1 88 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS 



how prodigious must be the development of the aesthetic 

 sense in these species, in order that it may take account of 

 every little betterment which leads towards more perfect 

 beauty. As it will take the generations of aesthetes many 

 generations before they are able to " live up to " the level 

 of their culture which is attained by the peacock's tail, it is 

 not unreasonable for us to hold that in the appreciation of 

 simple beauty in form and in color, the birds are far ahead 

 of ourselves. It must not be supposed that our aesthetic 

 culture is to be reckoned below that of birds, though in our 

 case the work embodies the delineation of ideas, while in the 

 birds it is a matter of pure ornament. Nevertheless, taking 

 the evidence which shows the way in which these creatures 

 appreciate beauty in the three realms of form, color, and 

 sound, it seems to me clear that while their intellectual 

 life is low, their purely emotional experiences are probably 

 more vivid than those of ordinary men. 



As the joy of life is, in the main, even in ourselves the 

 result of emotional experiences, we may fairly reckon, even on 

 a priori ground, that the birds win a measure of happiness, 

 though it be that of an unconscious kind, which is granted 

 to no other living beings. Psychologically described, they 

 might well be termed the group built for joy. Their bodies 

 are, on the whole, the best constructed of all animals, except 

 the insects. They suffer little from disease. We all see 

 that their intercourse with each other is freer and merrier 

 than that of other creatures. The wide range of their 

 notes shows that in most forms they appreciate every little 

 difference in the pleasure-giving changes of the day or the 

 weather. They rejoice in the coming of each morning ; they 

 are sorrowful with the advent of each evening. They echo 



