the rays directed through the hole upon the white part 
 of the eyeball, after penetrating the coats and striking 
 upon the retina at this part, pierce through it, and 
 through the humours of the eye, and impinge upon the 
 retina again on the opposite side ? That explains why 
 light transmitted in such a manner, shall appear to 
 come from a different quarter. But it does not explain 
 why there should not be a double impression — why the 
 beam of light should not influence the retina while 
 penetrating it in the first instance ; that is, in passing 
 through it from without inwards, as well as when it 
 has penetrated the humours and impinged upon its 
 opposite part, from within outwards. 
 
 Another fact, which has perplexed philosophers, is 
 the insensibility of the optic nerve itself to light. If it 
 be so contrived that a strong beam of light shall fall 
 upon the bottom of the eye, so as to impinge on the 
 end of the nerve where it begins to expand into the 
 
398 
 
 COMPARISON OF EYE 
 
 delicate retina, no sensation of light will be produced. 
 This ought not to surprise us, if I am correct in 
 my statement that the gross matter of the nerve is 
 not the organ of vision, but the exterior surface of it 
 only ; for in the extremity of the optic nerve there is, 
 of course, no posterior surface. Indeed, nothing can 
 better prove the distinct office of the nerve itself, as 
 contrasted with the expanded retina, than this circum- 
 stance, — that when a strong ray of light strikes into 
 the nerve, the impression is not perceived: it seems 
 to imply that the capacity of receiving the impression, 
 and that of conveying it to the sensorium, are two 
 distinct functions. 
 
 Is not this opinion more consistent with the pheno- 
 mena, than what is expressed by one of our first 
 philosophers, — that the nerve at its extremity towards 
 the eye, is insensible, and forms what has been called 
 the punctum coecum (blind spot), because it is not yet 
 divided into those almost infinitely minute fibres, which 
 he considers can alone be fine enough to be thrown 
 into tremors by the rays of light ? 
 
 Independently of this " punctum coecum," we have 
 to observe that the whole surface of the retina is not 
 equally sensible to light. There is a small spot, 
 opposite to the pupil, and in the axis of the eye, which 
 is more peculiarly sensible to visual impressions than 
 the rest of the nerve. An attempt has been made to 
 ascertain the diameter of this spot ; and it is said that 
 a ray, at an angle of five degrees from the optic axis, 
 
WITH HAND. 
 
 399 
 
 strikes beyond it. But we shall see reason to con- 
 clude, that the sensible spot is not limited to an exact 
 circle, that it is not regularly defined, and ohat the 
 sensibility, in fact, increases to the very centre. 
 
 Some have denied the existence of this extreme 
 sensibility in the centre of the retina; attributing 
 the vividness of sensation to the circumstance of the 
 light converging through the humours with greater 
 correctness to this point. I shall, therefore, show 
 how impossible it would be, if it were not for the 
 sensibility of the retina increasing gradually from its 
 utmost circumference to the point which forms the 
 axis of the eye, to possess distinct vision. 
 
 We see an object by the rays reflected from it, 
 even although direct light from a luminous body may 
 be entering the eye at the same instant. As the 
 illumination from rays coming thus directly, is many 
 times stronger than from light reflected by an object, 
 if there were not a provision in the retina, by which 
 the bright light shall fall upon a part possessing a 
 slight degree of sensibility, while the dimmer, reflected 
 light falls upon the most sensible spot, the contrast 
 would be so great that vision would be destroyed. 
 If, for example, in full day, and in the open field, the 
 eye be directed southward, the rays from the sun will 
 enter the eye, as we are looking at an object near us : 
 now, were the part of the retina struck by the sun's 
 rays, as sensible as the central spot, on which the image 
 of the object is impressed, the direct rays from the sun 
 
400 RELATION OF SENSIBLE SPOT 
 
 would extinguish all other impressions : the glare would 
 be painfully powerful, as when we look directly at the 
 sun. If a momentary glance towards the sun produce 
 a sensation so acute that we can see nothing for some 
 time afterwards, would not the same happen, even did 
 we not turn our eyes towards it, were the retina alike 
 sensible in all its surface ? There is a similar effect 
 in a chamber lighted with candles ; we cannot see a 
 person standing immediately on the other side of the 
 candle : for the direct light interferes with the reflected 
 light, and effaces the slighter impression of the latter. 
 
 We perceive, therefore, that if the retina were equally 
 sensible over its whole surface, we could not see. Let 
 us, then, observe how we really do see, and how the 
 organ is exercised. There is a continual desire to 
 make the sensible spot, the proper seat of vision, bear 
 correctly on the object. When an impression is made 
 upon the retina in that unsatisfactory degree which is 
 the effect of its being upon any part but the centre, 
 there is an effort to direct the axis towards it ; or, in 
 other words, to receive the rays upon the more sensible 
 centre. It is this sensibility, conjoined with the action 
 of the muscles of the eye-ball, which produces the 
 constant searching motion of the eye. So that, in 
 effect, from the lesser sensibility of the retina generally, 
 arises the necessity for a constant exercise of the 
 muscles of the organ ; and to this may be attributed its 
 high perfections. 
 
 This faculty of searching for the object is slowly 
 
TO MOTIONS OF THE EYE. 
 
 401 
 
 acquired in the child; and, in truth, the motions of 
 the eye, like those of the hand, are made perfect by 
 slow degrees. In both organs the operation is com- 
 pound : — the impression on the nerve of vision is 
 accompanied with an effort of the will and sense of 
 muscular action. That the faculty of vision should be 
 found perfect in the young of some animals from the 
 beginning, is no more opposed to this view, than the 
 fact that the young duck runs to the water the moment 
 the shell is broken, is against the conclusion that the 
 child learns to stand and walk, after a thousand 
 repeated efforts. 
 
 Now observe how essential this searching motion of 
 the eye is to vision. On coming into a room, we see 
 the whole side of it, as we suppose, at once — the mirror, 
 the pictures, the cornice, the chairs. But we are 
 deceived ; and that arises from our being unconscious 
 of the motions of the eye : for each object is rapidly, 
 but successively, presented to the most sensible spot 
 in the eye. 
 
