We often hear the toes spoken of as ill-treated members, which are not allowed fair play because the art of man keeps them in a state of inertness and deprives them of their natural functions. Anatomy, too, gives some countenance to the idea, inasmuch as it shews that the muscles which minister to the toes are as numerous as those which are concerned in moving the fingers; and we occasionally see persons, who, having been born without hands, or having lost them, contrive to write and paint and do other unusual offices with their toes. Watch the movements in an infant’s foot as yet unshod. They are considerably more free than in your own; especially you will observe that there is a power of separating the great toe from the others and approximating it to them which you have, probably, altogether lost. The small size, however, of the toes, and the comparative fixedness of the inner, or great toe, prove, that they were never intended for anything like the same variety of purposes as the fingers, and shew that, under the most favourable circumstances, the _pes_ could never be _altera manus_, as some would persuade us that it is. Certainly it was never intended to be an organ of prehension. Hence, although in practice, boot-makers may excite our wrath and deserve our condemnation, I don’t think that, in principle, they are so much to be complained of. The _third_ striking peculiarity of the human foot is the size of the inner or GREAT TOE and the firm manner in which its metatarsal bone is joined to the other bones, so as to render it a main pillar of support to the foot. These features of the great toe have reference to the share of the weight of the body which is borne by the inner side of the foot, more particularly during the last stage of the step, when the body is propelled forwards over the other foot. Hence it is sometimes called the “hallux,” from a Greek word (ἅλ-λομαι) signifying to bound or spring. The _mobility_ of the _thumb_, enabling it to be opposed so easily to each of the other fingers, is a characteristic of the human _hand_; and the _solidity_ of the _great toe_ is equally, or even more, characteristic of the human _foot_. The great toe should be continued, from the instep, straight along the inner edge of the _foot_, or inclined a little _in_wards; often, as before mentioned, its phalanges become inclined _out_wards so as to interfere with the other toes[5]. [5] In ancient times warriors were wont to cut off the _great toes_ as well as the _thumbs_ of their captives to disable them for further service (Judges i. 6, 7). Though, in many animals the number of the toes is the same as in man, this is not the case in all; and we may trace a gradual and progressive diminution of the number, in the following order. [Illustration: Figs. 39. Elephant. 40. Hippopotamus. 41. Rhinoceros. 42. Ox. 43. Horse.]