The assumption by man of an erect attitude has modified and improved the
appearance of his leg and thigh quite as marvellously as his feet. “In
walking,” says Professor Kollmann, “the weight of the body is
alternately transferred from one foot to the other. Each one is obliged
in locomotion to take its turn in supporting the whole body, which
explains the great size of the muscles which make up man’s calf. The
ape’s calf is smaller for the reason that these animals commonly go on
all fours.” Professor Carl Vogt gives these details: “No ape has such a
cylindrical, _gradually diminishing_ thigh; and we are justified in
saying that man alone possesses thighs. The muscles of the leg are in
man so accumulated as to form a calf, while in the ape they are more
equally distributed; still, transitions are not wanting, since one of
the greatest characteristics of the negro consists in his calfless leg.”
And again: “Man possesses, as contrasted with the ape, a distinctive
character in the strength, _rotundity_, and length of the lower limb;
especially in the thighs, which in most animals are shortened in
proportion to the leg.”
The words here italicised call attention to two of the qualities of
Beauty—gradation and the curve of rotundity—which the lower limbs in
their evolution are thus seen to be gradually approximating. Other
improvements are seen in the greater smoothness, the more graceful and
expressive gait resulting from the rounded but straight knee, etc.
The implication that savages are in the muscular development of their
limbs intermediate between apes and civilised men calls for further
testimony and explanation. Waitz states that “in regard to muscular
power Indians are commonly inferior to Europeans”; and Mr. Herbert
Spencer has collected much evidence of a similar nature. The Ostyaks
have “thin and slender legs”; the Kamtchadales “short and slender legs”;
those of the Chinooks are “small and crooked”; and the African Akka have
“short and bandy legs.” The legs of Australians are “inferior in mass of
muscle”; the gigantic Patagonians have limbs “neither so muscular nor so
large-boned as their height and apparent bulk would induce one to
suppose.” Spencer likewise calls attention to the fact that
relatively-inferior legs are “a trait which, remotely simian, is also
repeated by the child of the civilised man”—which thus individually
passes through the several stages of development that have successively
characterised its ancestors.
Numerous exceptions are of course to be found to the rule that the
muscular rotundity and plumpness of the limbs increases with
civilisation. The lank shins which may be seen by the hundred among the
bathers at our sea-coast resorts contrast disadvantageously with many
photographs of savages; and tourists in Africa and among South American
Indians and elsewhere have often enough noted the occurrence of
individuals and tribes who would have furnished admirable models for
sculptors. But this only proves, on the one hand, that “civilised”
persons who are uncivilised in their neglect of the laws of Health,
inevitably lose certain traits of Beauty which exercise alone can give;
while, on the other hand, those “savages” who lead an active and healthy
life are _in so far_ civilised, and therefore enjoy the superior
attractions bestowed by civilisation. Moreover, as Mr. Spencer suggests,
“In combat, the power exercised by arm and trunk is limited by the power
of the legs to withstand the strain thrown on them. Hence, apart from
advantages in locomotion, the stronger-legged nations have tended to
become, other things equal, dominant races.”
“Rengger,” says Darwin, “attributes the thin legs and thick arms of the
Payaguas Indians to successive generations having passed nearly their
whole lives in canoes, with their lower extremities motionless. Other
writers have come to a similar conclusion in analogous cases.”
Although savages have to hunt for a living and occasionally go to war,
they are essentially a lazy crew, taking no more exercise than
necessary; which accounts for the fact that, with the exceptions noted,
their muscular development is inferior to that of higher races.