61 



" Now, from the strong coincidence in this mere outline — 

 a coincidence that contains within itself numerous subordi- 

 nate particulars — one would not expect to find the wide 

 chasm which is commonly supposed to exist between the man 

 and the brute. Indeed, in some instances, the superiority 

 would seem to lie on the side of the latter ! for, if the organs 

 of sense be any measure of the intellect of the possessor, (as 

 they undoubtedly are,) in which of them is man not surpassed ? 

 Who can compete in vision, for example, with the falcon, the 

 eagle, or even the common fly ? Whose hearing is equal to that 

 of the hare? Or where shall we find smell equal to that of the 

 vulture, the blood-hound, or the wolf? But sensation lies only 

 on the threshold of our inquiry — we must proceed still farther. 



"Assuming that Mr. Locke's doctrine is correct in the 

 main, viz., ' that sensation and reflection are the sources of 

 all our ideas/ we shall find that the inferior animals exhibit 

 points of still closer resemblance to ourselves. Perception, 

 for example, is common to all; and our wonder is daily 

 excited by the extraordinary powers of memory possessed by 

 some. In close connexion with these, is the faculty of sugges- 

 tion or association of ideas, and the capability of forming 

 habits. Every one of these is a complex kind of mental 

 action, separable into various simple acts, so that almost the 

 very first step in our progress takes us beyond instinct, 

 whether or not it takes us to reason* There is even a capa- 

 bility of discovering relations of a nice and intricate kind : 

 for the elephant knows when the smallest quantity has been 

 abstracted from his usual allowance of rice, though it would 

 puzzle an ordinary observer to tell without either scales or 

 measure. He knows also the relation bctweenfat//er and son ; 

 and without any previous training submits his shoulder to the 

 yoke of the latter when the former is no more. The appear- 

 ance of remorse, shame, and sorrow, visible in the countenance 



•For the analysis of the mental feelings, perception, memory, suggestion, habit, 

 etc., see any good treniix on (Cental Philosophy. 



