THE ORIGIN OF THE HUMAN SOUL 245 



is extrinsically dependent on organic sensibility, and, conse- 

 quently, "the gates of their souls" were closed to human con- 

 verse, until such a time as the patient kindness and ingenuity of 

 their educators devised means of reciprocal communication on 

 a basis of tactile signals. Thereupon they revealed an intelli- 

 gence perfectly akin to that of their rescuers. Years of similar 

 education, however, would be futile in the case of an ape. The 

 "gates of the soul" would never open, because the ape has no 

 rational soul, to which the most ingenious trainer might gain 

 access, in which respect it differs fundamentally from even the 

 lowest savage. A being that lacks reason may be trained by 

 means of instruction, but it can never be enlightened by it. 



Another consideration, that is occasionally urged in proof of 

 bestial intelligence, is the fact that birds, mammals, and even 

 insects communicate with one another by means of sounds or 

 equivalent signals, which are sometimes remarkably diversified 

 in quality and consequent efficacy. ''Since fowls," writes 

 Darwin, "give distinct warnings for danger on the ground, or 

 in the sky, from hawks . . . , may not some unusually wise 

 ape-like animal have imitated the growl of a beast of prey, and 

 thus told his fellow monkeys the nature of the expected 

 danger? This would have been a first step in the formation 

 of a language." ("Descent of Man," 2nd ed., ch. Ill, pp. 122, 

 123.) This is saltatory logic with a vengeance! Darwin leaps 

 at one bound across the entire chasm between irrationality and 

 rationality, without pausing to build even the semblance of a 

 bridge. Given an animal with the foresight and inventiveness 

 requisite to employ onomatopoeia for the purpose of specifying 

 the nature of an expected danger, in the interest of its fellows, 

 and we need not trouble ourselves further about plausibleizing 

 any transition; for so "unusually wise" an ape is already well 

 across the gap that separates reason from unreason, and far on 

 its way towards the performance of all the feats of which rea- 

 son is capable. After swallowing the camel of so much prog- 

 ress, it would be straining at a gnat to deny such a paragon 

 of simian genius the mere power of articulate speech. Of course, 



