Brain-Power the Supreme Difference
Probably the most important difference between man and other members of the same or any order, is the higher physical development of the brain. Not only is the size greater in proportion to the rest of the body, but it presents a more elaborate series of folds, or convolutions. When it is understood that the physical processes corresponding to the highest mental activities are located in the cortex, or rind of the brain, it is seen that the extent and number of the convolutions, by increasing the area of the cortex, must play a considerable part in determining the intellectual effectiveness of the animal.
In addition to mere size of brain, may be noted the adaptability of his hands to many uses, allowing a degree of skill impossible to other animals. The senses, too, are so nicely balanced and accurately adjusted as to enable him to obtain an intimate acquaintance with the properties of the world around him, in a manner that will contribute to his pleasure, and at the same time ensure his elevation and happiness. He possesses the gift of language by which to denote his wants; the colors of the earth and sea and sky gladden his eye; melody enchants his ear; the sweet odors of flowers delight his nostrils; the fruits of summer please his palate; the glorious sun and the spangled canopy of heaven entrance him—and all lead him to the contemplation of the Deity, of whose wondrous scheme he is himself the corner-stone.
When differences other than physical are considered, the superiority of man is so great as to incline many to the opinion that he is a separate creation on the ground of his mentality alone.
However great this superiority is, it does not appear that man possesses any faculty or fairly fundamental mental process which is not possessed in some degree by some lower animal or other. Memory, the powers of abstraction, and of reasoning are possessed by certain animals, if only in a very simple form.
He alone can produce fire; and this acquaintance with fire and the art of cooking has also frequently been regarded as the most distinctive characteristic of the human race. Clothing and decoration are also early peculiarities of man. Alone among animals, he covers himself with the skins of the beasts he has slain, and adorns himself with feathers, shells, teeth, and bones. Yet from these simple beginnings all the arts gradually developed.