596 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



and constructive mania. The imitation of gestures, of expressions, of 

 the cries of animals, indicate the first awakening of the eesthetic sen- 

 timent, to which, perhaps, we should also attribute the attraction that 

 certain pictures have for the child. A little boy three and a half years 

 old, being admitted for some weeks to play with a dozen little girls four 

 or five years old, chose his favorites the second day. He had a strong 

 affection for two or three children more playful than the others ; he 

 would take them in his arms and caress them, while turning away from 

 the others, scolding them and striking them. The same child early 

 showed a sort of ajsthetic musical sentiment. When listening to the 

 piano, he would execute rhythmic jerks or starts. At twenty months 

 children are passionate for the recital of impressions suited to them. 

 Even at three years they take in earnest the stories told them, and 

 often, when these stories are repeated, they will not permit any changes 

 of statement. 



XII. GENERALiZATioisr. — M. Pcrcz does not believe that language is 

 necessary to the making of a generalization. He points out to the 

 observer a rudiment of generalization in children that can not talk. A 

 child eight months old had, among his favorite playthings, a tin box, 

 into which he put everything that would go into it. Having found out 

 the propert}' of the box to contain other things, he reasoned from this 

 to unknown objects, and began to experiment. He tried to put the 

 legs of a little dancing jack into the stopper of a decanter, then a little 

 doll's cradle, and finally the end of his forefinger. A child of eight 

 months, at the sight of any young or playful person, would make starts 

 toward her. Besides, even at the time when children express some 

 general ideas by words, they have others which they do not so express. 

 A child of thirteen months, who was refused the hand when he wished 

 to be led, left the person who held him, got down upon the floor, and 

 began to creep. Creeping was for him a means of going along — a 

 means of which he had a very distinct idea. 



XIII. Judgment. — If to judge is to believe something of something 

 else, we can not doubt that judgment is manifested by children. The 

 young Tiedemann made a judgment when, seeing his nurse take her 

 mantle, he understood that she was going out. The notion of quantity 

 is early formed by little children, who know very well a large piece of 

 cake from a small one. The idea of number is confounded with that 

 of quantity ; a little child of three months seized at the same time two 

 sucking-bottles that were ofi'ered him. A child two years and a half 

 old knows how to count twelve, but has not a clear idea of the time 

 represented by three days. In a general way the child often judges 

 very well of concrete matters. Abstract judgments are more difficult 

 for it. 



XIV. Reasoning. — The little child reasons, if reason is only a 

 series of consecutive judgments arranged according to the law of ha- 

 bitual association. A child seven months old associates the idea of the 