 It is easy to show, that if the eye were without 
 motion, steadily fixed in the socket, vision would be 
 quickly lost: that objects of the greatest brilliancy 
 would be obscurely seen, or disappear. For example, 
 let us fix the eye on one point — a thing somewhat 
 difficult to do, owing to the very disposition in the eye 
 to be constantly moving : but suppose that by repeated 
 attempts we have at length acquired the power of 
 directing the eye steadily on an object; when we have 
 
 D D 
 
402 
 
 MOTION OF EYE PREVENTS 
 
 done so, we shall find that the whole scene becomes 
 more and more obscure, and finally vanishes. Let us 
 fix the eye on the corner of the frame of the principal 
 picture in the room; at first, everything around the 
 frame will be distinct; in a very little time, the 
 impression will become weaker, objects will appear dim, 
 and then the eye will have an almost uncontrollable 
 desire to wander ; if this be resisted, the impressions 
 of the figures in the picture will first fade : for a time, 
 we shall see the gilded frame alone : but this also will be- 
 come faint. When we have thus far ascertained the fact, 
 if we change the direction of the eye but ever so little, 
 the whole s^cene will at once be again perfect before us. 
 
 These phenomena are consequent upon the retina 
 being subject to exhaustion. When a coloured ray of 
 light impinges continuously on the same part of the eye, 
 the retina becomes less sensible to it, but more sensible 
 to a ray of the opposite colour. When the eye is fixed 
 upon a point, the lights, shades and colours of objects 
 continuing to strike upon the same relative parts of the 
 retina, the nerve is exhausted : but when the eye shifts, 
 there is a new exercise of the nerve : the part of the 
 retina that was opposed to the lights, is now opposed 
 to the shades, and what was opposed to the different 
 colours is now opposed to other colours, and the 
 variation in the exciting cause produces a renewed 
 sensation. From this it appears, how essential the 
 incessant searching motion of the eye is to the continued 
 exercise of the organ. 
 
EXHAUSTION OF THE SENSE. 403 
 
 Before dismissing this subject, we may give another 
 instance. If we are looking upon an extensive prospect, 
 and have the eye caught by an object at a distance, or 
 when, in expectation of a friend, we see a figure 
 advancing on the distant road, and we endeavour to 
 scrutinise the object, fixing the eye intently upon it, 
 it disappears ; in our disappointment we rub the eyes, 
 cast them about, look again, and once more we see the 
 object. The reason of this is very obvious : the retina 
 is exhausted, but becomes recruited by looking on the 
 other objects of different shades and colours. The 
 sportsman feels this a hundred times, on the moor or 
 the hill side, in marking down his covey, and keeping 
 his eye fixed, while travelling towards the spot. 
 
 Here we may interrupt our inquiry to observe how 
 inconsistent these phenomena are with the favourite 
 hypothesis — that light produces vision by exciting 
 vibration in the fibres of the nerve. By all the laws of 
 motion from which this hypothesis is borrowed, we 
 know that if a body be set in motion, it is easily kept 
 in motion ; and that if a chord vibrate, that vibration 
 will be kept up by a motion in the same time. It 
 appears to me, that if these fibres of the nerve (which, 
 be it remembered, are also imaginary) were moved 
 like the chords of a musical instrument, they would be 
 most easily continued in motion by undulations in the 
 same time : that if the red ray oscillated or vibrated in 
 a certain proportion of time, it would keep the fibres of 
 the nerve in action more easily than a green ray. which 
 
 D D 2 
 
404 
 
 MUSCULAR SENSE 
 
 vibrates in a different time ; and that if the colour of a 
 ray depended upon the peculiar undulation or vibration, 
 before the green ray could produce a motion corre- 
 sponding with itself, it must encounter a certain 
 opposition, in interrupting the motion already begun. 
 
 Reverting to the sensible part of the retina, it does 
 not appear that we are authorised to term it a spot. 
 The same law governs vision, whether we look to a fine 
 point of a needle, or to an object in an extensive 
 landscape. We look to the end of a pen, and we can 
 rest the attention on the point upon the one side of the 
 slit, to the exclusion of the other, just as we can select 
 and intently survey a house or a tree. If the sensible 
 spot were regularly defined, it must be very small: 
 and we should be sensible of it; which we are not. 
 The law, therefore, seems to be, at all times, that the 
 nearer to the centre of the eye, the greater is the 
 sensibility to impression ; and that holds whether we 
 are looking abroad on the country, or are microscopi- 
 cally intent upon objects very minute. 
 
 When men deny the fine adaptation of the muscular 
 actions of the eye to the sensations on the retina, how 
 do they account for the obvious fact — that the eye-ball 
 does move in such just degrees ? how is the one eye 
 adjusted to the other with such marvellous precision ? 
 and how do the eyes move together in pursuit of an 
 object, never failing to accompany it correctly, whether 
 in tracing the flight of a bird, or the course of a tennis- 
 ball, or even that of a bomb-shell? Is it not an 
 
ESSENTIAL TO VISION. 405 
 
 irresistible conclusion — that to follow an object, and 
 adjust the action of the muscles of the eye so as to 
 present the axis of vision successively to it as it changes 
 its place, we must be sensible of these motions ? for 
 how could we direct the muscles, unless we were 
 conscious of their action ? The question then comes to 
 be — whether, being sensible of the condition of the 
 muscles, and capable of directing them with extra- 
 ordinary minuteness, the sense of the action of the 
 muscles does not enter into our computation of the 
 place of an object ? 
 
 But is not this exactly the same question recurring, 
 as when we asked — whether in judging of the place of 
 an object, by the hand — we did not include as an 
 important part of the process of perception, the know- 
 ledge acquired through the sense of the muscular action 
 of the arm ? Must there not be a consciousness of the 
 • position of the hand, before we can direct it to an 
 object ? And must we not have a knowledge of the 
 relation of the muscles and of the position of the axis 
 of the eye, before we can alter its direction, to fix it 
 upon a new object ? 
 
