THE MORAL SENSE IN THE LOWER ANIMALS. 351 



affirmed that abstract or refined ideas of moral good and evil are com- 

 mon to all ranks of men, or are innate even in civilized man. In our 

 brother man, and with all the help that spoken and written language 

 can give lis, there can be no doubt of the difficulty, frequently the 

 utter impossibility, of knowing whether any and what conceptions 

 exist as to right or wrong, good or evil, justice or injustice, honesty or 

 dishonesty. It need, therefore, be no matter of surprise if we can not 

 ascertain or demonstrate the presence or absence of any sort of definite 

 conceptions on such subjects in the dogs, fow^ls, or other domestic ani- 

 mals that are so constantly under man's observation. Practically, 

 however, as has been seen, as practically as in whole races of man, the 

 dog and other animals give unquestionable evidence that they know 

 what, according to man's law to them, is right and wrong, and they 

 prefer to do the one or the other according to their individuality and 

 the character of their previous moral training. 



Monkeys and other animals sometimes show, as much as does the 

 human child, a very decided enjoyment of forbidden pleasures, not 

 only knowing that they are, but because of their being, interdicted. 



The dog, horse, mule, elephant, and other animals have frequently 

 a distinct sense, feeling, or knowledge of duty, trust, or task ; and 

 this not only as regards their own personal obligations, but in so far as 

 duty of various kinds is attachable to other individuals of the same spe- 

 cies, or to those of other genera and species, including man himself — 

 when, for instance, such duty of man's has any immediate reference to, 

 or connection with, themselves. In other words, they have clear con- 

 ceptions of their own duties and of the duties of others, including man, 

 in relation to them. 



The discharge of their own duties, which in many instances are 

 self-imposed, involves, or is characterized by — 



1. An understanding of the nature of the work to be executed — of 

 the duty required, for instance, by man. 



2. Conscientiousness in the discharge of duty, which again im- 

 plies — 



a. Sterling honesty and fidelity. 



b. Willingness or zeal. 



c. Megidarity, including perseverance, patience, and method. 



d. Accuracy, based on high intelligence. 



The working elephant requires that the nature of its work should 

 be explained to it, to as great an extent as possible demonstratively — 

 by illustration. It very quickly and readily comprehends what it is 

 that man wishes and expects it to do, and it very soon learns to execute 

 its task without supervision, bringing to the discharge of its duty so 

 much zeal or heartiness, so much conscientiousness, that it frequently 

 displays an obvious dread of failure in, or of inability for, the due ful- 

 fillment of its trust, even when the causes of such failui'e or incompe- 

 tency, where they exist, scarcely come within, or are altogether beyond. 



