A CURIOUS TRAIT 201 



that in the animal kingdom there are no Ten Com- 

 mandments, Among animals killing is no murder. 



Natural selection, if allowed to work unchecked, pro- 

 duces a number of races which think only of themselves 

 and their offspring ; a fauna of Ishmaelites, of which the 

 hand of every species is upraised against all others. 

 This indiscriminate hostility is necessary in the interests 

 of the species ; it is exercised in self-protection, and 

 not from wantonness. There is nothing Nero-like in 

 the character of most animals. For the safety of the 

 species it is necessary to consider every creature a foe 

 until it has proved that it is not. 



As young animals grow up, they are, so to speak, 

 educated to distinguish at sight an enemy from a 

 harmless species. But if a new creature appear, they 

 have no experience to guide them, so rely upon their 

 instinct, which teaches them that all unknown organ- 

 isms are enemies. They therefore attack it and destroy 

 it, if strong enough to do so. By acting in this way 

 they are on the safe side. It may be a harmless crea- 

 ture, or merely a suffering member of their own species, 

 but they do not stay to consider this. Delay may 

 mean death, so they either flee from the strange object 

 or set upon it and kill it. 



