Through Vague Epochs
carry the viscera in an upright posture. But the liberation of the arms in locomotion; man’s ability to travel erect on two hind limbs; and the transfer of the anthropoid function of the big-toe of the fore-foot to that of an opposable thumb of the human hand, were an enormous recompense for the ills suffered through the change. From the ability to suffer as a man came his faculty to enjoy as a god. His new sorrows broke in ripples of laughter; his horizon broadened; his spirit longed for wings.
For ages, man’s brain had been helped in its development by the advantages of his opposable thumb, perfectly capable of co-operating with each of his four fingers. The hand had become an efficient assistant of the brain. The more he used his hands, the more he stimulated the development of his brain; and the more his brain developed, the more skilful became his hands. We utilize this reaction between hand and brain even to-day in the training of children.
For ages, the brain had been growing and
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