# I: The Third Human Species explained — Last and First Men

> Chapter companion for Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon.

## What happens

This chapter describes the rise of the Third Men, a new human species that evolved from the Second Men after a period of isolation and environmental change. The Third Men are characterized by their physical traits, such as six-fingered hands and expressive ears, and their unique mental and cultural characteristics, including a focus on sensory experience, music, and the manipulation of living things. Their civilization is marked by a complex relationship with life, involving both reverence and cruelty, and a conflict between tenderheartedness and the desire to create through manipulation.

## Themes in this chapter

### Human Nature and Evolution

The chapter explores the evolution of a new human species, focusing on their physical and mental adaptations.

### Suffering and Redemption

The Third Men's culture involves a complex view of pain as a form of excellence, leading to both self-torture and cruelty.

### The Limits of Knowledge

The Third Men lack systematic thought and curiosity, limiting their understanding of abstract concepts.

## Character check-ins

### The Narrator

The narrator provides an overview of the Third Men's evolution and characteristics.

### The Third Men

The focus of the chapter, detailing their physical, mental, and cultural traits.

### The Second Men

The predecessor species from which the Third Men evolved.

## Key lines

> We have now followed man’s career during some forty million years.

We have traced human history for about forty million years.

_Sets the temporal context for the chapter._

> Their intelligence was in some ways no less agile; but it was more cunning than intellectual, more practical than theoretical.

Their intelligence was just as quick, but more crafty than intellectual, more practical than theoretical.

_Describes the mental characteristics of the Third Men._

> It was just the intense reality of pain, they said, that made it intolerable to men and animals.

They believed that the vividness of pain is what makes it unbearable for humans and animals.

_Explains the Third Men's rationale for their sadistic tendencies._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/last_and_first_men_se/chapters/i-the-third-human-species
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/last_and_first_men_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/last_and_first_men_se/chapters