Professor of Anatomy in the University of London (London School of
Medicine for Women).
With 81 Illustrations and Diagrams. One Volume. Demy 8vo.
8s. 6d. net.
Put as concisely as possible, the theme of Dr. Wood Jones’s book is a demonstration of the fact that Man, the supreme product of Evolution, could only have been developed from animals which had their homes and spent much of their lives in trees; the main point in the argument being that the descendants of primitive animals living on the ground were inevitably doomed to become quadrupeds, and so missed the chance of acquiring the upright posture which is one of Man’s distinctive attributes, at the same time paying for more immediate advantages by losing for ever that invaluable organ, the hand.
Stated in these crude terms, the matter might at first sight seem to be only a chapter, though an important one, in the story of Human Evolution; but before the reader has progressed very far, he will begin to realize that the arboreal habitat is not merely one of the conditions, but the central and dominating factor in the whole process. Not that living in trees was in itself sufficient to determine the line of progress in an upward direction. Many classes of animals lived, as many still live, mainly in trees. Mr. Wood Jones, reasoning on lines which would delight the heart of M. Henri Bergson, shows how and why only one of these classes continuously achieved “the successful minimum of specialization,” and moved slowly but surely in a direction which ended in Man, and not in a Lemur or a Sloth.
There is much more in the matter than this, but the whole argument of the book does not admit of being summarized briefly. Much of it is based on data supplied by Comparative Anatomy, of a character which only experts can appreciate, but the author has skilfully and considerately marshalled his material in such a way that the successive steps in the development which he proves to have taken place can be followed and understood by any intelligent layman.
LOVE, WORSHIP, AND DEATH.
SOME RENDERINGS FROM THE GREEK ANTHOLOGY.
By Sir RENNELL RODD, G.C.M.G.,