 It surprises me to find ingenious men refusing their 
 assent to the opinion, that the operation of the muscles 
 of the eye is necessary to perfect vision, — when they 
 may witness the gradual acquisition of the power, by 
 the awakening sense in the infant. When a bright 
 object is withdrawn from the infant's eye, there is a 
 blank expression in the features ; but an excitement, 
 
406 
 
 MUSCULAR SENSE 
 
 as soon as the object is again presented. For a time, 
 if we shift the object before it, it is not attended with 
 the searching action of the eye : but, by and by, the 
 eye follows the object, and looks around for it when 
 lost. In this gradual acquisition of power to guide the 
 eye to the object, there is an exact parallel to the 
 acquisition of power to seize with the hand : in both 
 instances, the infant seeks to join the experience ob- 
 tained by means of the muscular motion, with the 
 impression on the proper nerve of sense. 
 
 Some maintain that our idea of the position of an 
 object is implanted in the mind, and independent of 
 experience. We must acknowledge the possibility of 
 this, had it been so provided. We see the young of 
 some creatures enjoying the sense of vision perfectly at 
 the moment of birth : but in these animals, every 
 corresponding faculty is, in the same manner, fully 
 developed from the beginning: the dropped foal, or 
 the lamb, rises and follows its mother. As to the 
 property of the eye which we are considering, we can 
 no more compare what it is in the helpless human 
 offspring, with what it is in the young of other animals, 
 than compare the duration of man's existence with that 
 of the fly ; — which has its period of life limited to an 
 hour at noon ; — which breaks from its confinement, 
 knows its mate, deposits its eggs on the appropriate 
 tree, the willow or the thorn — then dies. These 
 subjects are foreign to the inquiry ; since it is obvious 
 that the human eye has no such complete power of 
 
GIVES KNOWLEDGE OF DIRECTION. 407 
 
 vision originally bestowed upon it ; but that, like the 
 exercise of the other senses, and the faculties of the 
 mind itself, it is perfected by repeated efforts, or 
 experience. 
 
 ' If it be admitted that the ideas received through the 
 eye are acquired by experience, we must allow that 
 before a conception can be formed of an object being 
 exterior to the eye, or of its being placed in a particular 
 direction, the mind must have been engaged in an act 
 of comparison. Authors make the subject complex by 
 referring to the inverted picture drawn at the bottom of 
 the eye ; representing to us the mind contemplating this 
 picture, and comparing the relative position of its parts. 
 But it is not shown how the mind looks into this 
 camera ! The question would be rendered, at least, 
 more simple, if we asked ourselves, how we know the 
 direction in which any single point is seen by the eye. 
 Suppose it is a star in the heavens, or a beacon seen by 
 the mariner. In order to ascertain the position of the 
 star, must he not find out some other object of 
 comparison, some other star which shall disclose to 
 him the constellation to which the one that he is 
 examining belongs : or to ascertain the position of the 
 beacon, must he not look to his compass and card, and 
 so trace the relative direction of the light-house ? 
 This is, in fact, the process followed every time that we 
 look at an object. A single point is directly in the 
 axis of the eye ; but we cannot judge of its position, 
 without turning to some other point, and becoming 
 
408 
 
 MUSCULAR SENSE 
 
 sensible of the traversing of the eye-ball and the angle 
 to which it is moved : or if we do not see another point 
 to compare with the first, we must judge of its place by- 
 means of a comparison with the motion of the eye itself. 
 We are sensible that the eye is directed to the right or 
 to the left ; and we compare the visible impression on 
 the nerve with the motion, its direction, and its extent. 
 
 Even mathematicians are found who affirm that we 
 judge of the direction of an object, by the line in which 
 the several rays falling upon the retina come to the 
 eye. They forget that the rays strike a mere point of 
 the retina ; and that this point can have no direction 
 by itself. The obliquity of the incidence of the ray 
 cannot be estimated by means of this point alone ; rays 
 of all degrees of obliquity are converging towards it. 
 Do not the same mathematicians, in the very first 
 lessons of their science, require as the definition of a 
 line — that it shall be drawn through two points at least ? 
 Where are the two points at which a ray can affect the 
 nerve, so as to indicate the direction of the line in which 
 it approaches the eye ? The cornea, or the humours 
 of the eye, are not sensible to the passage of the ray.* 
 Or is this an error that has crept in from inaccurate 
 conceptions of the anatomy ? has the idea arisen from 
 the notion that the ray passes through the thick and 
 turbid matter of the retina, and that we can trace its 
 course by that means ? 
 
 * See a paper by Mr. Alexander Shaw, who has explained this subject very 
 happily. — Journal of the Royal Institution, 1832. 
 
GIVES KNOWLEDGE OF DIRECTION. 409 
 
 I would ask, why is there a " finder " attached to the 
 great telescope ? Is it not because the instrument 
 magnifies in so high a degree, that the observer can 
 see only one object, and therefore he cannot direct it in 
 the heavens ? It is to remedy this, that a smaller 
 telescope, possessing a less power, but commanding a 
 wider field, is mounted upon the greater one : this 
 " finder " the astronomer directs to the constellation, 
 and moves from star to star, until the one which he 
 desires to examine is in the centre of the field : by 
 which means he adjusts the larger telescope to his 
 object. Is this not a correct illustration of the operation 
 of the eye ? The eye is imperfectly exercised when it 
 sees but one point : it is not hi the full performance of 
 its function, unless when it moves from one point to 
 another, judges of the degree and the direction of that 
 motion, and thus enables us, by comparison, to form 
 our conclusion as to the place of the object. 
 
 A most ingenious philosopher of our time, who has 
 opposed these views of the compound nature of the 
 sense of vision, and maintains that the forms and 
 relations of objects are known by the unassisted opera- 
 tion of the eye-ball itself — by the transmission of the 
 rays through the humours of the eye, and by their effect 
 upon the retina — has also affirmed, that we should 
 know the position of objects, even were the muscles of 
 the eye paralytic. But when I attach so much import- 
 ance to the motions of the eye, I hope it has been 
 understood that I do not neglect the movements of the 
 
410 MUSCULAR SENSE 
 
 body, and, more especially, those of the hand. In 
 truth, the measure which we take through the motions 
 of the eye, is in correspondence with the experience 
 obtained through the motions of the whole frame ; and 
 without such experience, we should have no knowledge 
 of matter, or of position, or of distance, or of form. 
 Were the eye fixed in the head, or its muscles paralytic, 
 we should be deprived, in a great degree, of the exercise 
 of the organ, and lose many of the appliances necessary 
 for its protection : but we should still be capable of 
 comparing the visual impression with the knowledge of 
 the movements of the body. As long as we could 
 distinguish the right hand from the left, or raise our 
 head to see what is above us, or stoop to see a man's 
 foot, we should never be at a loss to form a comparison 
 between the impression on the nerve of sight, and the 
 experience of the body. 
 
