Psychic Integration 



by the present fact of inherent activity of the animal, but 

 by their inherent preparedness for acting to meet new and 

 more or less unusual situations. This action and action- 

 readiness are the real meaning of the neuro-muscular system. 

 All biotic organization is anticipatory in various ways, but 

 animals are almost exclusively anticipatory in action. 



It is just these attributes that Royce recognizes as com- 

 mon ground between certain of the highest psychic activi- 

 ties of man and tropistic activities. With this overplus, 

 and in some cases useless or even injurious activity (in- 

 stanced by the flight of the moth toward and around the 

 flame), let us now pass to the upper end of the gamut of 

 animal activity for illustrations. A very few must suffice. 

 The first chosen is one of exalted creativeness in art. 



From the vast domain of art a more instructive illustra- 

 tion of over-wealth of self-activity can hardly be found than 

 is afforded by William Shakespeare. A recent investigation 

 of his works undertaken with a view to finding what they 

 tell about the "native endowments of the author" and prose- 

 cuted with that love for accurate, exhaustive knowledge 

 which is the very soul of modern science, leads to the result 

 that of these endowments "the most outstanding perhaps is 

 his exuberant vitality." This characteristic of the man is 

 exhibited in the "reckless volubility of almost every char- 

 acter, the piling up of fancy upon fancy, of jest upon jest, 

 the long embellishment of humor and foolery and horseplay 

 for no other reason than the delight they afford." 7 And 

 incidentally, the strict individualism of this sort of thing is 

 exemplified by one of these same Shakespearian characters: 

 "Come, come," says Mercutio to Benvolio, "thou art as hot 

 a Jack in thy mood as any in Italy. . . . Nay, an there 

 were two such, we should have none shortly, for one would 

 kill the other." "What has Queen Mab to do with the ac- 

 tion of the play of Romeo and Juliet? Nothing; but Mer- 

 cutio mentions her, and before any one can stop him he has 



