Buffon's Natural History. Volume 04 (of 10) / Containing a Theory of the Earth, a General History of Man, of the Brute Creation, and of Vegetables, Minerals, &c. &c

by comte de Georges Louis Leclerc Buffon

Another object of dress is, to encrease the size of our figure, and to take up more room in the world than Nature seems to have allotted us. We desire to enlarge our dimensions by swelling out our cloaths and raising our heels; but how bulky soever our dress may be, our vanities still exceed them. The largeness of the doctor’s wig arises from the same pride as the smallness of the beau’s queue. Both want to have the size of their understanding measured by the external dimensions of their heads.

There are some fashions that seem to have a more reasonable origin, which is to hide or to lessen the defects of Nature. To take men altogether, there are many more ordinary faces and deformed bodies, than beautiful countenances and handsome figures. The former, as being the most numerous, give laws to fashion, and their laws are generally such as are made in their favour. Women begin to colour their checks with red when the natural roses are faded, and the younger are obliged to follow the example, though not compelled by the same necessity. In all parts of the world this custom prevails more or less, and powdering and frizzing the hair, though not so general, seems to have arisen from a similar desire of displaying the features to most advantage.

But, leaving the draperies of the human picture, let us return to the figure unadorned by art.

The head of man, whether considered externally or internally, is differently formed from that of all other animals. The head of the monkey has some similitude, but in that there are differences, which we shall take notice of in another place. The bodies of almost all quadrupeds are covered with hair, but the head of man alone has this ornament before puberty, and that more abundantly than any other animal.

There is a great variety in the teeth of all animals, some have them above and below, others have them in the under jaw only: in some they stand separate from each other, while in others they are close and united. The palate of some fishes is nothing but a bony substance studded with points, which perform the office of teeth. All these substances, that is, the teeth of men, quadrupeds, and fishes, the saws, &c. of insects, like the nails, horns, and hoofs, derive their origin from the nerves. We before remarked that the nerves harden by being exposed to the air; and as the mouth gives free access to it, the nerves that terminate therein, being thus exposed, acquire a solidity. In this manner the teeth and nails are formed in man, and the beaks, hoofs, horns, and talons of other animals are produced.

The neck supports the head, and unites it to the body. This part is more considerable in the generality of quadrupeds, than in man. Fishes and other animals that have not lungs similar to ours, have no neck. Birds in general have the neck longer than any other kind of animal; those of them which have short claws have also short necks, and so on the contrary.

The human breast is larger in proportion than that of other animals; and none but man, and those animals which make use of their fore feet as hands, such as monkeys, squirrels, &c. have collar-bones. The breasts, in women are larger than in men; they however seem formed in the same, manner; and sometimes milk is found in the breasts of the latter. Of this there have been many instances about the age of puberty, and I have seen a young man press a considerable quantity out of one of his breasts. Among animals there, is a great variety in this part of the body. Some, as the ape and the elephant, have but two teats, which are placed on each side of the breast, Bears have four. Sheep have but two, placed between the hinder legs. Other animals, such as the bitch and sow, have them all along the belly. Birds and other oviparous animals have no teats; but viviparous fishes, as the whale and the dolphin, have both teats and milk. The form also of the teats varies in different animals, and in the same animal at different ages. Those women whose breasts are shaped like a pear, are said to make the best nurses. In the belly of the human race the naval makes a conspicuous figure, but which is scarcely perceptible in other animals.

The arms of men but very little resemble the fore legs of quadrupeds, and much less the wings of birds. The ape is the only animal that is possessed of hands and arms; and they are fashioned more rudely, and with less exact proportion, than in men. The shoulders are also much larger in man than in any other animal, and of a form widely distinct.

The form of the back differs not much from that of many quadrupeds, only that the reins are more muscular and strong. The buttock, however, in man is different from that of all animals whatsoever. What goes by that name in other creatures is only the upper part of the thigh, and by no means similar: man being the only animal that can support himself perfectly erect, the peculiar hardness of this part enables him to sustain that position.