 Against this view of the compound operation of the 
 eye, it is argued : — that if a man receive the impression 
 of a luminous body upon his eye, so that the spectrum 
 shall remain when the eyelids are shut ; and if he be 
 seated upon a stool made to turn, and whirled round 
 by the hand of a friend, without his own effort, the 
 motion of the spectrum will correspond with his own 
 rotatory motion. No doubt it will: because he is 
 conscious of being turned round : a man cannot sit 
 upon a stool that is turning, without an effort to keep 
 his place, without a consciousness of being whirled : and 
 being sensible, at the same time, that the impression 
 
GIVES KNOWLEDGE OF DIRECTION. 411 
 
 is still before his eye, he will see the spectrum in 
 that aspect to which he has been revolved. 
 
 Were I not conscious that I was right, I should feel 
 it necessary to make some apology for arguing against 
 the opinions of eminent men, on this matter. But I 
 conceive the explanation of the discrepancy to be, that 
 we are influenced considerably by the different modes 
 in which we approach the examination of such a subject. 
 A man accustomed to observe with admiration the 
 properties of light, and to study the effect of the 
 humours of the eye as an optical instrument, may be 
 blinded to those inferences which to me, from reflecting 
 on the living endowments that belong to the organ, 
 seem undeniable. When, instead of looking upon the 
 eye as a mere camera, or show-box, with the picture 
 inverted on the bottom, we determine the value of 
 muscular activity; mark the sensations attending the 
 balancing of the body; that fine property which we 
 possess of adjusting the muscular frame to its various 
 inclinations ; how it is acquired in the child ; how it is 
 lost in the paralytic and drunkard : how motion and 
 sensation are combined in the exercise of the hand ; 
 how the hand, by means of this sensibility, guides the 
 finest instruments : when we consider how the eye and 
 the hand correspond; how the motions of the eye, 
 combining with the impression on the retina, become 
 the means of measuring and estimating the place, form, 
 and distance of objects — the sign in the eye of what is 
 known to the hand : finally, when, by attention to the 
 
412 
 
 MOTION OF EYE 
 
 motions of the eye, we are aware of their extreme 
 minuteness, and how we are sensible to them in the 
 finest degree — the conviction irresistibly follows, that 
 without the power of directing the eye (a motion 
 holding relation to the action of the whole body), our 
 finest organ of sense, which so largely contributes to 
 the development of the powers of the mind, would lie 
 unexercised. 
 
 THE MOTION OF THE EYE CONSIDERED IN REGARD TO THE 
 EFFECT OF SHADE AND COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 A question naturally arises whether from this part of 
 philosophy it be possible to suggest some principles 
 for the assistance of the painter, in the disposition of 
 shades and colours of a picture. When attempting 
 to establish rules for that purpose, the ideas and 
 language of the artist or amateur are certainly very 
 vague. 
 
 We have to remark, in the first place, that the 
 colours of objects represented in a painting differ in 
 most essential circumstances in the effect which they 
 produce, from those of the natural objects themselves. 
 In nature, bodies of various colours placed together 
 have their tints reflected from each other, and so 
 combined: this is one mode in which the hues of 
 nature are harmonised before they reach the eye. But 
 the colours upon the flat surface of the canvass cannot 
 be thus reflected and mingled. Again, the hues of 
 
IN RELATION TO COLOUR. 
 
 natural objects are affected by the atmosphere, 
 differently from those in a picture : the rays proceeding 
 from distant objects are softened by means of it; 
 whereas, in a painting, from the canvass being close 
 to the eye, the effect of the atmosphere will amount to 
 nothing. 
 
 There is, however, another mode by which the eye is 
 influenced in regard to colours, and it is an effect 
 common to natural objects and to paintings. When 
 we repeat the familiar experiment of looking steadily, 
 and for some time, upon differently coloured spots, in 
 succession, we become aware of the remarkable effect 
 produced on the sensibility of the retina, by the im- 
 pression dwelling on the nerve. As this effect is not 
 an incidental occurrence, but is produced, more or less, 
 whenever we exercise the eye, the nerve must be influ- 
 enced, to a certain degree, in the same manner, on 
 looking to the different colours of a picture. It is 
 necessary, therefore, to carry this fact with us into the 
 inquiry ; and I may offer one or two illustrations. 
 
 If we throw a silver coin upon a dark table, and fix 
 the eye upon its centre, it will be found, when we 
 remove the coin, that there is, for a moment, a white 
 spot in its place, which presently becomes deep black. 
 If we put a red wafer upon a sheet of paper, and 
 continue to keep the eye fixed upon it, when we remove 
 the wafer, the spot where it lay on the white paper will 
 appear green. If we look upon a green wafer in the 
 same manner, and remove it, the spot will be red ; if 
 
414 
 
 MOTION OF EYE 
 
 upon blue or indigo, the paper will seem yellow. These 
 phenomena are to be explained by considering that 
 the nerve is exhausted from the continuance of the 
 impression, and becomes more apt to receive the 
 sensation of an opposite colour. All the colours of the 
 prism come into the eye from a surface that is white : 
 accordingly, when we remove the coloured wafer (take 
 that which was red) from the white paper, all these 
 combined colours of the prism enter ; but if the nerve 
 has been exhausted by the red colour of the wafer, it 
 will be insensible to the red rays reflected from the 
 paper, and the effect of the rays of an opposite kind 
 will be increased ; consequently, the spot will be no 
 longer white, nor red, but of a green colour. 
 
