It is of more consequence whether we are giants or whether we are
dwarfs in our moral and intellectual stature, than whether our physical
stature is great or small:
Pliny mentions the giant Gobbara, who was nine feet nine inches,
and two other giants, Poison and Secundilla, who were half a
foot taller; Garopius tells of a young giantess who was ten
feet high, and Lecat of a Scotch giant eleven and one-half feet
in height. But we may take it for granted that these figures
are greatly exaggerated, while we have a right to regard as
authentic giants whose height runs up to eight and one-half
feet. The Grecian giant, Amanab, at eighteen years old, was
seven feet eight inches tall; the Chinese giant, Chang, eight
feet three inches. The Austrian giant, Winckelmeier, who was
recently exhibited in Paris, measuring eight feet and one-half,
may be regarded as a specimen of the highest stature attained
by the human species. At the opposite extreme may be found
numerous dwarfs not more than twenty inches, and some even as
little as sixteen and even twelve inches in height; but such
dwarfs are only monsters with atrophied limbs or twisted back
bones, or stunted infants, whose age is usually exaggerated by
their Barnums. One of the most remarkable dwarfs on record was
the celebrated Borulawsky, who was born in 1789, and died in
1837, who was never more than twenty-eight inches in height,
but was perfect in every limb and proportion and was bright and
intelligent.--M. GUYOT DAUBES, translated from _La
Nature_.
(1214)
=Gift, A, that Increased in Power=--See LITTLE GIFTS.