X.] IN ANIMALS AND MAN. 49 



the development of music. In this century composers of 

 Jewish descent first begin to appear, and among them we find 

 very great names, such as Meyerbeer, Mendelssohn, Halevy, 

 Rubinstein, Moscheles, Felicien David, and others. This fact is 

 probably associated with the emancipation of the Jews, which 

 afforded them the opportunity of developing the rich musical 

 faculty which they possessed by nature. In this we find a 

 further proof that it is impossible for the musical sense of 

 modern nations to have been raised by practice during earlier 

 centuries ; for the Jews were entirely without adequate 

 musical training, so long as all the higher music was bound up 

 with religious service. The introduction of music into the 

 Jewish synagogue is of quite modern date. Throughout the 

 eighteen centuries preceding our own, music had played no 

 part in Jewish life, and yet this nation possessed the musical 

 faculty in a very high degree, and as soon as the Jews 

 began to cultivate their talent they were not only able to 

 reach the summit of modern musical achievement, but also to 

 contribute towards the progress of the art. This is certainly 

 clear evidence for the hypothesis that the musical faculty has 

 been latent in mankind from times immemorial, at least in 

 many races, and that it can be evoked at any time and raised 

 to any height. 



But if the mental instrument with which we make— I mean 

 invent and enjoy — music, existed at all times, why did not man 

 perform symphonies and oratorios in the age of the Pharaohs ? 

 The answer is clear — Because music is an invention^ and one 

 which could reach its present height only very slowly in the 

 course of centuries. And here we meet with the great differ- 

 ence between man and animals. Man possesses a tradition ; 

 he improves and perfects his performances by passing on the 

 gains of each generation to those which follow. The higher 

 animals are not entirely devoid of the power of learning from 

 preceding generations, but they possess it in a much lower 

 degree. A young goldfinch, when brought up by hand, sings 

 untaught the song of its kind, but not so perfectly as when it 

 has had an accomplished songster for its teacher. It also 

 learns by tradition, but the essential basis of the song was 

 present in its organization beforehand, and is inherent. The 

 bird speaks, even when untaught, the language of its species. 



VOL. II. E 