 Let us next observe how this exhaustion of the 
 sensibility of the nerve produces an effect in engraving, 
 where there is no colour, and only light and shade. 
 Is it possible that a high tower, in a cloudless sky, can 
 be less illuminated at the top, than at the bottom? 
 Yet if we turn to a book of engravings, where an old 
 steeple, or tower, is represented standing up against 
 the clear sky, we shall find that all the higher part is 
 dark ; and the effect is picturesque and pleasing. Now 
 this is perfectly correct ; for although the highest part 
 of the tower be in the brightest illumination, it is not 
 seen as if it were — it never appears so to the eye. The 
 reason is, that on looking towards the steeple, a great 
 part of the retina is opposed to the strong light of 
 the sky ; and when we shift the eye, to look at the 
 
IN RELATION TO COLOUR. 
 
 415 
 
 particular parts of the steeple, the reflected light falls 
 upon the retina where it is exhausted by the direct light 
 of the sky. If we look to the top of the tower, and 
 then drop the eye to some of the lower architectural 
 ornaments, the effect will infallibly be, that the upper 
 half of the tower will appear dark. For example, 
 if looking to the point a we drop the eye to b, the 
 part of the tower from a to b will be seen by that 
 portion of the retina which was opposed to the clear 
 sky, from a to c ; and it will appear dark, not by 
 
 contrast, as it might thoughtlessly be said, but by the 
 nerve being somewhat exhausted of its sensibility. 
 This, then, is the first effect that we shall remark, as 
 arising from the searching motion of the eye, and the 
 variety in the sensibility of the nerve. 
 
 The refreshing colours of the natural landscape are 
 
416 
 
 MOTION OF EYE 
 
 at no time so pleasing as when, reading on a journey, 
 we turn the eye from the book to the fields and woods ; 
 the shadows are then deeper — the greens more 
 soothing ; and the whole colours softened. Eeynolds 
 observed to Sir George Beaumont that the pictures of 
 Rubens appeared different to him, and less brilliant, on 
 his second visit to the continent, than on his first ; and 
 the reason of the difference he discovered to be, that, 
 on the first visit he had taken notes, and on the second 
 he had not. The alleged reason is quite equal to the 
 effect ; but I cannot help imagining that there is some 
 incorrectness in the use of the term brilliant, unless 
 warmth and depth of colouring is meant ; for when the 
 eye turns from the white paper to the painting, the reds 
 and yellows must necessarily be deeper. If we look 
 out from the window, and then turn towards a picture, 
 the whole effect will be gone — the reflected rays from 
 the picture will be too feeble to produce their im- 
 pression ; or if we look upon a sheet of paper, and then 
 upon a picture, the tone will be deeper, and the warm 
 tints stronger, but the lights and shades less distinct. 
 If we place an oil painting, without the frame, upon a 
 large sheet of paper, or against a white wall, it will 
 appear offensively yellow : this is because the eye 
 alternately, though insensibly, moves from the white 
 paper or wall to the painting, which is of a deep tone, 
 and consequently the browns and yellows are rendered 
 unnaturally strong. We see the necessity of the gilt 
 frame for such a picture, and the effect that it pro- 
 
BLENDS COLOURS. 
 
 417 
 
 duces : it does not merely cut off surrounding objects, 
 but it prepares the eye for the colours of the painting 
 — it allows, if I may so express it, the painter to use his 
 art more boldly, and to exaggerate the colours of nature. 
 
 Painters proceed by experiment ; and in painting a 
 portrait, they know that they can represent the features 
 by contrasts of lights and shadows, with very little 
 colour ; but such a portrait is never popular. If they 
 are to present the likeness without much contrast of 
 light and shade, they must raise the features by 
 contrasts of the colours; hence the carnations are 
 necessarily exaggerated : but all this is softened down, 
 by throwing a piece of drapery into the picture ; and 
 the effect of this will be so striking, from its colours 
 preparing the eye properly for receiving those of the 
 rest of the picture, that the features which, perhaps, 
 before gave the idea of an inflamed countenance, will 
 appear natural. The common resource of the painter 
 is to throw in a crimson curtain, or to introduce some 
 flower, or piece of dress, that shall lead the eye, by the 
 succession of tints, towards it : and by this means, the 
 eye will be prepared to receive the otherwise exagge- 
 rated colours of the portrait : first surveying the red 
 curtain, and then the countenance, the whole appears 
 coloured with the modesty of nature. 
 
 Those who hang pictures, do not place an historical 
 picture, painted after the manner of the Bolognese 
 school, with distinct and abruptly coloured draperies, 
 by the side of a landscape ; for the colours of a landscape, 
 
 E E 
 
418 
 
 MOTION OF EYE 
 
 to be at all consonant with nature, must be weak and 
 reduced to a low tone, corresponding with the effect 
 produced by the intervention of the atmosphere ; its 
 colours, therefore, would be destroyed by too powerful 
 a contrast. It is because pictures are, for the most 
 part, painted on different principles, that there is a 
 difficulty of deciding which colours are best adapted 
 for the walls of a gallery ; but, generally speaking, the 
 dark subdued red, or morone, brings out the colours of 
 paintings ; in other words, if we look on a wall of this 
 hue, and then turn to the picture, the prevailing green 
 and yellow tints will appear brighter. 
 
 The word " contrast " is used without an exact 
 comprehension of what it implies. From the illustra- 
 tions that have been given, it will be seen that the 
 effect resulting from the proper distribution of colours 
 placed together, is produced through the motion of the 
 eye, combined with the law to which we have been 
 adverting, of the sensibility of the retina. When we 
 imagine that we are comparing colours, we are really 
 experiencing the effect of the nerve being exhausted by 
 dwelling on one colour, and becoming more susceptible 
 of the opposite colour. In drapery, for example, there 
 is such a mixture of different tints reflected from it, 
 that although one prevail, the impression may be 
 greatly modified by what the eye has previously expe- 
 rienced. If the colouring of the flesh be, as the painter 
 terms it, too " warm," it may be made " cold " by 
 rendering the eye insensible to the red and yellow rays, 
 
BLENDS COLOURS. 
 
