xlii THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 



the entire body in the great gorilla may be nearly double that of an ordinary man. 

 Tlic brains of these three kinds of 'man-like' apes differ considerably among them- 

 selves ; as we have seen, each in some resjsects ajjproaches nearer to that of man than 

 the others, though on the whole it is considered that the brain of the orang is slightly 

 higher in type than that of the other two." 



Bastian also quotes, as follows, from David Hartley's " Observations on Man " 

 (1834) : " It is remarkable that apes, whose bodies resemble the human body more 

 than those of any other brute creature, and whose intellects also approach nearer to 

 ours, — which last circumstance may, I suppose, have some connection with the first, 

 — should likewise resemble us so much in the faculty of imitation. Their aptness in 

 handling is plainly the result of the shape and make of their fore legs and their intel- 

 lects together, as in us. Their peculiar chattering may perhaps be some attempt 

 towards speech, to which they cannot attain, partly from the defect in the organs, 

 partly, and that chiefly, from the narrowness of their memories, apprehensions, and 

 associations." 



We will close this too rapid view of the supposed facts in animal psychology by 

 quoting from Bastian the following anecdote from Leuret : " One of the orangs, which 

 recently died at the menagerie of the Musee, was accustomed, when the diinier hour 

 had come, to open the door of the room where he took his meals in company with 

 several persons. As he was not sufficiently tall to reach as far as the key of the door, 

 he hung on to a rope, balanced himself, and, after a few oscillations, very quickly 

 reached the key. His keeper, who was rather worried by so much exactitude, one day 

 took occasion to make three knots in the rope, which, having thus been made too short, 

 no longer permitted the orang-utan to seize the key. The animal, after an ineffectual 

 attempt, recoffnizinc/ the nature of the obstacle ichich opposed his desire, climbed up the 

 rope, placed himself above the knots, and untied all three, in tlie presence of M. Geof- 

 frey Saint-Hilaire, who related the fact to me. The same ape wishing to open a door, 

 his keeper gave him a bunch of fifteen keys ; the ape tried them, in turn, till he had 

 found the one which he wanted. Another time a bar of iron was 2:»ut into his hands, 

 and he made use of it as a lever." 



Let us now look at the inductions which may be drawn from the facts now known 

 regarding the intelligence of animals. It is evident that animals are not mere physi- 

 ological machines. We may, with Romanes, reject the view of Descartes, Huxley, and 

 others, that animals are merely automata, on the ground that it can never be accepted 

 by common sense, while " by no feat of logic is it possible to make the theory apply to 

 animals to the exclusion of man." 



We discern in the mental traits of animals, besides reflex acts, those which are in- 

 stinctive and those which are tlie result of reasoning processes. The following defi- 

 nitions, by Mr. Romanes, will answer well our purpose : " Reflex action is non-mental 

 neuro-muscular adjustment, due to the inherited mechanism of the nervous system, 

 which is found to respond to particular and often i-ecurring stimuli, by giving rise to 

 particular movements of an adaptive, though not of an intentional kind. 



" Instinct is reflex action into which there is imported the element of conscious- 

 ness. The term is therefore a generic one, comprising all those faculties of mind 

 which are concerned in conscious and adaptive action, antecedent to individual expe- 

 rience, without necessary knowledge of the relation between means employed and ends 

 attained, but similarly performed under similar and frequently recurring circumstances 

 by all the individuals of the same species. 



