THE MIJSTD OF FISHES. 



BY F. J. FARADAY, F.L.S. 



SUITABLE introduction to an inquiry concerning 

 the mind of fishes, would be a careful account 

 of Locke's Essay on the Human Understanding, 

 followed by a consideration of the metaphysical investiga- 

 tions of Kant, Hegel, Coleridge, and the other eminent 

 men who have made the nature and qualities of mind the 

 subject of profound contemplation. For, it is self-evident 

 that it would be advisable, if possible, to know thoroughly 

 our own minds before presuming to express opinions 

 concerning the minds of our fellow-creatures. 



An exhaustive analysis of nervous tissue, with a 

 comparative examination of the ganglia of the various 

 classes of the animal kingdom, and a tabulation of the 

 proportions of brain substance in each order, genus, 

 and species, would likewise seem to be appropriate to the 

 task. 



A sympathising friend lately suggested that the 

 science of optics ought to contribute much towards the 

 elucidation of the subject. The eye of a fish is a special 

 construction, and the relations of the molecules of water 

 to light are different from those of the uncombined atoms 

 of air. Wy friend illustrated the importance of this line 



