204 CELL INTELLIGENCE THE CAUSE OF EVOLUTION 



bray three times, instead of the usual benediction, and the 

 congregation respond with a general 'hee-hawing' 

 wouldn't you immediately jump to the conclusion that 

 you were in the chapel of a lunatic asylum? Probably so. 

 Yet, what you had witnessed and heard might be nothing 

 less innocent than the revival of the ancient 'Festival of 

 the Ass,' which for centuries was celebrated annually on 

 the fourteenth day of January in churches throughout Eu- 

 rope. The assinine fiesta was one of the most popular of 

 the year, and, although it now seems ridiculous, it was 

 looked upon as a very solemn and sanctified occasion in 

 the days of our remote ancestors." 



Nowadays the dictionaries define an ass as both quad- 

 ruped and biped, the latter being a 'dull, heavy and stupid 

 fellow, a dolt, a fool.' In the popular imagination an ass 

 is considered about the lowest in intelligence of the ani- 

 mal kingdom. As a matter of fact, there is no more rea- 

 son for condemning the ass as lacking in intelligence than 

 there is for praising the wisdom of the owl. 



The ass has long played a prominent part in relig- 

 ious history. The celebrated ass of Balaam, as all stu- 

 dents of scripture know, was wiser than his master. In 

 the pagan mythology the ass held an honored place and 

 it was believed that an ass, by its braying, had saved 

 Vesta from violation. In the ancient world the 'corona- 

 tion of the ass' formed an important part of the feast of 

 the chaste goddess. 



The observance of the Christian "Festival of the Ass" 

 on the fourteenth of January spread over Europe and for 

 centuries the feast held a prominent place in the Christian 

 Calendar. The animal was decorated with gold embroid- 

 ered trappings and was looked upon as sacred. After the 

 procession had wended its way through the streets of the 

 city or town, the marchers chanted a chorus interspersed 



