The thumb is, however, smaller
and weaker than ours, and is not so much used in taking hold of
anything. The monkey's hand is, therefore, not so well adapted as that
of man for a variety of purposes, and cannot be applied with such
precision in holding small objects, while it is unsuitable for
performing delicate operations, such as tying a knot or writing with a
pen. A monkey does not take hold of a nut with its forefinger and thumb,
as we do, but grasps it between the fingers and the palm in a clumsy
way, just as a baby does before it has acquired the proper use of
its hand. Two groups of monkeys--one in Africa and one in South
America--have no thumbs on their hands, and yet they do not seem to be
in any respect inferior to other kinds which possess it. In most of the
American monkeys the thumb bends in the same direction as the fingers,
and in none is it so perfectly opposed to the fingers as our thumbs are;
and all these circumstances show that the hand of the monkey is, both
structurally and functionally, a very different and very inferior organ
to that of man, since it is not applied to similar purposes, nor is it
capable of being so applied.
When we look at the feet of monkeys we find a still greater difference,
for these have much larger and more opposable thumbs, and are therefore
more like our hands; and this is the case with all monkeys, so that even
those which have no thumbs on their hands, or have them small and weak
and parallel to the fingers, have always large and well-formed thumbs on
their feet.
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