322 THE GENESIS OF SPECIES. [Chap. 



refinement of tlie internal ear,^ — a perfection only fully 

 exercised in the enjoyment and appreciation of the most 

 exquisite musical performances.- Here, surely, we liave an 

 instance of an organ preformed, ready beforehand for such 

 action as could never by itself have been the cause of its 

 development, — the action having only been subsequent, 

 not anterior. The author is not aware what may be the 

 minute structure of the internal ear in the highest apes, 

 but if (as from analogy is probable) it is much as in man. 

 then a fortiori we have an instance of anticipatory &&wq\o\)- 

 ment of a most marked and unmistakable kind. And this 

 is not all. There is no reason to suppose that any animal 

 besides man appreciates musical harmony. It is certain 

 that no other one produces it. 



]\rr. Wallace also urges objections drawn from the origin 

 of some of man's mental faculties, such as '' the capacity 

 to form ideal conceptions of space and time, of eternity and 

 infinity — the capacity for intense artistic feelings of plea- 

 sure, in form, colour and composition — and for those 

 abstract notions of form and number which render 

 geometry and arithmetic possible," also from the origin of 

 the moral sense.-'^ 



^ It may be objected, perhaps, that excessive delicacy of tht- ear mi^ht 

 kave been produced by havinjjj to guard against tlie approach of enemies, 

 some savages being remarkable for their keenness of hearing at great dis- 

 tances. But the perceptiohs of intensity and quality of sound are very 

 dilli-rent. Some persons who have an extremely acute ear for delicate 

 sounds, and who are fond of music, have yet an incapacity for detecting 

 whether an instrument is slightly out of tune. 



- Jn his recent work on the "Descent of Man," vol. ii. p. 333, 

 Mr. Darwin remarks: "As neither the enjoyment nor the capacity of 

 producing musical notes are faculties of the least direct use to man in 

 reference to his ordinary habits of life, they must be ranked amongst the 

 most mysteriou.s with which he is endowed." 



» Loc. cit., pp. 351, 352. 



