NATURE AND NURTURE 73 



than within the borders of the arch ? When the rich colors of 

 evening spread over the glowing clouds, after a dull, gray day, 

 we feel that new wealth of beauty has been added at the end, 

 and that the dying day has taken on new splendors, which were 

 absent in our working hours. 



The emotional value of nature, and its moral influence, gain 

 so much strength as the day dies, that the impression of a cor- 

 responding gain in sensible value is irresistible, and effort to 

 imagine all this glorious color in the common light of day is 

 vain; yet there are more rays of crimson and red and purple at 

 noonday than in the declining light of evening. 



One modern zoologist has defined life as "memory"; and 

 while Plato's belief that learning may, in effect, be reminiscence 

 seems repugnant to common sense, the zoologist must hold it an 

 approximation to the truth ; although he cannot forget that, so far 

 as natural selection is a physical explanation of the " archetype," 

 or species, of which the germ becomes reminiscent in develop- 

 ment, just so far is it a physical explanation of those "forms," 

 or "necessities of intellect," of which the "soul" becomes remi- 

 niscent in knowledge ; for improvement under experience is, as 

 much as embryonic development, a part of the life history of 

 a normal human being. 



We are told that "it is a maxim of the Platonic philosophy 

 that the soul of man was originally furnished with native inborn 

 notions, and stands in need of sensible occasions, not absolutely 

 for producing them, but only for awakening, rousing, or exciting 

 into act what was already preexistent, dormant, and latent in the 

 soul; as things are said to be laid up in the memory, though 

 not actually perceived until they happen to be called forth and 

 brought into view by other objects." 



The zoologist of our day may ask whether all that the living 

 organism does may not be latent in its physical organization, 

 ready to be called forth by that " sensible occasion " which we 

 now call a stimulus ; although, when pressed for an exhaustive 

 definition of latent potency, he may find no better answer than 

 an admission that these words are no more than a generalized 

 statement of his observations on the actions of living things in 

 general, and on the operations of his own mind in particular, 



