The Descent of Man

Catarrhine group, but in other peculiar characters,
such as the absence of a tail and of callosities,
and in general appearance, we may infer
that some ancient member of the anthropomorphous
sub-group gave birth to man. It is
not probable that, through the law of analogous
variation, a member of one of the other lower
sub-groups should have given rise to a manlike
creature, resembling the higher anthropomorphous
apes in so many respects. No doubt
man, in comparison with most of his allies, has
undergone an extraordinary amount of modification,
chiefly in consequence of the great development
of his brain and his erect position; nevertheless,
we should bear in mind that he "is
but one of several exceptional forms of Primates."
(14. Mr. St. G. Mivart, 'Transactions of the
Philosophical Society,' 1867, p. 410.)
Every naturalist, who believes in the principle
of evolution, will grant that the two main divisions
of the Simiadae, namely the Catarrhine