the whole animal kingdom.

It is conceded to be, also, the most pronounced physical characteristic
differentiating man from the lower animals. The chimpanzee and the
gorilla, closely allied to the human species in many respects, are
noticeably deficient in the use of their modified hands; being able to
grasp things only in a cumbersome way. The squirrel handles a nut with
agility, the beaver builds his dam, and likewise do many other animals
accomplish much with certain deftness. But the grace, suppleness, and
precision, so characteristic of the human hand, are lacking. Only in man
does the organ attain perfection. He alone enjoys the distinction of being
able to manipulate thumb and forefinger in combination, enabling him to
attain a high degree of skill.

The hand is the organ of the fifth and last sense, and the only one of the
five which is active. When the other organs of sense fail it comes to
their rescue--the blind man reads with his hand and the dumb man speaks
with it. Being an active organ it gives expression to man's capabilities:
Put a sword into it and it will fight, a plow and it will till, a harp and
it will play, a brush and it will paint.

The invention of every machine conceives its first principles in the
structure of the human hand; and every working part of that machine bears
a relation in its function to a corresponding part in the mechanism of the
hand. In fact, physics teaches us that the hand is a combination of the
six mechanical powers--the lever, the wedge, the wheel and axle, the
pulley, the screw, and the inclined plane. But the mechanical effect is
always depreciated. In manufacture hand-made goods excel those made by
machine. In art the exquisite hand-painting surpasses the lithograph. No
mechanical device, however efficacious, can produce symphonies or pictures