Moreover, the surfaces by which the tibia is jointed with the thigh-bone at the knee are arranged with a varying degree of obliquity, so that the relation of the leg to the thigh varies somewhat in different positions of the limb. For instance, when we stand upright, the _thigh_ slants _in_wards from the pelvis, and the _leg_ descends in a _vertical_ direction to the ground. While, however, the knee is being bent the leg is carried, not in a vertical plane, but a little obliquely, so that the lower part soon begins to slant _out_wards; and when the knee is fully bent the obliquity of the leg and that of the thigh correspond, and the leg is, as it were, folded up against the thigh. The heel is thus brought up, not to the middle line of the body, but to the hip, and we are enabled to sit with the hips upon the heels, as the Japanese are represented doing, or with one hip upon one heel--a position in which our riflemen are trained to take aim, and in which their predecessors with the arrow were wont to shoot, as is shown by the accompanying sketch of a bowman (fig. 11), taken from one of the Æginetan marbles in the Glyptothek at Munich. [Illustration: Fig. 11.] A variety of purposes is attained by the curvilinear shape of the bones and the obliquity in the movements of the joints. Not the least of these is the appearance of elegance and ease which is given to the whole frame, both when it is at rest and when it is in motion. In order that you may fully appreciate this result, I would ask you, the next time you are in a gallery of antique statuary, to contrast the figures which the Egyptians have left us with those by the Greeks. In the former you will find that straight lines and right angles prevail: the figure sits, probably, bolt upright, with the elbows, hips, knees, and ankles bent at right angles: the fingers commonly run straight forwards; and a hand is often laid upon each knee, the limbs of the two sides being quite symmetrically placed. Such statues may be imposing; but they are stiff and unnatural. They represent positions which the body rarely assumes; and they, certainly, are far from pleasing. Very different is the Greek statuary. A correct representation of nature is the great difficulty and the highest consummation of art; and the Greeks evinced their greatness in art by a true appreciation and close imitation of natural form. The position of their figures is life-like; and, therefore, we love to contemplate them. The outline in them exhibits a graceful disposition of curves and obliques; and it is because the great sculptors of Greece were, in this and in other respects, so true to nature that their works have commanded the admiration, and served as models for the imitation, of all succeeding ages.