 419 
 
 and more than usually susceptible of the blue and 
 purple rays. Every coloured ray from the flesh is 
 transmitted to the eye ; but if the eye has moved from 
 a yellow or crimson drapery, then the rays of that kind 
 will be lost for the moment, and the colour of the flesh 
 will appear less warm, in consequence of the prevalence 
 of the opposite rays of colour. 
 
 It ought to be unsatisfactory to the philosophical 
 student, to make use of a term without knowing its full 
 meaning : yet much has been said about contrast and 
 harmony, in painting, as resulting from the arrange- 
 ment of the colours ; the idea being that the colours 
 placed together are seen at the same time, and that 
 this gives rise to the effect of which we are all sensible ; 
 whereas, it results from alternately looking at the one 
 colour and then at the other. The subject might be 
 pleasantly pursued ; but I mean only to vindicate the 
 importance of the motions of the eye to our enjoyment 
 of colours, whether they be those of nature or of art. 
 
 There is another subject of some interest, namely, 
 the effect produced upon the retina when the eye is 
 intently fixed upon an object, and is not permitted to 
 wander from point to point. This touches on the 
 chiaroscuro of painting ; which is not merely the 
 managing of the lights and shadows, but the preserving 
 of the parts of a scene subordinate to the principal 
 object. There is something unpleasant in a picture, 
 even to the least experienced eye, when everything is 
 made out, when the drapery of every figure, or the 
 
 EE 2 
 
420 BELATION OF SENSIBLE SPOT 
 
 carvings and ornaments, are all minutely represented : 
 for, in nature, things are never seen in such a way. 
 On the other hand, a picture is truly effective, and felt 
 to be natural, when the eye is led to dwell on the 
 principal group, or principal figure, with which it is 
 the artist's intention to occupy the imagination. With 
 fine mastery of his art, the painter heightens the 
 colours of the chief parts in his picture, and subdues, 
 by insensible degrees, those which are removed from 
 the centre ; and thus he represents the scene as when 
 we look intently at anything : that is, by making the 
 objects which are near the axis of the eye be seen 
 distinctly — the other objects retreating, as it were, 
 or rising out less and less distinctly, in pro- 
 portion as they recede from the centre. In the 
 one instance, the artist paints a panorama, where, 
 on turning round, we have the several divisions 
 of the circle presented before the eye, and the objects 
 visible in each, appearing equally distinct : in the other, 
 he paints a picture, which represents the objects, not 
 as when the eye wanders from one to the other, but 
 where it is fixed with higher interest upon some central 
 figure, or part of the scene, and the rest falls off 
 subordinately. 
 
 Eeverting to our main argument, the proofs of 
 beneficence in the capacities of the living frame, we 
 look naturally to the pleasures received through this 
 double property of the eye — its motion and sensibility ; 
 and we perceive that, whilst the varieties of light and 
 
IN RETINA TO CHIAROSCURO. 421 
 
 shade are necessary to vision, the coloured rays are 
 also, by their variety, suited to the higher exercise of 
 this sense. They do not all equally illuminate objects ; 
 nor are they all equally agreeable to the eye. The 
 yellow, pale green, or isabella colours, illuminate in the 
 highest degree,* and are the most agreeable to the 
 sense ; and we cannot but observe, when we look out 
 on the face of nature, whether to the country, the sea, 
 or the sky, that these are the prevailing colours. The 
 red ray illuminates the least, but it irritates the most ; 
 and it is this variety in the influence of these rays upon 
 the nerve, that continues its exercise, and adds so 
 much to our enjoyment. We have pleasure from the 
 succession and contrast of colours, independently of 
 that higher gratification which the mind enjoys through 
 the influence of association. 
 
 OF EXPRESSION IN THE EYE. 
 
 In the conclusion of the volume, I took occasion to 
 remark that natural philosophy sometimes disturbs 
 the mind of a weak person. I recollect a student 
 who objected to the attitude and the direction of the 
 eyes upwards, in prayer : " For," said he, " it is 
 unmeaning; the globe on which we stand is round, 
 and the inhabitants in every degree, or division, of 
 
 * The Astronomer selects for his telescope a glass which refracts the pale 
 yellow light in the greatest proportion, because it illuminates in the highest 
 degree and irritates the least. 
 
422 
 
 EXPRESSION 
 
 the sphere, have their eyes directed differently, diverg- 
 ing from the earth, and concentrated to nothing.'* 
 This foolish observation may lead us once more to 
 notice the relations between the mind, the body, and 
 external nature. 
 
 The posture, and the expression of reverence, have 
 been universally the same in every period of life, in all 
 stages of society, and in every clirne. On first con- 
 sideration, it seems merely natural that, when pious 
 thoughts prevail, man's countenance should be turned 
 from things earthly, to the purer objects above. But 
 there is a link in this relation every way worthy of 
 attention : the eye is raised, whether the canopy over 
 us be shrouded in darkness, or display all the splendour 
 of noon. 
 
 The muscles which move the eye-ball are powerfully 
 affected in certain conditions of the mind. Independ- 
 ently altogether of the will, the eyes are rolled upwards 
 during mental agony, and whilst strong emotions of 
 reverence and piety prevail in the mind. This is a 
 natural sign, stamped upon the human countenance, 
 and as peculiar to man, as anything which distinguishes 
 him from the brute. The posture of the body follows 
 necessarily, and forms one of those numerous traits of 
 expression, which hold mankind in sympathy. 
 
 The same evidence that we brought forward in 
 treating of a somewiiat similar question, on the expres- 
 sion of the hand, might be adduced here — the works 
 of the great painters, who have made the sublimer 
 
IN THE EYE. 
 
 423 
 
 passions of man the subjects of their art. By the upward 
 direction of the eyes, and the correspondence of feature 
 and attitude, in their paintings, they speak to all 
 mankind. Thus we must admit that the reverential 
 posture, and uplifting of the eyes, are natural, 
 whether in the darkened chamber, or under the vault 
 of heaven. They result from the very constitution of 
 the mind and body ; and are too powerful to be effaced 
 or altered. No sooner does' pain or misfortune subdue 
 a man, or move him to supplication, than the same 
 universal expression prevails. Here is the correspond- 
 ence of the mind, the frame, and external nature, by 
 which man is directed to look for aid from above. 
 
CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS, 
 
 IN EXPLANATION OF THE TERMS INCIDENTALLY USED IN 
 THE VOLUME. 
 
 The Animal Kingdom is arranged in four Divisions : 
 
 Division L Vertebral Animals: so called from their possessing a 
 vertebral column or spine. 
 
 Division II. Molluscous Animals : such as shell-fish ; of a soft 
 structure. Etym. mollis, soft. 
 
 Division III. Articulated Animals: like the worm, or insect; their 
 skins or coverings are divided and jointed. Etym. articulus, a joint. 
 
 Division IV. Zoophytes : animals believed to be composed very 
 nearly of a homogeneous pulp, which is moveable and sensible, and 
 resembles a plant. Etym. fyov, zoon, alive ; (pvrov, phyton, a plant. 
 
 DIVISION I. 
 
 The division of vertebral animals is composed of four Classes : viz. — 
 1. Mammalia, animals which suckle their young. Etym. mamma, a 
 teat. — 2. Aves. Etym. avis, a bird. — 3. Reptilia, animals that crawl. 
 Etym. from repo, to creep. — 4. Pisces. Etym. piscis, a fish. 
 
 The first Class, Mammalia, is divided into Orders, which are sub- 
 divided into Genera, and these are further divided into Species. 
 
 We present the principal Orders, with familiar examples. 
 Bimana, Man. Etym. bis, double ; manus, hand. 
 
 Quadrumana. Etym. quatuor, four ; manus, hand. Monkeys, makis or 
 lemurs (Etym. lemures, ghosts). The loris tardigradus (tardus, 
 slow ; gradior, to walk) is a species of lemur. * s . 
 
 Cheiroptera. Etym. x* L P> cheir, the hand ; irrepov, pteron, a wing. The 
 bats. 
 
426 
 
 CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS. 
 
 Insectivora. Etym. insecta, insects ; voro, to eat. Hedgehog ; shrew ; 
 mole. 
 
 Plantigrade. Etym. planta, the sole of the foot ; gradior, to walk. 
 Bear; racoon. 
 
 Digitigrade. Etym. digitus, the toe, or finger ; gradior, to walk. Lion ; 
 wolf; dog; weasel. 
 
 Amphibia. Etym. ajxcpi, amphi, both; fiios, bios, life. "Walrus; seal. 
 
 Marsupialia. Etym. marsupium, a pouch. Kangaroo ; opossum. 
 
 Rodentia. Etym. rodo, to gnaw. Squirrel ; beaver ; rat ; hare. 
 
 Edentata. Etym. edentatus, toothless : animals without the front 
 teeth. Ai ; unau ; armadillo ; ant-eater ; tamandua ; megatherium 
 (fJL€ya, mega, great ; OrjpLou, therion, a wild beast) ; megalonyx (fjLtyas, 
 wnegas, great ; ovv£, onyx, a claw) ; ornithorhynchus (opviBos, omithos, 
 of a bird ; pvyxos, rhynchos, a beak). 
 
 Pachydermata. Etym. 7ra%us, pachys, thick ; Se^ua, derma, skin. 
 Ehinoceros ; elephant ; mammoth ; mastodon (fxaa-ros, mastos, a 
 nipple ; odcav, odon, a tooth) ; anoplotherium (avoir\os, unarmed ; 
 Qripiov) ; palaeotherium (iraXaios, ancient ; deploy), tapir ; solidungula 
 (solida, solid ; ungula, the hoof), as the horse, couagga. 
 
 Ruminantia. Etym. rumino, chew the cud. Camel ; giraffe ; deer ; 
 goat ; cow ; sheep. 
 
 Cetacea. Etym. cetus, a whale. Dolphin ; whale ; dugong. 
 
 Second Class. — Aves, or Birds. 
 
 Accipitres. Etym. accipiter, a hawk. Vulture ; eagle ; owl. 
 Passeres. Etym. passer, a sparrow. Lark ; thrush ; swallow ; crow ; 
 wren. 
 
 Scansores. Etym. scando, to climb. Parrot; wood-pecker; toucan. 
 Gallinae. Etym. gallina, a hen. Peacock ; pheasant ; pigeon. 
 Grallse. Etym. grallae, stilts. Ostrich ; stork ; ibis ; flamingo. 
 Palmipedes. Etym. palma, the palm of the hand; pes, foot. Swan; 
 pelican; gull. 
 
 Third Class. — Reptiles. 
 
 Chelonia. Etym. x*^ vs > chelys, a tortoise. Tortoise ; turtle. 
 
 Sauria. Etym. cravpa, saura, a lizard. Crocodile ; alligator ; cha- 
 meleon; dragon; pterodactyle (irrepov, pteron, a wing; SaKrvkos, 
 dactylus, a finger) ; ichthyosaurus (lx^vs, ichthys, a fish ; cavpa, saura, 
 a lizard) ; plesiosaurus (ttXtjctlou, plesion, near to ; aavpa, saura, a 
 lizard) ; megalasaurus (fji€ya\T], megale, great ; (ravpa, saura, a lizard) ; 
 iguanodon ; hylseosaurus (vAr), wood ; cravpd). 
 
 Ophidia. Etym. ocpis, ophis, a serpent. Boa ; viper. 
 
 Batrachia. Etym. fiarpaxos, batraclios, a frog. Frog; salamander; 
 proteus. 
 
CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS. 
 
 427 
 
 Fourth Class. — Fishes. 
 
 Chondropterygii. Etym. xovSpos, chondros, gristle ; irrepv^, pteryx, a fin. 
 
 Ray; sturgeon; shark; lamprey; ammocete (afi/nos, ammos, sand; 
 
 kt)tos, cetos, a fish). 
 Plectognathi. Etym. tt\€kw, pleco, to join; yvaQos, gnaihos, the jaw. 
 
 Sun-fish; trunk-fish. 
 Lophobranchi. Etym. Ko<pos, lophos, a crest ; fipayxia, branchia, the 
 
 gills. Pipe-fish ; pegasus. 
 Malacopterygii. Etym. ixoKolkos, maldkos, soft; 7rrepv£, pteryx, a fin. 
 
