CHAPTER V. 



THE ANIMAL AND HUMAN EXERCISE OF THE INTELLECT 

 IN THE PERCEPTION OF THINGS. 



APPREHENSION is the act, both in animals and in man, 

 by which the spontaneous and immediate animation 

 of things and of phenomena is accomplished. It is 

 therefore necessary to pause and consider this act, 

 since it is, even in man, the source and foundation of 

 the origin of myth, and in it we shall find the causes, 

 elements, and action by which such a genesis is 

 effected. This fact is so evident that the necessity of 

 making such an inquiry might almost be taken for 

 granted, since the truth can be ascertained in no 

 other way. 



In the case of animal perception, which we have 

 already considered, the external perception of an 

 object is composed of three elements : the pheno- 

 menon perceived, the living subject with which this 

 phenomenon is animated, and the vague yet real 

 power involved in the life thus infused into it by the 

 animal. Supposing any other animal to be the object 



