But, exactly in those respects in which the developing Man differs from
the Dog, he resembles the ape, which, like man, has a spheroidal
yelk-sac and a discoidal--sometimes partially lobed--placenta. So that
it is only quite in the later stages of development that the young
human being presents marked differences from the young ape, while the
latter departs as much from the dog in its development, as the man
does.
Startling as the last assertion may appear to be, it is demonstrably
true, and it alone appears to me sufficient to place beyond all doubt
the structural unity of man with the rest of the animal world, and more
particularly and closely with the apes.
Thus, identical in the physical processes by which he
originates--identical in the early stages of his formation--identical
in the mode of his nutrition before and after birth, with the animals
which lie immediately below him in the scale--Man, if his adult and
perfect structure be compared with theirs, exhibits, as might be
expected, a marvellous likeness of organization. He resembles them as
they resemble one another--he differs from them as they differ from one
another.
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