 Salmon; trout; cod; herring; remora. 
 Acanthopterygii. Etym. anavQa, acantha, a thorn ; 7rrepi/£, pteryx, a fin. 
 
 Perch ; sword-fish ; mackarel ; lophius piscatorius (\o<pia, lophia, a 
 
 pennant; piscator, a fisher) ; chsetodon rostratus (x aL Ty, chcete, hair ; 
 
 ohwv, odon, a tooth; rostratus, beaked); zeus ciliaris (cilium, an 
 
 eye-lash). 
 
 DIVISION II. 
 
 Molluscous Animals. 
 
 1st Class. — Cephalopoda. Etym. Ketyakr), cephale, the head ; ?ro5a, 
 poda, the feet. Animals which have their organs of motion arranged 
 round their head. This class includes sepia, or cuttle-fish. Argo- 
 nauts {Apyu, the ship Argo ; vavrris, nautes, a sailor). Nautilus (vavrrjs, 
 nautes, a sailor). Ammonite, an extinct Cephalopod which inhabited 
 a shell resembling that of the nautilus; coiled like the horns of 
 a ram or of the statues of Jupiter Ammon; whence the name. 
 Belemnites : also extinct : the shell is long, straight, and conical 
 {fieXefxvov, belemnon, a dart). Nummulites : likewise extinct ; whole 
 chains of rocks are formed of its shells ; the pyramids of Egypt are 
 built of these rocks; (nummus, a coin ; \i8os, a stone). 
 
 2nd Class. — Pteropoda. Etym. wrtpoi/, pteron, a wing; iroSa, poda, 
 feet; having fins or processes resembling wings on each side of the 
 mouth. The Clio borealis, which abounds in the North Seas, and is 
 the principal food of the whale. 
 
 3rd Class. — Gasteropoda. Etym. yao~TT]p, gaster, the belly ; 7ro5a, 
 poda, the feet. Animals which move by means of a fleshy apparatus 
 placed under the belly. The snail ; slug ; limpet. 
 
 4th Class. — Acephala. Etym. a, a, without ; KecpaXr}, cephale, the 
 head. Molluscous animals without a head. The oyster ; muscle. 
 
 5th Class. — Brachiopoda. Etym. Ppaxicai>, brachion, the arm ; iroda, 
 poda, the feet. Animals which move by means of processes like arms. 
 Lingula ; terebratula. 
 
 6th Class. — Cirrhopoda. Etym. cirrhus, a lock or tuft of hair ; iroda, 
 poda, the feet. Balanus ; barnacle anatifera (anas, a duck ; fero, to 
 bring forth). 
 
428 
 
 CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS. 
 
 DIVISION III. 
 
 Arttculata. 
 
 1st Class. — Annelides, or Vermes. Etym. annellus, a little ring; 
 vermis, a worm. Leech ; sea-mouse ; earth-worm ; sand- worm ; tubi- 
 colae (tubus, a tube ; colo, to inhabit) ; worms which cover themselves 
 by means of a slimy secretion that exudes from their surfaces, with a 
 case of small shells and pebbles, like the caddis- worm, or with sand and 
 mud. 
 
 2nd Class. — Crustacea. Animals which have a shelly crust covering 
 their bodies. The crabs ; shrimps ; lobsters. 
 
 Zrd Class. — Arachnida. Etym. apax^ns, arachnes, a spider. Spiders ; 
 aranea scenica, or saltica ; the leaping spider ; the scorpion spider ; the 
 mite. 
 
 itk Class. — Insecta. They are divided into insects which are without 
 wings, and those which have them ; and these are further subdivided 
 according to the peculiarities of the wings. 
 
 Altera (a, a, without ; irrtpov, pteron, a wing). Centipede (having a 
 hundred feet) ; louse ; flea. 
 
 Coleoptera (koKcos, coleos, a sheath or scabbard j irrepou, a wing), insects 
 which have their wings protected by a cover, as the beetle, corn- 
 weevil. Orthoptera (opOov, orthon, straight ; irrepov), as the locust, 
 grasshopper. Ilemiptera (tj/jlictv, Jiemisu, half ; irrepov), insects which 
 have one-half of their wings thick and coriaceous, and the other 
 membranous; such as a bug, tick, fire-fly. Neuroptera (vevpov, 
 neuron, a nerve ; irrepov), dragon-fly ; ant-lion ; ephemera (em ; rjfiepa, 
 a day). Hymenoptera (vfJLVP, hymen, a membrane ; irrcpou), the bee ; 
 wasp ; ant. Lepidoptera (Xeiris, lepis, a scale ; irrepov), moth ; 
 butter-fly. Rhipiptera (pirns, ripis, a fan ; irrepov), xenos ; stylops. 
 Diptera (bis, dis, double ; irrepov), house-fly ; gnat. 
 
 DIVISION IV. 
 
 Zoophytes. 
 
 Echinodermata '(Etym. e%wos, echinos, a hedgehog ; Sepfia, derma, the 
 skin), the star-fish ; sea urchin. Entozoa (evros, entos, within ; |a>oz>, a 
 living thing), taenia; hydatid. Acalephos (aKaXnty-o, acalephe, a nettle), 
 medusa ; polypi ; sea-anemone ; hydra ; tubipora (inhabiting tubes) ; 
 sertularia ; cellularia ; flustra ; coralline, sponge. Infusoria (found in 
 infusions or stagnant water), monas ; vibrio ; proteus. 
 
 BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS. 
 
50, Albemarle Street, London. 
 January, 1852. 
 
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 11 
 
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12 
 
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 13 
 
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14 
 
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PUBLISHED BY MR. MURRAY. 
 
 15 
 
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16 
 
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 Journey through the Upper Provinces of India. From 
 
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PUBLISHED BY MR. MURRAY. 
 
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18 
 
 LIST OF WORKS 
 
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PUBLISHED BY MR. MURRAY. 
 
 19 
 
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20 
 
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PUBLISHED BY MR. MURRAY. 
 
 21 
 
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'22 LIST OF WORKS 
 
 LINDSAY'S (Lord) Sketches of tlie History of Christian Art. 
 
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