vation. And these are the
foundations of intelligence. Hence the deliverance of the higher
vertebrate, and especially of man, from any iron-bound subjection to
instinct.

And here another question of vital importance meets us. Is man's
life at present as long as it should or can be? The question is
exceedingly difficult, but a negative answer seems more probable. We
cannot but hope that, with a better knowledge of our physical
structure, a clearer vision of the dangers to which we are exposed,
more study of the laws of physiology, heredity, and of our
environment, and above all, less reckless disregard of these in a
mad pursuit of pleasure, wealth, and position, man's period of
mature, healthy, and best activity may be lengthened, perhaps, even
a score of years. The mitigation of hurry and worry alone, the two
great curses of our American civilization, might postpone the
collapse of our nervous systems longer than we even dream. And if we
could add even five years to the working life of our statesmen,
scholars, and discoverers, the work of these last five years, with
the advantage of all previously acquired knowledge and experience,
might be of more value than that of their whole previous life. Human
advance could not but be greatly, or even vastly, accelerated.

Moreover, we have seen that the history of vertebrates is really the
history of the development of the cerebrum, forebrain or large
brain, as we call it in man. This is the seat in man of
consciousness, thought, and will. This portion as a distinct and new
lobe first appears in lowest vertebrates, increases steadily in size
from class to class, reaches its most rapid development by mammals,
and its culmination in man. During the tertiary period--the last of
the great geological periods--the brain in many groups of mammals
increased in size, both absolutely and relatively, eight to tenfold.
Dr. Holmes says, that the education of a child should begin a
century or two before its birth; man really began his mental
education at least as early as the appearance of vertebrate life.

But man is a mammal. This means that every organ is at its best. The
digestive system, while making but a small part of the weight of the
body, and built mainly on the old plan, is wonderfully perfect in
its microscopic details. The muscles are heavy and powerful,
arranged with the weight near the axis of the body, and replaced
near the ends of the appendages by light, tough sinews. Th